Stone points (how I make them)

[Stay Sharp]

I picked up some chert stone flakes that will work great for arrow points.

I used a nice, thin, white piece for the arrowhead.

I made some wood and cooper tools and an antler brow tine to flake away the stone. The leather is to protect my hand as I press the cooper tool against the chert. The flakes are sharp.

I started by squaring off the bottom of the flake and then chipped the head to shape.

 

[Stay Sharp]

Lastly I added the grooves to each side that will be used to tie the head to the shaft. This is where I make the most mistakes and break the head.

Next, I used a knife to cut a groove in the end of a wood shaft to accept the stone head.

 

[Stay Sharp]

I will trim away the extra wood after I tie the head on.

To tie the head to the shaft, I use the sinew I save from the loins/backstraps from my deer.

It separates into nice thin threads.

I soaked the sinew threads in cold water to soften and stretch them. While waiting, I stained the wood shaft. The sinew does not really get tied onto the shaft. It is more like wrapping a wet noodle around the shaft. After I put on a few layers, I dried it with a blow dryer (just like I'm sure the early people did). This makes it shrink tight. I then rub the sinew with a block of bees wax to waterproof it so it won't get wet and loosen up.

 

[Stay Sharp]

For the fletching, I went back to the turkey feathers and tied them on.

 

[Gr8bawana]

Very cool, you are a man of many talents.

 

[Stay Sharp]

The joy is in the doing. Im only showing you my successes so you are getting a narrow view of my attempts. I would break the interweb on your Google box if I also showed my failures.

 

[Hilltop]

Haha...I bet it can get frustrating. Very cool to see the process- thanks for sharing.

 

[Matthoek21]

Very cool. Looks great.

 

[25contender]

Very neat job!! Nice

 

[sneakypete]

Very cool. Thanks for showing us all your projects!

 

[Maxhunter]

Very nice. Thanks for sharing!

 

[missjordan]

Those are really cool, thanks for sharing!

 

[Fink]

That's really cool. I can't help but picture a few native hunters sitting around a fire at night, making arrowheads, living the good life.

 

[2rocky]

SS i am full of questions...

can you expand on the motion you use to chip?
When do you use antler, when use the tool?
what do you look for for the right place to chip?
How is chert different than obsidian in chipping?
Were you self taught or have a mentor?