One of J.E. Alexander's points, with a row of pressure flakes on masking tape in the background

The Maxdale Knap-In was my first, and lots of fun. As imagined, it was a little warm during the day, and it did rain on Friday. Since there has been a drought, the rain was welcome.

Dave Crawford and the Retired Sargent Majors Assoc hosted it and did a great job.

I heard that 76 knappers had registered, and that there were about 80 in all. Only 4 deadbeats. Not bad.

J.E. Alexander aka "Mr. Swoose" - The Paleo King

One of the more senior knappers was J.E. Alexander known as Swoose. He is in his late 70s, and spent lots of time showing me his method of knapping oblique paleo points (developed in the 30s). He peeled a few dozen from the flint blade he was working. They extended ALL the way across. His theory is that buffalo horn was used for the job. His knapping tool is cow or buffalo horn cut so that the tip is about 1/2 inch wide, 1/8 thick. I've never seen (or read) of anyone using a tool like that. He plants the middle of the horn edge against the platform, and they just peel off.

An excellent discussion with Craig Ratzat and Eddie Starnater (on this list) yielded some perspectives on whether knappers should sign their work. My original opinion was YES, but there are folks in the preservation business that would love it if knappers could flood the market with really good fakes. This would serve to destabilize the collector market, and lower the demand for illegally collected work. Hmmmm. When I buy, I ask the knapper to sign it.

The whole range of tools and raw materials were for sale. Eddie Starnater has a great selection of knapping tools, including some Delrin (a little bit of music) Ishi sticks with the hex set screw. I saw a bunch of good knappers using the same tool. Several folks had supplies for sale: billets, flakers, abraders, slabbed stone, raw stone, cooked flakes, along with the excellent books by Whittaker, and by Waldorf.

Craig Ratzat had a trailer of obsidian and other stone, as well as his his videos. I bought 'Caught Knapping' but have not had a chance to watch it. For those in the NY area, he is headed to a knap-in up there.

Gene Stapleton had a great selection of copper billets, tools, and flint blanks, and also showed me his little portable kiln (homemade). It is about 2.5 ft by 1.5 ft and a foot tall (I did not measure it) made of fire brick ("a box and a half") held together with steel straps.

One of the Debitage Piles

It has an element inside (set into the brick like commercial kilns), and a control on the outside. It has a hole in the top for a special thermometer. It runs on 115 volts. Great design. If someone has plans for one of brick or better yet - kiln blanket, I'm interested.

All in all a great event. I plan to attend the next one in the 3rd weekend in March (14th - 16th, 1996).

For those archeologists and museum curators: The debitage pile is REALLY impressive!

The academic question: Can an expert tell from the debitage pile if a knapper has a bit of beer? :)

Author:Don Rathbun
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Photos © Steve Ashley 1996
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