Buffalo Lance

With the introduction of the horse to the tribes of the plains, the lance became an important weapon for hunting and warfare. Essentially, it was a long wooden shaft with a spearhead of chipped stone, sharpened bone, or later a metal blade. Most likely the first lances were no more than a shaft with a sharpened end. It was difficult trying to get a picture of the 6 foot lance, so here is half of it...lol. Lately I've been working on several lances and spears. This one has a hammered out metal spearhead mounted in a 6 foot wooden shaft with elk rawhide. The shaft is wrapped with rawhide and decorated with tufts of buffalo hide, feathers and scalp locks. It kind of violates my stone age focus using a metal blade. But, some of the lances I've seen would almost be considered works of art. There is a strange sensation that runs thru you when you weild a primitive spear, you touch the primal.

Elk Leg Bone Spearheads

I feel a little crazed today. Just got off a 60 hour work week, now...grilling hamburgers for supper in the 100-degree heat of the day. I can't wait to get over our busy season. Working as a web press operator, for an educational publisher, summers are the time to get materials printed for the next school season starting late August into September. The past couple of weeks I have been able to make a few stone knives - mainly for therapy. Even doing that was an effort as the body has taken another beating from hours of constant go, go, go. But, I love doing it...being able to thin out a piece of stone and flake it into a blade or tool. The knife, second from the left, I used at work to open skids of paper last week. That always brings some curious glances. I kind of prefer a short stout blade that can take a beating. Well, gotta go...time to flip the burgers.

"Leaf Knives"

I was playing around the rock pile the other night and came away making a couple of "leaf knives." A good number of cultures have these simple cutting blade forms in their tool kit. They are pretty much a simple ovoid preform finished off with a cutting edge. Simple and efficient.

An event promoter contacted me and asked if I wanted to participate in an upcoming "Pirate Fest." It took a little thinking how I would fit into this kind of theme. Eventually, I came up with the idea of doing something like...Survivorman - Marooned. I'll demo/display survival skills and tools, such as firemaking with the bamboo firesaw, making discoidal and bipolar cutting blades with quarzite cobbles, the bamboo rat trap used by a contestant fromt the show "Survivor", etc. Probably, decorate the tent with some tribal masks, rubber snakes, various items 'salvaged from a ship.' All in all, it is entertainment with some educational aspects..."edutainment." Anyone have any ideas other ideas?

Grady Knife

Grady knife...why do I call it a Grady knife? Because it is for a gentleman named Grady...lol. When one of the guys from work found I did flintknapping, he had me make some stone knives using antler handles from deer he and his sons had hunted. You know, I haven't dropped and broke a stone blade, in literally years....until the last event started a spree. I was demonstrating flintknapping and had made a nice long obsidian blade. Well, I tossed my hammerstone down onto the canvas tarp directly onto the blade, snapping it in two ... AARRUUUGGHHHHH!!! Actually, I wasn't too upset, but sometimes I think this is how cussing was came about. The large knife pictured, started off with a nice large whitish blade...until I dropped it on the concrete...AAARRRRGGGHHHH!!!! A new blade had to be made to fit the large antler handle (11 inches), thus the top knife you see. The smaller knife was made knapping the salvagable Novaculite stone into a smaller blade.

Bamboo Fire Saw

One of the technics used by the indiginous peoples of the Phillipines, to make fire, was the bamboo fire saw. In Nebraska you will not find any natural stands of bamboo except at the local garden center where it is sold as ornamental pieces. Nonetheless, I acquired a piece and cut several 2 foot lengths and split them in half. It is helpful if the walls of the bamboo are around 3/16 to 1/4 inch thick. The first pic shows the components: one half was my saw, another half as the fireboard, a tinder nest, and a fold of

buckskin for padding. I selected a 'saw' piece that had a nice length
between nodes and cleaned a good sharp edge with a knife. On the fireboard, I carved an indention and bored a small hole thru the bamboo. (Click on the pic to enlarge to see the prep-ed area beneath the 3 used slots.) Using the padding, brace the 'saw' firmly against the ground with your body. Place the tinder nest loosely around the bored hole in the fireboard, making sure it does not block the hole. Smoothly drive the fireboard back and forth against the saw piece, using the whole length between the nodes. You will feel the bamboo began to cut into the fireboard, the saw edge will darken, and smoke will wisp up. This is your cue to apply more downward pressure, and take faster, shorter strokes. This may take about 30-40 short, fast strokes to produce a coal. Carefully stop and inspect the notch cut into the fireboard. Gently blow into this notch. A coal will form at the hole bored thru, and may be small and stuck to the edge of the hole. You may need to take a small stick and gently dislodge it into the tinder nest. Carefully remove the tinder nest and blow to flame. The coals formed by the bamboo firesaw are small, so some extra fine downs, such as cattail, milkweed, etc., are helpful to spread the coal. It should only take 20-30 seconds to make a coal. This is actually a variation of the firesaw technic. The original method involved holding the saw in your hand and driving it back and forth against the fireboard. This variation, in my opinion, is more efficient because you can apply more pressure and control.

Here is a pic of me taking shelter from the sun, knapping at the Lewis & Clark Festival, held June 12-14 at the Lewis & Clark State Park, near Onawa, IA. This is always a good time. The smell of camp smoke in the air, the sound of fiddles and bango's plinking out tunes a hundred years gone. I am intrigued by the traders, alot of them sun baked, buckskinned men who travel from rendezvous to rendezvous peddling their wares. I want to be one of them. Here I am demonstrating friction fires and how stone tools were made...and selling stone knives, tomahawks, spears, war clubs, and tools to the passerby. I am still too clean cut, pale skinned, and have too many teeth to be a real trader for these events...lol.