Making a Slate Arrowhead + Stone Knives and Tools in Action
Vložit
- čas přidán 6. 09. 2024
- Some areas of the world are blessed with beautiful stones that break with sharp edges that can be knapped into shape and sharpened with pressure flaking; but in areas that lack these rocks grinding stones can be a very useful alternative.
I haven’t found any easily knappable stones in my little corner of the Pacific Northwest yet, but there is plenty of slate. I first started playing with this stuff a couple of years ago before I even knew what it was because sometimes it breaks with a jagged but usable edge. Eventually I found out that it was a form of slate, which has been used by indigenous people around the world for projectile points and tools.
It isn’t as durable as flint or chert, but it is a functional and workable option if you don’t have those available, or if you don’t yet have the skills to work with those materials.
In this video I try to show the process I’ve learned through trial and error of turning a raw piece of slate into a hunting point. Native people have used slate points to take animals as large as caribou and walrus. I will be sending a few to my buddy Ryan Gill from Hunt Primitive to test on some hogs and if he has favorable results I will do my best to take a deer with one this coming season; provided I can build a bow powerful enough.
An Important Word of Caution! The dust produced by grinding slate can be extremely hazardous to your lungs if inhaled. The tiny particles of silica can embed themselves in your lungs and do a lot of damage, in some cases permanent disability. You can read up on silicosis if you’re interested, but the important part is to make sure you always keep it wet when grinding it.
Slate varies a lot in toughness depending on the conditions in which it was formed. I can find pieces that will break in my fingers right next to surprisingly hard pieces that make durable tools, so look for the hardest pieces you can find.
In the first half of this video I select a piece of stone from the riverbed and go to work grinding it out using water, sand, and other pieces of stone I found nearby. An easier method is to break larger chunks of slate and select the shards that are already close in shape to the item you are looking to create, but I wanted to demonstrate that with patience you can create the shape you want from scratch.
For the first step, I like to use lots of sand and water and put my grinding surface on an angle so that splashing water up onto the sand pile at the top causes sand grains to continually pour down the stone, as they get broken up during the grinding process. I use this method and a fair amount of pressure to get the basic shape I’m looking for; in this case a triangle for an arrowhead.
Slate is made of sedimentary layers that can flake out on you during the grinding process, so I find that giving your piece a quick polish without sand helps to avoid this flaking when setting your bevels.
The bevels didn’t come out perfectly on this one, but close enough. These are achieved by lifting one edge of the slate to your desired angle and grinding away. Once it has the basic angle down, you don’t have to hold it, as it sits perfectly on the stone at the angle you want.
While any flat stone surface will suffice for grinding, shaping, and setting those bevels, you need something even smoother for sharpening. The best thing I’ve found for this is another piece of slate. I have made slate sharpening tools that are almost as smooth as glass; which produce a very fine edge, but for this demonstration I simply found another piece of slate and made it smooth enough.
Finally, to cut the nocks into the point, I found a softer piece of slate where I could see the fissures between the layers and split it to form a thin edge that I used to saw into the side of the arrowhead. It is counterintuitive but beneficial to use a softer piece for your saw as it is less likely to tear chunks out of the point where you don’t want them.
I can usually make one of these in about an hour, but filming is tedious; especially when my hands are covered in silt slurry, so a couple hours later I had a nice point that I set into a dogwood arrow shaft with pitch glue and stinging nettles holding it in place, and a final coating of fatwood tar to waterproof it and provide a little extra security. I have videos on making both pitch glue and fatwood tar on my channel that you can check out if interested.
In the second half of the video, I share some of my favorite slate projects so far to show the versatility of the material and the fact that it can be quite durable.
I will eventually learn to knap, but for now I’m glad to have this abundant resource to play with.
This guy just made a tactical rock.
Straight up minecraft
Bruh
I don’t know why but this comment really made me laugh for some reason.
What is the bonding agent used here
@@teck9714 I think it was tree sap
High level work Primate. Your detailed notes are the best on YT.
Thanks buddy! :)
this man has serious ooga booga power not gonna lie
Epic
Damn , I wunt ooga booga powers
Roblox booga booga
why did this get popular
@@Senakifxy because doggo found loggo
This dude would have been king if he was born earlier in time
It's a little know fact, but back in the stone age people actually used to make tools out of stone.
actually he would have been a black smith cus hes gud at creating blades
@@1qwertyrewq1 It's just a joke I wasn't being serious.
Falbert ALBUS
Omegalul?
Bruh
Don’t
@@sebaschosethisname7866 he would have been known as what is referred to today, a flintknapper! Even though it's technically not Flint knapping,
Achievement get: Stone age
Achievement get: monster hunter
Lmao
Reminds me of those videos of Minecraft real life, lol
😂
No talking, no BS, just a soothing video. Thanks
Can you imagine how much those arrowheads and blades would be worth? So beautiful, and not as fragile as flint, especially in the edges. Maybe not as sharp, but easier to sharpen. And these are less dangerous to make, with not having to deal with jagged flakes flying everywhere and glass dust getting into your eyes and lungs if you're not ventilated well enough.
Once in a blue moon, CZcams gives me a good recommendation, glad to see this popped into my feed, because this is really neat. Pretty much an instant subscribe.
As a guy who makes arrowheads and stone tools this video gets my approval.
Yeah sure that arrowhead is cool i guess but....doggo found loggo.
Couldn’t carry Loggo
a log eh, perfect for roasting the dog over a spit
@@bugs9284 Hol up
@@bugs9284 Hol the duck up
@@bugs9284 hold up wait ONE MINUTE
- Giorgo Tsoukalos: Ancient people couldn't make those buildings, tools, sculptures; it must be Aliens....
- NW Primate: hold my stones.....
That's harsh xD
thanks for posting this, I couldn't think of a good way to word it.
People can do anything with time and skill..... aliens/lasers/telekinesis not required. :)
@@njones420 Stonehenge is literally impossible for humans to position though
@@declan7551 why? just because you heard some moron say that doesn't make it true.
Do you know how levers and pulleys work?...because people 4,000 years ago did.
Look at Cleopatra's needle in London, that's a 200-TON single block of marble, that was erected before electricity or cranes.
Use your brain, you're only here because your ancestors could.
@@njones420 Levers and Pulleys? Are you daft? Pulleys connected to the sky? We didn't have the materials to build a lever strong enough to lift the bricks at stonehenge.
You Sir are an unending fount of knowledge. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Lonnie! :)
@@nwprimate6416 Didn't know slate could be knapped. And the product is nice and clean, it's very satisfying to see the transformation.
@@nwprimate6416 what was the bonding agent used here
@@teck9714 It looked to be some type of tar.
@@teck9714 its called pine pitch you can find videos on how to make it its a pretty useful thing to have
I feel this is much more advanced than the Neolithic Age
@ET Hardcorgamer Yes, the appearance and brain capacity of people in the Neolithic age are very close to those of modern people. It is said that shaving them, putting on jeans, and putting on baseball caps is just like modern people.
I wonder if the Bible is accurate on telling us exactly how old this planet is? I bet it’s not in the millions of years.
Those people where more advanced than the modern society will ever understand
@@colarguns You're correct Dan, it isn't millions, it's in the 'billions of years' old.
Mr. Ree Rigghtt! Got it. Moron
It's kind of crazy to think about how far we've come just by banging a bunch of fuggen rocks together
lol
When our brains got bigger and smarter we became unlike any other animal and then so we realized we could do this and that and that and this and once impossibilities were the possible we made cities, smartphones and languages.
We need to go back.
@@throwawayacc2514 why?
@@throwawayacc2514 why?
I got to say, out of all the primitive skills videos i have watched this one has left me gobsmacked! Your skills are unbelievable! What beautiful tools!
It's stuff like that, that I point out when people talk about 'primitive man.' 'Primitive' will still put a hole in your chest that you are NOT coming back from easily. Great vid. I've seen a few of yours now, they're always so relaxing.
Good point!
primitive
[ prim-i-tiv ]
adjective
being the first or earliest of the kind or in existence, especially in an early age of the world:
Functional, as well as beautiful craftsmanship! I was impressed with the arrow head, but then it just kept on with peice after beautiful peice. These are artworks make no mistake. The mirror finish is essential to the way these function so well, and also contrast visually with the almost black stone of the rest of the blades to create a wonderful aesthetic. the vibrant green fiber cord compliment each peice perfectly. Well done!
This is exactly what happens when your mom tells you to live on your own.
😂😂
Survive of forest or the street
@@johnjameslagare1976 Forest is more agreeable. Plenty of places to find food and shelter, if you know how and where to look.
@@nodeloliver6201 street for sure, speaking out of experience... easy to go to the back of a grocery store and dumpster dive for "expired" food. much more tools available in the city as well. Also, to top it all off shelter is much more stable and you dont get eaten alive in the right "enclosure".. granted you do have MUCH MUCH more choice of where to build what to build, and its just more sarine and comfortable.. in the city you have to look over ur shoulder all the time... forest you just have to know ur surrounding and pay attention to sounds, smells, and for god sakes FIREWOOD!
Exactly, and if she wasn’t my sister, mom, and my dad’s granddaughter I’d beat her ass in both ways
Wow! I've watched this video like 7 times for inspiration, and I finally tried it today after finally coming across some slate! And it actually isn't extremely difficult (not that mine came out anything like his). This was such a fun project! Thanks for the great vid as always NW Primate
you started with a clean slate, pointless.
I actually got a an addiction to this some time ago just by watching this video and I actually made some pretty good stone/slate blades. (not with the handles, pine pitch glue, or the wooden handles though. That would require much more skill.)
11:21 The iconic Varied Thrush, singing in the background. My favorite "horror-movie" bird song. And to hear it overlap with some amazing stone-craft. Perfection.
This is genius.
Thank you for sharing your excellent work.
The significance of Reconstructive Paleontology cannot be overstated.
The ancients of my homeland made the beautiful and renowned Langdale Bluestone Axes, traded as high staus objects across Europe but their other slate series, the darker, Ulverston slate, was the real, practical material of everyday life.
It precisely resembles your own slate.
As you worked beside the river, I was at first convinced from the whole scene, that you were in the Cumbrian Lake district!
Thank you, for this wonderful connection and visionary work bringing us together across oceans and continents in an irrefutable demonstration of shared stone age reality.
I used to think grinding down bits of charcoal down to size on porous surfaces to make chillum stones was the bee's knees but this is art.
I dont wanna meet this man during the apocalypse on bad terms let me tell you.
its always gonna be on bad terms .. he would of used all the chickens as target practice lol
A great way to get a thick piece of blue slate for making tools like this is to find old or busted pool tables that people are throwing out. You can get 1-inch thick sheets of slate off of them and then cut them into tool or blade blanks and then put an edge on them. You can also buy the pool table slate by itself new for $100 and up.
Cool! :)
Congrats you've now made some of us fear rising in technology for apes even more
Oh boi, let's show some apes this video, the Revolution is coming!
NW Primate walks into the woods with no tools but his bare hands and his mind. Walks out with a full compliment of stone tools including knives, axes, arrows and even an atlatl. Remarkable! Good to see you putting videos up on youtube again. While I follow you on Instagram I also enjoy the longer videos here.
Just waitinng to see him on a survival show now:)
Thanks for taking the time buddy! :)
Why do you insist on giving me no choice but to go out and do what you do? I'm just so damn excited when I watch your videos! Thank you!
I love hearing that! :)
@@nwprimate6416 that's friggen beautiful.i.d like to try that
ET Hardcorgamer a lot of people don’t really have good workable flint in their area. I’ve found flint but it’s all pretty bad quality that is almost impossible to learn on
@@matteoveneruz9096 doesnt glass works the same way, never tried, but heard it quiet often.
@@FMeyer-zg5mg yeah I’ve heard that too, I’ll probably try it some day
This randomly popped up into my 'suggestions' and I have to say that this was one of the most interesting thins I've watched lately. It would never have occurred to me that slate, of all things, could be sharpened to any sort of effective cutting edge.
Thanks for sharing this, I really enjoyed it. Cheers!
These, are by no means primitive. These, are superior quality. This, is superior information, and knowledge. Ancient wisdom.
that arrowhead is a thing of beauty.
Thanks man!
Imagine being out in the woods and seeing this dude spearing a chickens body with rocks ?
incredible! now I want to go to the river and see what it has to offer.
I love hearing that! :)
You never cease to amaze NWP. I was like, “Wow! He made an Ulu!!! Then you pull out everything else... Really awesome man. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks man! :)
FINALLY SOMEBODY WHO KNOWS WHAT AN ULU IS!!!
Now I know why villagers were paying me a premium for stone knives in Medieval Dynasty. 😂 Awesome work by the way, very cool.
Thank you so much for taking the time to share your skills, it’s very much appreciated 🙏
"If man is to live on earth, it is right for him to use his mind, it is right to act on his own free judgment , it is right to work for his values, and to keep the product of his work."
-Ayn Rand-
Large rock: oi hello there mate
Nw: yeets rock
You look British!
@ET Hardcorgamer lmaoooo
**ka-splat**
3:10 i think your dog is broken
xd
@@simonbecerramora9108 hablas español?
@@clementefernandez5010 yo si
@@clementefernandez5010 claro
JAJAJAJJAJAJA
Truly amazing! I had no idea about these techniques. Thanks for sharing
:) 👍
Gd
It’s amazing how our ancestors used to live like this
A once up to date technology is now a cultural art
Thank you for the video
I never thought a stone knife could be so pretty.
:)
When you don’t feel like cleaning the forks and knives:
excellent stuff. I've made arrow and atlatl heads with this stuff as well. I have also made barring blocks for bowdrill, sharpening stones, lamps etc. You use what you have. We are drowning in clay around here. So I also tried ceramic arrow heads. They work as well, but have a short life span. Love your channel.
Awesome! I would love to see some photos of your ceramic points if you have them and the time to send them to me.
@@nwprimate6416 sure thing, I have very few pics, but I can send them to you. sending them on instagram
The best Making a Slate Arrowhead with Stone Knives and Tools in Action.
Jfdnjrdjudvgejduvgedgudhffdcshjd😍💝❤️💋🚐👰🤵🌜🏡
This guy’s craftsmanship and patience are staggering 👌🏼
Fascinating as well as functional, truly impressive work!
thanks niger i know i good niger
i knew these videos deserved millions.
I'm surprised how well a stone knife can dispatch a chicken like that. Really nice!
@ET Hardcorgamer oh yeah I know that stuff pretty well. I get to play with an obsidian scalpel once. $85 is a painful price for surgical scalpel but the performance in incomparable
Fast forward to the @3:14 this is the best part hands down.
I'm sure you're not alone. :)
yes
slate when i try doing this: -aight im finna break-
Maybe you're using the wrong kind of slate? Or you're trying too hard?
Much softer, less compacted types of slate tend to do that. The type of slate being used is probably much more compacted than what you are using.
where the hell do you find slate I’ve been smashing different rocks together for a few days and none of them work like this
@@G_Zilly slate is abundant. Find plenty in rivers & streams & rocky cliff faces. When you roll through a rock slide area, chances are there'll be slate around there, too. Some slates are easier to work than others. You'll want the toughest you can find for arrowheads. The harder to work, the better for broadheads & choppers.
slate for thoes who cant nap flint.
nice build glad u showed them working too
Best bushcraft vid I've seen in a while. Thanks for sharing.
Wow, thanks!
Damn! What an amazing set of skills you have developed. Your vids are the best on CZcams or anywhere. I seriously need to study all your vids in earnest. When I share them with my friends they are always deeply impressed. Well done!!
Thanks David! :) 👍
You won't be disappointed, best primtive channel going!
he is da man.;-)
WAY COOL AS USUAL!!! Probably won't be doing any batoning though! Glad to see your posting again.... enjoyed!!! :>)>
Thanks man! :) 👍
Well, what can u say to that, never thought slate would ever be strong enough. For my next trick,.......shoot some game with home made slate arrows, butcher with slate knife, start fire 🔥 with nothing , cook game, great lesson
PS......dog is mad because he has no opposing thumb to make his own stuff
Yeah buddy! I spent a couple months chasing grouse and came up empty but next season is coming! :) 👍
i think he is modernizing what we had a long time ago with basic materials such as wood rocks and plants and making the best tools for what resources he has
That dog really just said: 🦉🦉🦉
chicken: *does nothing*
this guy: spread em
i have never seen a chicken in the forest, this guy found at least 2 in 13min.
Probably one of the best bushcraft video's I have seen, Most Interesting! Kudos my friend. Good to see you and the pooch again too. One question to put this work into perspective, how many hours did you have making that first arrow head? Cheers
Thanks! It usually takes me around an hour but this one took more than twice as long due to the difficulty involved in setting up the camera while my hands were covered in silt.
@@nwprimate6416 Been a bit of time since I touched base, Hope all is well with you and the Pooch? Life in Upstate, NY has ben busy this year with business and just getting started in a journey of re-curve bow training. Spent a few days chasing some Jack Perch 12-14" and man are they good eating. Merry Christmas my friend and hope Santa is good to You & The Pooch.
@@Cleo8575 Always great to hear from you. :) Life's good here and the pup is just as charming as ever. I'm so glad you got to get out fishing!
I love how your making it in the wild and not using any fancy tools to make it
Dude they feel like they're factory made when you skip through the making process and check the shooting process the stone arrowheads you made were surprisingly not just the prettiest out there but also able to hold that straight metalic like edge and not a irregular knapped edge like most stone tools out there are this is really special and probably arguably these stone tools were better than flint knapped tools
BATFE: Dang it this guy just made an assault rock and now we're going to have to change our name.....
BATFER
OH MY GAWD! Thanks to YOU, Whine-stein is gonna amend the NFA to make my ghost arrowhead collection and my "mass stabbing capable" slate kitchen knife illegal!!! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?!?!?!?
even tho its believable that you did it by hand the sharp ass angles of that arrow head look nearly machined and for some reason seeing rocks with such angles is slightly uncomfortable...
Uncomfortable to see, but it's unbelievably satisfying when you do it. Slate is so soft you can work it with sandpaper and get it to look fabulous with literally no skill at all.
@@SnowblindOtter No skill at all eh?
we'll see about that
ok yeah wow this turned out better than expected
@@Ronny33140 Told you.
@@SnowblindOtter to be fair mine looks like it was made by a neanderthal while his looks like it was made in a factory
Like si venís de un poco de todo
Claro que bengo de un poco de todo esto es un poco de todo
Pero like al video
Nop
Soy sub de este men
Evelin Solano jajaja sis
he's a man of focus, commitment, and sheer fucking will.
I have literally watched this video about 9 times... it is so satisfying!
Thanks man. :)
3:14 today on dog vs wild" i saw big stick it attak meh"
Curious about the fishing hook (08:00). Did you actually managed to get any fishes with it?
Damn dude....you’ve been busy!
Yes sir! :)
I love your artistry more than your knowledge. The tools you made are all so beautiful to see.
Thanks :)
After playing with some slate myself, it's very easy to work and actually can easily be made into nice art pieces! Just be sure to keep it as thick as possible, because it's extremely brittle. And unlike other stone tools, it doesn't do well at all with serrations.
@@Ith4qua It can vary a lot in hardness too. Some pieces are too soft to make workable tools and others are almost too hard to be worth grinding and can be knapped. 👍
Quality slate where you are.I made some things like that but now my roof leaks.
ET Hardcorgamer lmao that edit tho
we don't really have rocks like this where I live
The rocks you used to do this knives and arrow points are a special type of rocks? And if they are, how can I find 'em where I live?
Slate is what he used. It has layers if you pull it out of the ground I don't know how common it is in your area, I live in the Keystone State so I have access to all kind of rocks and rivers. However there are probably many alternatives. Idk, where you live and what you might be able too use, but pick up some rocks, and see what scratches what. If you scratch a rock to the point it that it creates divets, go ahead and start. Also, what he did would take hours of work to accomplish, so don't worry if yours come out a bit wonky.
River rocks made of limestone or similar, are the best "bigger stone" for this method. If you don't have access to river rocks cement, pavement, etc. can also be used. Use a bit more mud if the cement or pavement is too rough.
@@raspiankiado4658 thank you a lot bro, I live next to a river so I will be trying this one day😁
It's amazing to see what somebody can do when they have mastered a craft. Many people view stone tools as obsolete. But, your video proves their efficacy. I am sure there are drawbacks. But, you certainly left quite an impression on me.
i wish i was utilizing me life as much as this guy...
I am curious about the black melted substance. What exactly is that?
Pitch glue and fatwood tar. I have videos about making both on my channel if you're interested. :) 👍
@@nwprimate6416 bro i'm new that black fluid it is brea?
@@MarcosHernandez-xm5wp Don't know what brea is, but pitch glue is a mixture of tree sap, charcoal dust and fibrous plate material (dry rabbit droppings are great for the last one).
LOL!!!!! He just craped himself!!!!
UPDT?
His past life must have been a caveman in the stone age 😂
Like all of us
@@gregr3ap3rzz_10 well yes but...i was thinking he might have been chief arrow head maker to the actual chief of the tribe lol not just a random caveman. Im shure there were other caveman better at stone making than others
Like hell you actually did all of that
Dude you're so talented and crafty
Most excellent use of all things natural.
enjoyed every second of this..
4:47 what is this
The black tarry stuff? It's pine pitch. Made from crushing campfire black charcoal. Gather pine resin from a tree (as much as you think you need) heat it up over fire in a small metal heating tin or container. Cutting a soda can in half is perfect for that. When it's melted and lightly bubbling, add in 1 part charcoal powder and 1 part "filler." This filler can be sand, ground up bone dust off some dead animal bone( fish are plentiful for this), ground up plant fibers. Bone dust works best for what he's doing. Google Primitive Pine Pitch for more information :) It's like making cement. Just keep adding the charcoal and filler until you're satisfied that its thick enough.
Iron so like glue?
Yep it’s sort of primitive glue invented a long time ago in a galaxy far......okay ya got me..... it was actually our galaxy 😆
Iron Pretty cool
Like si vienes después de ver el video de Un Poco De Todo
Si xd
Spamer
Nice art work! $100 arrow $75 hatchet $25 ula. I used to grind down semi precious stones that way to remove the ruff edges and preserve the integrety
All that work and destroy it, not many have this type of patience and skill very impressive! Arrow head that is rest is just as skill full.
not only practical and effective but beautiful as well. I can imagine the time and effort it would take to not only get good at that but even after you get skilled the effort it would take. I'm going to do this.
You are a modern Druid. Amazing.
I love this video! This guy definitely makes me want to give this a shot! Very interesting
Thanks man!
I have no idea why this is in my recommended but this is fucking awesome
Wow.. I didn't even know you could work slate like that.
Bad ass. Thanks for the video
Thanks man. I got a new hobby out of your video
Amazing. I can use that single word as a comment for all your videos. Got the chest pack yesterday. The quality is top notch.
Great to hear!
Your Dog can really fetch a stick! [ 3:15 ]
I am impressed.
I like the Atlanta throwing stick very nice craftsmanship
Aw the dog at 3:15. I love doggos
:)
i just want to say the arrow head is sick as hell
I'm so blown away by this..... I thought flintnapping made beautiful weaponry. But this shit gave me wet dreams. So simple.... anyone can do it
I am impressed by how uniform your craftsmanship is
There’s something definitely satisfying about the finished look and quality of these tools as opposed to napped stone. I imagine the time and caloric levels involved to be a little higher, though. Kinda difficult to tell with time lapse. Not as hard as flint, I would think, so no “razors”, but evidently sharp enough to cut meat and wood. Really enjoyed the video. Lots of food for thought and the products were beautiful.
This dude would survive in the Wildnis!!!
One of the most beautiful airheads I’ve ever seen very informative great video
Very nicely crafted and great fun to do. I will revisit your video for sure, if I am among the 4000 souls to survive armageddon. Thank you!