That comment about my flint knapping technique really stung at first

I've been knapping arrowheads for about two years now, mostly as a hobby. Last month at a local archaeology fair in Austin, this retired professor watched me work for a minute and said I was 'over-reducing my platforms before every strike,' which I guess means I was wasting material. He showed me a method where you prep the platform with just one light tap instead of three or four, and it's cut my waste by maybe 30%. Has anyone else gotten feedback from a pro that changed how they do a basic skill?

3 comments

3 Comments

leo_fisher1mo ago

Huh, I saw a similar tip in a woodworking magazine once.

martinez.kim1mo ago

Yeah @leo_fisher I think I read something kinda like that on a DIY blog once. The guy said he learned it from his grandpa who did woodworking back in the day. It's wild how some tricks just stick around forever.

harpery471mo ago

My grandpa had a trick for keeping his chisels sharp that he claimed came from his time in the navy. He'd strop them on an old leather belt with some kind of abrasive paste he mixed himself from ground-up sharpening stone dust and oil. Never saw the recipe written down anywhere, just him doing it in the garage every Sunday morning. Thing is, that method probably worked just fine for him because he used his tools every day and knew exactly what he was doing. But if you're a weekend warrior and you try that same thing, you might end up with a duller chisel than you started with. Some of those old tricks get passed down incomplete, but they sound good in a story.