making arrowheads out of seashells

[Kingoftheflock]

i was reading the post below this one and someone said that native americans made arrowheads and knives out of seashells where rocks such as obsidian and flint were scarce. so when i was at the beach the past couple of days i went around collecting broken sea shells that were relatively well shaped and sized. i saw that you couldnt really flintknap a seashell when tried it and it didnt really do anything. so i took a broken peice of coral that was really rough and grinded the shell piece unti it was sharp. i havent had the time or patience to make a full arrowhead yet, but its looking pretty good so far. is there anything im missing?

[dixieangler]

i saw that you couldnt really flintknap a seashell when tried it and it didnt really do anything. so i took a broken peice of coral that was really rough and grinded the shell piece unti it was sharp.

Did you try pressure flaking them (edges and such) to try to get the shape and sharpness you want? Don't know if this would work or not. Grinding does work. I have done that before. Just takes a long time.

[coon4492]

I'm not sure if shells break like flintknapppable rocks. The process might be different because rocks that can be flintknapped break like glass they fracture shells may not react the same way. Dixie's got a good idea with the pressure flaking suggestion a shell could be worked like that. I think you've got the right idea king just keep grinding it.

[Kingoftheflock]

Did you try pressure flaking them (edges and such) to try to get the shape and sharpness you want?

yea it doesnt work, the shells were too fine grained.

just to find out, i used a bench grinder on a shell to shape it, and it turned out well. unless the shell is layered like flint, the only way i can see would be to grind it.

[LDS]

That is exactly how they were done. Bone, shell, antler and horn were all ground into effective arrowheads. Ivory too on occasion.

[Kingoftheflock]

the only problem with grinding it i found with the shells i used was that they are multi layered and break apart from each other easily. not like flint or obsidian becuase it copletely ruins it everytime it does do that.