Is this a Waller knife?

[tonykidd]

The only thing I know that looks similar to this is a Waller knife. If so, first I've found.
Thanks for looking.

 

[Cachefind09]

Yes, that does look like it could possibly be one. A Waller knife is usually unifaced and has a median ridge that runs down the length of the blade and is predominately known to be found in the Southeast part of the country. Here is a picture of one that I think is a Waller knife that I found in Ohio.

 

[bookummdano]

Is the blade unifaced? If so it could very well be. A Waller knife will most of the time be basically a hafted utilized flake most often uni-faced . A classic example will have a noticeable medial ridge running longtitudinally down the length of the point with secondary flaking on the edges and a button type base. The theory of usage is thought to be tied around the wrist kind of like a hanging knife as for most of the bases on these blades seem to be to thin etc. to have been hafted for a handle.

 

[bookummdano]

Yes, that does look like it could possibly be one. A Waller knife is usually unifaced and has a median ridge that runs down the length of the blade and is predominately known to be found in the Southeast part of the country. Here is a picture of one that I think is a Waller knife that I found in Ohio.

View attachment 1424903

Sorry for for the redundancy, when I started writing my reply you had not posted yours yet.

 

[tonykidd]

These are the different sides. A Waller is the only thing I know of that's similar.

 

[The Grim Reaper]

Here is some info on Waller Knives and some pictures of some a friend of mine has from southern Georgia and other areas. I have sent him two from my area, one I found years ago, and another I found in a Flea Market junk box for a couple bucks. Not sure of yours is though since most are Uniface. The ones I sent him are the two at the bottom of the picture.

Waller Knife

 

[tonykidd]

Here is some info on Waller Knives and some pictures of some a friend of mine has from southern Georgia and other areas. I have sent him two from my area, one I found years ago, and another I found in a Flea Market junk box for a couple bucks. Not sure of yours is though since most are Uniface. The ones I sent him are the two at the bottom of the picture.

Waller Knife

Those are the style I'm familiar with.
The biface is throwing me off. It could be something they just whipped up on the spur of the moment.

 

[bookummdano]

It looks woodland to me. There are many woodland type stemmed points (knifes) in this area, that I find don't really fall in a typology such as a Hernando, fairland, duval, and Tallahassee. They often seem crude and just made for business. Nonetheless , you have found a complete artifact and that is way better than I am doing at this moment as a keyboard commando.

 

[Timbermusic27891]

What do ya'll mean when you describe it as unifaced?

 

[tonykidd]

What do ya'll mean when you describe it as unifaced?

Uni=1, Bi=2.
In other words a UNIface has flaking on one face (or side), and a BIface is worked on both sides. Look at the pictures above. Some of the ones posted by The Grim Reaper have only one side that has been worked, and are relatively flat on the side you can't see. If you look at the one I posted, both sides (faces) have been worked.

 

[The Grim Reaper]

What do ya'll mean when you describe it as unifaced?

Here's a few pictures showing two Uniface Tools. One side will be flaked while the other will be flat and usually show a bulb of percussion where it was struck from the parent Core.

 

[coosakid]

Interesting thread I've never heard of a Waller knife. And reaper is the one who taught me about the uni-faced tools. .... Always like learning

 

[sandchip]

This is my only Waller. I found it early on in my collecting, kept it only because it looked like a flake with notches (duhh) and put it in the back of the truck, where it eventually got broke (duhh one more time). Good ol' Elmers.

 

[sandchip]

This one, I don't know, even though one of the experts in Deep South artifacts said it was one, albeit pretty refined. The number, if anybody's wondering, makes it the fifth artifact I found. I quit numbering and cataloging years ago, but should've kept doing it. What's y'all's opinions on it?

 

[crj1968]

Interesting thread I've never heard of a Waller knife. And reaper is the one who taught me about the uni-faced tools. .... Always like learning

Same here- those things are pretty crazy looking you have there Grim. If I had found one I'd thought it was some sort of unfinished point.... good to know !

 

[mogi]

Tony, what would you consider these? The grey one with the blue vein almost looks like a brother of yours.

 

[Timbermusic27891]

Thanks Tonykidd & The Grim Reaper for your help.
i wish I had checked for your responses sooner. I do think I found and throwed back down a Waller knife yesterday. Here in eastern NC where I hunt lots of artifacts have been hit with big equipment while the land is tilled for farming hence when I find worked pieces they look sharred or appear to be damaged I usually just throw the artifact back where I found it. Unfortunately I have probably throwed back quite a few of the Waller knives

 

[tonykidd]

Tony, what would you consider these? The grey one with the blue vein almost looks like a brother of yours.View attachment 1425396View attachment 1425397View attachment 1425398View attachment 1425399

Moving- looks like knives to me. The one I have has a small stem for hafting, but the material looks very similar

 

[Timbermusic27891]

Where does the name Waller come from?

 

[tonykidd]

Where does the name Waller come from?

They are named after a guy named Ben Waller, who used to dive on a lot of Paleo sites in Florida rivers.