Chopper with a spokeshave?

TXCreekWalker

Jr. Member
Apr 6, 2023
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Found this one recently beside a creek in Denton County, Texas. I am pretty sure that it was worked by man, but I am wondering what the type of tool would be. The worked edge has been worn down quite a bit, but as it nears the part that may be a spokeshave, the edge sharpens significantly. This area does not appear to be re-worked because it extends further out than the worn area. My thinking is this was due to how it was used - working mostly with part of the edge. With the depression in the middle on one side, it made a good place to place your thumb, providing a solid, comfortable grip. This feature may be part of the reason the stone was chosen.

What do you think, chopping tool or knife /multitool?

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That’s interesting. I packed a softball sized rock off the hill not because it looked touched by man, but because it SHOULD have been touched by man. It rolled down the hill onto a flat likely occupied by a long lost tribe.

It looked like potentially valuable material if found locally. View attachment 2184476

I just smacked in on a steel bar and heard a high pitched crack like a very hard glass? Razor sharp edges. Not sure if it could be flaked into a projectile or not. It certainly would make great flake blades. It’s a dull green/grayish rock with veins of clear material running through it. Jasper? Found within 60 miles of the coast. Those are the pieces that snapped off.

I kind of just kept it in case I ran across an artifact made out of the same material.
Let’s see some of the artifacts in your own post?
 

Let’s see some of the artifacts in your own post?
I have not found any made from this material. But I too sometimes pack home odd rocks that are not found just laying around everywhere. There is something to be learned from everything.
 

Or send it to me and I’ll chip a point from it for you.
That was a very nice offer! Out of curiosity, if you had to guess, how many arrowheads would something that size typically produce (assuming it was perfect material)?
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Funny, someone will post a beautiful point, get 3 or 4 likes & 2-3 replies. Then a dubious chunk of chipped rock shows up and it gets blown up. ???
True and interesting how thing evolve in certain threads.
I have learnt a few things actually in these types of threads also.

Knapping skills is always something that kind of grabs my interest.
I've always had this feeling that if I was going to try, I would probably knock out an 👁 🧐.
 

That was a very nice offer! Out of curiosity, if you had to guess, how many arrowheads would something that size typically produce (assuming it was perfect material)? View attachment 2184497
Pieces like that are almost always used for a single point. When you are looking for raw material in a creek full of nodules, you always look for nature made spalls like that. You can finish a point quickly with a good start like that. Much easier than breaking up large nodules. The size of the point is determined by the size of the piece. If I was needing points for a bow and arrow and was desperate, with not much flint nearby, i could probably get two or three small triangles from it. You could also take it apart removing small flakes that would make disposable knives. Knapping is a continuum. Flint is processed in steps, and you can remove a piece from the continuum at any time and use it for a tool.
 

Knapping skills is always something that kind of grabs my interest.
I've always had this feeling…
Listen to what you just said… People have been knapping flint for as long as there have been people. I think it’s locked into our DNA. Maybe not everyone, but many, and 99% are men. Knapping interested me immediately after I found my first arrowhead. I had to try it. When I first started actually breaking rocks, I was terrible but it still had a natural feeling to it. It was totally addictive! I eventually got pretty good at it. You should at least try it. You should be able to get hands on at any primitive crafts get together, black powder rendezvous, or possibly even a knap-in in your area.
 

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