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Biography &
Interviews
Bill Earnhardt. Born Salisbury, NC
1944
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Interview with Bill Earnhardt, Salisbury NC,
64 yrs old. 10/26/08
Q: At what age did
you become interested in making arrowheads and bows?
A: Around 10 yrs of age I would go to a
slate pile back in the woods with my younger brother Jerry and we
would try to make arrowheads. I started making bow and arrows around
that same time and I have a bow that i made when i was 12 yrs. old.
Jerry helped me to continue my quest in flintknapping throughout the
years. In later years, he once commented that flintknapping was "a
childhood game Bill just never grew out of". Jerry passed away in
2004 and I have dedicated my instructional video on flintknapping to
him. |
low Country
Sportsman, Spring '74 |
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Q:Who was the first person who helped you with flintknapping?
A: Professor of archeology, Peter
Cooper, at Catawba College in Salisbury NC. I started putting on
demonstrations for his students in the 70's
when i was around 30yrs. old.
Q: Who was the first other
flintknapper that you meet, how did that meeting come about?
A: In the early 80's, my son Dwayne and
I traveled to Kentucky to meet Robbie Robinson who was the only
other flintknapper i had ever heard about who lived anywhere near
me. We spent two days together at his house flintknapping, that was
before there were any knapins. Robbie told me then that there was a
guy in Missouri named Jim Spears who was also flintknapping. |
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Q:What kind of pieces did you first start
making, and what process did you use?
A: I started making arrowheads to hunt
deer. I was using percussion and indirect percussion at that time. Now I use the FOG
method to make my hunting points.
Q: How many deer have you
taken with them?
A: To date, 10 deer. I was actually the
first white man to kill a deer with a flint point in NC and SC. The
newspapers the Greensboro Daily News had an article in 67 and The
Salisbury Post in 71. The magazine Low Country Sportsman out of SC
wrote an article about this as well in Spring 1974 edition. |
Greensboro Daily
News, '67 |
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Q:Have you ever been interviewed for
any other media besides the newspapers?
A:
I was on a weekly tv program called Carolina
Camera, hosted by C. J. Underwood, in the 70's. I demonstrated my
making of arrowheads at the time,
which was mainly by indirect percussion.
Q:What charatertistics/material have
you found to be the best for a hunting point?
A: Texas Flint seems to work the best.
I have found that thinner the point the more pentration and higher
success rate you achieve. Obsidian actually has a sharper cutting
edge but the points break easy on contact so i have quit using them
to hunt with. |
Salisbury Post,
'71 |
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Q: When did you
first start using the FOG technique?
A: I started using FOG in 1991 because
you could get the points thinner and they were easier to balance on
the arrow shaft.
Q: Your pressured flaked
pieces are exceptionally thin, do you consider this your speciality?
I noticed your video title is "How to Pressure Flake a Thin
Blade".
A: Yes, i would say that making a thin
piece is my speciality, which came from my desire to make a thinner
point to hunt with. Although, i do percussion work as well.
Q: What brought about the
making of your instructional video?
A: When i was at knapins people were
always asking me how i made my pieces so thin. Since it was
virtually impossible to take an electric grinding wheel with me it
was hard to demonstrate how to grind out a preform to make a thin
blade. Maybe some thought i was being ellusive or trying to keep
secrets on how i did my work. That wasn't the case at all, so i
decided to make the video so everyone can see the process involved.
Q: Who do you consider as
the best current flintknappers?
A: Well that is hard to say, there are
so many good knappers around today. I have seen flintknapping grow
so much over the years and the overall skill level has improved
tremendously. I just like to see the progression of the art of
flintknapping and i hope it continues to grow over time. That was
one of the main reasons i wanted to start this website. |
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