Flint Knapping for the Utterly Clueless

Shaping arrowhead with a bone tool

We frequently refer to the site formerly known as eHow.com as "the mother lode of misinformation" and are also quick to point out that this particular content farm is often the laughingstock of the do-it-yourself world. Why? Because, although the site purported to be explaining how to do something, the "instructions" were not always written¹ by someone familiar with the topic. Perhaps no post we've seen lately more clearly demonstrates such ignorance as "How to Make Homemade Arrowheads,"² written by Michael Cantrell and now at OurPastimes.com.

Cantrell's problem? The boy had never heard of flint knapping...
We talked to a staffer who had once taken a flint knapping class, and he told us that it's a delicate process. Instead of pounding a piece of flint into submission, you must "coax" a shape from the rock, delicately, much as a sculptor shapes a block of marble. The technique involves carefully applying pressure with another piece of flint to shape the arrowhead by chipping off flakes. Knappers also use bone and wood tools to help shape the arrowhead. You can be darned certain that no Native American arrow-makers ever,

"Use a hammer and, with forceful blows, chip away at the rock and keep flaking the rock until it forms an arrow shape."

We've no idea where Cantrell came up with that idea; it isn't in any of his three references, all of which deal with finding and/or selling Indian artifacts. Maybe our Dumbass of the Day just made it up?

¹ Many would say, "Were rarely written"...
² The original has been deleted by Leaf Group, but can still be accessed using the Wayback machine at archive.org. Its URL was   ehow.com/how_5043111_make-homemade-arrowheads.html

copyright © 2019-2020 scmrak

SE - CRAFTS