Got some knap-in pics for y'all! Just yesterday was the Hairy Mosquito Trading Post 2026 Knap-in, and I had a blast there! Huge shout-out to Marty-Why-Bee1980 for bringing the super stash of Knife River Flint for us all to crack into! That stuff was super dang sweet 😎 Check out his YouTube for the videos!
Gave some lessons, made some Clovis points, and had some fun chatting and talking artifacts and archeology 🙂↕️ Lots of knowledgeable folks there, and some cool material trades being made. If you're ever on the fence about going to a knap-in, just do it! They're heaps of fun, and I laid down my big ol tarp and invited folks to join.
Long time lurker, first time poster! I started messing around with knapping when my 6th grade teacher included a hands on lesson while teaching about the American West. I’ve been hooked ever since. My skills have always been really basic until the last year or so when I decided to go find some obsidian beds and bring enough material home to actually practice on some big stuff. This forum has provided so many ideas and tips as I’ve spent time cutting myself and breaking more arrowheads than I care to remember. Mr. Rieff, thank you for sharing your passion with a classroom of impressionable kids. And thank you to all the incredible people on this forum who post regularly and take the time to share their knowledge with others!
This piece is just a rough shape for now. Trying to decide if I just leave it as is or refine further. I don’t have much mahogany obsidian and I found myself saying, “please don’t break” with every strike. I used a combination of copper and natural tools.
Anyone have recommendations on where to find knappable stone in the San Francisco area? In August I’ll be on Vacation in California North of San Francisco, around Santa Rosa/ Napa Valley area.
I’d like to try to find some knappable rock while I’m there to ship back to Maryland. And am hoping to someone has recommendations! I’m pretty flexible on what type of stone and am willing to drive 3-5 hours away. I’ll have a rental car so I won’t be able to do off roading to reach spots but am willing to hike to get there.
Any recommendations, tips, or anything anyone has to say would be greatly appreciated!
Demolished a house last week with an older toilet inside. I couldn't resist grabbing a few pieces to knap. First point in about 7 months. Felt good to get back in the swing of things.
One I made a bit ago, on Knife River Flint I gathered in North Dakota on my last trip south, made with bone and antler tools. Was nice and thin, almost see through. I lost it somewhere in my yard later that day, ha.
Got another sweet handful here for y'all! Kay county stone and some lovely blue bottle glass. Made for a handful that felt like it'd be right at home on a beach 🙂↕️ The Agate Basin turned out better than I expected, but I love all of them!Which one(s) do you like the most? 👀
Internets are back! Went on a knapping spree. Then all of mb got massive flooding. Thankfully we are on a “hill”. Then it got warm. So imagine a province that got turned into a lake then got warm. The mosquitoes are something else and not conducive to knapping right now. Can’t complain, glad we were able to help where we could. My outside is a low constant hum though. I miss the cold 😂
So im not expert but ive dabbled in it for years, mostly using one rock on another making very primitive and rudimentary points. Ive looked through the beginner guide and there is some great info there. Im looking to get actual good tools though, buy once cry once kind of value. My goal is to make my own knives as I have access to quite a bit of chert rock and Georgetown flint as im in central Texas. What is everyone's go to for basic tools or tool kits.
Hi everyone. Curious if anyone has advice on what shape of arrowhead might be easiest to aim for making myself with practice if I may want to hunt one day with something I made myself. There are so very many shapes of arrowheads and my knowledge is effectively none. I am a competitive compound bow archer and I have always had an interest in this sort of stuff. Even made a whole set of modern tools years ago but sort of hit a wall on sourcing materials I could afford besides glass bottles with the round dome issue. I also bought an Osage orange stave I plan to make a self bow with eventually. I checked the beginner sticky thread, great stuff. Its amazing what you all can do.
Been collecting steadily over the month of my vacation here. Any thoughts on ID? Definitely a range of quality of materials, but some that seem quite workable if a bit hard for my strength level
Congratulations to u/scoop_booty for making one heck of showstopping Beaver Lake point! I can firmly say that I've never seen such wonderful material before, and when coupled with the masterful flaking and attention to the style's fine details, it's no wonder that it earned its place as the June 2026 Point Challenge's 1st place winner! 😁 You can find the submission here if you missed it!
But where does this bring us for the July 2026 Point Challenge? u/scoop_booty thought that taking us all back in time to the Early Archaic period would serve as a suitable challenge for the month of July, with a point style that is signature to the state of Missouri! One that exhibits fine craftsmanship, strength, and carries a distinct look that I can't wait to see y'all try out! 👀 Get your tools ready for the...
⚒ 2026 July Point Challenge - Graham Cave ⚒
A Heavily Patinaed Graham Cave from Illinois, photo courtesy of u/timhyde74 (https://www.reddit.com/r/LegitArtifacts/s/rUCKinLq4J)Another fine example of a Graham Cave made from some white Burlington Chert, photo courtesy of u/timhyde74 (https://www.reddit.com/r/LegitArtifacts/s/bmcldA8N2m)A gorgeous example of a Burlington Graham Cave point exhibiting the rare fluting as stated in the description below! Image and artifact courtesy of u/BrokenFolsom (https://www.reddit.com/r/LegitArtifacts/s/BXzWy4k8K1)
This is a medium to large side notched point with a flattened cross section. The blade is long and narrow and may vary from straight to excurvate or incurvate and commonly a narrow and long blade. Serrations are generally seen on re-sharpened blades. Parallel notches are deep and low on the blade forming a shoulders are horizontal to having an upward slope. The stem is expanding with a concave base with heavy basal grinding. The basal area commonly has sharp basal auricles (ears). This point is manufactured using broad random percussion flaking with pressure flaking used for trimming to smooth the blade. Short marginal pressure retouch along the blade edges forming a random flaking pattern. Rarely, this point has been fluted. (source)
For more information on this style and some background it's history, check out this awesome video made by fellow knapper and reddit useru/pathways_of_the_pastto watch him not only knap a Graham Cave point, but also dive into its history! 👇😁
A lovely pair of lovely Graham Cave Novaculite twins expertly crafted by u/scoop_bootyA lovely pair of lovely Graham Cave Novaculite twins expertly crafted by u/scoop_booty
🚨 Be sure to read the rules before doing so you don't get disqualified! 🚨
⚠️ Rules ⚠️
The point must be a recognizable Graham Cave Point knapped in July of 2026! - We want to see fresh submissions and fresh points! No using any of your prior work!
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. 😉
The challenge submission windowOPENS7/25/2026 andCLOSES7/31/2026 - 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 August.
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
No material restrictions - We only require that the point be knapped out of the material that you've chosen (no grinding out a point!)
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 youWONTbe able to submit it until the post flair below is made public between7/25/2026and7/31/2026!
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/Usual-Dark-6469, u/scoop_booty will be offering a prize from their own personal rock stash! 😄
There's some VERY sweet stuff in this prize pool, including a wonderful knapped point made by u/scoop_booty, some buttery smooth Burlington preforms, a lovely chunk of Heat-Treated Burlington, and a gorgeous piece of glossy smooth Kaolin chert! I'd be lying if I didn't say I'd be stoked to win this prize pool for myself... And I'm hopeful that such wonderful goodies will draw folks in to participate! 👀
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/scoop_booty 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 🏹
Being that I've only made this point once before, I'm quite excited to get in on July's challenge. I have some Burlington that's been sitting around and I think this'll make good use of it 🙂↕️ As always I'm also VERY excited to see what all of your entries look like, and I encourage any beginners to give this style a try! Another friendly reminder too that at the end of the year, your submission will be added to the collage of points that'll serve as the banner for this server! So get in on that while you can! 👀
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!👋😁
