I enjoy studying and learning the survival skills of our ancestors. For over 20 years, I have been making stone tools out of flint. I have found the hunt for flint to be nearly as hard as learning to produce the tools made using it.

It has been said that it takes an hour and 10 years to become an expert flint knapper. I agree with this statement. Learning to make tools out of stone that are equal to those of our ancestors is a task most would not endure. On top of education, you must be able to find usable material to work with. Of all the varieties of flint, chert or chalcedony. There are a few types of stone that were coveted by ancient people. One of which is Flint Ridge Chalcedony. I have spent many years chipping this material, and finally had a chance to visit its place of origin this past week. What an amazing trip it was!

There is little humor had between flint knappers. We are typically a pretty serious bunch when it comes to tool production. When I first started learning to produce stone tools, I met a master knapper. When asked how long it takes to produce blades of fine quality, he replied, “It takes an hour and 10 years to become a skilled knapper.”

Several years later I realized that this was a bit of knapping humor. It normally takes about an hour to produce a finely curated tool. The problem is, it takes most people about a decade to train their hands to do so.

If you listen to the stone, it will tell you what to do. It just takes years to understand what is being said. As for stone arrowheads, they were produced to puncture vital organs. The wound would cause bleeding, that would eventually result in the animal's demise. In the process of learning, the first blood drawn will be your own. If you happen to dig or collect your own stone, you will likely bleed before your first chip is taken. The sharp angular fractures produced when struck are the precise reason the stone was coveted by ancient people. Being that they had no metal cutting tools, stone of this type was their only option.

The hunt for flint is a common bond had between knappers. While it is much easier to do now, you still need to hunt to find quality material. I was lucky enough to meet a man named Scott Van Arsdale that had collected some local chert. He was happy to share, and aided me in the process. Unlike ancient people, I used the internet to find him. Even stone collection has gone modern.

I have ordered tons of it, and grew quite fond of Flint Ridge. On one memorable occasion, the UPS man came to my door. He had a puzzled look on his face. Before I could say anything, he said, “I think it's broken.”