The chipper is the person who shapes the stone through a process of chipping or percussion with another object (lithic reduction). A common skill until the discovery of fusion, the human race has long relied on this technique to make tools of various kinds and weapons. In this guide you will be shown how to do it.
Steps
Step 1. Choose the most suitable stone to model
Rocks such as flint and the like are particularly suitable for chipping, as well as basalt, obsidian, laboratory quartz, sanitary ceramics and other minerals which, once fractured, reveal a smooth surface. Obsidian is quite soft, and for beginners it is the easiest material to work with as it does not require excessive effort. Even waste glass from some factories can sometimes produce beautiful works of art. All these materials are readily available on e-Bay.
Step 2. Choose a stone that does not present, if there are, too many cracks, crevices, bubbles, evident inclusions or other irregularities that can cause it to break or flake in the opposite way to the result you want to obtain
Step 3. Choose a stone large enough that you can remedy a mistake without losing the entire job, but also small enough that you can easily accomplish what you have in mind
* If you want, you could also perform a heat treatment (cooking some quartz, flint, fossil wood or fossil corals for many hours at the base of a fire will change their structure, from grainy to glassy) or a water treatment (some stones, in particular opals must remain submerged, otherwise they can crack as soon as they dry), both techniques used successfully by experienced chippers. With the heat treatment, bury the stones under 5 cm of earth and, in case of stone still to be worked, leave it covered with a very thick layer of embers for at least four hours (more or less time is needed depending on the density of the substance). Put out the heat or have it put out on your own. Let the stones cool overnight before unearthing them, otherwise they will explode on contact with cold air. Turn them and repeat the process until the stone, chipping it, is shiny and shiny. This requires great practice in order to master it, even more than the chipping itself, and becomes expensive if you add the purchase of the stones. This method, originally, was used by those men for whom the stone was necessary for survival, and the quality of the product was not only desirable, but made a difference especially during the pursuit of animals due to harder and sharper weapons, characterized by roughness, ease of manufacture, fewer defects, etc. If you feel like trying this process, great, but there are many other materials available today that can be avoided *
Step 4. Sit comfortably
You can start chipping while sitting at a table or on a bench, but traditionally chipping is done cross-legged, with the stone in one hand resting on your knee. This method can be difficult for beginners. Try to figure out which position gives you the most control, especially in the cleavage. I prefer to sit on a log. You can use a wooden board or large stone as a support for your project if you have started working with a large, heavy stone.
Step 5. Some materials such as flint, flint and organic fossils have a grain whose streaks are typical of now fossilized organic substances, such as wood, but can also betray a volcanic formation
Pay attention to these important characteristics of the stone. During the stone's fragmentation process, pay attention to its natural internal traits. Some flints and most of the glass will have none, while agate and malachite probably will. It is the internally featureless stones that are best for beginners. Working a similar rock, in fact, you will have no limits of direction, and you can shape it as you like (within certain limits).
Step 6. Start with direct percussion
Direct percussion is done by taking a spherical and resistant material and beating it directly against the stone, thus forming two faces and removing material in the form of long and sharp blades. A fist-sized round stone taken from a stream, or a billet made from a large, solid antler (preferably moose, deer antler is hollow and of slightly inferior quality) will do just fine. With this technique, it is more difficult to learn control than finishing techniques such as pressure flaking. With stones that are irregular in shape, or weigh more than fifty grams, you will need to start the reduction process with direct percussion. To make the tips of medium-sized arrows smaller, simply take a large foil that has detached from a percussion, scrape the edge (see step 7) and proceed directly with the pressure flaking (see step 8). The purpose of direct percussion is to thin the stone from the edges inwards, to achieve the desired thickness until a two-sided blade is formed. Hit the stone at an angle between 50 ° and 60 °. Imagine that a straight downward shot is 90 degrees, while a perfectly lateral straight shot is 0 degrees. You should now be able to determine where the 60 degrees are, just hold a protractor upside down. This angle is perfect for removing large amounts of material without the risk of breaking the job in half - as would happen with a sharper, more direct angle, around 30 degrees - or splitting the edges and surface, in the case of a right angle..
Step 7. In the chipping process the most important step is to scrape the edge of the stone, glass, etc. object
EVERY TIME you remove a series of foils from one of the edges, it is mandatory to sand that same edge well so that the stone can withstand the impact from the next series of percussion, otherwise the edge will give way and the whole process will fall apart. Again, this is the MOST IMPORTANT step of chipping the flint. It is carried out by scraping, with the typical movement of a saw, the edge of a stone against the other stone, the latter equally flat but with a slightly lower hardness. Old grindstones work well for this, and so does a smooth piece of limestone. Grooves will form in the stone or mass, a desirable feature. The result will be a reliable surface capable of taking on the extreme rigors of stone engineering. If you don't do the process properly, you will never be able to make anything more than just stone bullets.
Step 8. Once the original stone block has undergone such a reduction that its width is about seven or eight times its thickness (speaking of a large project), you can begin pressure flaking
Cleavage is achieved by placing your object in a thick leather lining, which you will have to hold in your hand. He then places a pointed instrument on the edge of the stone, applying inward pressure and concentrating the energy towards the palm of the hand, not far from it as during the percussion, but at a 45 ° angle. Exactly! You will work in the opposite direction of the percussion, always paying attention to the side you can see while holding it. This pressure will detach a small, thin lamina from the stone. The slower and longer you apply pressure, the longer the foils will be. Long foils are best, as they result in an effective reduction in the thickness of the stone. Up to 90% of your work can be spent in the flaking process, and only the remaining 10% in percussion, so be patient and work while staying focused on the details. Don't forget to always smooth the edge after EVERY set of foils. Do not remove two sheets in the same place without sanding afterwards. The closer you get to the end of processing the product, the less hard you will have to scrape, as towards the end your work will have delicate, razor-sharp edges. The tool with which to perform the flaking must be a pin of about 1 cm x 30 cm, in apple wood from hedge, walnut, ash or oak, in short, any solid but flexible wood; never use pine, fir, poplar or conifers. A sharp copper nail is added to the pin, firmly fixed in a hole at one end. Steel, iron, brass and bronze are too hard to work with stone and are not good for flaking. They will shatter your work, rather than shape it. Aluminum is too delicate and brittle. The copper nail or wire should not be less than half a centimeter thick, and should not protrude from the pin more than one centimeter, as copper is quite soft and can bend too much. Traditionally, a pointed deer horn was used, which works almost as well as copper. The tool with which you will perform the flaking will have to be sharpened with a certain frequency.
Step 9. If you are worried about developing tendinitis due to strain due to flaking (read warnings below) you can use the indirect pressure method
The results are very different aesthetically, but this process can be even more effective in reducing the thickness on both sides of the stone. Again, insert the rough stone block inside the leather lining, then place it on the ground between your feet, or between your knees (better on the ground, for more stability). Then use your cleaving tool as an awl on the edge of the stone block, and hit the top of the tool you are using with a billet that you think is solid enough to work the stone, but that you can confidently control. Pay attention to the severity of each blow as you approach the completion of the project. A good idea is to cut the tool you are using for flaking down to about 15cm. If possible, grab the copper tip (or horn) fixed to the pin, extract a portion equal to about 5 cm finding a point that is quite blunt but at the same time pointed, so as to be able to concentrate the energy. The indirect pressure method requires a lot of practice and, during the first attempts, it will surely bring some failure. But, when you get more mastered, it will work just as well as traditional cleavage, if not better, and will save your elbows from potentially massive damage. You can finish the work on the side and edge with minimal pressure on the edges.
Step 10. For each set of strips you remove from one of the edges, alternate which side of the stone you want to remove the material from
If you hit or chipped a series of foils in a certain direction, smooth the edge and flip the stone block to remove the material on the opposite side, on the same edge. Also alternate the margins! Try not to work on the same margin twice in a row, rather switch from one margin to the other so as not to alter the compactness of the material being reduced. However it is possible, and as you learn you will often find it necessary, to work the same face from opposite sides to remove portions of material from rough edges due to previously applied force or natural inclusions in the material.
Step 11. Repeat the process until you have molded the stone into the desired shape
Finish flaking with pressure without, this time, smoothing the edges. Leave the edge sharp and raw for use as a tool.
Step 12. Finish with the finishing touches by carving the base or placing a stem on it
Again, you can do this by making the chip at the base of the finished tool. Make sure you smooth the base and notches so you don't cut the rope you'll use to tie it to a handle or pole. But leave the sharp edges! Alternatively, you can keep the instrument as it is without adding notches or shells. Use an abrasive stone on the base to smooth it so that it can be tied to a wooden rod or handle.
Advice
- Work the stone, or an equivalent material, starting at the edges and leaving the center of the face thicker to prevent it from breaking in half.
- Remember to use a material that is not grainy, but reveals a smooth surface when it breaks.
- Buy a good book that illustrates this technique, such as: Primitive Technology II: Ancestral Skill by David Wescott ISBN 1586850989
Warnings
- Always use eye protection. Working the stone causes a shower of splinters that move in every direction at an astonishing speed.
- A note on respiratory protection. DO NOT practice chipping indoors, as the large amount of dust that is released over time is dangerous to the lungs (and also to the ocular surface). Any silicon-based or glassy substance breaks down at the molecular level, and is 70,000 times sharper than polished steel. So the resulting dust is a microscopic version of the long laminae removed during lytic reduction, and this is extremely dangerous. It is for this reason that the dust masks of the hardware store ARE NOT SUITABLE for protection, as the dust would be able to pass freely. Instead, you should buy a special and very expensive mask, such as those used in glass factories or hulls, but - if you work indoors - there is still the possibility of overexposure, both for you and for those present. You can avoid purchasing such a mask by simply working outdoors where a strong breeze is blowing, away from structures, walls, or other things that prevent air from circulating. Prolonged exposure to chipping dust will cause, even within a few years, a condition known as silicosis, in which the alveoli - the "pockets" in the lungs - become so irritated that they can no longer fill with air. It can also cause a buildup of scar tissue on exposed corneas. So work outdoors, it's that simple. I highly recommend getting a large, high-powered fan that always moves the air around the work area.
- Literally warm up your elbows before you start chipping. A warm, wet towel is perfect for this. In conjunction with pressure cleavage it is possible that tendinitis or tennis elbow may occur, usually in the arm that holds the stone to be worked: similar problems are the result of the position held by the elbow in the act of working the stone. Tendonitis caused by chipping does not heal easily, and can be debilitating. In fact, mine is, and I am only 31 years old, and also that of many of my friends. How I learned to avoid this problem: Use a flaking tool at least 30 cm long, if not twice as long, levering against the hip and trying to rest the other hand on the inside of the leg. Try not to bend the elbow of the hand holding the stone to be worked; rather, use the inside of the leg by adding wrist strength to give you stability. Squeeze the tool just above the center so the wood can flex and work for you.
