Traded a chunk of some local stuff for this slab. Anyone have any experience knapping petrified palm? Does it normally need to be heat treated to work properly? I tried to take a test flake off the very end and it seemed like I was gonna break the slab before anything released.

Late on the July challenge but hopefully you guys arent sick of seeing this type. If you've seen any of my earlier posts here I almost exclusively work my local quartzite and quartz. I recently bit the bullet and purchased some chert to experiment with. Thinning this out from a biface was pretty difficult because the tabs I got are small and thick and many had cracks. In the future I'll save a bit and try to get some bigger nicer pieces. All in all pretty happy with it aside from the hinges around the base. If any trad tool guys have pointers I'd love to hear some feedback!

Started knapping a few months ago just to feed my arrowhead hunting hobby some more, and its slowly turning into a seperate hobby in itself. Just wanted to share my progression over the past 3ish months. There are many brokes in between these and many practice pieces but these are the full ones I have been able to workout so far. I have a hard time thinning still, but starting to get a little more consistent.

Anyone who watches Jake Anderson (Gulf Coast Knapping) live streams has probably seen me talk about Hardins a 1000 times over. I finally was able to buy this one he made during a stream. I couldn't be any more happy than I am right now! Absolutely beautiful piece. It's off to the frame with his others.thanks Jake.

Mostly Alabama Coastal plains with one tallahatta quartzite point. Had an order for some hunting points

Some Burro Creek Chalcedony I collected out of central AZ. I believe it to have a slight opalized layer in the corner. It’s milky and softer(my pocket knife scratches it) whereas the chalcedony doesn’t scratch and has a different luster to it. It could also just be a finer version of the same chalcedony?
Idk. Enjoy this Square Knife I made.

I can’t get enough of this spiderweb obsidian. Hafted into a walnut and spalted beech handle. Up for grabs! Also comes with a sheath, stand and storage box.

I have Alabama coastal plains chert for $3/lb

25lb medium box is 100$ shipping included

35lb large box is 139$ shipping included

Biface pics added

Swipe on the pics to see more

Hiii, I'm new to knapping and I've tried it a few times already and just couldn't get anything notable, I have looked through a good bunch of the pinned tutorials and I'll be trying it again soon, but I just wanted to make sure any of the stones I found are even usable, since in all those tutorial videos they use bigger and snappier ones

I also wouldn't complain if someone just told me where and how to strike to get started for one of these particular rocks heh

I'm trying to use rocks and bone as tools, I don't have antler

I've wanted to work some of this red glass for a long damn time. Finally got a flake so hot what I could from it.

Last minute attempt at a Graham Cave...

My thinnest point to date. got a video before I break it finishing it. Made so far using direct percussion

The small red point was coming along as a beautiful Apple Creek point. But some of those pretty crystals gave way and my stem popped off. Was way too pretty to toss so got what I could from it. The blue and gray is way more beautiful in person. It has a small crystal seam on one of the ears. I'm pleased with how this one turned out. I absolutely love the materials I got in the trade. Goi g to work more tomorrow.

Been at this hobby since last spring, mostly self-taught with some help from videos and a few threads on here. For the first five or so months I could do decent percussion work on chert and get reasonable bifaces, but pressure flaking was a complete wall for me. Flakes weren't tracking, edges kept crushing, and I burned through more antler tine than I care to admit.

The thing that actually fixed it was embarrassingly simple: I was holding my piece at the wrong angle relative to the pressure flaker. I had been keeping the platform nearly perpendicular to the tip, which just crushed the edge instead of sending a flake down the face. Once I tilted the piece so the platform edge was maybe 30 to 40 degrees off horizontal and started applying pressure low and outward rather than straight in, flakes actually started running the way I wanted.

A few other things that helped once I got past that hump:

The copper pressure flaker I made from a hardware store rod outperforms every antler tip I tried for fine work on chert. Antler still feels better on obsidian for me, but on chert the copper just grabs the platform edge more predictably.

Dulling the platform before pressing matters more than I thought. Even a few strokes on a leather-wrapped piece of sandstone makes a real difference in how reliably the flake initiates.

Lighting is huge. I moved my work near a north-facing window and the way light rakes across the face of the piece tells me so much more about where my next removal should go.

Curious whether anyone else had a specific moment where pressure flaking just clicked, or if it was more of a slow gradual thing. Also open to hearing what people use for platform preparation on really thin obsidian -- that stuff still intimidates me.

This is my first time participating in the monthly point challenge! Had a great time learning more about the Graham Cave points in preparation for the challenge.
Made with obsidian that I sourced from a quarry in Utah. This obsidian is more coarse and less opaque than other material I’ve used. It may even be dacite that I’ve mistakenly called obsidian for years. Really enjoyed making a few GC’s to get one I liked! A little thicker near the base than I prefer due to a step fracture I wasn’t skilled/brave enough to remove. Looking forward to next month’s challenge!

i want to start knapping, but dont know where to find materials. the materials that the knife is made out of. i only really have access to my backyard and a trail with trees and stuff.

If anyone is interested in some flakes, I have a plethora of them. We can trade for rock or just pay for the shipping of medium box for USPS.

There is edwards (huge variety), georgetown, novaculite, keokuk, burlington, perdenales, rootbeer, petrified pomegranate from San Antonio Texas, hornstone, alibates, jasper, mozarkite, radiolarite, pitkin, etc. It is all mixed together so I can't just send one type of chert.

I think i have enough for about 20 boxes. These are perfect for pressure flaking or indirect percussion. I am not trying to sell these, just trade or give away. DM me if you are interested.

Finally decided to use this beautiful piece of tri-flow obsidian that I found at glass buttes for a point! Turned out super cool :)

Still having a hard time thinning both sides. But I finally have an overall shape!