Susquehanna Valley Flintknappers: Letchworth Knap-In 2015

Another great event put on by the Genesee Valley Flintknappers. This year's knap-in at Letchworth State Park was another great opportunity to purchase supplies from the many vendors who attend the event, meet old friends, and build relationships with new ones. Whether you have never been Letchworth State Park or you are a long time attender of the event be sure to click the "read more" to find out about the park and more about the event and some of this years happenings.

View of the Upper Falls, and Portage River Bridge

One of the most scenic places on the east coast is Letchworth State Park. With its 14,000+ acres, miles of trails, three breathtaking waterfalls, and cliff faces reaching over 550 feet high, it's no wonder it was voted as the number one state park out of over 6,000 parks across the country by USA Today.

View of the Middle Falls at Night

The park is rich in history. In 1859 William Pryor Letchworth purchased 1,000 acres of land around the present day Glen Iris Inn - the former home of Mr. Letchworth. He commissioned trails, ponds, and a fountain to be built and enjoyed. He later offered it to the state of New York as an addition to its State Parks properties. Doing so insured that the land that is now Letchworth State Park would always be pristine and accessible to the public as a place to marvel at.

View of the Lower Falls

The Stone Tool Craftsman Show aka "Letchworth Knap-In" was started over 20 years ago by Ken Wallace in his backyard and was later moved to the park as it grew. The event currently is held at the High Banks area of the park at its northern end. Vendors, knappers, and atlatlists from all over the United States as well as from Canada and other countries come together every year to celebrate primitive skills.

Many of those attending will stay in the northeast until Labor Day weekend so that they can attend the Flint Ridge Knap-In in Ohio. A list of some of the vendors and avid attenders of the events will be at the end of the post. This is not an all inclusive list. If you attended the event and want to be added below, hit us up on our Facebook page.

Our group has been faithfully attending the event from its beginnings in the park, and we enjoy coming together to knap, camp, cook, and meet new friends. While each of those are equally enjoyable, meeting new knappers is the most rewarding. This year proved to be no different.

The young man pictured above is respectfully referred to as "Will-I-Can". Will and his father traveled from their home in Connecticut to not only attend their first ever knap-in, but also their first face-to-face meeting with other knappers. Mike, who is Will-I-Can's father, showed tremendous knapping skill for never having sat down with another knapper before. His work though may have been overshadowed by his sons wit and willingness to try new things.

Stone Axe made by Steve Nissly

Here is a photo of how that crisp twenty ended up in Will's hands. To make a long story short a log was drug in to show how effective a stone axe can be at chopping through wood. Will was challanged by group president Dale Bookhammer, and Vice President/Treasurer Steve Nissly that if he could finish chopping through the log, which at that point was still well over 6 inches thick, he would be rewarded.

Steve Nissly helps hold the log still while Will chops.

Will stuck to it and after an hour of swinging, cracking jokes, building character and calluses he made it through that log. This effort though would later in the evening be overshadowed by his "I-Can" attitude.

Regretfully I did not take any pictures of what he was able to do with a beat up copper bopper and a clunky piece of Mt Kineo Rhyolite. Will was able to do what others wouldn't even try, and he did so with confidence. At one point, Will hit the platform which was prepared for him, and completely removed a massive stack left from previous failed clean flake removals, the knapping tent erupted with cheers, and he just shrugged it off and kept on going.

The Letchworth Knap-In, Bald Eagle Knap-In, and other gatherings big and small continue to show how an old skill necessary for survival by ancient people will still today bring together people from different backgrounds and geographic locations, and immediately they become old friends.