Jade tool needs ID...

[highnam]

This piece has been tested as Jade...my grandfather found it here in western Wa in the 60's....this piece started me on my path as a "treasure hunter". I was told as a boy that this was a Tomahawk...you could imagine that would get a young boy's wheels turning. When I was in my 20's I researched the piece for myself and thought it might be a adze...over the past 10 years I have showed it to knowledgable people who think it could be a hide scraper...I'm certainly open to opinions!

The second piece was the only rock I have found searching for artifacts myself....I thought I had finally done it, a worked piece...but what is it? This stone was also tested and came back as Serpentine...my hopes were basically dashed...people say it looks worked, but for what purpose? Serpentine is almost as dense as Jade and cannot be chipped... Either way, I crazy Geofact!

 

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[NCPeaches]

The jade piece is beautiful as is the serpentine stone. I googled serpentine artifacts and saw a few things made from it such as bowls and figurines. That piece could have been anything from a core or a tool, but it's pretty and definitely a keeper in my opinion.

 

[eyemustdigtreasure]

Definitely been clobbered, deliberately, in a couple places.
A basic tool, I think. Very much could have been an adze.
Sure looks dense rock, neat item.
A keeper!

 

[highnam]

Thanks for the replies...I have held onto some hope the Serpentine piece has had human hands on it before me...here is a pic of the other side of the piece...super polished flat clut. The Serpentine looks like green super fine crystals in structure, a bright light penetrates these polished areas but light won't pass through the stone. It's like there is a tan colored skin that has formed over the unpolished spots.

 

[old digger]

Interesting find. Looks like your item may be a jade nodule that someone possibly tried to grind or smooth on one or more sides. Jade is very hard and can be ground and polished by modern tools, but generally is too hard to flake. I will not flake/fracture properly.

 

[mainejman]

Highnam..Could we get a shot at the bit end of the piece.Then maybe we can figure out if it's a adze Celt or axe...mjm

 

[joshuaream]

Looks like a very nice jade adze, probably from the Fraser River area of British Columbia. I have several of them, really cool pieces. Yours is even cooler because your grandfather found it.

You can see several others that have been posted here if you type in fraser river jade in the search box in the upper corner. Or google Fraser River Jade adze. Groups up there actively made, used and traded adzes across a large area of the Pacific Northwest and into the Rocky Mountain areas.

Here is my largest.

 

[highnam]

Highnam..Could we get a shot at the bit end of the piece.Then maybe we can figure out if it's a adze Celt or axe...mjm

Here is the only other picture I can come up with w/out going and taking a photo... Thanks

 

[highnam]

Thanks for the search idea, I'll check that out...seems like a pretty expensive trade item to use jade for a skinning tool...jade was used for wood working so I still think its a adze...one of the prettiest ones I've ever seen...from black to a whitish edge.
I've heard the best jade doesn't need to be heat treated, any thoughts on that?

 

[joshuaream]

Jade is a great tool stone, and it comes in lots of non-gemstone grades. It isn't the hardest material out there, but it is one of the toughest. That is to say, a diamond & quartz are much harder but you could whack a chunk of jade with a hammer and not break it.

Heating jade doesn't do much for the tool aspect of the stone, you see that more with certain types of agate & cherts. Modern jades are often dyed with polymers under pressure. (Creating purples, pinks, reds, etc.)

 

[rock]

Very nice piece

 

[unclemac]

yours is certainly an adze blade or bit . hafted similar to this

 

[highnam]

yours is certainly an adze blade or bit . hafted similar to this

Wow! Those are some excellent examples of Jade adze handles...happy to hear it had a better purpose than hide scraping.

 

[mainejman]

Looks like an adze..Unclemac I've never heard of an adze mounted the way as in the middle example..only Celts...am I seeing that it says it's an adze...mjm

 

[unclemac]

Looks like an adze..Unclemac I've never heard of an adze mounted the way as in the middle example..only Celts...am I seeing that it says it's an adze...mjm

i just posted the first good picture I could find on the internet...what joshuaream posted was a very nice example of a "property celt". these were traded up and down the left coast as sort of currency almost like coppers...and i think, always made of BC jade and most were never used and remained in beautiful condition. As you knappers will be able to tell us....jade doesn't flake like other stones but will hold a sharp edge with time and polish and a lot of elbow grease.

 

[mainejman]

Gotcha umac just surprised to see one hafted that way.That is a new one on me...mjm