THE PLATFORM-a publication of the Minnesota Knappers Guild-
THE PLATFORM
-a publication of the Minnesota Knappers Guild-
I chose the name for this newsletter six years ago and would like to think that it has been both a "platform" for expressing opinions and like the "platform" in flintknapping, a basis for building upon. The Minnesota Knapper's Guild has grown and flourished and I would like to think that much of this building has been done because of "The Platform".
"The Platform" will continue as the official Guild newsletter but it will not be published on a regularly scheduled basis. We will simply send out a newsletter whenever we have specific information for guild members (such as information about the June Knap-in. I anticipate at least one newsletter per year. Newsletters will contain articles if they are submitted. Dues for MKG membership (including whatever newsletters we send) will be reduced to S3.00 per year. Whatever isn't spent on the newsletter will go to help defray cost for the June Knap-in. If publication cost go beyond S3.00 it will have to come out of my pocket and we'll make it up next year. For those of you who have already sent in dues for 1995, you will have your check returned with this newsletter. If you are still interested in joining the MKG with the change we have made in the newsletter simply follow the instructions given on the last page.
Again I want to thank all of you for your support and kind comments over the years. If we find someone who is willing to send out "The Platform" on a quarterly basis, I will step down as editor and let them take over the publication. Until that time, you'll hear from me ... when you hear from me.
Keep the chips flying,
Editor, "The Platform"
"The Platform" has previously published information implying that the use of copper knapping tools by primitive man had a high probability (Vol. 4, No. 4, Nov. 1992). This topic has continued to simmer amongst MKG members, both hobbyists and professional types alike. This Fall, over a period of several days, a number of our members examined numerous copper artifacts and held extensive discussions of the literature on this subject. John Whittaker who teaches in the College of Anthropology at Grinnell College, Gordon Peters, Supervisory Archaeologist of Minnesota's Superior National Forest, Tony Romano, a well respected amateur archaeologist and flintknapper, Joe Neubauer, an extremely knowledgeable artifact collector, Jim Regan, one of Minnesota's most accomplished knappers and William Ross, ministry archaeologist for the North Central Region of Ontario have concluded that there is enough evidence to publish an extensive scientific article on the subject. While "The Platform" would be thrilled to publish this paper it is too important to omit having it sent to a refereed scientific archaeology journal. "The Platform" has been promised an excerpt from the finished article.
Make sure your calendars are clear for the 7th Annual Minnesota Knappers' Guild Knap-in. It will be held once again at the Pine City, MN Northwest Fur Trading Post. The dates for the Knap-in this year are June 23-25 (1995). Hope to see you all there. If you haven't made it in the past, you should try to get there this year. It has grown to a respectable size (20 to 30 knappers) but is still small enough to be a learning experience for the new knapper and a relaxed weekend of knapping for the more accomplished knappers.
"CHIPS" is published four times a year by the Flintknappers' Guild International, P.O. Box 702, Branson, M0 65615. The editors are D.C. and Val Waldorf. Cost of the publication is S12/Yr. and checks should be made out to Val Waldorf.
"The Flint Knapper's Exchange" is published six times per year, 278 West Eighth Street, Peru, IN 46970. The editor is Chas. Spear. Cost of the publication is S12/Yr. and checks should be made out to Chas. Spear.
Both of these publications have been super supportive of "The Platform" and we thank them for all of their help over the years.
You have asked me to write a book review on John Whittaker's recent book "FLINTKNAPPING, MAKING AND UNDERSTANDING STONE TOOLS", University of Texas Press, Austin. Instead of writing a formal article I'm going to write you a letter --it's easier to defend that way.
Over the years as an aspiring flintknapper, I have had to dig out information from amazingly diverse geographic and temporal sources. Some were beyond my comprehension (brittle fracture formulas, etc.) and some so elementary or poorly written they confusingly lead you down the wrong path. Almost all of the writers were fiercely independent and protectively provincial, and if the authors were contemporary, one would breathe nary a word about the other. It made for hampered and frustrated learning.
John Whittaker in his book backs off and takes a birds eye view of flint knapping from the beginning through modern times. His chapters are generously sprinkled with newly reported facts and interesting personal observations.
His categorical approach binds together the people and their techniques from paleolithic times, three million years ago. Elucidating the sequence of flintknapping up to and including present day Knappers and periodicals. With this approach he teaches painlessly archaeology and geologic lithics without one realizing it.
Professor Whittaker knows from whence he speaketh, in his easy, concise and spirited way of writing. He is an accomplished flint Knapper as well as a respected researcher and contributor to the literature. Instead of being self-centered he brings into focus many individuals and their contributions to the knapping history ranging from the gnarled, no-nonsense good ol'boys to touted PHDs. And, perhaps above all else, I have never read anything on knapping which is so richly endowed with an extraordinary number of references for sources for more detailed information.
Now, in summation, my dear editor and brother knappers, don't be bamboozled out of the nuts and bolts we all need and expect as knappers from all of the preceding. This book is loaded, from beginning to end, with every aspect of knapping technology invaluable to all rock-busters from neophytes to experts. Not only is the written word there in clear language, it is also generously illustrated with a surprising number of figures and diagrams.
I cherish all of my books greatly, but I don't have to chase after them so much anymore---John Whittaker has brought them together.
Over the last 2 or 3 years I have heard other knappers talk about various materials they have used or seen used for pressure flaking tips. I recently decided to check out some of these materials and see how they worked for me. Like many knappers, I have been using copper rod for my flakers. Note that I said copper rod, not copper wire. Wire is made to flex while rod is hardened. This hardening makes it stiffer and it does a better job. l also sometimes use a steel point, which is made from a common construction nail. Mostly I use this tip for notching. It is much stiffer than copper and stays sharp longer, which is what I need for notching. All the other materials I tried and discussed in this article were compared to these two "standards".
The first material I tried was given to me by Darrol Schmidt, a Minnesota knapper who suggested I try a piece of "2520" welding rod that he uses at his place of employment and had also been using as a pressure flaking tool himself. It seemed to me that this material was in the same hardness range as my nail, and seemed to work ok. It definitely stays sharper longer than a copper tip, although it did skate around more and not grab the platform as well.
I've also heard that old square nails work well for pressure flaking. This sounded right to me since I'd read that true "wrought iron" of a century ago was softer than any steel made today. Another friend, MKG member Joe Neubauer, who is not a knapper but has a real interest in the process, gave me several old nails that he picked up over the years. I've only tried one at this point, but I definitely like the results. A quick swipe with a file proved to me that this 100 year old nail is definitely softer than any modern nail I have used. Joe also gave me a nail that was probably 200 years old. I haven't tried it yet, but am curious to see if the 200 year old nail is softer than a 100 year old nail.
As I was playing with these materials, I happened to visit Dale Cannon, another Minnesota Knapper Guild member who is doing some fine parallel flaking. He mentioned that his favorite material is what he calls "tomato cage wire". A tomato cage is the simple v re 'formed cone that you put around your tomatoes so they have something to climb. Upon hearing this I went home and mutilated one of my tomato cages to get a piece of wire. I found out that he is right. Even though it is made of steel wire, it does seem fairly soft and does work quite well.
You may want to try some of these materials for yourself. If you do, please report the results to our editor so he can tell us all. I'm sure there are other cheap and plentiful materials out there that will work quite well-let's find them.
Here is the information on ordering John Whittaker's new book:
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Flintknapping: Making and Understanding Stone Tools By John C. Whittaker Publication date June 24, 1994
$49.50 cloth/ ISBN 0-292-79082-l
6 x 9 in., 352 pp., 12 b&w photos
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John C. Whittaker is an assistant professor of anthropology at Grinnell College.
University of Texas Press, P0 Pox 7819, Austin Texas 78713-7819
Please read the first page of this issue. If you wish to continue as a member of the Minnesota Knappers' Guild please send a check for S3.00 payable to: