posted on Oct, 24 2013 @ 12:17 PM
reply to post by skalla
No, I never put the time necessary in to learning to knap with any real proficiency. The shards tend to be dangerous and if you have little kids and
lots of pets it's just not a good combination). Erret Callaghan is about as good as anyone ever was at it plus many other primitive skills. It's
been my great fortune to have such superb teachers living nearby. Shame was couldn't afford to do more classes with him but he's worth every penny.
Last I checked he had a waiting list for classes that was booked 2 years in advance.
The good news is there are many others he has taught that teach now as well. I love that knowledge and skills are passed on in that way. If you decide
to make a go of teaching classes yourself advertise everywhere you can for free - community bulletin boards, hang flyers in sporting goods, health
food stores. Make use of craigslist and any other free sites as well.
A few years ago there was a rash of people here in the US who decided to do the same thing. Made it very difficult for any of them to make a go of it
due to so many schools being available. If there is one thing you can specialize in and get a reputation for that is a big plus. People will seek out
those who can teach skills they want to learn to be really good at.
Survival skills is a very popular subject these days so test the waters on weekends to see how it works out for you. One of the biggest problems I had
was trying to find a place where people could camp for a couple days or a week and then where to hold the classes themselves. Also, what do you do
when the weather is awful? Last thing is make everyone sign a liability waiver so you can't get sued because someone does something stupid like
spalling a rock without eye protection for instance.
I wish you luck if you try to do this. It can certainly be rewarding to see people's faces when they learn to make their first friction fire or make
a nice projectile point. The satisfaction of working with your hands and natural materials is something else you can't really put a price tag on.
Let me know if I can be of help in any way. I've taken 30 - 40 classes myself in addition to teaching a few dozen so I am familiar with the ins and
outs involved.
Too many hobbies - too little time.