California Knappers

Monthly Get-Together Flintknapping Session


The California Knappers is a knapping get-together of flintknappers who like to flake stones, learn from each other, trade for materials and meet fellow lithic knappers. The get-together is open to beginners, intermediate and advanced knappers. Anyone who is interested in learning the skill of making stone tools is more than welcome. We will meet one day in every month. Check this webpage for monthly dates.

Flintknapping:
Knapping is the shaping of flint, chert, obsidian or other conchoidal fracturing stone through the process of lithic reduction to manufacture Stone Age tools
.

"The word knap means 'to snap or break by a smart blow'. The word flintknapping was coined to describe the manufacturing of gun flints. Not all stones that can be worked into tools are flints, but the label stuck. In present day, the term is commonly and broadly used to describe the prehistoric skill and ancient craft of making flaked stone points, arrowheads and tools."
Definition by Grog Verbeck

 

Flintknapping tips of the month
Your platform should be less than 90°. Before striking, your working edge should be below the centerline.

 


Update on the October 24 knapping get-together:
The October rains fell on the date of the knapping get-together. The knapping session was cancelled for October 24 due to the wet weather.


 

Information for the NEXT California Knappers Get-together

Date: November 14, 2010 (Sunday)
Time: 10:00 am to 3:00
pm
Location: Karl Nordvik Park, 5850 Commerce Dr, Fremont, CA 94555
The park is on the corner of Commerce Dr. and Ardenwood Blvd. We will be located across the restrooms, on the far end of the park, near a small pine tree. Look towards the children's playground. Parking is free.
Information: Contact Dino Labiste via e-mail for any questions at kahikoarts@yahoo.com
Check this webpage the night before the get-together for any last minute changes.

DIRECTIONS TO KARL NORDVIK PARK:
Heading I-880 south
, take the Decoto/Dumbarton Bridge/84 exit near Fremont. Turn right onto Highway 84 headed west. Take the Ardenwood Blvd./Newark Blvd. exit. Turn right at the end of the exit. When you get to the cross street called Commerce Dr., turn right (the park is on the corner). Park in the parking lot closest to the restrooms. Parking is also available along the street. Look past the restrooms at the far end of the park. We will be located near a small pine tree.
Heading I-880 north, take the Decoto Rd. exit near Fremont. Turn left, headed west. Take the Ardenwood Blvd./Newark Blvd. exit. Turn right at the end of the exit. When you get to the cross street called Commerce Dr., turn right (the park is on the corner). Park in the parking lot closest to the restrooms. Parking is also available along the street. Look past the restrooms at the far end of the park. We will be located near a small pine tree.
Coming from the Dumbarton Bridge, headed towards Fremont, take the Newark Blvd./Ardenwood Blvd. exit. Turn left at the end of the exit. When you get to the cross street called Commerce Dr., turn right (the park is on the corner). Park in the parking lot closest to the restrooms. Parking is also available along the street. Look past the restrooms at the far end of the park. We will be located near a small pine tree.

WHAT TO BRING:
1. Bring your knapping tools and stones to work on.
2. Bring safety gear, like leather gloves, safety goggles or glasses, leather pads, etc. I will bring a few knapping tools and safety gear for the beginners who attend the second time. I’ll also have spalls for beginners to work on.
3. Do not wear shorts. Dress in long pants. Do not wear slippers, open-toed shoes or sandals. Wear shoes that cover your entire feet. Protect your legs and feet from sharp flakes of obsidian and other fragments of cryptocrystalline stone.
4. Bring a lunch and a water bottle. There are good places to eat nearby, if you decide to go out for lunch.
5. Dress for the weather.
6. Please remember to bring a chair, bucket or anything high to sit on. You cannot sit on the tarp due to the shards of volcanic glass and other sharp stone spalls on the tarp.
7. If you have a large plastic tarp that you would like to bring to the knapping session, we can use it to cover the ground. Just be aware that your tarp might acquire small holes and cuts from all the obsidian and chert flakes. I have a large tarp that I will bring.

NOTE: This knapping get-together is not sponsored by any park, organization or individual. This is a get-together of fellow knappers. Every person is responsible for any injuries and liabilities he or she incur. Cuts from sharp flakes are possible. You are responsible for your own actions. Be safe when handling obsidian, flint, chert or any sharp edged stone. Protect yourself and use common sense.

The California Knappers get-together is open to the public. There is no fee to attend. Come and work on your lithic project or practice the art of flintknapping and learn from fellow knappers.

Beginners who attend the flintknapping get-together session for the first time and have no knapping experience will be asked to only watch. I will do a knapping demonstration on how to transform a raw stone into a lithic tool. I will cover basic flintknapping techniques during the demonstration. If a beginner is still interested in learning flintknapping after attending the first knapping session, I will provide knapping tools for that person to do some hands-on knapping when he/she comes to the second flintknapping get-together session. E-mail me if you are a beginnner and will be attending the California Knappers get-together session for the first time.

If you don't want to receive any California Knappers e-mail notices, let me know and I'll take your e-mail address off the California Knappers list.

Keep on Rockin',
Dino
Labiste
kahikoarts@yahoo.com
PrimitiveWays.com

 

FLINTKNAPPING RELATED LINKS:
1. Flintknapping classes for beginners at Coyote Hills Regional Park in Fremont
2. "Obsidian is Hot Stuff" by Jim Miller
3. "California Knapping" by Paul D. Campbell
4. Flintknapping Tips by Wyatt Knapp
5. "The Art of Flint Knapping" (book) by D.C. Waldorf
6. "Flintknapping: Making and Understanding Stone Tools" (book) by John C. Whittaker
7. "Caught Knapping" and "Lap Knapping" (videos) by Craig Ratzat
8. Modern Flintknapping
9. PaleoPlanet (flintknapping forum)
10. Lithics Casting Lab.com (quality casts of Stone Age artifacts)
11. The properties of knapable stone.
11. Knappers Anonymous (website on flintknapping fundamentals)

 


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