I was holding my breath as I watched you apply the finishing touches to the arrow head. The possibility that after all that work it might break was almost too much to bear. Glad it turned out as well as it did. Cheers, b.
I'm wanting to try my hand at flint knapping and I'm doing a lot of research before I make my first attempt. I found this video very helpful. Thank you.
Hey Nick. I have done a few of your builds from your instructions. Your videos are always easy to follow and understand. I am rewatching all your knapping material now as I have decided to get into knapping. I have built my own tool set and am practicing. Thanks again for your no nonsense approach to instructions as well as inspiration.
Budy you are an artist! I'm not at all into knives or bowes and the like, however I am fascinated with your videos, you are an awsome teacher and make it look so fun! Keep up the great work.
Hey BackyardBowyer, you are my favorite RUclipsr because your videos are so easy to follow along to. I made my own 40 pound bow based on you gull wing bow video. Thank you soooooo much, you are a great inspiration to me
This was awesome! I'm currently writing a sci-fi fantasy novel that involves a culture of people who evolved using obsidian tools, knives, spears and arrowheads. I had no idea how this work could be accomplished with simpler hand tools as opposed to cutting with diamond saws. This really helped fill in some blanks for me. Thank you.
Very nice simple point! I have always loved points made from mahogany obsidian! They are beautiful in the colors hey produce as well as being very sharp as all obsidian points are! When I was a little boy in the 60s, our family and one or two of the other families in the small town I grew up in would go out onto the Red Desert and hunt for arrowheads, often finding Clovis as well as Solutrean style points and also, many of the super refined points from real scientists in their field! Much of what we did then would be a crime, nowadays but, back then, we were just being amateur Archaeologists as many of us got into studying the different types of points we found! We found a few of what, at that time, were known as Eden Points! Whether that terminology still exists, I don't know but, they were some of the most refined and well made points we ever found! Beautiful, long and extremely well crafted! Not to mention some of the sharpest of the points! When I was 9, my mother and I visited relatives in North Carolina and we checked out one of our cousin's tobacco patches after a rain! WOW! We found over 300 points in about 45 minutes! They ranged, in degree of workmanship/craftsmanship, from almost unrecognizable as an arrowhead to points that weren't quite as good as those from our area of Wyoming, but their technology was getting very close to that! Thanks for posting this video! I an always interested in the different techniques used by the many different knappers! One of our good friends is Tom Lucas, who has made a study of Native crafts for the last 50 years of his life! He is the first of several who figured out how to make the Big Horn Sheep horn bows that were used by the Sheep Eater Indians of the Wind River and Big Horn Mountain ranges in Wyoming! He also has been knapping chert and flint and obsidian for around 40 years and is a master that can easily equal the Eden Points! I have watched him make beautiful hunting points, spear points and knives, for almost 30 years and I have learned a lot! That said, I learn a bit more from each of you, when I watch your videos! Thanks, again and best wishes!
Dude you are crazy talented and hard-working. I don't even like making bows and arrows and I've never even held a bow. Keep doing what you do, I love it.
Very nice Nick - I just finished several glass arrowheads for my penetration test and I know what your talking about, very sharp! I was not aware of your knapping skills, very impressive!
wow you really have grown in your knowledge.it seems you have a wonderful teacher or elder.any the case you have surprised me in all of your vidios I've watched them all and thank you for showing the world your craft .I'm amazed.
That clarified a lot of stuff including flint knapping terms. Just broke out a kit that i got for christmas 2 years ago... ive alwwys been concerned about durability of the arrowheads though
that was excellent flintknapping can be tedious work but the outcome is fantastic , that was a beautiful stone , who knew a arrowhead was hiding inside .
What a beautiful piece! You made this look so deceptively easy. I am sure when I start attempting this with bottoms from bottles I will break many before I would risk a great piece of obsidian like that. Wonderful work.
+BackyardBowyer Hi Nick, i just wanted to say that you could use your stone more efficiently by shaping smaller flakes rather than big chunks. This way you can make more point per nodule.
Hi Nicholas I really like your videos and they are awesome. I have started to get into flintknapping but I have no idea where to get the supplies for it. I would really appreciate if you could tell what to get and where to get it and where to get obsidian. Thank you and as always, KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK! (And flintknapping!)
Really nice work! And I envy your materials. In the Northeast, the best we have locally are cherts. Not to undersell cryptocrystalline quartz, but it's not obsidian....
its hard for people that live in the eastern united states beyond the appalachian mountains because we ain't got any knappable stone,with the exception of quartzite
very well done. this may seem like a stupid question but can you make an edge smooth enough to use as a razor. my daily shave is one of 3 dozen straight razors but I'd love an obsidian or glass razor
Beautiful marbling on that obsidian. Are there any pros/cons to using copper tools over traditional bone/antler ones, or is it just a matter of preference?
hey nick, on your Skyrim Arrowhead build I left a comment where i said i would make a necklace out of it. I have now done that, and i was wondering where i could send the photos to. Great video BTW!
Good job. Sadly most of my knapping involves a couch or a bed, but on a nice day I wouldn't turn down a lounge chair outside. You should do a knife and hand axe video or two.
Wow,como podemos distinguir entre una realizada x usted a una realizada x un nativo hace 500 años jajaja va a ser dificil,felicidades es usted un artista
I try and try to do what you describe but nothing breaks off or the whole thing breaks in half. How long did it take you to start having some success at this? I've tried for months and just keep failing. You are amazing in my opinion.
Hey nick! it's akiva,your friendly neighborhood blacksmith. so far you have really done wonders with steel and I'm impressed. there is one thing I wanted to tell you though. while the magnet test is useful, I would suggest a higher quenching temperature.
+luchvk the steel needs a higher temperature so when quenched, the shock of the oil produces a harder steel. if the steel isn't at a high enough temperature, the tempering process (typically when someone puts it in an oven until it is the color of wheat) will only make it soft again.
Now that is amazing, can I ask how much time did that take to make and for how long did you have to practice to be able to make something even close to it?
this is great! you're very skilled, I'm curious to know if you would be willing to use these same techniques to demonstrate how to make an obsidian knife? :)
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I was holding my breath as I watched you apply the finishing touches to the arrow head. The possibility that after all that work it might break was almost too much to bear. Glad it turned out as well as it did. Cheers, b.
Me too! Haha!
Nick, you are not only extremely talented, but a great teacher!
This is among the very best introductory videos on flintknapping I've seen so far.
I'm wanting to try my hand at flint knapping and I'm doing a lot of research before I make my first attempt. I found this video very helpful. Thank you.
Beautiful work wow...! My grandfather was from Maine and was native Indian he made wicker baskets and birch canoes..
Hey Nick. I have done a few of your builds from your instructions. Your videos are always easy to follow and understand. I am rewatching all your knapping material now as I have decided to get into knapping. I have built my own tool set and am practicing. Thanks again for your no nonsense approach to instructions as well as inspiration.
Budy you are an artist! I'm not at all into knives or bowes and the like, however I am fascinated with your videos, you are an awsome teacher and make it look so fun! Keep up the great work.
Thanks for watching!
Hey BackyardBowyer, you are my favorite RUclipsr because your videos are so easy to follow along to. I made my own 40 pound bow based on you gull wing bow video. Thank you soooooo much, you are a great inspiration to me
Nice! I'm glad my videos have helped. Good job on the bow.
Love your channel and books. Thank you for your knowledge on flint napping and pvc as well as your traditional bows. Keep up the awesome work
I think you explain everything that's going on here better than every other video I've watched from other people.
This was awesome! I'm currently writing a sci-fi fantasy novel that involves a culture of people who evolved using obsidian tools, knives, spears and arrowheads. I had no idea how this work could be accomplished with simpler hand tools as opposed to cutting with diamond saws. This really helped fill in some blanks for me. Thank you.
That is very cool! Im glad it could help!
Very nice simple point!
I have always loved points made from mahogany obsidian! They are beautiful in the colors hey produce as well as being very sharp as all obsidian points are!
When I was a little boy in the 60s, our family and one or two of the other families in the small town I grew up in would go out onto the Red Desert and hunt for arrowheads, often finding Clovis as well as Solutrean style points and also, many of the super refined points from real scientists in their field!
Much of what we did then would be a crime, nowadays but, back then, we were just being amateur Archaeologists as many of us got into studying the different types of points we found!
We found a few of what, at that time, were known as Eden Points!
Whether that terminology still exists, I don't know but, they were some of the most refined and well made points we ever found! Beautiful, long and extremely well crafted! Not to mention some of the sharpest of the points!
When I was 9, my mother and I visited relatives in North Carolina and we checked out one of our cousin's tobacco patches after a rain! WOW! We found over 300 points in about 45 minutes!
They ranged, in degree of workmanship/craftsmanship, from almost unrecognizable as an arrowhead to points that weren't quite as good as those from our area of Wyoming, but their technology was getting very close to that!
Thanks for posting this video!
I an always interested in the different techniques used by the many different knappers!
One of our good friends is Tom Lucas, who has made a study of Native crafts for the last 50 years of his life! He is the first of several who figured out how to make the Big Horn Sheep horn bows that were used by the Sheep Eater Indians of the Wind River and Big Horn Mountain ranges in Wyoming!
He also has been knapping chert and flint and obsidian for around 40 years and is a master that can easily equal the Eden Points! I have watched him make beautiful hunting points, spear points and knives, for almost 30 years and I have learned a lot!
That said, I learn a bit more from each of you, when I watch your videos!
Thanks, again and best wishes!
Kim Curtis Thank you for watching and for sharing! That is awesome!
Outstanding Nick! Nicely done.
Man, Nick, you have some amazing skills! Very nice work!
Thank you!
Dude you are crazy talented and hard-working. I don't even like making bows and arrows and I've never even held a bow. Keep doing what you do, I love it.
Very nice Nick - I just finished several glass arrowheads for my penetration test and I know what your talking about, very sharp! I was not aware of your knapping skills, very impressive!
Looks really cool.
Nice job Nick. You make it look easy.
wow you really have grown in your knowledge.it seems you have a wonderful teacher or elder.any the case you have surprised me in all of your vidios I've watched them all and thank you for showing the world your craft .I'm amazed.
the material is beautiful. !!@ it's colors blew me away !!
Thanks! It's amazing how many different colors, patterns, and effects obsidian can have.
Your skills never cease to amaze me. I think you will survive the apocalypse.
That clarified a lot of stuff including flint knapping terms. Just broke out a kit that i got for christmas 2 years ago... ive alwwys been concerned about durability of the arrowheads though
that was excellent flintknapping can be tedious work but the outcome is fantastic , that was a beautiful stone , who knew a arrowhead was hiding inside .
That's a beautiful piece of stone. Came out looking fantastic!
Absolutely mad skills....
That's a beautiful piece of obsidian and very nice work, Nick...
It looks like you know exactly what you're doing. Great work! Greetings Manfred
What a beautiful piece! You made this look so deceptively easy. I am sure when I start attempting this with bottoms from bottles I will break many before I would risk a great piece of obsidian like that. Wonderful work.
I never knew that was how arrow heard where made, thanks for enlightening me
+BackyardBowyer Hi Nick, i just wanted to say that you could use your stone more efficiently by shaping smaller flakes rather than big chunks. This way you can make more point per nodule.
This video is so relaxing to watch that I had to watch it 2 times.
Very nice work Nick. Turned out beautiful.
Dude that's so cool, I've never seen anyone do that before. You make it look pretty easy, good job bro:)
Wow, this is simply amazing. Very well done.
Beautiful job looks perfect I like that arrowhead well done.
Amazing Nick! I have a long way to go but this helps. Simple and easy to understand directions. Keep up the great work!!
Thanks,
John
+John Kiryanoff Awesome! I'm glad the video has been a help. Thanks for watching!
So rad.
Good demo vid Nick, Native American Indians used Obsidian for arrow heads, nice one, atb, Paul.
truly an art requiring lotta patience and skill.
Nick, your videos are fantastic. I always look forward to seeing a new video from yourself ! keep up the great work bud !
Fantastic video. Always enjoy them
Great work nick your an inspiration ! you've got my kids off their xbox's an into making bows ect thankyou.
You make it seem so easy man. Apreciate your experience!
Very informative, great video!
You make it look easy my friend
Sabía para que se usaba la Obsidiana pero nunca había visto como se trabaja en ella. Gracias.
that is a beautiful piece.
liking this video . and would love the glass idea too
this is actually so sick!!! i wanna make one now
Hi Nicholas I really like your videos and they are awesome. I have started to get into flintknapping but I have no idea where to get the supplies for it. I would really appreciate if you could tell what to get and where to get it and where to get obsidian. Thank you and as always, KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK! (And flintknapping!)
Really nice work! And I envy your materials. In the Northeast, the best we have locally are cherts. Not to undersell cryptocrystalline quartz, but it's not obsidian....
All I have is Quartz and I have found flint once but I had to dig for it but it was real flint and if had a fossil in it
its hard for people that live in the eastern united states beyond the appalachian mountains because we ain't got any knappable stone,with the exception of quartzite
that is some impressive work, I had no idea there was a whole new vernacular for knapping
very well done.
this may seem like a stupid question but can you make an edge smooth enough to use as a razor.
my daily shave is one of 3 dozen straight razors but I'd love an obsidian or glass razor
Beautiful work
Major informative and what a cool think to do. What advise can you give a total amateur regarding acquiring knapping tools.?
Excellent work!
Cool demo dude.
That's awesome! thanks for sharing.
That is really awesome! Thank you for the tips!😃👍👍🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Beautiful marbling on that obsidian. Are there any pros/cons to using copper tools over traditional bone/antler ones, or is it just a matter of preference?
Fascinating ! You really have a talent. Thanks.
Thank you sir!
I use a dremel with diamond bit pieces to thin out my flint, chert, and everything that I can use
Fascinating! Thanks for doing this!
hey nick, on your Skyrim Arrowhead build I left a comment where i said i would make a necklace out of it. I have now done that, and i was wondering where i could send the photos to. Great video BTW!
Awesome! I would love to see it.
backyardbowyer@gmail.com
BackyardBowyer ok, cool!
Good job. Sadly most of my knapping involves a couch or a bed, but on a nice day I wouldn't turn down a lounge chair outside. You should do a knife and hand axe video or two.
Haha! Thanks for the suggestion.
beautiful ! i love where this channel is going .. keep it up !
Thank you, clear,great detail.
That looks like mahogany obsidian, nice.
This was awesome! Thank you so much.
Wow that was badass you have some real talent , im still learning how to do this hopefully one day ill be as good as you are👍👍👍💎
great stuff that nick.I've gotta try knapping sometime.
woww! it's fantastic, congratulations!
Maybe try to make an obsidian knife! That be something worth seeing!
He made an obsidian knife blade last year. Search it on his channel.
+Matt Damon no
You are a true master!
I mostly make myself steel arrowheads but I always like a refresher on flintknapping incase SHTF and I can't make anymore arrows with steel heads
As a archaeologist that can't knap a single flake I'm impressed with your abillity
Thank you!
Danm ... you are a man with a lot of talent's and skills ...
many many thanks for showing ...
and keep up the good works ;-))
Fantastic job..
Nice work!
You're a pretty talented guy!
Wow,como podemos distinguir entre una realizada x usted a una realizada x un nativo hace 500 años jajaja va a ser dificil,felicidades es usted un artista
with the pressure flaker, are you taking them from the underside? or are you pressing from on top and going all the way through?
another great vid Thanks Nick!
great job🏹
I love all your vids.
Great video as usual! Keep it up!
Thanks!
I can't believe how perfect this piece is. How much is something like this worth?
really nice piece man
Thank you!
pretty cool stuff, enjoyed this vid a lot.
I try and try to do what you describe but nothing breaks off or the whole thing breaks in half.
How long did it take you to start having some success at this?
I've tried for months and just keep failing.
You are amazing in my opinion.
Looks nice.
Oh Wow ,, great job,,,
keep up the good work. ..
Hey nick! it's akiva,your friendly neighborhood blacksmith. so far you have really done wonders with steel and I'm impressed. there is one thing I wanted to tell you though. while the magnet test is useful, I would suggest a higher quenching temperature.
Why? What changes?
+luchvk the steel needs a higher temperature so when quenched, the shock of the oil produces a harder steel. if the steel isn't at a high enough temperature, the tempering process (typically when someone puts it in an oven until it is the color of wheat) will only make it soft again.
Akiva Meola Ok, cool to know. Thanks for the answer.
Hey Nick I've been watching your bow videos for a while now can you do a youth compound bow review please?
great demonstration! 😁
I'd like to see those in action. perhaps you could make a few out of common glass and do a vid with some penetration tests? 🤔
Good idea! That would be fun!
Do one with clear glass if possible, pretty please
knapping an arrowhead out of glass would probably end up looking foggy anyways
+cedricfilm not really, they sparkle quite beautifully 😊
sess nice then it would be cool to do it with a slightly tinted glass like purple or blue :D
Great vid & skills 👍🏼😃
Thank you!
Beautiful arrow u made! Where do I obtain those led filled copper bumpers? Did I even say that right? Lol
Great video.
Now that is amazing, can I ask how much time did that take to make and for how long did you have to practice to be able to make something even close to it?
this is great! you're very skilled, I'm curious to know if you would be willing to use these same techniques to demonstrate how to make an obsidian knife? :)
he already made one a while ago, look it up