Since 1985, when I detached my first flake from a crude piece of Onondaga chert, I have had the opportunity to develop many theories and observations on the subject of flintknapping. First and foremost, flintknapping is addictive, more powerful than the strongest drug known to humans. Once you sample it for the first time, you are never satisfied until you have more. I’ve had numerous students come to me and confess that knapping is all they think about, and all they want to do. I’ve also heard from numerous wives and girlfriends of these guys and they tell me that their guys look more lovingly at a piece of flint than they do at them. “Listen,” I tell them. “This is just normal behavior for a budding knapper. In time, this obsession will calm down and things should get back to almost normal.” I also mention that if the guys practice hard enough, they will be able to sell their work and make extra money to spend. Usually, after hearing this, the gals encourage their mates to work harder.

I think my most favorite question, and the one I almost always hear when I do a demo is, “Are these arrowheads real?” to which I reply, “Yes, they are real, they are just not old.” Of course the term “arrowhead” is a loosely used term. I try to point out that true arrowheads are usually quite small and were fixed to arrow shafts. Most of the points I make are projectile points and knives. Most of the points I find are probably atl-atl dart points, which were used a lot more than arrowheads, and for a lot longer period of time. It’s good to share these facts with people gracefully, and not appear too much like a know-it-all, as this will turn everyone off immediately.

I believe that every knapper has a philosophy that he or she lives by. This is a fun thing to ask a knapper during a demo. Usually they will stop in mid-billet stroke and stare blindly into space. This is often followed by a moment of silence as the crowd waits for an answer that could change the course of history. Possibly you may be treated to a long-winded dissertation on the properties of fracture mechanics, and how they compare to the origin of the universe. You’ve got to love knappers; they never cease to amaze you. If you don’t already have a philosophy on the subject of flintknapping, I suggest you create one to prepare yourself when the question presents itself. If you want to know my philosophy I suggest that you buy the Flintknapping 2000 Calendar from Derek Mclean and you can read mine, along with 11 others, featured in this extraordinary calendar.

The next observation I have made, since my early days of rock busting, is the new circle of friends you inherit. Now this is truly the icing on the cake, as the best friendships and the best times of my life are a direct result of flintknapping. If you decide to become a serious knapper, be prepared, as you will soon encounter some of the most sincere, genuine and amazing people you will ever meet. You are immediately adopted into a large, loving family that is spread from coast to coast. Knappers have a common bond that other hobbies and art forms cannot share. We truly bleed for our work and pay our dues with frustration, sore joints, broken pieces and lack of great knapping material from time to time.

So why do we expose ourselves to all this? It’s simple. There is no better high than to finish a beautiful point, to hold it in our hands and think to ourselves, “Yes! I could have survived back then!” The next thrill is to show the piece to another person, whether they are a knapper or not, and share with them your enthusiasm about the finished piece.

If you are a beginning knapper, make sure that you save a lot of your work. You need to be able to check on your progress from time to time. I still have a little butter dish full of points I made my first year of chipping. They are nothing more than flakes I found when I was searching the fields for ancient points. I pressure flaked them and at the time, I was pretty proud and willing to show these to anyone who would patiently look at them. Now I only show them to budding knapping students. They are used to show people where I came from.

I would love to see some of D.C.’s first points, if he still has any. I have a point which Dan Long made in his first year. I call this one the “Long point.” Dan said that it could either be shot or thrown, as it was practically indestructible. We’ve all been there. I wouldn’t part with this point for all the money you could offer me (well, maybe… everyone has their price).

Now another phenomenon in the knapping world is the “knap-in.” This event really brings it all together. It’s kinda like the Super Bowl of Flintknapping. It usually takes days to attend, see, and do everything a knap-in offers. Here in the Northeast, we just celebrated our 10^th Anniversary of the Stone Tool Craftsmans’ Show. This was a great success, as I believe that everyone lived through it, and had a great time besides. This is a place you can see every level of experience. I personally look forward to our knap-in every year, because you get to see all the super knappers from all over the country, take your pick from literally tons of rock, see the awesome work these guys produce and always make a new friend or two.

I especially love the night life at a knap-in. There are always loads of food and drink (especially homemade wine) and lots of bartering and buying amongst the guys. Then the traditional Ooga-Booga initiation usually takes place.

You’ll find some really unique things that are offered in the camp, like this year I bought the neatest frog call I ever saw from Dale Cannon of Minnesota. It seems he picked them up from an old wood carver in Wisconsin. Well, after I bought mine and “croaked” it a few times, it wasn’t long and you could hear frog calls from all parts of the camp, even during the Ooga-Booga initiation, a call would occasionally be heard. This is just great fun! The worst part of a knap-in is when it is finally over, and everyone travels home.

Now to finally wrap this all up, I would like to share some of my thoughts about knapping techniques. The first thing I would suggest is to constantly try new things and don’t let yourself get stuck in a knapping rut. It’s good to develop a signature style of point, but also try to be diversified. For a long time I was fixated on the Snyders point; I’ve made hundreds of them. This is probably my signature point, just as Robbie Robinson is known for his killer Pine Tree points and Jim Redfearn is the “Hardin Man.”

I have personally gone through many phases of knapping, including a Meadowood phase. I tried to replicate the point type and the thinness that was so characteristic of the type. Once I achieved this, I was challenged to make effigies and Cahokia style points. This was great fun and a good seller, then along came the fluting phase. Everything I knapped at this time had to be fluted. At first, this was a costly venture as my success rate was not good. After a while, I developed a technique that worked for me, so it was off to the next challenge.

I guess one of the things that makes the hobby so much fun for me is that you never can truly master every part of it, as there are so many directions you can pursue. My latest pursuit is what I refer to as “cache blade technology.” I feel that every knapper, at some time in their knapping experience, should learn this. It is one of the technologies that were extensively practiced during prehistoric times. What it teaches you is to spall efficiently and make the most blanks you can, out of as little material as you can.

Nothing is prettier than a hand full of nicely worked bifaces, all from one chunk of material. This is mainly accomplished using nothing more than basic percussion. Copper, antler, or wood billets work just fine, depending on what you are used to. I prefer moose antler myself, as this is what I’m used to. These bifaces don’t have to be worked down to the point where they are nearly complete, they should be bifaced enough so that most of the major problems have been solved, and are basically shaped into a preform. Try this, it really is fun.

My last bit of advice, at least for this time, is to make up a keeper case of some of your finest work for yourself. Usually, most knappers don’t own their finest work as these pieces are snapped up by customers, who just have to have them. You’ll be glad if you do this, especially if you attend knap-ins or give knapping lectures or demos. This gives others a chance to see your best side, if you don’t have a good day knapping in front of them.

I like to collect my own work, and have even been trading with some of my customers to get back pieces I made for them, those I didn’t forget about or regretted ever seeing, leave my hands. I look forward to adding a point now and then to the Keeper Case, because I can enjoy my latest creation, and also free up a point that can now be for sale. You can just keep upgrading your collection this way. I think one of the nicest keeper collections I have ever seen is the one Roy Miller brings to the knap-ins. I always make time to view this collection every time I see Roy.