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(July 3, 2020)—This project involved flintknapping, whittling, and drilling.
I started with a roughly circular piece of rhyolite I’d gathered in Mule Creek, New Mexico. I flaked it into a biface, then thinned it so that it would be easier to drill (here’s a video showing how to flake and thin bifaces).
![Original piece of rhyolite](https://www.archaeologysouthwest.org/wp-content/uploads/IMG_2802-1024x935.jpg)
After about 30 minutes, I had thinned the biface from 18 mm thick to 7 mm.
![Rhyolite after thinning.](https://www.archaeologysouthwest.org/wp-content/uploads/IMG_2814-956x1024.jpg)
Drilling was the most difficult part of the project. I used stone drills hafted with pitch. I wore out 30 drill bits! And it took 6 hours to complete the perforation. I had to don gloves after about an hour—my poor hands! I did spread the process out over three days, though.
![Drilling](https://www.archaeologysouthwest.org/wp-content/uploads/IMG_2832-768x1024.jpg)
![At the beginning.](https://www.archaeologysouthwest.org/wp-content/uploads/IMG_2829-855x1024.jpg)
![Finished.](https://www.archaeologysouthwest.org/wp-content/uploads/IMG_2840-972x1024.jpg)
Next, I cut out the forked handle.
![Cutting the handle.](https://www.archaeologysouthwest.org/wp-content/uploads/IMG_2847-768x1024.jpg)
![Sawing with stone knife.](https://www.archaeologysouthwest.org/wp-content/uploads/IMG_2833-768x1024.jpg)
Next, I carved a small stick to fit through the hole I’d drilled. I made sure the stick was long enough to go through the forked part of the handle. I drilled holes through the forked tines to run the dowel through. Getting it all to fit properly was a little tricky. This part of the project took about 45 minutes.
![Carving the stick](https://www.archaeologysouthwest.org/wp-content/uploads/IMG_2851-1024x768.jpg)
![Drilling the holes.](https://www.archaeologysouthwest.org/wp-content/uploads/IMG_2883-768x1024.jpg)
![Fitting the dowel.](https://www.archaeologysouthwest.org/wp-content/uploads/IMG_2884-768x1024.jpg)
I pushed the dowel through the disc and into the other side of the forked handle. I cut two thin leather strips and ran a bead of adhesive down one side. I wrapped these on either side of the disc to serve as washers.
![Adding the disc.](https://www.archaeologysouthwest.org/wp-content/uploads/IMG_2885-768x1024.jpg)
![Cutting the leather strips.](https://www.archaeologysouthwest.org/wp-content/uploads/IMG_2887-768x1024.jpg)
![Adding the leather washers](https://www.archaeologysouthwest.org/wp-content/uploads/IMG_28881-1024x768.jpg)
I used a bit of adhesive to hold the dowel into the handle, as well. Now the cutter was ready to go!
![Finished cutting tool.](https://www.archaeologysouthwest.org/wp-content/uploads/IMG_2893-1024x768.jpg)
My son found the perfect thing to test our cutting tool on…