45 year old in situ

[11KBP]

My wife is pointing towards this knife in this 45 year old photo. My dad and my newly wed wife and myself were river hunting when my dad spotted this beautiful corner tang knife. The in situ picture quality is poor because early on I only carried a small inexpensive pocket camera on many of our hunts.

[Hoss]

Nice picture can we see a new photo of the artifact. Congrats on 45 years together . That is awesome.

[11KBP]

Thanks Hoss.

Here is a more recent picture. This C-tang is made of Kansas Flint Hills Permian chert and when first found on gravel bars the material is oftentimes a very pretty blue color. Generally it does not take too long before the chert surface dehydrates and becomes a more gray color.

[Broken Arrow]

That's awesome that you still have both the pic and the artifact.

[11KBP]

Thanks B A and better yet, I still have the wonderful wife of 45 years.

[Broken Arrow]

Lol, I thought about asking but I didn't know if it'd be appropriate. Congratulations on that for sure, people don't stick together like that anymore.

[Tam]

No kidding

[chase]

Thanks Dick just imagine I wish at one time I could have one thanks for sharing

[Ron Kelley]

Hey Dick, Great story, photos, and knife.

[Jethro355]

That’s a a whole lot of cool right there!👍

[SDhunter]

That is an awesome knife. How cool to find one! Thanks for sharing

[Scorpion68]

That's a beautiful knife and a great story.

[2ndoldman]

Thanks for sharing this memory and adding the more recent photo.
Do you by any chance have a picture of how a corner tang blade was hafted?
It has always baffled me.

[pkfrey]

A lot has been written about these knives. The fact that they are restricted to the south central area has been proven wrong now, they can be found in the northwest, lll., and Ohio. And I would have to find the reference book I had, that suggested these may not have been hafted at all. They may of had a strong piece of twisted cordage tied around the notch and worn around the neck, or carried in a pouch, and hand held to use it. The entire one edge of these knives are often " backed ", or ground smooth so it could be hand held. Some demonstrations have shown that if you attach a handle and try and use it in the context of a knife, it proved to be so awkward for cutting, that it defeated it's purpose as a knife. I hate it when I remember reading reference material on artifacts, maybe years ago, and now I don't remember where I read all this in a discussion.

[2ndoldman]

Thanks. The way you explain the probable usage makes a lot of sense.

[Kentucky point]

That's a beautiful knife!

[redrocks]

Good find and marriage....awesome knife

[sailorjoe]

A real dandy artifact and a great story to boot!

[11KBP]

Do you by any chance have a picture of how a corner tang blade was hafted?
It has always baffled me.

Sorry Bruce, no picture of a the hafting technique and no clue provided by the archaeological record. Some believe they were hafted and some believe they were tethered by a cord to the wrist while butchering at a bison kill. Laying a knife down momentarily for another task then trying to relocate it amongst the remains of a group of bison on a kill site could obviously be a problem.

[2ndoldman]

That cord to wrist makes a lot of sense. 👌