Lithic Labs

Canoe Trip Video

John — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 12:44:37 +0000

There was some interest regarding the Adirondack canoe trip I took last week. So, I pieced together some video and posted it on YouTube. You can watch the embedded version below or view it here at the source. It is mostly scenery and some wildlife, but I did include a brief bushcraft component as well. Enjoy!

Adirondack Canoe Trip

John — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 20:01:50 +0000

I did a canoe trip last week in the Adirondack Mountain region of Upstate New York. Although the nature of my trip was mostly exploratory, I did manage to practice a little bushcraft while out in the field. I was primarily interested in seeing if I could access the West Canada Lakes Wilderness Area through the Cedar River starting at a man-made impoundment referred to as the Cedar River Flow. Although I didn’t manage to make it to my intended destination due to shallow water and numerous rocks, I did end up camping on the Cedar River to enjoy a few peaceful days of R & R (with the exception of a pontoon-equipted helicopter that landed very close to my campsite – I wish I knew what that was all about).

Anyway, while exploring the near-by woods, I found some birch bark at the base of an old paper birch tree that was suitable for fashioning some makeshift baskets. I made two baskets like the one pictured here but I accidently stepped on one of them, crushing it beyond repair. I don’t know what name is used to describe this style of basket, but I know it is a common basket-type often seen in the numerous crafts and outdoor-related books available today. I know it is illustrated in Mors Kochanski’s book Bushcraft, along with several others styles. They’re very easy to make and work great for whatever you may need to hold. If made without splitting the bark, this style of container will even hold liquids (even if you accidently do split the bark, you can still seal up the breach with pine pitch or some other resinous material to keep it from leaking). Mine were crudely fastened together with split sticks but they can also be made more aesthetically pleasing to the eye by using root lashing and a wooden rim around the opening. Either way, they are fun to make and it is a handy skill to have.

Grape Juice

John — Sat, 01 May 2010 16:45:54 +0000

You can collect fresh, drinkable water from grape vines. I don’t remember where I first learned about this; I think it may have been on one of the forums. This trick only works in the spring & summer when the sap is running. If you take a grape vine in your hand and cut through it, it will begin to drip sap. If you fold the vine over into a container to catch the sap you can accumulate a good quantity of drinkable water in a relatively short period of time. All North American species of wild grape should work and are potable. For this demo, I cut a thumb-thick vine at about chest height and folded it over into my container. The sap started to flow immediately and it just about filled a 1 liter Nalgene bottle in about 1 hour. You can then drink it straight as it is. It tastes just like water and requires no treatment. Bear in mind that there are other plants that can be mistaken for wild grape so be sure to accurately identify any plant that you intend to utilize for consumption and always cross-reference with a reputable field guide.

Aspen Bark Basket

John — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 18:58:30 +0000

I did a little camping this weekend. The weather was nice and I got to work on some crafts. The onset of warmer weather here means that the bark peeling season is upon us. So, one of the things I chose to work on was this little basket made from the bark of the quaking aspen tree. There are many books that describe this particular basket style, but specifically I used Mors Kochanski’s book Bushcraft: Outdoor Skills & Wilderness Survival to walk me through the project. I usually shy away from making bark containers like this because I have a tendency to cause runs in the bark that often result in a ruined product. But I took my time and things worked out well. I never understood the idea behind adding a rim to the opening of the basket until mine dried out and started to warp. I had always thought the rim was for decoration but now I see its intended function is to prevent the mouth from warping as the bark begins to lose moisture. So I ended up adding the willow rim a few days later. I soaked the basket in water to make it pliable enough to receive the willow. I am hoping I used a stout enough piece to hold the shape when things dry out again. I was lazy with the lashing and used unpeeled spruce roots and there was enough extra lashing material left over to use for the handle. All I need now to make the basket complete is something to put in it.

Kentucky Hornstone Point

John — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 17:25:24 +0000

I made this corner-notched point from a piece of Kentucky hornstone. I don’t normally knap a lot of this stuff, mostly due to limited availability. I also don’t know where it ranks on the lithic grade scale relative to other cherts that I’m more familiar with, but it has always been a challenging material for me to work with. In fact, I ruined the first two pieces of hornstone that I ever tried. This piece turned out well but there are still quite a few knapper induced flaws that can be seen on both faces (here’s a little secret: I’m only showing you the nicest of the two sides). Most of the high spots are the result of small step fractures that were compounded after failed attempts to removed them with additional thinning flakes. I have to remember to put my work down and walk away from it for a time when it is beginning to give me troubles. Anyway, this is the first flint knapping I have done in a while and I’m a little out of practice so I’ll have to pump out a few more points before I get my percussion swing back. And since I do the majority of my knapping outside and the weather has become considerably warmer, we can all look forward to more rock work in future posts.

First Paddle of Season

John — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 17:26:46 +0000

I finally managed to get the canoe out this weekend. It is always nice to get on the water. The weather wasn’t as spring-like as earlier in the week but acceptable. The trip, which usually takes well over three hours during normal summer conditions, took only about two and a half due to the increased flow rate from the recent rain and snow melt.

One of the highlights of the float was a great-horned owl I encountered. I would have paddled right past it if not for a group of raucous crows (or murder of crows, if you prefer) that were scolding it. The owl didn’t like the fact that it had been noticed so it became nervous and left the nest (which can be seen to the left of the owl in the photo) to perch on an adjacent branch. That caused the crows to get even more excited than they were before as they subsequently increased the intensity of their vocalizing. I wanted to stay longer to get a better picture but I felt bad about disturbing the owl and keeping it from tending to the nest, so I left after taking just a few more photos. I couldn’t tell if the owl was still incubating eggs or possibly brooding young so it will be fun to return in a month to see how the downy little owlets develop. I’ll have to be sure to bring my binoculars next time.

Aside from what wildlife one would normally expect to see on a trip like this (e.x.; geese, ducks, etc.) I also caught a glimpse of a red fox as it scurried away from the river’s edge after seeing my boat approach. Unfortunately, the fox was long gone before I could even get my camera turned on.

Paddling the Oak Orchard

Homemade Canoe Pole

John — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 00:30:56 +0000

We’ve had several days of warm weather here in western New York and the snow is melting and the water ways are beginning to open up. Between that and all the buzz about Canoecopia happening this weekend, the urge to get the canoe out of winter hibernation and ready for action has been overwhelming. In anticipation of this coming paddling season, I went about making a canoe pole. I have never made a dedicated canoe pole before, as I’ve always just cut a sapling or conveniently found something suitable along the shore that had been previously cut and prepared by beavers. It can sometimes be difficult to find a decent pole and this is usually the case when you really need one. I opted to make a simple pole instead of purchasing a manufactured system mainly because I’m a cheapskate. I found some plans online that you can read here and went to work. Basically, this is a store bought 1 1/4” wooden closet rod that is used for coat hangers and the like. I found a nice, straight piece with near parallel grain, purchased the rest of the hardware, then went home and put it all together. I haven’t tested it out yet, but if the weather continues to cooperate, I’m hoping to get on the water this weekend.

Slingshot Fun

John — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:32:43 +0000

I have been reading Tony Nester’s latest book, The Modern Hunter-Gatherer. On the front cover of this book is a sort of collage showing various outdoor-related tools and miscellany. One of the items shown is a slingshot. Tony discusses using the slingshot as a practical means for acquiring game in the field. As a kid growing up, I never had the opportunity to use a slingshot, so after reading this particular section of the book, the inner child in me screamed out “I want a slingshot.” So, I had to listen and started collecting the materials needed to put one together. Within a short period of time I had fashioned my very own bean shooter. They’re relatively easy to make and are very fun to use. I will admit that I am a terrible shot and wouldn’t be able to put meat on the table with it just yet. But that is fine with me because it gives me an excuse to go out and have some fun with it. Up until recently, the biggest problem I’ve had with it was difficulty finding suitable ammunition on account of the snow cover. But now that things are thawing out, the rocks in my driveway are more easily accessible.

If you have ever considered packing a slingshot in your survival kit (or at least the surgical tubing to fabricate one in the bush), be sure to get a copy of Tony’s book, as it covers some helpful suggestions for use and practice. And if you are interested in learning more about slingshots and their capabilities, here are a few links worth checking out:

Mr. Bean Shooter Man (YouTube Link)

Slingshot Channel

Antler Flaker Update

John — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 16:38:17 +0000

Okay, I said that I was going to make a projectile point of some kind with my new antler-tipped pressure flaker and then post the results. I made this little arrowhead last week but haven’t gotten around to posting about it until today. This is a small little ‘bird point’ that I made from a waste flake, so it is not huge. I intentionally decided to experiment with something small and if the flake tool worked out well, then I’d try it again on some larger material. And it is a good thing I started this way because it quickly became apparent that the mass of the small piece of antler I used for this tool was inadequate for larger flake removal applications. In addition, I had to cut my piece of antler shorter than I wanted because of a bend that I couldn’t get out. Ideally, I would have liked a longer piece for a more secure haft and added leverage that I couldn’t conveniently achieve with the shorter handle.

When using my new flaker, I was afraid to apply too much pressure on some of the larger platforms for fear of breaking the antler. In the beginning, I had a difficult time getting the antler to grip the platform; the smooth surface of the antler caused it to slip off before removing a flake. But after a little tinkering, I was actually able to make it bite pretty well. In fact, because of the antler is softer than the copper, it did an excellent job of gripping the platform’s edge if applied at just the right angle. This surely contributes to accelerated wear and subsequent resharpening, but when working with antler that is to be expected anyway. I can’t really give a fair or complete assessment of antler since my flaking tool is too small for thorough testing. But I do have some larger pieces of antler lying around and I want to make a new one similar in size and form to an Ishi Stick. The new one I plan to make will be larger and should be capable of removing larger flakes. When it is done, I’ll be sure to update. Until then I’ll go back to using copper and may reshape the antler flaker for use as a notching tool.

Antler Pressure Flaker

John — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 15:45:24 +0000

I’ve been using a copper tipped pressure flaking tool ever since I started flint knapping. But I’ve always wanted to try using antler. I suspect that most people who flint knap have picked up an antler tine at one time or another and tried chipping with it with mixed results and opinions. For myself, I never enjoyed the feel of an antler tine. It was always uncomfortable – either it was not long enough or its curvature felt awkward in my hand or the fat, blunt tip was just different from what I was used to. I assume that this is probably why 99 percent of the knappers I know use copper.

Like most flint knappers, the occasion often arises when we are either working in the public’s eye or we are showing friends how this was done in the past. When I am observed working with copper, people invariably ask me what was originally used. For this reason, I always have an antler tine in my knapping kit to show and use as an example. I will remove a few flakes from the piece I am working on, then put it away and immediately go back to the copper flaker. But I’ve always wanted to have something more functional that I could be comfortable with, and not just use for the purpose of demonstration. In addition, I use a moose antler billet exclusively during the early reduction stages (with the exception of hammer stones) so using an antler tipped pressure flaker would be more satisfying and would compliment the traditional nature of the rest of my kit. I am also very curious about the use of antler and want to experiment with it and possibly abandon copper all together (sometime in the future perhaps). So, when I came across the article about Making a Reduced Antler Flaker by Steven Edholm in Primitive Technology, I had to make one for myself and try it out. Below is the process I followed as outlined in the article:

First the antler should be soaked for a few days to soften up the material. I used the sister antler tine from last weeks post. After soaking, you can then engrave a channel down the length of both sides of the antler tine using chert flakes from your debitage bucket. These sharp pieces of stone are referred to as burins in the literature and in archeological circles. In the past, I’ve used this technique to split bone and have always gone too shallow. So, this time I wanted to make sure I did a good job, but I probably went deeper than necessary. You just need to reach the pithy core of the antler.

These are the waste flakes I used:

And this is the groove they produced in the antler:

The next step was to split the antler in half by inserting something flat and rigid through the pithy center of the antler to start separating the two halves:

Now that it is split, some additional shaping will be necessary. In my case, the tips were too narrow to support the amount of pressure that will eventually be applied during the flaking process. And the pithy center needs to be reduced to leave the inner half flat for hafting. At this stage, the antler tine is still curvy and wavy and will need to be straightened. The straightening is accomplished simply by binding the antler tightly to a straight stick and allowing it to dry. When the antler is wet, it is flexible enough that it will conform to the shape of the stick. When it is dry, it will be as hard as…well, as hard as antler.

I used some braintan buckskin to make lacing for the hafting process. I just created a flat surface on the edge of a stick for a handle and bound it all together.

Now, I’ve only used this tool a little bit to test it out. It is definitely more comfortable to use than a simple antler tine and it does do the job it is supposed to. I will confess, however, that the tine is too thin for the handle which causes it to move around a bit while I work. I believe this can be remedied by hafting it to a handle that is similar in width as the antler. As it is now, there is space on either side of the antler created by the wider handle. The result is no lateral contact of the leather to the antler.

I plan to do some knapping this weekend and hope to produce a point with it. I’ll post my thoughts on performance and pictures of the point.