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RICHARD WARRENS
FLAKE-OVER-GRINDING POINTS
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COPYRIGHT SEPTEMBER 30, 2003 PETER A. BOSTROM

RICHARD WARREN POINT
DONNIE McKINNIS COLLECTION

Richard Warren points abstract.
RICHARD WARREN'S
FLAKE-OVER-GRINDING POINTS

   This article illustrates several flake-over-grinding points that were made by Richard Warren. Mr. Warren was a commercial knapper who produced thousands of points over a period of three decades. Although he did make "gray ghosts" and other knapped art forms he is best known for his flake-over-grinding lanceolate points.

    Also illustrated in this article are three stages-of-manufacture examples of Gene Stapleton's flake-over-grinding points. Plus magnified views of surface grinding on prehistoric flake-over- grinding knives from northern Europe and Predynastic Egypt.

    "For generations, people will be admiring his (Richard Warren's) beautiful legacy in stone".--2002, Larry Nelson, Chips.

Richard Warren flake-over-grinding points.
CLICK ON PICTURE FOR LARGE IMAGE
 RICHARD WARREN "FLAKE-OVER-GRINDING POINTS
PETE BOSTROM & DONNIE McKINNIS COLLECTIONS

RICHARD WARREN'S
FLAKE-OVER-GRINDING POINTS

    Richard Warren is famous for his beautiful flake-over-grinding points that he began making in the late 1960's. Mr. Warren was one of the early commercial knappers in the U.S. and made his living by producing a variety of different styles of points. He married Evelyn Snyder Warren sometime in the 1960's and they lived in many different states over the years including Louisiana, Colorado, Texas, Missouri, Montana and Oregon. He was born in New York in 1939 and died on April 24, 1992 in Redmond, Oregon.

Richard Warren point made of Knife River flint.
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RICHARD WARREN FLAKE-OVER-GRINDING POINT
DONNIE McKINNIS COLLECTION

   This point is made of Knife River flint. It has very uniform flaking and represents one of the best examples that Mr. Warren made. It's also a little longer that most of the flake-over-grinding points that he made. This example was at one time in the Charley Shewey collection.

    Richard Warren was apparently first exposed to flintknapping when he met Larry Nelson, another knapper, in 1958. Larry was the one who showed him the basics of pressure flaking, percussion flaking and heat treating. When Larry saw him again in 1967 Richard Warren had become a full time knapper.

Magnified view of three bases of Richard Warren's points.
BASES OF THREE RICHARD WARREN POINTS
PETE BOSTROM & DONNIE McKINNIS COLLECTION

   This picture shows the bases of three Richard Warren points. The vertical flakes are thinning flakes that were made by pressure flaking.

    By 1967, Mr. Warren was running two big diamond saws and an electric kiln. He used the saws to cut the "slabs" that were converted into preforms for making his roughly flaked "gray ghosts" and his famous flake-over-grinding lanceolate spear points. He used the kiln to heat treat the chert which made it easier to flake. Heating can also bring out additional colors in the stone.

CONTINUE ON TO PAGE TWO

"REFERENCES"

2002, Nelson, Larry, "The Richard Warren I Knew", Chips, Vol. 14, #4, pp. 16-18.

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