To restore or not to restore an artifact......

[clambellies]

For many collectors, that is the question. I've always looked at my broken finds as valuable artifacts just as they are. They do tell the story of a sucessful hunt where the point broke off on a bone or a missed attempt that hit a rock or a tree. Back in camp, the N/A casually tossed the broken point aside as he fastened a new on on. For a long time I never thought about restoring a broken point. I have a good friend with a very large collection and he's been having broken points restored for some time now. His thought are "If museums have restorations done all the time, why not me?" His points are cataloged as "Restored" so he's not trying to pass them on as anything other than what they are.

Finally I relented. I sent off 4 points to a talented restoration artist. Two of the points are fairly rare for our NE area and both had broken tip sections. Since the sites are now destroyed and I'll never have the opportunity to find the missing parts, they seemed to be first on my list to be restored. The first one shown is a Kirk and the other is Ste. Anne-Varney.

I'll post pics of the other two restorations later on after we've kicked the idea of restorations around for a while.

[Kyflintguy]

Those are good looking restorations! Ive never really been big on the idea of restoration but I actually just purchased my first restored piece. I haven't received it yet, its a little bear creek with a restored tip ding. I always wanted one that was complete because of the awesome edge work they can show, but being hard to find I resorted to buying one with very minor restoration.... Now you've got me thinking, ive got a couple pieces I would consider having it done too. Thanks for sharing those!

[Havenhunter]

So you're not talking about repairing minor dings or missing tips but major recreations. Wow, based upon your before and after photos, the restoration work looks amazing. I would like to watch the artist (because that's what they are) at work. Clearly this doesn't add an monetary value to the piece but it gives you the opportunity to recreate the point as the original maker intended.

[OnewiththewilD]

well.... im really poor so spending money on restorations isnt an option, but i do have a few pieces at some point id love to have restored. from what i gather a restoration isnt permanent in the sense where it cant be taken off, so its not destroying the actual artifact,so if the attempt is to appreciate the piece for it what is/was and not for the money value then i dont see why having it fixed is a bad thing, the more we can learn from it the better! if i where to have one fixed id probably make a nice page detailing what it is and have a color copy of what it looked like before hand from a few angles on it,and have it well documented that its a restoration. C,mon who doesnt have a few heartbreakers that we'd love to see whole! lol.

[clambellies]

Yes, the restoration can be removed, I believe it's made of a resin. I think they soak it in acetone for a while. I'm not rolling in money either, but I saved for a while to have 4 points restored. I did photo the points, before & after and included the catalog number for the point. I burned the pics onto a disk which I will keep with my catalog info & artifacts. Hopefully it will all stay together after I'm gone.

[OnewiththewilD]

those came out awesome too! that Kirk you cant even tell is fixed! if you dont mind me asking what did they roughly cost to have done?

[clambellies]

To have the Kirk restored, broken tip and base corner was $40. If you could see it in person,in good light, how the guy matched the flow banded material which is different on both sides of the point....it's really amazing. If you hate to "lose" the real broken artifact, there are some restorers out there who will make a cast of your piece with the restoration done. That way you have the repro & your original point as is.

[OnewiththewilD]

ive been really interested in repro's too, id love to have a few different authentic style points that i could try out in a few ways and experiment with without the worry of ruining something real.

[Kyflintguy]

Ive came so close to buying a few repros too, just for the express purpose of understanding hafting methods and functionality. Still hard to pay 15-20 dollars for something that will almost certainly be altered or eventually broke. Hopefully my knapping catches up to my curiosities.

[OnewiththewilD]

i totally agree!

[clambellies]

One of my friends has done some of his own restorations, simple stuff, mostly small tips and corners and they look pretty good. I'll ask him what he uses and get back to you.

[gregszybala]

To each their own. I could see possibly getting it done maybe, I think, ah I don't know. But if it is what you want, do it. Both of those came out beautifully done. Congrats.

[p kurt]

I have had two points restored. One was a my first fluted point. It is a Redstone made from cobden chert. it is missing the tip just above the flute and a lil ding on one ear. The second has the look of a greenbrier variant but I took it to an artifact show to give to Dennis Bushey for resoration and the consensus was it was fluted in a paleo manner. It was neat because everyone turned it on its edge and studied the fluting. Anyway it was missing about half inch of the tip. i have no intention of selling anything and I do not regret having them restored. They are both in my avatar, the Redstone is center bottom and the other piece is the large piece to the right of it.

[clambellies]

Bingo......Dennis Bushey is the man!

[CoachG]

I can't do it. I have no desire to alter anything ancient. I don't see anything wrong with it as long as it doesn't alter the original piece though. Personal preference I guess.

[p kurt]

The Redstone had recent damage and the larger piece was ancient damage. I wish the larger piece had a lil more rounded tip but its a really good match in color . When held up to a light you can see exactly where the restoration is.

[Kyflintguy]

Gee whiz Kurt those are killer, good restorations too! That Greenbrierish looks like a cross between a Clovis and Cumberland... Really interesting!

[clambellies]

Here's the other two points that I had restored, a Taunton River type Bifurcate and a Stark.

[-=METACOM=-]

Woow nice pieces. I'm a sucker for bifurcates. Well, if ever you can't decide, you could always have a full replica made, and keep the broken original.

[p kurt]

Clambellies, this topic was brought up a few years back and I told the story of getting my pieces restored. It was a pretty tense deal for me. I found three fluted points in one year in two states. The Redstone is an Illinois field find and the larger paleo piece a Kentucky find. I took the points to the ky dam rock show to get restored and had to find Dennis. I didn't know him from Adam and I asked a fellow to point him out. I then went to several more people to verify who he really was. I was nervous about handing over two paleo points to a man I didn't know with cash for his work plus shipping! For all I knew I was giving away my prizes plus get away money. And least of all I was letting go of one of the rarest of fluted points. But as you can see Dennis is a true professional and gave a good description of both my pieces on the receipt with his opinion on their type. They were shipped very well and back home in a few weeks. I have noticed several pieces displayed with pride at the ky dam show that were restored. When I ask if the point has been restored I usely get a look but have always got an honest answer. It doesn't take away from the artifact for me, I am not a "collector" per say. I like to find em so value for me isn't monitary.

[clambellies]

P Kurt - Yeah I can understand the fear of sending off prized pieces. Loss in the mail was one fear for me. I insured the heck out of them just to make myself feel better about it. Dennis came highly recommended to me by a good friend, so I didn't worry about that part.

[CMD]

Yeah, Dennis is the guy known universally to collectors as Gomer. And he is the best. From what I can see, you can't go wrong, and I've seen many that myself and Alan's mutual friend has had restored by Gomer. I have only had two pieces restored over the years. Done by someone local, and he did a decent job. I do have about 3-4 other candidates that I keep saying I'll send to Gomer, but it's yet to happen. They look great, Alan!

[CMD]

Actually, I think the above info is incorrect? Not Gomer? Sorry.....