I learned a lot from watching D.C. Waldorf and Jim Redfearn's videos. I'd watch them over and over, but it does pay to get around other flintknappers. I host a monthly get together at my shop (we call them knap-ins) and I've helped a lot of new guys along. PM me if you have any knapping questions Kyle.
For the classes I buy cedar arrow shafts because stripping, straightening and sizing shafts is a ton of work and I don't charge enough per student to invest that much time into it. The arrows I make to sell are ones I've cut from the woods, and straightened over fire. I use red osier dogwood for those. I save the bark for burning as a pleasing incense. The Indians used to smoke the dogwood bark with their pipe tobacco blends. The feathers I get given to me by turkey hunters. I tell them to freeze the wings and I pick them up. The sinew I harvest off deer but have purchased it if I need longer lengths. People will give me deer meat and you know that silver skin that you try to cut off the meat because it's rubbery and chewy, well that's all sinew. The deer tenderloins (backstraps) have the longest and choicest sinew on them. Most hunters trim it off because you can't chew that up at all. If given tenderloins, I'm careful to save that sinew. The points I make, but the metal ones I've had hanging around before my blacksmithing days so I'm using them up and will forge the next batch myself. When I walk in the woods, I'm always spotting natural resources to either categorize in my mind or take home to use. There's literally a hardware store just sitting out in the woods if you know what to do with it. There's also so much food out there, way more than I even know about. For instance, pull up a cattail and that tuber root is like a potato and you can eat that. Pine needles boiled in water is a great source of vitamin C. I could go on and on.
Us blacksmiths really get into our work!
