In this video I teach you how to sharpen your stone points to be as sharp as they truly should be when hunting big game. If you are looking to purchase truly scary SHARP stone points, visit www.gillsprimitivearchery.com
gold54bs Thanks, I think I will. I plan on doing some build along videos in the near future. They will kinda be used to help push the sale of my next book which is well underway. As soon as the books are printed, the videos will likely be coming. Thanks for the interest and subscribe to my channel if you haven't already, so you can get the updates when the build along comes out
I know this an old video, but could one use a notching tool to do the serrations? I'm new to Flintknapping and use copper tools (don't crucify me) and after a couple hundred dollars I finally have a good thing large point and watching this video for sharpening tips before I mess up my hardwork. Any suggestions will be great, thanks.
Wow! I know its not that easy. I have made 3 arrow heads out of 10 to 15 spalls, which means around 12 i broke in the process. And only the last one i made from novaculite came out very sharp, but also came out ilegal in size. Just way to small. But got to tell you, your points are nasty in a good way Ryan. Awesome
many of the point iI collected along the rio grande river, had the serrations. I suspect that for the past 350 years metal like soft iron and copper, was available and of course bone, some points had no serration they could have been older points or were very well used.
Some of those texas points that are smooth are still very sharp. They did something similar to the pressure flaking he's doing only on a continuous smooth edge instead of a serrated edge.
...... offers free instructional video to benefit others...... viewer complains that it doesn't fit into his manifested time constraints. Sorry I wasted 5 minutes of your life you'll never get back while offering detailed advice saving hours of experimentation and possibly future loss of game.... but yeah, thanks for your valued comment... and you're welcome.
+ammonnhonduras Sorry I missed your question! I prefer to use local rocks simply because they are local. There are so many good knapping stone out there and I actually like to try to shoot game with different ones all the time, but at the end of the day, they all kill deer just as dead!
Thank you for sharing your knowledge on how to sharpen stone points. This is hands down the best video on youtube on how to do this. I plan on using this technique on my points. :)
no I haven't. The points I like are typically pretty thin to worry about a single bevel. I am not positive, but in my opinion from looking at artifacts, single beveled points like bolens are points that are repeatedly sharpened down, or pretty thick so they bevel the sides to get a thinner edge to sharpen. It seems to be more common with atlatl points. Arrow points in general are typically thin and small pieces.
Ryan, how do you keep your points sharp when you are hunting? Do you make a sheath for them, or do you have another way to keep the edge as sharp as possible?
I use a plains style quiver most of the time. It's soft and cradles the arrows and keeps them from rattling around dulling the points. I also stuff a rag in the bottom to help cushion and separate the points. I strategically place them in the quiver and remove/replace them carefully. I typically use the same arrow every time, so the rest essentially never move
Ok. Thanks! That's basically how I do it to, but over the course of a season, it's hard to keep them from getting a little dull. I always check and resharpen if needed.
Rocks are fine for percussion knapping a silicate stone into a point preform, but you need a handheld flaker for precise detailed work especially on small arrow point sized projectiles. Antler, ivory or bone is what you are looking for. Go for a walk in the woods on a materials and tools hunt.
georgetown in from Texas. Florida has chert deposits in the limestone. it just takes a lot of boot leather to find the good stuff. No obsidian in FL to answer your question on another video. That's volcanic glass and in the western states
Hey Ryan , question for you, being I live in the PNW, and love it here , my selection for arrow head material is mostly Obsidian Would it be wise to try and get the serrations like you get which are awesome looking by the way, My thinking is Obsidian is brittle and those serrations would be more prone to breakage on impact, would you agree? Thanks
I use the same sharpening technique on obsidian too with no issues. They may break some but all in all, you're still going to have a seriously sharp point
