Question about Chert Arrowhead

[Adam27]

Hey Everyone,
I'm new to the site, but I've been collecting for about two years now here in Western North Carolina. It's prime arrowhead hunting territory. LOL The Cherokees sure did make some beautiful points, and I have a lot of them to prove it.
Anyway, my question is this, I found a perfect Chert dart point a couple years ago and I put it in a display case. Yesterday, I was taking a look at it and noticed a fine line going around the top of the point. It is on the surface of the point and it almost looks like a crack, but I haven't dropped it nor has it been hit by a plow or anything like that. I was doing some reading and chert is very very hard to break and it's not a hammer mark, so what could it be? Can being in a display case crack it for no reason?
Thanks and I'll be posting what I have found tomorrow. They are all from around the Archaic Period 2000-5000 BC. It's so awesome living next to an ancient Cherokee village. They're just lying on top of the ground!!!!

[CliffJ]

Hi Adam,
   It is doubtful that a crack came in a point in a frame, unless you got it pinched in the frame. It's more likely that it has a natural fault in the rock that you didn't see before. I'd like to see your finds!

[Wildhorse]

Adam; I agree with Cliff. A natural line in the stone will sometimes look like a crack. We see a lot of that up here in our artifacts.

[Adam27]

Thanks guys, I feel better now.  I actually took it down to the local university here and they actually have a Cherokee Archaeology Department.  One of the archaeologists took out her little loop and noticed that the line was there before they even chipped away at the stone.  It's called a Fracture Line and it doesn't go all the way through the point.  Glad to know it was there before I even touched it.  I tend to break everything I touch LOL
I'm posting the pics of my finds so far.  They are all from a town in Western NC called Sylva.  What's really awesome is that my family owns all the land where I hunt, so if there's a point to be found, it's mine to find LOL

[greywolf22]

Show a picture.

[wmwallace]

Adam, I had a similar situation come up with an Ohio Lancelot, passed on a purchase because it had a fault that I was convinced that it was broke and re-glued. The price was right but didn't take a chance on it. Another collector knew exactly what it was and purchased it in a heart beat. Knowledge is a good thing, that is why I hang out with these guys so I don't feel like kicking myself in the rump for another situation like that one.