Platform Index |
Vol 1:
1 |
Vol 2:
1
2
3
4 |
Vol 3:
1
2
3
4 |
Vol 4:
1
2
3
4 |
Vol 5:
1
2
3
4 |
Vol 6:
1
2
3
4 |
THE PLATFORM
-a publication of the Minnesota Knappers Guild-
Editor: Gene Altiere
4329 Peabody Lane
Duluth, MN 55804
VOLUME 3, NO. 3
August, 1991
NEW MEMBERS
One of our newest members is Lester Neeb, R.R.1,
Box 76, Plainview, MN 55964.
Lester teaches anthropology at Rochester John Marshall H.S. and is interested in
learning how to knap. Welcome to the MKG.
In the last issue we mentioned
a new flintknapping publication called The Exchange. Well, we subscribed to
the publication and it looks like it is going to be a good one. Jeff Behrnes,
co-editor of The Exchange, sent us a note indicating his interest in MKG and
The Platform. We signed Jeff up for 1991 and welcome him and his publication.
Gerald
Swiney, 2207 Howard
Ave., Everett, WA, 98203 has sent in dues for 1991 membership in the MKG and
a subscription to The Platform. Gerry is new to flintknapping and is trying to
meet other beginners in Washington in order to share experience.
Robert
P. Welsh, 896 Fifth Ave, Troy, NY 12182 wrote to "CHIPS" asking them
if there were any knappers in his area. If any "PLATFORM" subscribers
know of someone, you may want to write to Bob.
Virgil Tonn, Rt 2 Box
66, Georgetown, TX 78626 is a
new member of the MKG. Welcome to the Guild and the I 35 connection. For those
of you wondering what the I 35 connection might be, take a look at a US map.
You could spend an entire summer visiting Knap-ins and knappers that are located
along this highway! Oh, by the way we still have the same problem with checks
for the "Platform". If you send in subscription money, please make
out the check to "Eugene Altiere, editor, The Platform", in order
to save money, the "Platform"
doesn't have a separate account and the local bank gets finicky about
it.
EDITOR'S NOTES
One of my favorite summertime activities is
attending the Park Point Art Fair here in Duluth. And so, on a lake-wind chilled
(50 degrees) morning in late June my wife and I were once again strolling
through the many booths admiring paintings, pottery, jewelry, baskets, wood carvings,
rugs, etc. I said hello to our friends the Nyhus's, whose whale and shore
bird hardwood sculptures are
incredible. One of their black walnut arctic turns graces a prominent location
in my office. I stopped and chatted with Pat Joyal, whose copyrighted quilts
hang in museum's around the country as well as in my nephew's home in Ohio (a
wedding gift from us). Our friend, Toshita, a Japanese jeweler was shivering in
the wind and we warned her of how quickly people become hypothermic in this kind
of weather. She draped a blanket around her shoulders and put a hat on and
we felt better. This year's event
was special because we made a new friend in Paul Shuster, Star Route, Box
424, Laporte, MN 56461. Paul and his wife Sharon make a full time business of
producing incredibly beautiful hardwood kitchen tools (spoons, spatulas etc).
Cooking is sort of a semi-hobby with me and I ended up purchasing about $30 worth
of these implements just before we left for home. I was in my work room "seasoning"
these new tools with some food-grade mineral oil when I started
to reflect on the combining
of form, function and beauty that was present in these simple tools. Many of
the stone tools, which we try to imitate in our flintknapping efforts do the same
thing. The triangle is a basic art shape. The visible and tactile texture
of many of our lithic materials are exquisite. And yet, these too are tools.
I've seen flintknappers at rendezvous, pow wows, craft shows, flea markets and
swap meets but never at an art fair. I'm sure somewhere in the country this does
happen but, as I reflected,
I was sad that there's never been a flintknapper at my favorite art show. Maybe
it's because there are no professional knappers in the area but I know for sure
there are some good amateurs. We need to stress this aspect of our hobby.
It is art. Maybe someday I'll be able to go to my favorite fair and find a signed
replica blade. Who knows, maybe someday it might even be one of mine.
3
rd Annual Knap-in
Well, the MKG third Annual Knap-in is now history
and those who attended have
proclaimed it another success. Seventeen knappers from five different states
helped to make it an interesting and diversified weekend. Master knapper Ted
Frank kept us enthralled with his indirect percussion techniques. John Fry's Texas
accent added a bit of color to mix with the Minnesotan Scandinavian drawl.
Frank Bera and his wife again dressed and camped in rendezvous fashion and complimented
the fur trade campsite. Grant Goltz demonstrated his remarkable skills
at clay pot making and Joe
Neubauer asked enough questions to keep the experts arguing far into the night.
There was enough waste stone generated to give the fur post (they were kind enough
to offer disposal) the corner on the local market for fire starting flints.
Both Friday and Saturday had a couple of hundred people in attendance to watch
the knappers at work. Our new patch with the MKG logo was a big hit and was
proudly displayed by those lucky enough to purchase one before we ran out (more
are now available). Jim Regan
is due a tip of the hat for chairing this year's event.... thanks Jim! We ended
Sunday with a knapper's door prize drawing and the winners and their prizes
are listed below with the attendance list. Another "thank you" to
those who donated prizes. The date for next year's event has already been chosen
and once again we will be fortunate enough to be invited back to the North West
Fur Post. Mark your calendars for June 27 & 28, 1992. If the growth progression
of the last three years
holds we can expect over two dozen knappers!
ATTENDANCE LIST
Gene
Altiere, Duluth, MN
diamond willow walking staff
Frank Bera, Hollandale,
MN
Ted Frank, Mahomet, IL
diamond willow walking cane
John Fry,
Del Valle, TX
Grant Goltz, Hackensack, MN
ND lithic material sampler
Leroy
Gonsior, Delano, MN
adjustable copper point Ishi stick
Gerry Gothm,
Madison, WI
Dean Gushwa, Fargo, ND
Paul Hansen, Eagan, MN
Chuck
Kramer, Carlton, MN
Vern Lauer,
Marshal, MN
hafted stone knife
Mark Luther, Bismark, ND
Tom Murphy,
Farmington, MN
Joe Neubauer, Pine City, MN
Brazilian agate slab
Jim
Regan, Bethel, MN
wood drinking cup
Tony Romano, Pine City, MN
beaded earrings
Darrol Schmidt, Marble, MN
TIPS FROM "CHIPS"
Just
in case some of you haven't subscribed to "CHIPS"
we thought we should pass on some information that appeared in the most recent
issue. For those of you who are
interested in hafting your stone points, there's a readily available "hide
glue" that is inexpensive and works very well. The recipe and how it's
prepared is spelled out in the article but the basic ingredient is Knox Unflavored
Gelatin! This article alone is worth the subscription price if you are into
this aspect of stone tool making. If this information isn't enough to entice
you then perhaps a well written and illustrated article by D.C. Waldorf describing
the technique for thinning
a "humped" blank (flat on one side, humped on the other) might get
your attention. Every knapper runs into this problem and it is a particularly
nasty one for new knappers. If your not subscribing to this publication your missing
out on a lot of good information. Try it ... you'll like it!
NOTICE!
The last issue of "CHIPS" reported that the Ft. Osage Knap-In
was scheduled for Sept. 14-15. That was incorrect. THE DATE OF THE FT. OSAGE
KNAP-IN IS SEPT. 19-22!
AN
"EXCHANGE" OF IDEAS
While we are on the subject of other
newsletters, we should mention the boost we received in "The Flint Knapper's
Exchange". Jeff Behrnes, the editor, had some kind words to say about
the quality of "The Platform" and we appreciate the compliment.
The editors of CHIPS, THE FLINT KNAPPERS EXCHANGE and THE PLATFORM all work hard
at producing publications that are diversified and of interest to a broad spectrum
of knappers. So far there
has been no duplication and with the way information and articles are coming
into all three offices there's little chance of it happening in the future. Thanks
to all of you who support the efforts of these publications. Please also
note that the "Flint Knapper's Exchange" has had a change of address.
The new one is 11220 Hooper Rd, Baton Rouge, LA 70818.
KNAP-IN NEWS
Aug
23-25, TEXAS STYLE KNAP-IN, Maxdale, TX, contact Dave Crawford
817-634-2638
Aug 29 - Sept
2, FLINT RIDGE KNAP-IN, Newark, OH, contact Pete Sauricki 216-652-4615
Sept
19-22, FT, OSAGE KNAP-IN, Sibley, MO, contact Bob Hunt 816-2283112
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NORTHERN
LITHICS - PART III
by Anthony Romano
Taconite
Jasper
Taconite Jasper can be described as having a chalcedonous
matrix stuffed with smooth-walled, distorted elliptical and rounded grains of red
or black iron compounds. If
the majority of inclusions are black (magnetite) the stone appears quite black
and if red (hematite), it appears quite rustyred. Rarely, the inclusions are
gray to bluish-gray and the rock appears bluish.
Taconite Jasper "works"
a whole lot better than Knife Lake Siltstone. Its conchoidal fracture
shows that the inclusions fracture less smoothly than the matrix and it produces
a faintly "pebbly" surface. Taconite Jasper has been used widely
and expertly by tool makers throughout
the ages. One major source is the Cummings Quarry site near Thunder
Bay, and its distribution is extensive. It is also frequently found in the glacial
till. A major site where this stone was used almost exclusively is the
6,000-7,000
B.C. Brohm's Site on the Canadian North Shore of Lake Superior,
located on a glacial beach formed during the Minong stage of glacial water
level. The Cummings quarry site is also at the Minong beach level and recent
articles have suggested a date
as old as around 9,000 B.C.. To my knowledge, none of today's modern flint-knappers
have managed Taconite Jasper anywhere near approaching the skill of Aqua-Plano
(late Paleo around the Great Lakes) and Archaic people. In my hands it
seems to yield best to massive percussion techniques when producing blades or
blanks. Unfortunately, like Kakebeca, it tends to disintegrate along joining planes
and you're lucky enough to get anything to be able to work. My heat treating
efforts (500-600 degrees
for six hours) have rendered the material useless. It changes the matrix from
a beautiful, transparent chalcedony to a granular, bluish-gray opaque quartz and
the stone simply crushes when worked. The inclusions change little if at all.
Bill Ross. MKG member and archaeologist for Southern Ontario is the resident
"keeper" for the Cummings Quarries and can tell you far more than I
can about this material.
Gunflint Silica
Gunflint Silica is filled
with inclusions greatly differing
in size and random placement. The grains can range from the finely ground
size to infrequent 1 mm smooth margined. The variation in concentration of
these inclusions creates materials which vary from transparent to very dark,
sometimes a deep black. Some examples have an almost transparent matrix with very
few inclusions. All thin specimens, however black, when held to the light
show the chalcedonous background regardless of how heavily it is filled. Small
particles can clump together to
form rough edged, irregular masses. Some rocks contain sufficient hematite to
exhibit red streaking.
Historic literature has linked the source of this
material to Gunflint Lake on the eastern end of the Border Lakes. Last summer,
your editor and I collected "gunflint rock" from the shore of Gunflint
Lake. This rock had ample sampling of Gunflint Silica but by no means was
it of the quality found in many artifacts. We also did not find any sign of
quarrying there. There has to
be another nearby source for the high grade Gunflint Silica.
My attempts
at heat treating "gunflint rock" were successful. Its knapping performance
was noticeably improved. However, this rock was of poor grade and, interestingly,
resembled Kakebeca a great deal. Gunflint Silica has not been well
known by archaeologists working in the Southern part of the state. It was often
referred to as "moss agate" in the literature. Through the help of
Gordon Peters, previously mentioned,
I was able to identify Gunflint Silica in sites at Malmo on Mille Lacs
Lake, Granite Falls at the 8,000 year old, bone dated, bison kill site, and at
numerous sites in the Pine City area. Of special interest is a Gunflint Silica
fluted clovis point found at Island Lake, north of Duluth, between two glacial
ice margins dated at 12,000 B.P. It is apparently possible that this material
was carried or traded over an area even greater than was Taconite Jasper. It
appears from collected examples
that aboriginal stone workers were able to achieve the highest degree of skill
using Gunflint Silica. I have never been able to get my hands on a piece of high
grade Gunflint Silica, so I have no personal experience on its working characteristics.
It
should be pointed out that the belief that Gunflint Silica
is found only in the Gunflint Iron Formation is not valid. Leroy Warren, a
geologist for the DNR, has encountered and submitted specimens of this material
found 200 feet deep in the Dunca
Pit of the Erie Mine which is part of the Biwabik formation on the Mesabe Range
near Hoyt Lakes, MN.
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PATCHES
Our
Minnesota Knapper's Guild patches are available again.
This is a beautiful 3" patch designed by Jim Regan and is the official
emblem for the MKG. Patches are $3.00 each. Make out checks to [Eugene Altiere,
editor, "The Platform" ] and mail to 4329 Peabody Lane, Duluth, Mn
55804