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Roughing out an offset awl
Wood handle and iron awl in progressI've started working on the Ikaahuk Archaeology Project reproductions. I brought my notes and photos into the workshop to start searching for the best raw materials...
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Selecting the Antler and Ivory for Ikaahuk
Finding the perfect pieces to carveI took a box of antler, ivory, and the in-progress Ikaahuk artifact reproductions in to The Rooms this afternoon to compare side-by-side with the originals. Most...
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Slow Progress
The Pre-Dorset awlWe had a lot of snow in St. John's yesterday - somewhere around 45 cm - so everything is taking a little bit longer than normal to get done today. I was able to make it out to my...
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Old Stone Bridge, Bowring Park
A good weekend to get out and snowshoe.Photo Credit: Tim Rast
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Did I mention the progress was slow?
I'm visiting the Ikaahuk artifacts in The Rooms every other day and using the days in between to make progress on the reproductions in the workshop. On reproductions like this the first step is to...
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And then there are those days...
Yesterday, the quartzite scraper was finished, I just needed to compare it with the original Pre-Dorset artifact one last time before I declared it "done". I was walking across the parking lot at The...
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MUNArch Flintknapping 2015
Obsidian andchert arrowheadsMUNArch, the archaeology student association at Memorial University of Newfoundland, is once again sponsoring a flintknapping workshop this March. The event will be held...
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Ikaahuk awl in progress
At this point, I'm shaving off millimetres from the Ikaahuk artifact reproductions to match the originals. I have a few other projects and contracts on the go and I'm also preparing to head somewhere...
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Open Minds
Student ulusI'm putting the blog on auto-pilot for the next couple of weeks with pre-scheduled posts. I've been wrapping up a few small Elfshot jobs this week, including one last Open Minds workshop...
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Labrador Straits Historical Development Corporation Order
This is the first of six pre-scheduled blog posts. Late last week I put an order in the mail to Forteau, Labrador. This jewellery will be for sale through the Labrador Straits Historical Development...
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Dorset Human Figurine Pines
Small pins, based on a knapped chert figurine found at Port au Choix.Photo Credit: Tim Rast
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Thule Harpoon Head
This is such an intricate piece with so many twists and turns to it that progress is slow. Its hard to keep it all straight in your head in three dimensions, so I plan one set of cuts at a time.Photo...
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Pre-Dorset Awl
Pre-Dorset awl and reproduction. At this point I'm shaving off a millimetre at a time to match the size, but I'm also beginning to etch in the root marks so that the finished piece will have a sense...
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Pre-Dorset Harpoon/Lance Head in Progress
This is the pre-Dorset harpoon head or lance head from the Ikaahuk set. The general shape of the reproduction is there, but there is still a fair bit of detail work left to do.Photo Credit: Tim Rast
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Home from holidays
We're back home from a few days of sun and sand in Cuba. The day we arrived back in St. John's was actually very nice and mild. Then today we had a blizzard and the car is still half buried in...
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Alaskan Obsidian
These two cores of black Alaskan obsidian were waiting at the post office for me when I got home from vacation. The plan is to turn them into dart points and preforms for a dart and atlatl set. I'll...
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MUNArch Flintknapping
A dedicated group in the Great Hall at Queen's CollegeWe were delayed a few days in starting the 2015 MUNArch flintknapping workshop due to the blizzard on Monday, but we were able to begin percussion...
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MUNARCH Pressure Flaking
We had a good mix of seasoned knappers and new comers at the MUNArch pressure flaking workshop this evening. Here is a sampling of the points produced this evening. It's always fun to see what people...
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Many small jobs
I'm back working on the Ikaahuk artifact reproductions. Some of them, like this offset awl are nearly finished, while others require several more days of work. I could really use some long,...
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