Here's a question for those of you that hunt with stone points. Which one of these do you use off your selfbow for hunting? Is one of these better then the other? Like for sharpness or strength. Sure would like to see some pictures of the ones that you use.

Flint is hard to get in the States (I've bought some british Dover flint, and got some from a missionary who brought it from Africa after a mission trip) ..... native US Chert can make some fine points, though most benefits from heat treating. Obsidian is ready to work from the word go, flakes readily and makes a very sharp pint, but is more brittle in use.

A couple you didn't mention are novaculite (superb material, needs heat treating) agate (tough stuff, hard to find but pretty and durable points) jasper (awesome material, can be locally plentiful) quartz (highly variable in quality and tough to get long flakes on) and "johnstone" (toilet bowl porcelain) (readily available and easily worked)....

Any of the stone listed will do fine for hunting if knapped properly, mounted securely and you hit the game well.. Talk to Ryan Gill( Twistedlimbs)...He's an avid knapper and uses stone points for successful hunting endeavors..

Obsidian is perhaps the best..and needs no heat treating to be workable to a good edge..but it's like glass and a bit more fragile than flint, chert, jasper..

Are you a knapper yet?..It's a grand hobby-passtime..

I've made and used a few stone points over the years..and while they are not 'shaving sharp'..they certainly will cut thru hide and meat..Jim

No Jim, I haven't tried my hand at knapping yet. I've been working on making a selfbow though. But I didn't use stone tools. ;-) When I make a selfbow That I can take hunting. Maybe I will try my hand at knapping next. I find primitive skills very interesting.

Those are some beautiful points you made Jim. How many years did it take you to get that skill down?

I have been knapping stone for over 45 years.. Long before the internet and you tube tutorials or any books describing the process of lithic reduction for tools.

Started when as a lad on our MD farm I picked up stone tools in the plowed fields after a good rain.. I was fascinated to know that since the tool had been lost-used..it had been hundreds of years since the maker-user had it or fashioned it.. I wanted to know more..and so I read..and experimented..and learned.. I have a 'tool box' that has about every conceivable stone working implement ever used..Batons, pressure flakers,.you name it..

The pics shown here are just some of the better late woodland and paleolihic points I have found years ago.. A lot of white quartz..some larger quartzite, a very few flint and chert and basalt points.. Larger ones are atlatl points..or points for short spears?..

Send a PM to TWISTED LIMBS who posts here routinely..

He is a fine fellow and may be able to help you with both the stickbow endeavor as well as knapping stone.. He is younger than me..but he exceeds me on experiences with such 'primitive' archery things..Jim

As Dire wolf wrote but especially go to Ryan Gill's web site. That young man is a wealth of info.

I killed one deer with a stone point that I made out of Flint Ridge material.

I make points and blades out of obsidian ( 4 differant kinds), Flint Ridge, 2 or 3 differant kinds of Texas chert, polychrome, agate, coastal plains and plate glass just to name a few. Almost every state has a knappable rock of one kind or another. Even here in Michigan there are 3 or 4 types of chert that can be knapped if you heat treat the crap out of it.

If you are lucky enough to live in or near Texas you can get all the knapping rock you want. The whole dang state is knapping rock!!!

You can spend a week on youtube looking at knapping video's.

Thanks for the Mention Jim and Jon. As stated, obsidian is sharp stuff and pretty easy to work over all. I like the toughness of chert simple because I like to display points once I've killed game with them. Cherts and Flints are basically the same thing.. flints in Europe running in veins in chalk, vs chert that forms in veins of limestone. Jaspers and agatized coral are about the highest on my list though. They still get scary sharp and seem even tougher than standard chert..... plus they just look great. I enjoy shooting deer with stylish points nowadays :-) But, that being said, they all kill deer just as dead. My favorite rocks are ones I find myself. Makes me feel more connected to my hunting grounds. here are some points from some chert I found in a wash in Alabama. I killed a deer with the top one.

couple of coral points, killed a pig with the one on the right

And a red jasper point (yellow before heat treating) I have yet to kill anything with this one, but it is ready and waiting

Those points look like they will get the job done Ryan. How long have you been knapping Ryan? Thanks for sharing those pictures with us.

about 10 or so years. All abo too. I am a persnickety knapper and don't like those new fangled copper tools ;-)

I try alot. Definitely in the need of some pointers.

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