Talking to a Carpenter

When I was talking to my dad, he said that he knew a little about the story knife. When he first moved up to Akiachak in the 70's he was very fascinated by the Alaska Natives and the different cultures. He was so interested that he married a Yup'ik women.
He also did a lot of research that dealt with working with your hands. He came across the story knife, and figured out that the holes were drilled by, an object Josh Stafford had chosen, the bow drill.
The bow drill was used in many different ways. One was to make a fire, this was a more efficient way then of just rubbing to pieces of sticks together. Another way was to drill holes into ivory, bone and wood. In doing this the sharp point end would have to be more dense than the object being drilled.