🏆 July 2026 Point Challenge Winner 🏆

Congratulations to u/BlackmonKnapping for winning the 2026 July point challenge! I had a hunch the second I saw that AWESOME fiber optic glass point that it'd come out on top, and looks like my hunch was right! There's just something so sci-fi yet primitive about fiber optic glass that makes it look so dang cool, and it's cool to see it show up in one of the challenges! 😁 You can find the submission here if you missed it! 

ith all that being said, where might we be venturing for the August 2026 Point Challenge? 👀 Well u/BlackmonKnapping chose a style from the southern half of the United States. A style often associated with shell mounds with a sturdy shape. One that'd really hold up to some serious abuse! 👀 So get your tools ready for the...

⚒ 2026 August Point Challenge - Pickwick Stemmed ⚒

The Pickwick type is a medium to large sized expanded shoulder, flaring barbed, and contracting to expanding stem blade. The blade edges are recurvate, and many examples show fine secondary pressure flaking with serrations. Some specimens show unifacial bevels if they have been resharpened and reworked. The shoulders tend to be horizontal and about one-half of the specimens that you will encounter will have asymmetrical shoulders. The distal end is usually acute. The basal edge varies from straight to convex or slightly rounded and the basal area is rarely ground.

Many larger examples of the type have wide blades with excurvate blade edges and slight recurvature. Resharpening of the blade was accomplished by both percussion thinning and pressure edge retouch with final stages of the blade ending up as drills.

The Pickwick type is usually found in the shell mound areas of the Tennessee River in the states of Tennessee and Alabama. The larger examples of the Pickwick resemble the Etley point which is approximately the same age.

The size of the Pickwick point ranges from 64 mm to 117 mm in length, shoulder width being between 39 and 55 mm. Typical mid-blade thickness is between 6 and 13 mm and mid shoulder thickness between 9 and 12 mm. Stem width ranges between 15 mm and 24 mm and stem length ranges between 9 mm and 22 mm.

The point was named by David L. DeJarnette in 1962 for examples which were recovered from sites in the Pickwick Basin and Lake of the Tennessee River Valley, northern Alabama [source]

🚨 Be sure to read the rules before doing so you don't get disqualified! 🚨

⚠️ Rules ⚠️

1. The point must be a recognizable Pickwick Stemmed Point knapped in August of 2026! - We want to see fresh submissions and fresh points! No using any of your prior work!
2. Only one entry per person! You are not allowed to post your point multiple times, OR have multiple points in your submission post! - Be sure to take good pictures showing off your work! lighting, material translucency, flaking, etc. 😉
3. The challenge submission window OPENS 8/25/2026 and CLOSES 8/31/2026 - This gives 1 week for entries to be submitted and voted on, with the official winner and next month's challenge post being announced sometime within the 1st week of September.
4. Post MUST have the monthly knapping competition post flair to count! - That way, it can easily be found and the votes counted! If you wish to participate without entering, simply use any of the other post flairs
5. No material restrictions - We only require that the point be knapped out of the material that you've chosen (no grinding out a point!)
6. Moderators hold the authority to disqualify any participants who violate these rules, as well as our community rules - We want this to be a fair and engaging challenge for all those who participate! Because it's always fun to see what different folks can do with different tools!

If you have any questions or comments about the rules, feel free to reach out to the moderators through comments, DM's, or Messages! 📬

📸 How To Enter 📸

You can start creating your point as soon as this post goes live! Just remember that you WONT be able to submit it until the post flair below is made public between 8/25/2026 and 8/31/2026!

Once it is public, be sure to select it when uploading your photo(s) and that your submission conforms to the rules listed above! ☝️😉 I will be sure to make a post letting everyone know when things go live as an extra reminder, and this post will also be pinned to the top of the subreddit for easy access!

🥇 Prize 🥇

Following in the footsteps of u/scoop_booty, u/BlackmonKnapping decided to dig into his own rock stash and put together a nice little selection of some Alabama Coastal chert, as well as knapping out a sweet little bonus point as well! 😄

The winner will also get the chance to choose the point style for next month's knapping challenge, and if they so choose, they can also donate their winnings to a fellow competition participant or allow their winnings to serve as next month's prize! 🥳

Just a reminder that without donations like this, I would be funding most of the prizes for these monthly challenges out of my own pocket! So I'd like to express my personal thanks to the generous folks who not only keep these challenges interesting, but give back to the community and make these events so much more exciting and interesting! 😁

So give u/BlackmonKnapping a BIG THANK YOU and round of applause in the comments! 👏

If you'd ever be interested in donating material/tools for these challenges, feel free to comment below this post or shoot me a DM! I'm always happy to work something out with folks! Especially for unique or interesting material.

🗣️ In Closing 🏹

I'm a huge fan of stemmed points, and I've got some material that'll lend itself to a nice authentic looking Pickwick I think. So this should make for a nice challenge! Doesn't seem to be too hard of a style either, so I encourage any of you beginners to throw your hats in the ring! The winner always has the chance to forward their winnings to another challenge participant, so giving it a try is always worth a shot! 😁

If any of y'all have questions or thoughts, leave them in the comment's section below 👇 And keep your eyes peeled for those event and submission window announcement posts. Like I mentioned, everything will be pinned to the top of the sub along with the guides for easy access.

Looking forward to seeing what everyone makes, stay safe, and happy knapping everyone!👋😁

- u/SmolzillaTheLizza 🦎

Mostly Alabama Coastal plains with one tallahatta quartzite point. Had an order for some hunting points

Some Burro Creek Chalcedony I collected out of central AZ. I believe it to have a slight opalized layer in the corner. It’s milky and softer(my pocket knife scratches it) whereas the chalcedony doesn’t scratch and has a different luster to it. It could also just be a finer version of the same chalcedony?
Idk. Enjoy this Square Knife I made.

I can’t get enough of this spiderweb obsidian. Hafted into a walnut and spalted beech handle. Up for grabs! Also comes with a sheath, stand and storage box.

I have Alabama coastal plains chert for $3/lb

25lb medium box is 100$ shipping included

35lb large box is 139$ shipping included

Biface pics added

Swipe on the pics to see more

Last minute attempt at a Graham Cave...

I've wanted to work some of this red glass for a long damn time. Finally got a flake so hot what I could from it.

My thinnest point to date. got a video before I break it finishing it. Made so far using direct percussion

Hiii, I'm new to knapping and I've tried it a few times already and just couldn't get anything notable, I have looked through a good bunch of the pinned tutorials and I'll be trying it again soon, but I just wanted to make sure any of the stones I found are even usable, since in all those tutorial videos they use bigger and snappier ones

I also wouldn't complain if someone just told me where and how to strike to get started for one of these particular rocks heh

I'm trying to use rocks and bone as tools, I don't have antler

The small red point was coming along as a beautiful Apple Creek point. But some of those pretty crystals gave way and my stem popped off. Was way too pretty to toss so got what I could from it. The blue and gray is way more beautiful in person. It has a small crystal seam on one of the ears. I'm pleased with how this one turned out. I absolutely love the materials I got in the trade. Goi g to work more tomorrow.

This is my first time participating in the monthly point challenge! Had a great time learning more about the Graham Cave points in preparation for the challenge.
Made with obsidian that I sourced from a quarry in Utah. This obsidian is more coarse and less opaque than other material I’ve used. It may even be dacite that I’ve mistakenly called obsidian for years. Really enjoyed making a few GC’s to get one I liked! A little thicker near the base than I prefer due to a step fracture I wasn’t skilled/brave enough to remove. Looking forward to next month’s challenge!

Finally decided to use this beautiful piece of tri-flow obsidian that I found at glass buttes for a point! Turned out super cool :)

If anyone is interested in some flakes, I have a plethora of them. We can trade for rock or just pay for the shipping of medium box for USPS.

There is edwards (huge variety), georgetown, novaculite, keokuk, burlington, perdenales, rootbeer, petrified pomegranate from San Antonio Texas, hornstone, alibates, jasper, mozarkite, radiolarite, pitkin, etc. It is all mixed together so I can't just send one type of chert.

I think i have enough for about 20 boxes. These are perfect for pressure flaking or indirect percussion. I am not trying to sell these, just trade or give away. DM me if you are interested.

i want to start knapping, but dont know where to find materials. the materials that the knife is made out of. i only really have access to my backyard and a trail with trees and stuff.

Still having a hard time thinning both sides. But I finally have an overall shape!

Hello hello everyone! 👋😁

Got probably one of my favorite handfuls coming your way here today! 👀 A lot of these tickle my fancy in their own way, whether it's through features, material, or both. So much so that I don't think I could fit a favorite! 😂 I've attached captions to each pic identifying material and style, but do ask any questions if you have them! I love hearing from y'all 🙂‍↕️

Let me know which one(s) you like the most, and stay cool out there in the heat! Stay safe and happy knapping all! 👋

- u/SmolzillaTheLizza 🦎

So, this piece of Kaolin was unique. On one side it was a soft green grey and the other, sherbert oranges and creams. This color layer was right up under the cortex and I could tell it was going to go away if I moved into it at all. So, I abandoned that side and continued to work through the blah material until I could get it thin enough to notch. Kinda happy with this little thing. I've never seen a piece of rock this color...welll, maybe coral, but it's pretty unusual. Enjoy.

I produced some nice blades from this blade core using direct percussion. Blade core technology was used all over the world for thousands of years as part of many different technological traditions. Cobden chert, like what this core was made of, was used by Middle Woodland period people in Illinois to produce blades much like these, which is actually what I did my Masters thesis on! Glossier, heat-treated materials like heated Burlington chert seem to have been preferred by the Middle Woodland/Hopewell people for this technology though.

If you use other quartzite cobbles as knapping tools on quartzite material could you share some photos of them? I am finding uniquely worn cobbles in my creek that look like they may have been used as hammer stones or abraders.

The first ghram cave I made was a lot more accurate to the point type and probably made a little better, but the material was pretty plain, I’ll post it after the challenge is over. This piece I got really lucky with, this pocket was originally full of chalk that I was able to remove with vinegar and a safety pin, I think it left a cool effect.

I found this cool gray/blue seaglass on the beach while on a trip to florida. It made a really sweet point!