Flintknapping

Soft Hammer Percussion

Soft hammer percussion uses a billet made of antler or bone to remove longer thinner flakes than in hard hammer percussion. In this case, the knapper strikes the edge of a core in a motion that appears to be pushing toward the centre of the core and then pulls the flake down and off of the nucleus. Soft hammer percussion is useful in thinning a tool or removing flakes for hafting and allows for more precise shaping than hard hammer. Flakes removed using this method often lack the bulb of percussion.