WESTERN LITHICS WORLD NOTCHING CONTEST 2008-2015: CLOSE ENTRY WORLD CHAMPIONS.
Judge Ray
2008 Joe Dabill Atascadero, California 1st contest.
Joe Dabill
from Atascadero, California . He was born in 1948 to Ruby and Rufus Dabill in Yakima, Wa. "Joe
and his family moved to California where Joe became an amazing athelete. When he was young he developed a serious disease or illness causing him to run into the wilderness and live the life a natural human animal. He later learned and became passionate about wilderness and primative skills. Joe learned and became a world class primative bowyer, fire maker, flintknapper and all things related.
Joe taught at Winter Count in Arizona, Rabbit Stick in Idaho, Catalina Island, Wrightwood Rendezvous, where he enjoyed days of comrodery with his friends Alton Safford, Barney DeSimone and Ray Harwood. Aside from the knap-ins Joe spend a great deal of time with Barney, Ralph Lawless and Terry Frederick. He was not one to use modern knapping methodologies and used traditional spalls, not slabs. He knapped with a deer antler tine for pressure knapping and a soft steel nail to notch with. Joe was also a member of the flintknappers Halls of fame for his outstanding contributions to the craft and advancement of the art and study of flintknapping. Joe won the 2008 world notching contest with an clear bottle glass Ishi point with an entry of: Joe was a traditional fintknapper, and did not for the most part go in much for slabs, preground preforms nor copper tools. Joe was the first, or, one of the first, knappers to proficiently replicate the classic Ishi - Wintu style. Joe's points were functional and many a rabbit and deer could attest. He went for functional first and that gave them the "Dabill look". His points were beautiful, traditional yet rugged. Joe was part of the nature and indeed nature was was a part of Joe, and it showed in his lithic art. When Joe was giving a class, knapping demo, or just doing his wilderness crafts out in the bush, he was Ishi, he was a natural human being with his tools and weapons produced as naturally as a bee produces honey. Joseph Terry Dabill, 66, died of a heart attack Tuesday, March 4, 2014, at his home in Atascadero and his ashes were put to the Idaho wind where he now is still part of his beloved nature.
The point Joe won with is known as an Ishi Point. Joe was well known for this point type, for his natural looking style and well notched and rugged beauty. Joe used anything from clear glass to the hard coastal Monterey Chert. The Ishi point, named after the famous Indian, Ishi, whom made this point during his 5 year stay at the Lowie Museum in Berkeley, California. It is best known for it's symmetrical tear drop side notches in the lower margin of the point. The notch enters at less than a thirty-second of an inch at the entry point then expand to an eighth of an inch, or more wide in the body of the point. Joe learned this from trial an error, He used the point of tool method to start the notch, then switched to the side of tool, near the point of the tool, removing the crescent notch flakes with and inwards-downward pressure slide movement. When I first saw Joe's Ishi points, it was in Solvang, California in 1969, he was selling his points in a hibbie shop. It was fate that led me in there I suppose. Anyway, Joes notches were not as narrow at that time, he learned the Errett Callahan method from Errett when he came to the Jean Autry Museum in Los Angles in 1993 to give a notching seminar. After the seminar his notches went through a sligh metamorphasis, to what they are today.
The classic Ishi point has a blade edge that is either straight or incurvate. Joe had a method of edge prep he called sea shell or scallop shell edging. It was this extra pass along the edge, mostly downward motion, that gave his points that distinct pattern, the pattern extented a bit into the face like a Christmas Tree point, but less symetrical. The base of the point has a concave atribute. The average length is 7 cm and the average width to thickness ratio is 6/1. This point type has sharp angular ears below the characteristic notches. the point has a triangular form giving the point the overal delicate but deadly outline and a diffuse diamond cross-secyion created by a medial-longatudanal ridge. On most of Joe's Ishi points, the notches go in far enough to create a stem that is of equal width as the proposed arrow shaft. This notch and stem size makes for very effective hafting. Joe made every point, as did Ishi, with his mind's eye as arrow mounted and in flight in the hunt. The medial section of the Ishi point has diffuse oblique flaking patterns. According to Errett Callahan (2015 personal communication) "to create an extremely sharp edge, as oblique edges do not have delta flakes and therefore less final retouch is necessary and the blade edge is razor sharp. Joe's method and techniques created this scallop effect, sharp and slight dilute serration effect cutting deep into the flesh of the subject of his hunt". The blade edge on Joe's Ishi points are incurvate, this is the result of the final pass of scallop and or oblique medial flakes. Dennis Torresdal and Steve Sackley feel that Ishi's points may have been Wintu not Yana but, it is in the realm of possibility, that Saxton Pope had given Ishi specifications, based on a Wintu/ Desert side notch that he considered the perfect arrowhead. In a conversation with Joe Dabill, Alton Safford and myself in 1984 where we concluded that it appeared that from the photos, samples and drawings of Ishi'sactual points, that Don Crabtree may have made some of these during his time at Berkley with Dr. Kroeber some years Ishi did the same thing in the same place with the same people. after speaking with Harvey Hughett , Harvey Hughett, the University of Idaho, curator of the Don Crabtree Lithic Collection, Harvey sates that Ishi, and Joe actually has a tighter notch entry than Don Crabtree. What drew Joe to the Ishi point and peaked his interest at a young age, more than any other point type in the archaeological record , is that we still have his tool kit, waste flakes, eye witness statements and photos of the knapper. There is also a film of Ishi knapping at the museum, someone stored it near the furnace, so it is, as yet, unusable. Some os Joe and Ishi's points resemble Wintu points from the Red-bank Site, California Northern and Desert side notch and Colorado Basket Maker III points. At Joes funeral there was some tables set up in the Christian Church with some of his bows, arrows, and knapped points he had made, what a fitting tribute to a man that loved both flintknapping and wood working to be laid to rest in the house of a carpenter.
Mathew Strehle
2009 ED Mosher of Monticello, Indiana
won with an obsidian Ishi point with an entry of :
Both of Ed's Grandparents had an artifact collections. He found his first arrowheads when he was 5. He chipped my first arrowhead when I was in the 4th grade. Ed used a nail in a handle and a railroad spike as a hammer. He didn'tt have any knappable material where he lived, so he used small flakes that he found in the fields. When he was in high school, he found DC Wldorf's book on flintknapping. " It Took off The bug bit me hard. In 1988 I meet Jeff Pig and Dan Lincoln at a show that I was knapping at. They gave my a few pointers and some larger chert." He attended his first knapp-in in 1989 at the Jeff Pig farm. Ed has been hitting it hard ever since. "I like to swing large antler. I really like to make large percussion points. Though I love a challenge." Ed has been known to make eccentrics, fluted points, Danish daggers and now working on learning fog work. Ed was also a member of the flintknappers Halls of fame for his outstanding contributions to the craft and advancement of the art and study of flintknapping.
POINT STATISTICS OF ED'S WINNING POINT.
Material: Gray semi translucent Glass Buttes Obsidian.
Tools: deer antler tine, sand stone abrader, elk leather hand pad, Ishi Stick of wood and copper tip. Notcher made of wood with carpenter's nail for tip. Sharp tip, sides flat.
W/TH: The width to thickness ratio is calculated by flintknappers by measuring the width of the point at it's widest area and the thickness, at it's thickest point and calculating, by dividing, the width and the thickness of the biface. Ed's point is 22.44 mm wide and 3.65 mm thick at the thickest area.
Length: 55.21 mm
Close Notch Entry: 0.50 mm, from age and wear the notch entry used to be smaller . Sad but true.
2010 Steve Allely of Sisters, Oregon
Steve Allely is knapper who began breaking rocks in 1967 and hasn't slowed
down much in the last 40 plus odd years of working stone. He specializes
in beautiful high color points of the Western US although he can make many
styles of points and knives. He is also an accomplished flat work artist
in painting and illustration. Additionally, he is a bow maker specializing in the
subject of Native American archery for over 20 years and has illustrated a
number of books and written the periodic chapter on the subject in the well
known s Bible book series with Jim Hamm of Bois d' Arc Press.
has taken a number of deer with his sinew backed bows obsidian tipped
arrows and dressed them out with obsidian knives. He also replicates various
Native American material culture items for museums and interpretive exhibits.
When he's not breaking rock, scraping on bows or wielding paint brushes he
periodically plays Celtic music and doodles with several kinds of bagpipes. Steve and
his wife make their home in central Oregon, a "rock rich" area for a western
knapper. Steve was also a member of the flintknappers Halls of fame for his outstanding contributions to the craft and advancement of the art and study of flintknapping.
Steve Allely is also an expert on the Native Americans from the northern California area and into the entire North West coastal region. The Indian named ISHI who was the last survivor of the Yahi tribe in northern California. Steve has a collection of ISHI memorabilia that he shows and gives talks about; he actually has a collection of the real stuff that was once ISHI’s. Steve has replica items that he produces and will have seminars on the subject and will be available at his booth for questions. ISHI became a friend of Dr. Saxton Pope in San Francisco and Pope became one of the most famed archers of the early 20th Century who hunted all over the world with a Mr. Art Young and they authored some of the most famous and exciting books on archery ever, Steve can tell you all about it. Steve’s home is in Sisters, Oregon when he is not traveling the world giving talks on this subject (Jerry Dishion, Archery Expo).
A few helpful hints on narrow notching is that first you have to make the area of the point you're going to notch, very thin to begin with. That will solve a number of problems before you even start and is essential. You'll need that part of your point thin so you're not fighting any thickness which is highly helpful. I use a filed down very flat and thin welding rod tip with the end having not a point but a tiny flat area as if one flattened off the end of a wooden Popsicle stick but at a slight angle instead of at a 90 degree. This flat and thin tip is tiny and miniature is size and looks something like a tiny screwdriver tip for eyeglasses screws only its at a slight angle if that makes sense. You can use a horse shoe nail, regular nail or any other piece of mild steel or iron like Ishi did. I used a 7 or even a 10 power jewelers hood when doing this (its really hard to see it!) and it took several attempts as its very hard to do. I made a very tiny micro notch to start with using the flat thin flaker that I gradually went into the edge of the point a ways. Then as I got the notch started an in a ways from the edge maybe a 1/16" or so, I inserted the flat tool into the notch from the side, gently set up a little platform, and carefully pressed off a little crescent shaped notch flake to expand the notch outward and into the point but not too big, because if that flake is too large it circles back and tears open your tiny narrow notch entry and wrecks it. One has to "micro narrow notch" a little ways into the point from the edge, and then start to take off larger flakes a bit more aggressively. After you get away from the edge it gets much safer and a bit less of a risk to break it. As you notch you have to set up your platforms to the next side you take your flakes off of. I pop off a flake, very gently crunch my way in a ways but build the platform to the opposite side and very gently scrape (grind) it with my flaking tool which is setting up the platform for the next flake on the other side. Then the process repeats if all goes well. What you don't want is to get your edge to thicken up too much in the mid line of the notch and then you can start to get "stuck" and spin your wheels in taking a flake off as your platform is too far from either side stuck in the middle and it starts to get too thick so your tool keeps slipping instead of taking off a flake. You can sometimes power through and pop off a large one but you can wreck it very easily at that point and will be heard quoting Homer Simpson with a loud "D'oh!"...or worse... In short, it takes lots of practice and I've seen a number of Ishi's old points at the Hearst Museum that Ishi himself "messed up" and popped his notches out wider than he wanted or had planned. That's essentially it, its just meticulous mirco notching. Its not a deep dark secret nor rocket science, just very careful tiny flaking with lots of practice (and many failures) This is probably the smallest entry notched point I've ever managed to make with the notch openings less than
1 mm but I was pushing the envelope and it took several tries before I was successful. When I notch this way I work on my knee on an old green chain leather apron and hold the tool straight down when I get to the 'insert it into the inner notch" stage if that makes sense. The tiniest mistake of twisting your tool wrong can mess you up if you aren't super careful. Practice on glass or obsidian flakes a lot, the more you do it the better you'll get at it. Good luck! Way too much here to write and elaborate on further in this short of a space. Good luck all! 
Photos are as follows:
#004 Exact replicas of Ishi's soft iron flake tool lashed on wood handle and his smaller retouch or notch tool
#006 My fine flaking tools, welding rod and a horse shoe nail with end cut off and inserted in wood handle which is a favorite of Jim Hopper.
#008 Close up of how welding rod tips look. Upper one is for super thin entry notching
#015 Point made from white novaculite and Montana banded agate full of "pepper" spot swirls
#010 Close up of back lit Montana agate point. Entry notches are slightly less than 1mm. The blue glass Ishi point was less than that.
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Why stop at just making Ishi points? I like the idea of trying to re create his entire archery tackle from scratch. Here's a black tail spike I got last December in the western Oregon late archery hunt with a juniper sinew backed Ishi bow (my best guess at what his now missing bow from his Deer Creek camp looked like) and replicas of his fore shafted glass tipped arrows all found in Ishi's hidden camp called Grizzly Bears Hiding place in 1908. Arrows were made of mock orange with detachable service berry fore shafts. Bow is 48" long and pulls 42# at 22" draw. The kill shot was out of a blind along a heavily used deer trail at about 10 feet or so while the spike nosed around eating moss of the ground. Little glass point like those on Ishi's old arrows went into both lungs and I found the deer about 1/2 hour later about 100 yds away. The arrow did the job and the foreshaft was still deep inside. Skinned him with an obsidian knife...of course. Not a huge deer, but trophy enough for me as I've been wanting to take a deer with Ishi tackle for a long time. It works! ~ Steve
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The welding I use rod is numbered 6013 and is a type you can get at most any Ace hardware store and is a mild steel (I think) a kind of multi purpose rod about 1/8 thick. I don't use the big thick heavy 3/16 rod nor stainless rod as its a bit too hard. I cut the rod in half and get two flakers out of each half. I use them as they are with no handles and then file the tool end down fine like a little eye glasses screwdriver for miniature tiny notching stuff. The rods eventually shorten down with repeated filing (you have to re file the end constantly) and get too short to hold over time. I like holding them just as they are while others prefer something in a handle, its up to the preference of the knapper really. You can do the exact same thing with a simple slim nail 1/8" thick or a horse shoe nail with the head cut off and stuck in a wood handle. Everyone makes their own tools a bit different.
When I looked at one of Ishi's small flaking tools in the Hearst museum, it was simply a piece of about 1/8" iron or a slim nail stuck in a wood handle. I made an exact same sized copy of it (see photo #004) and I'm sure its one of, if not the tool he probably used for his retouch and narrow entry notching although I've never seen anything written up on the specifics of how he did that. I did make an exact copy of his one of Ishi's larger regular iron flakers too which was a soft iron rod lashed into a wood handle with cordage. (pic #004)) Ishi's flake tools did not come to a sharp point but were metal version of the old antler tools in which they were shaped something like a screwdriver end with slight rounded edges or akin to the end of a popsicle stick that has been flattened slightly and not too rounded. The platform is prepared and the edge of this kind of flaker is put placed vertically on the edge of the piece one is knapping to press a flake off. Its how I flake with copper tools that look basically like Ishi's pressure flaking tools and I've been doing it that way for many years.
Lots of knappers pressure flake with a pointed sharp tipped tool. They prepare a platform, then place the point of the tool just above the edge that they are going remove a fake off of. That works ok and many folks flake like this, but I'm convinced from old flake tools I've seen and from looking at tons of original lithics in the far west, that the old guys (Ishi included) mostly made pressure flaking tools with a flat edge then placed that tool edge on the edge of their preform or point. Its really about the only way you can really get an antler tool to flake like you see on old points and it sort of surprises me that a lot of modern day knappers don't flake that way at all. The flat tool type edge flaking method is fast, easy, takes less of a platform and you remove the platform as you go and get super sharp edge which is how I make my points I shoot deer with.
For the ultimate challenge, one can make all antler flaking tools like this and try flaking the narrow notches with them. I've done it that way too and they are basically the made the same, very small flat and narrow but you have to constantly redress the edges as you go as they are more frail but it does work. I've seen old Wintu points and other points from the Great Basin that were made that way. Now that would be a fun narrow notch competition wouldn't it?...antler only tools! Good luck all.
POINT STATISTICS OF STEVE'S WINNING POINT.
Material: Blue translucent bottle glass.
Tools: deer antler tine, sand stone abrader, elk leather hand pad, Ishi Stick of wood and copper tip, Lapidary grinder. Notcher made of wood with welding rod for tip. Sharp tip, sides flat. 10 power lighted jewelers hood. "The welding I use rod is numbered 6013 and is a type you can get at most any Ace hardware store and is a mild steel (I think) a kind of multi purpose rod about 1/8 thick. I don't use the big thick heavy 3/16 rod nor stainless rod as its a bit too hard. I cut the rod in half and get two flakers out of each half. I use them as they are with no handles and then file the tool end down fine like a little eye glasses screwdriver for miniature tiny notching stuff. The rods eventually shorten down with repeated filing (you have to re file the end constantly)"
W/TH: The width to thickness ratio is calculated by flintknappers by measuring the width of the point at it's widest area and the thickness, at it's thickest point and calculating, by dividing, the width and the thickness of the biface. Steve's point is 18.64 mm wide and 2.56 mm thick at the thickest area.
Length: 80. 00 mm
Close Notch Entry: 0.38 mm, from age and wear the notch entry used to be smaller . Sad but true. (Over all world record thus far)
Mathew Strehle
2011 Mathew Strehle of Indiana, PA
Matthew is 42 years old, was born and raised in Eugene, Oregon. From a young age he was interested in native American artifacts of the pacific northwest and Great Basin desert. Matthew became fascinated in how the stone knives and projectile points were made. His first introduction to knapping was when he met Steve Allely, where he demonstrated the basics of abo knapping. It wasn't until around the year 2000 that I became serious about knapping. This is when he learned knapping with copper tools and obsidian. As he advanced his skills he began working with jaspers and agates. Matthew now specializes in western U.S. point types such as Gunthers, Wintus, and Elkos, made from high grade gem material from around the world. His Cahokia points made from colorful flint ridge material are highly collected. Some of his work can be seen in various publications such as the flint-knapping calendar and the Masterpieces of Modern Lithic Art. Along with knapping, he replicates bows and arrows from the western U.S. His other interests include fly-fishing, fly-tying, metal detecting, hunting, and any other outdoor adventures.
POINT STATISTICS OF MATHEW'S WINNING POINT.
Material: Off white battle mountain chalcedony
Tools: deer antler tine, sand stone abrader, elk leather hand pad, Ishi Stick of wood and copper tip. Notcher made of wood with horse shoe nail for tip. Sharp tip, sides flat.
W/TH: The width to thickness ratio is calculated by flintknappers by measuring the width of the point at it's widest area and the thickness, at it's thickest point and calculating, by dividing, the width and the thickness of the biface. Mathew point is 24.79 mm wide and 4.07 mm thick at the thickest area.
Length: 62.26 mm
Close Notch Entry: 0.42 mm, from age and wear the notch entry used to be smaller . Sad but true.
Cliff Carney
2012 Cliff Carney of Los Vegas Nevada
Clifford Carney collects jasper is from out in the
desert north of Las Vegas a
he made from the winning peace from a ground pre-form. Cliff cuts the jasper into slabs, then he
cuts the slabs into the rough outline of the piece he intends to pressure flake. However, before the pressure flaking stage, he grinds the piece close to the desired lens-shaped cross-section. It is also heat treated, to
make the jasper a little easier to work; this also gives it the glossy surface which you can see.
After the pressure flaking, he trims the “deltas”, the high spots remaining at the edge, between each large pressure flake. Using a smaller tool, he removes 3 or 4 small flakes to eliminate the high spots and leave a sharpened edge. The small flakes which are visible are typical of this finishing step for what knappers call “flake over ground” preforms. Cliff sells his knapped pieces on eBay, and always identifies his artwork as modern. His eBay ID is “Stonefusion.” Cliff is now giving personal lessons.
POINT STATISTICS OF CLIFF'S WINNING POINT.
Material: were heat treated bloodstone-fancy jasper.
Tools: Modern lapidary saw and grinder , sand stone abrader, rubber and leather hand pads, Ishi Stick of wood and copper tip. Notcher made of Horse shoe nail for tip. Sharp tip, sides flat.
W/TH: The width to thickness ratio is calculated by flintknappers by measuring the width of the point at it's widest area and the thickness, at it's thickest point and calculating, by dividing, the width and the thickness of the biface. Cliff's point is 26 mm wide and 2.7 mm thick at the thickest area.
Length: 71.03 mm
Close Notch Entry: 0.44 mm, from age and wear the notch entry used to be smaller . Sad but true
Anthony Raimondi
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2013 Anthony Raimondi, Dennard, Arkansas
From Yellville, Arkansas born August 29, 1976. went to Dummit High School and works at Layton Mill and Timber.Anthony works obsidian, glass and flint types. He uses modern methods to produce his own style of beautiful points. Anthony makes the longest thinnest notches I have seen and the points have a very artistic style of flake patterning. He is a very generous fellow and in his trading and gifting of the masterpieces. The are a prize for any modern knapper collectors collection. gets ready to notch some fine obsidian. When I was a kid my uncles would hunt arrowheads my cousins and I would usually play and swim we had no interest in arrowheads one time we were walking to the creek and overhang and I found an arrowhead it was rough but pretty good considering the material I was around 9 or 10 I remember asking how it was made they said something about heat and dropping water they said it was dangerous years later I heard about Water Creek Knap-In I went but it was over there was a couple of people still packing up one of them let me watch him take some flakes and sold me a bopper I went to some of the local creeks and beat on some rocks but it didn’t go well some more years later I was working about 5 minutes away from the knap-in I said something to my parents about going so they went also I got to see some amazing work and thought I would like to be able to do that my parents bought me the art of Flintknapping by D.C. I read that book and tried a lot then I went to Bos Darc a man was knapping slabs I watched him and he gave me a couple of slabs I took them home and tried took me awhile to learn how to drive flakes I found some good deals on ebay and bought lots of practice material I had a cousin that was Knapping with he got pretty good but got bored with it I was hooked if I had free time I was either Knapping or reading about it or looking for deals on material and since I was spending so much time Knapping my son was around it and wanted to Knap also at first he didn’t have the strength but as time went on he got stronger and tried more as I could afford material
POINT STATISTICS OF ANTHONY'S WINNING POINT.
Material : Silver Sheen, glass Buttes Obsidian.
Tools: deer antler tine, sand stone abrader, rubber/ leather hand pad, Ishi Stick of wood and copper tip. Notcher made of wood with horse shoe nail for tip. Sharp tip, sides flat. Lapidary saw and grinder.
W/TH: The width to thickness ratio is calculated by flintknappers by measuring the width of the point at it's widest area and the thickness, at it's thickest point and calculating, by dividing, the width and the thickness of the biface. Anthony's point is 40.25mm wide and 4.44 mm thick at the thickest area.
Length: 112.29
Close Notch Entry: 0.79 mm, from age and wear the notch entry used to be smaller . Sad but true.
2014 TJ Raimondi, Dennard, Arkansas
TJ is the son of Anthony, won the notching contest the next year.
TJ is an expert at the same elongated notches as his father.
TK uses a rocking motion with a horse shoe nail notching tool. He works obsidian, glass and flint types. Like his father he uses modern methods to produce his own style of beautiful points. Anthony makes the longest thinnest notches I have seen and the points have a very artistic style of flake patterning. He is a very generous fellow and in his trading and gifting of the masterpieces. The are a prize for any modern knapper collectors collection. gets ready to notch some fine obsidian.
POINT STATISTICS OF T J'S WINNING POINT.
Material : Yellow-white opaque dull slag art glass
Tools: deer antler tine, sand stone abrader, rubber/ leather hand pad, Ishi Stick of wood and copper tip. Notcher made of wood with horse shoe nail for tip. Sharp tip, sides flat. Lapidary saw and grinder.
W/TH: The width to thickness ratio is calculated by flintknappers by measuring the width of the point at it's widest area and the thickness, at it's thickest point and calculating, by dividing, the width and the thickness of the biface. T.J.'s point is 50.79 mm wide and 5.49 mm thick at the thickest area.
Length: 99.22 mm
Close Notch Entry: 0.84 mm, from age and wear the notch entry used to be smaller . Sad but true.
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ad for this issue, did not work well lol
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https://youtu.be/9HEJR1OzL94
https://youtu.be/9HEJR1OzL94
