Copper Boppers

I got hold of some Cornish Obsidian off Ebay a few years back. Scotland has obsidian too, though not got a clue where it is, a geologist at a Scottish university would most likely know though.

It seems that there is an obsidian/volcanic glass-like material called pitchstone which can be found on the far western edge of Scotland, including Arran. See link below for more details.

http://www.sair.org.uk/sair38/sair38from_7_to_9.pdf

A great article, good information,

"Volcanic glass is known from igneous complexes
throughout the world, but in Britain it is only found
in western Scotland and Northern Ireland (the
British Tertiary Volcanic Province or BTVP; Richey
1961; Emeleus & Bell 2005; illus 1 and only in
the form of pitchstone"


But I do wonder how he explains my Cornish obsidian.


The blade is Dacite but the black rocks used as decoration in the top picture are obsidian from mine in Cornwall.




A quick google search for Cornish pitchstone reveals numerous geological books saying it's common there. The obsidian I have from their is slightly matte compared to foriegn obsidian and opaque, so perhaps it's a very pure pitchstone rather than obsidian, it's certainly as glassy as obsidian though.

Found this geosurvey map of the UK

http://www.soton.ac.uk/~imw/jpg-Geological-Maps/8GB-Old-Map-British-Isles.jpg

If you look at the red areas, most marked with an E, several in Cornwall, big one in Tyneside and Cumbria, massive ones on Skye and Mull and dotted all over the rest of Scotland. These are either volcanic fissures or volcanos and where volcanic rocks such as obsidian, pitchstone, dacite and so on is likely to be located. Also where there's chalk there's flint and where there's limestone there's chert.

Methinks I'm going to have to study this a bit more.....I used to live next to an old volcano (Edinburgh), and I now live a couple of mile away from old limestone workings.

if you want something that could pass for translucent black obsidion you could try knapping tv glass, what with the whole digital swichover last november there will be alot of dead tv's about!

Never thought of that. Passed an old tv in the street yesterday, what would be the best part of the tv to use (not too up on tv glass).

Here's a vid, the screens are quite dangerous, if you hit them while they're still pressurised and also the white dust inside is quite toxic, so I'd wear a mask and have some water on hand to wash it on the spot before you take it home.

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This is my small bopper, this gets used alot and the cap wears out fast, I've found that when it starts to go to a point It's a good idea to hammer it back into shape.

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And this is a really bad photo of the biggest bopper I have, I call it the elephant gun! This gets used a fair amount but hasn't worn though yet although the end is rather battered and looks as though it's about to fall off...

By the way, that you tube vid of getting glass from a dead t.v. got some rather amusing comments!

Of course, since I'm now looking for a dead tv, do you think I can find one?

Was at the metal detecting club meeting last night, and one of the chaps there showed me a bag of 30-40 flints he had just knapped.

The sizes ranged from approx 1 cm to to 3cm long, and of a range of types. The next time I see him, I'll ask if he would mind if I posted some piccies of his work.

You could put an ad in the corner shop, or on gumtree or something, will collect old or broken tvs. Or go to the local dump.

Also I read the comments on the vids, and one suggest computer monitors as an alternative.

Lumpendoodle wrote:Of course, since I'm now looking for a dead tv, do you think I can find one?

Was at the metal detecting club meeting last night, and one of the chaps there showed me a bag of 30-40 flints he had just knapped.

The sizes ranged from approx 1 cm to to 3cm long, and of a range of types. The next time I see him, I'll ask if he would mind if I posted some piccies of his work.

i didnt realise you were a fellow detectorist? are you a member of ukdetectornet?

Yes I am, but I'm more of a lurker there. In fact, last night was the first time in a couple of months that I was on that site.

I've often wondered how metal detectorists find arrowheads. Do they show up on the detector?

Grendel wrote:I've often wondered how metal detectorists find arrowheads. Do they show up on the detector?

you just spot them on the surface of ploughed fields - finding flint tools are best after the plough has weathered and after a shower as the un natural flint shows up nicely, i know a field by a river where a few come off but i often wonder how many are just below the soil that i cant see - 100's to each one i find i guess.

Have you found many then?

Grendel wrote:Have you found many then?

i have found about 10 nice worked flints. they are pictured in a thread on here -

https://uk-knapping.forumotion.co.uk/t22-original-flints

Must admit, I'm only just getting my eye in re finding flints. I've found 2 micro flints that appear to have been worked, but they were found more by luck than judgement.

i tend to drop on them when i am not looking for them - a few yrs ago i was on the phone walking in the field when i noticed a stone with a mud patch on then didnt look right - when i picked it up the patch was a man made hold, the stone is about 5 inches round and granite the bored hole goed in about 1.5 inches.

sounds like a neolithic mace head, the bored holes don't always go all the way through. see what your local f.l.o makes of it!
I spent many years detecting before I started working in archaeology, and have had the good fortune to find many worked flints, mostly struck flakes and scrapers but also a polished axe with an old chip out of the cutting edge, and a barbed and tanged arrowhead sadly missing one of barbs.

mr.hertzian cone wrote:sounds like a neolithic mace head, the bored holes don't always go all the way through. see what your local f.l.o makes of it!
I spent many years detecting before I started working in archaeology, and have had the good fortune to find many worked flints, mostly struck flakes and scrapers but also a polished axe with an old chip out of the cutting edge, and a barbed and tanged arrowhead sadly missing one of barbs.

wow i would love to find an axe even more one that has seen some use, i will get it to the flo at the next club meeting. i had thought it was a stone used in fire lmaking.

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ok, not boppers but back to Ishi sticks. This is the "never sharpen pressure flaker"! It is just a thick copper tip hammered out a little and set into a long straight stick of ash wood, it is very good for quick platform preperation, straightening up edges and it will make long flakes if you use the corners. I do use a regular Ishi stick and small pressure flakers but I do end up using this alot. A very useful tool indeed.

Hi

What size of copper tip do you have in that.