Though finding artifacts touched a spot deep inside of me, there was still something missing. That missing link was found around the year 2000 when I discovered flintknapping. My first discovery of flintknapping was a bit of an accident, as I stumbled upon Bob Berg's atlatl website. At his website, I discovered that he made his own dart points out of flint. Well, now the ball started rolling, and I emailed Bob to ask for a demonstration. One fall Sunday, Bob sat down with Dad and I and transformed a piece of grey Texas chert into a large, sharp, corner notched point about 4 inches long. As I held Bob's newly knapped point, I was truly amazed that anyone could actually flinknap!
Pumped up, I asked my Dad to make me my first copper billet. Once I received the billet, I proceeded to beat a bunch of slate into nothing because I didn't know where to find flint. It wasn't until I met my knapping friend Jim Fisher, Grand Island, New York, on the internet, that I found out about the only large knap-in we have in New York State. At the Letchworth knap-in, at Letchworth State Park, Castile, N.Y., Jim took me around and showed me the kinds of cherts and obsidians that would be good for me as a beginning knapper. While Bob Berg can be credited with sparking my interest in flintknapping, it was Jim Fisher who really fanned the flames. Thanks to both of you guys for an early boost! With good rock and better tools, I went home and knapped as many nights per week as I could. I also used the very popular lithic source of Jonstone, aka toilet tank lids, to practice knapping on so that my good stone was not ruined too quickly.
At that first Letchworth Knap in, I also met Jim's friend and knapping mentor Dan Long from Ontario Canada. A short time after getting back from Letchworth, I began to email Dan, and he graciously helped me along with problems I was having and became a good friend and knapping brother. Thanks for helping me learn how to flute and for taking me under your wing Dan!!
Ever since that first knap-in, I've attended the Stone Tool Craftsman Show (Letchworth knap-in) each year. Having only been seriously knapping since 2002, I've made significant progress but continue to learn and strive for better knapping skills. I also want to thank D.C. Waldorf for producing a fine selection of videos that helped me progress faster than if I had struggled on my own. And how could I forget to thank Ken Wallace for an unforgettable day of knapping in May, 2006 and for his friendship.
Currently, I love to knapp our native Onondaga Chert, and Esopus with my copper tools. While most knappers make the joke "Friends don't let friends knap Onondaga", I find that our challenging New York cherts build character as well as muscles. Some of my other favorite cherts to knap are Texas Georgetown, Burlington, Flint Ridge, and Buffalo River. 2006 also marks the year of my first "rock runs" to lithic sources of Onondaga and Esopus. Free rock that you quarry is the best kind of rock to knap.
