http://allezoup.wordpress.com/2008/05/08/palaioslithos/ Wed, 24 Jun 2009 05:48:33 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 http://allezoup.wordpress.com/2008/05/08/palaioslithos/#comment-148 Matt Fri, 11 Jul 2008 16:55:39 +0000 http://allezoup.wordpress.com/?p=244#comment-148 Actually, I hear that heating the rock (with some varieties - i dont think its neccecary for obsidian) before you flake it can increase the ease of shaping it, and I also hear that pressure flaking works rather well (which is not so much a hitting motion as it is putting the tool directly against the stone and applying pressure in the proper direction). Here is a library of resources that may assist you in your endeavor and I wish you more luck than I had at flintknapping. http://flintknapping.com/Library.htm By the way, sharpened obsidian blades are known to have one of the sharpest natural edge of any substance - so much so that a flintknapper who was going to have surgery made a set of tools for the surgeon out of obsidian, and the surgeon loved them. Actually, I hear that heating the rock (with some varieties – i dont think its neccecary for obsidian) before you flake it can increase the ease of shaping it, and I also hear that pressure flaking works rather well (which is not so much a hitting motion as it is putting the tool directly against the stone and applying pressure in the proper direction). Here is a library of resources that may assist you in your endeavor and I wish you more luck than I had at flintknapping. http://flintknapping.com/Library.htm
By the way, sharpened obsidian blades are known to have one of the sharpest natural edge of any substance – so much so that a flintknapper who was going to have surgery made a set of tools for the surgeon out of obsidian, and the surgeon loved them.

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