Making of a hoko knife

Hello everyone! My name is Jason and I am a new member on ATS. I really like survival, particularly from a primitive point of view. I am a flintknapper and have been at the art for almost a decade. I want to share some of the knowledge I have gained here and I also intend on using the very good info I have seen on this forum to strengthen my own skills.

The first thing I want to talk about is the hoko knife. I will post a video of myself making one (or at least attempt to post a video ) so you guys can see how simple it is to do. The beauty of this simple knife is that it gives you a very sharp edge to do simple tasks, such as making cordage or processing game. It is easily constructed from widely available materials. I used obsidian in the video but it can be replaced with glass or whatever material you have available in your area that can be knapped.



That all being said, there are some things that this knife definitely will not do. It will not replace your main steel knife. It just can't do all the tasks that that sort of blade will do. It is pretty fragile and you definitely can not baton with it or use it to strike a fire steel. It will however spare your main knife some use and will give you something to do to keep your hands occupied. It would probably be far more useful than a steel knife in doing some very delicate cutting tasks; a freshly knapped obsidian flake in particular is the sharpest thing in the world and will cut like nobody's business! If I were in a situation without modern medicine and had to perform some sort of simple surgery (not advocating this!) to remove splinters or lance whatever... I would reach for a stone flake, obsidian or glass in particular. Sterilize in fire or alcohol, and the cut you make will heal far faster than a cut from a steel knife. LOL I know this from personal experience having cut myself *countless* times while knapping.

Another advantage to at least being familiar with this type of skill is that it opens up a large repository of found materials for use. This is stuff that can be scavenged and does not have to be carried. In the video I use a hammerstone to produce the blades. It is literally just another rock that can be picked up anywhere. Mind you, a good hammerstone has to have certain qualities, but you can get by with a less than ideal one if all you are doing is making flakes for a hoko knife. This is literally the simplest form of knapping and arguably one of the most useful. The piece of obsidian that I use in the video is capable of producing cutting edges that when added together would be measured in feet. These simple flakes can be used to make simple arrowheads too..... more on that in a later video. Thanks very much for listening to my ramblings....
Jason

a reply to: Lithicalus

Welcome to ats. Respect for teaching some useful skill.

Let me first say welcome to ATS, thank you for the vid, this will be quite useful if someone is ever in a scenario where they lost or don't have access to a knife.

will be watching for your next vid for sure.

11:03 - 11:05 : ha ha!!

Nice vid Lithicalus. You and Semper are gonna get along well in this forum. Look forward to seeing more of ya.

a reply to: Lithicalus

In a world of constant bullsh#t, authenticity reigns supreme!!

Cool, Thanks for sharing!

So how much you want for it?!?! Ha!

a reply to: Lithicalus

Knapping is a lost art. In between the age of sticks and steel there was the stone points on arrows spears, clubs and knives.

Obsidian is particularly sharp. The Incas used to line their clubs with 'teeth' of Obsidian.

Lethal

Thanks guys! I think I am going to really like it here.

My friend, these are so easy to make I would feel bad selling it to you lol.

coolman, a manly thread about how we do manly things in manly ways......here on the raging ats....

a reply to: Lithicalus

Thanks for posting that!

I learned to knap about twenty years ago, and the best way to learn to be careful is to not be careful...once.

Cut my finger to the bone with no effort at all. Didn't even realize I'd done it 'til things started turning red. Yuck.

I'll watch the video this evening.

a reply to: Lithicalus

So cool and awesome!

Primative my @ss! How someone visualized crystaline lines of force as to make shards is near magical! Have several obsideon arrow heads from decades ago and they are still sharp. And who knows when they were made.

Nice thread and can't wait to see more!

a reply to: Lithicalus

Cool. So, how come you guys do not score lines before you knap?

Is scoring ineffective?

a reply to: Bleeeeep

The guy I learned from didn't either, but some do. My guess is it's a personal preference, or perhaps it depends upon what you're making?

I don't know, as I can not claim anything like expertise. I'm a half-trained amateur, at best.

a reply to: Bleeeeep

Hello there Bleep,

When you are knapping you want your flakes to terminate in what we call a feather termination. You do not want them to stop at right angles to the piece, this would cause a hinge termination. Hinges stop further flaking, and are very bad lol. I think if you score the piece it would make hinges. As you knap and grow more experienced you can direct flakes with the direction of your strike, and even finger placement and pressure on the piece in the hand holding it.

a reply to: TEOTWAWKIAIFF

Thank you my friend!

a reply to: seagull
It is absolutely amazing just how fast you can seriously injure yourself. Imagine a native with no safety glasses.....

Ishi, the last wild Indian in America, used to get flakes of glass in his eyes and slap himself in the head until they flew out.

I bet that was something to see lol.

a reply to: intrptr

Those mahaquitls are just sick. The pinnacle of sharpness. Lol, I have no idea if I spelled that right. Using one of those in a slicing motion would be like a hot knife through butter.

If you want to see something really stinking cool:



This guy is a beast. He pretty much covers all the bases when it comes to knapping. Good videos for the beginner too. He is using a chest crutch to push the blades off of those cores to put in one of those aztec swords. That would be one heck of a useful skill to have. If you watch all of the videos all the way he shows just how many of those blades he gets off of one core. VERY efficient use of material. Plus, the core itself looks awesome, and could just be thrown in a backpack. It would be like having a round container full of surgical scalpels everywher you go lol.

a reply to: Lithicalus

Really enjoyed your video! You use a similar style as the Levallois Technique, and with a little practice, a person can make fairly complex spearpoints and knives.

When I was knapping, I could make beautiful pieces with obsidian, but it drove me crazy -- my attrition was great, and often after spending hours on a single piece, I would shatter it. Therefore, although it is more difficult and requires more effort, I tended more toward chalcedony and chert.

I think your video is important, because in a SHTF situation, what most people are going to find to utilize is thick glass. In your video, you have a very easy manner, and that's the best of things when instructing folk. Your knife/scraper is something that everyone could learn and should learn to do. Thanks much!

a reply to: Lithicalus

very cool. great video.

Thanks man!