This Plevna impostor measures about 3-3/4″ long and 1-7/8″ wide. It is made from Keokuk Burlington chert. I call it an impostor because, try as I might, I couldn’t quite get it to turn out like the one illustrated on the “Story in Stone” poster by Val Waldorf. The edges were sharpened by removing flakes from one face which was characteristic of Plevna points. But I wasn’t satisfied with the notches and the overall shape isn’t as rounded as I wanted. Anyway, the crumbled stone in the background is an unknown material (I just couldn’t remember what kind of rock it was after I purchased it) representing today’s first attempt to produce a point. It was less than homogenous with numerous limestone inclusions. I have no doubts that an expert flint knapper could have made something from it, but as you can see, I couldn’t. Oh well, practice makes perfect.

Popularity: 22%

This is an introductory post. There is nothing fancy here, I am just taking this opportunity to get a feel for what I am doing and to present a little prelude to what can be expected from Lithic Labs in the future. As I explain in the About page, I will be dabbling with different aspects of flint knapping, bushcraft and primitive outdoor technologies. And to kick things off, I’ve added a picture of some of my latest work. These are three points I made from different materials. From left to right we have a dovetail point made from mookaite jasper (from Australia), a corner-notched point of burlington chert and a biface made out of normanskill chert. I know – no scale reference. Future images will include something like a ruler or quarter to satisfy the engineers out there. And just for the record, none of my points will be for sale (unless noted otherwise).

Popularity: 5%