Mail box find

quito · May 28, 2019

Well eBay one of ebays finest came through again.

Im really happy with this 4 inch knife river flint acquisition of From Minnesota.

joshuaream · May 28, 2019

That is a great looking relic!

old digger · May 28, 2019

That's a very nice acguisition, bet it adds nicely to your collection.

welsbury · May 28, 2019

I like the, look like huge arrowhead,hafted knives.Local piece?

quito · May 28, 2019

welsbury said:
I like the, look like huge arrowhead,hafted knives.Local piece?

Not to far away, came out of Minnesota.

OntarioArch · May 29, 2019

quito - Can you explain your thinking about this piece's authenticity in light of the number of loose hinge fractures visible to the naked eye? Was the seller previously known to you as reputable? Did you have a 'return' policy so you could inspect it personally? Is Knife River Flint prone to loose hinge fractures such that they did not concern you?

I'm still trying to figure out the proper place for 'loose hinge fractures vis-a-vis authenticity' , and any guidance from you is much appreciated.

quito · May 29, 2019

OntarioArch said:
quito - Can you explain your thinking about this piece's authenticity in light of the number of loose hinge fractures visible to the naked eye? Was the seller previously known to you as reputable? Did you have a 'return' policy so you could inspect it personally? Is Knife River Flint prone to loose hinge fractures such that they did not concern you?

I'm still trying to figure out the proper place for 'loose hinge fractures vis-a-vis authenticity' , and any guidance from you is much appreciated.

Well to start, yes the seller is reputable? And has a good return policy. I also personally know one authenticate that buys high end pieces from him.

Also, i have handled literally thousands of pieces of the material and have a pretty good feel for it. Not to mention a stereo microscope to inspect anything in question. There is staining under the hinge fracture visible to the naked eye on this piece. Under magnification you can see there is no sign of fresh crushing, and there are organic as well mineral deposits showing.

And while I am sitting here, I am looking at six other authentic pieces of KRF and they all exhibit some degree of hinge fractures. Here’s another one showing a couple fractures yet removed. Must be some good material.
.

GaRebel1861 · May 29, 2019

That's a good looking point.

monsterrack · May 29, 2019

There is a misconception on hinges. Just because an artifact has them does not tag it as a red flag. It's what the hinges look like, does the edge show wear, is there dirt or stain under some of the hinges. One red flag to is stain under everyone of the hinges. That was a good buy Quito in my view.

quito · May 29, 2019

Here’s a KRF agate basin with an obvious hinge still attached.

joshuaream · May 29, 2019

OntarioArch said:
quito - Can you explain your thinking about this piece's authenticity in light of the number of loose hinge fractures visible to the naked eye? Was the seller previously known to you as reputable? Did you have a 'return' policy so you could inspect it personally? Is Knife River Flint prone to loose hinge fractures such that they did not concern you?

I'm still trying to figure out the proper place for 'loose hinge fractures vis-a-vis authenticity' , and any guidance from you is much appreciated.

OntarioArch,

That is actually a really good question. For a lot of years I skipped over any point that had loose hinges, and then I realized that a lot of points that I found had hinges. It's not quite as simple as a lot of us once thought. The mistake starts with the phrase "loose hinge", when you see freshly knapped pieces there will truly be loose hinge flakes that can be removed with your fingernail. If the material is elastic enough you can feel them wiggle in some cases. Most knappers remove them. Old points will rarely have truly loose hinges like those, but as Quito points out there can be hinges. Some materials are very prone to hinges, other non-transparent materials have hinges but they are hard to see, and some materials don't seem as prone to hinges.

Fresh crushing is something you should look for. Patina under hinges, or gloopy chemicals coating hinges is also something to look for.

OntarioArch · May 30, 2019

joshuaream said:
.... Patina under hinges, or gloopy chemicals coating hinges is also something to look for.

Some hinges exhibiting 'under-patina' can be an indicator of authenticity; but each and every hinge, nook, and cranny exhibiting similar patina is a red flag: it could have been forced there by artifaker.

joshuaream · May 30, 2019

OntarioArch said:
Some hinges exhibiting 'under-patina' can be an indicator of authenticity; but each and every hinge, nook, and cranny exhibiting similar patina is a red flag: it could have been forced there by artifaker.

Absolutely, sorry I meant to quote monsterrack’s point when I started typing that and someone came into my office.
In looking at authenticity you should look for both positive and negative indicators. Too many times people look a mineral stain and ignore the red flags.

southfork · May 30, 2019

Some hinges may be caused by ground water working into a legit artifact and freezing ? Here's one I found this point that has a lot of hinges I've shown this before.