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Post by aussie-rabbit on May 28, 2013 13:09:29 GMT
Do we have anyone knapping obsidian daggers? while I'd like one the idea a commercially made one is going to be hit and miss, after all if it is not truly sharp you can't just grind it down.  Obsidian blades are far sharper than steel, anyone here own one ? |
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Talon
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Post by Talon on May 28, 2013 13:49:23 GMT
Are you having trouble with white walkers down under Aussie  . I haven't tried flint or obsidian yet,but i am currently trying to make a usable arrow head from bottle glass. Isn't easy :shock: |
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Post by Valandur on May 28, 2013 15:17:28 GMT
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Post by aussie-rabbit on May 30, 2013 12:09:37 GMT
Dark Walkers - Remember we are down under :lol:
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Post by Elheru Aran on May 30, 2013 15:48:58 GMT
The MRL pieces are handmade for sure, as far as I know there's no reliable mechanical process for flaking obsidian blades. Now, whether they're actually sharp or not may be another story. These are strictly display pieces, I believe, so they may not be flaked to an actual edge...
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Post by stickem on May 30, 2013 15:56:58 GMT
I think obsidian is volcanic glass so it is sharp but brittle. Seems like they are what they used to kill The Others in A Game of Thrones :shock: Beautiful but not sure obsidian makes a practical zombie tool, FWIW. Stone Age was replaced by the Bronze and Iron Ages for good reason |
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Post by randomnobody on May 30, 2013 22:33:50 GMT
I've been wanting an obsidian piece for the novelty value for ages, and remember looking at the two pictured early on my searches. I've gotten away from obsidian in recent years, where practicality has become more important and the fragile nature more worrisome than it used to be. (I still live at home, and last year my sister had to move back in after she and her husband both lost their jobs. I have enough to worry about with their kids around my sharp and breakable things, I'd rather not think about them getting their hand on breakable sharp things.  ) Still, looking at the jaw-handled model just makes me wonder, how could it possibly be a good idea to leave those teeth on? Ouch. :x I've seen a number of videos on making obsidian blades, but the majority seemed rather wasteful, starting with a massive chunk and breaking it down tiny piece by tiny piece into something no larger than four or five inches long by an inch or two wide...but I'm sure there are things to be done with the discards. Edit: word prediction and autocorrect have fallen far since their original inceptions. |
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Post by Valandur on May 30, 2013 22:49:15 GMT
I think it's one of those skills that gets passed down from father to son, starting when they are pretty young. I've watched the process as well, it's called "Lapping" I think? And yes it looks very wasteful! Not that there's some shortage of obsidian that I'm aware of, but its surprising how much material you would go through learning how to make blades.
I'm using an Ipad, I feel your pain on auto correct and word prediction! :twisted:
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Post by aussie-rabbit on May 31, 2013 13:51:42 GMT
quote
Obsidian is a kind of glass formed during volcanic eruptions, and it shares all of the basic physical properties of ordinary glass. The fact that the edge of a newly chipped flake is sharper than surgical steel was only discovered in the 1970's, and it has led to the use of obsidian blades in eye surgery, since the evenness of their cut permits much faster healing. The Aztecs called their obsidian-edged sword macuahuitl. Usually the swords were lined with ten blades; five on each side. Because obsidian is glass, it naturally fractures into a sharp, even, predictably shaped blade when chipped. Also because it's glass, it is brittle and cannot be resharpened. The blades on swords undoubtedly had to be replaced after a few uses; this is the main reason steel eventually supplanted obsidian after the Spanish conquest.
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avery
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Post by avery on May 31, 2013 14:31:26 GMT
I'll chime in on this. I've done flint knapping for years and have messed around with obsidian, but never had a large enough amount to really get into. The reason there's so much waste is because you have to get to the heart of the node. You have to have a pretty large chunk of flint to make a knife and a lot of the discards from the initial splitting can be reused. Not all, but a lot of it. It really starts with selecting the right piece and knowing what to look for. Once you can figure out how the node will split and how hard you need to strike it you're already half way there.
If you want to practice and don't have obsidian or flint, use an old toilet lid. Porcelain breaks and knaps a lot like flint does and you can it at your closest land fill.
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Post by aussie-rabbit on May 31, 2013 15:12:22 GMT
Well I really just want an obsidian dagger about 4 or 5 inches in the standard style - however saying obsidian is the sharpest tool is not much use if you get a "display" quality blade instead of a sharp one, I wouldn't be able to knap anything, so my need to ask people more expert than I.
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Post by randomnobody on May 31, 2013 17:03:26 GMT
I can vouch that porcelain should be very similar. I've had my share of broken kitchen and bathroom accessories working retail, and more than even plain glass you'll want to watch the porcelain stuff. :x That said, somehow the idea of chipping away at an old toilet seat from the local dump doesn't seem particularly...romantic, let's say. No doubt it would make a very interesting conversation piece in the end, though. Avery, I do think I remember you mentioning some knapping projects before, but can't remember of you've ever shared them with us. Got any pictures of anything interesting? |
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avery
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Post by avery on Jun 1, 2013 13:48:22 GMT
No, I haven't knapped anything in awhile, and don't think I have any pictures. However, since my forge is down, I may try to do something this weekend to show. I have a toilet lid I can use....it's the only part of the toilet I'll use. |
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Post by Dave(utilityslave) on Jun 1, 2013 15:07:51 GMT
Hmmmmm......if the initial cut doesn't kill ya, the raging infection will do you in a week later! lol
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Post by randomnobody on Jun 1, 2013 16:00:45 GMT
Well, you know, if you get bored...it'd be quite interesting to see a video. |
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Post by aussie-rabbit on Jun 2, 2013 8:21:40 GMT
I'm sure many people would like to see the "how and why" of knapping |
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avery
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Post by avery on Jun 2, 2013 13:54:55 GMT
It's been a busier weekend than I thought. If I get some time I'll knap out an arrow head out of the porcelain or piece of glass. Sorry, no video though. My video cam is loaned out, but I will take a series of pics to help explain. If I can't get to it today, I'll do it when I get time.
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Post by randomnobody on Jun 2, 2013 14:20:05 GMT
Boo, no video? Shame, but oh well. I, for one, will be happy with enough pictures to get a general idea. I won't ask for one after every hit. There are plenty of videos of flint and obsidian knapping to get a general idea of the how-to, and some in tutorial format for the juicy bits...but from a piece of porcelain, that would be different enough to warrant its own. Should be a fun project, too, if you find the time. |
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avery
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Post by avery on Jun 5, 2013 14:43:08 GMT
Well, as you can see(read) I didn't get anything done. I did knock the bottom out of a bottle and worked on edging and platforming a bit. It's been longer than I thought and I'm out of practice. Took me ten minutes to do something that used to take me a minute or so. Anyway, I'll get around to doing something as soon as I can.
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Post by randomnobody on Jun 5, 2013 18:30:47 GMT
No hurry, Avery. I certainly have no idea how to go about it, so I'm not going to rush anybody else. Especially if they're "out of practice" (sure, right ) as I don't want anybody messing about with shards if they aren't comfortable. :shock: I, for one, can wait to see what you come up with when you're at your best at it. ...Okay, no I can't, but I will.  |
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