How to Select Stones for Thinning

Video Transcript

"Hi, I'm John Olsen for Expert Village. And you'll notice I'm working the flat side. This is more flat and this is more rounded. This edge right here is called a medium line. And I manipulate that back and forth by chipping small flakes off into fatter areas that I can take off bigger flakes. I got one problem on this rock right here, and there's a divot right here. That's called a hinge fracture. If I were to hit right here again, try to take off a flake this way, it would dive in there, hit that wall and break off again and then the hinge would get bigger. So, what I have to do it some behind it, either on this side or that side and kind of crawl back behind it and see if I can roll it out of there. This stone is really forgiving and allows you to do that pretty easily. I come back behind it a little bit, not quite all the way so I'm going to go on the other side. And that one just sucked right around the back side and pretty much got rid quite a bit of it. I'll just keep doing that till that problem's over with. I either didn't hit it right, back when I was making the bi-face or something, there might have been an inclusion in the rock there or something. Anyway, it's no big problem right now. Well, I guess I have to come from the other side. Or just leave it alone. It'll come out in the long run anyway. This is so close to the edge. I'll go for a good hit here and see if I can just take it off. That sounded good and it sounded like it went all the way across. So, there's your flake, pulled off the hinge and thinned at the same time. So, we're in great shape right now."