possible knife or ??

[huntress104]

I found this on my farm today while looking for fossils in a creek bed. It looks like the edges have been beveled like a knife. It is fairly thin and sharp as well. It seems to be made of limestone. It has some fossils embedded in it. It looks like a hook bill knife of sorts. Don't know if it is anything or not but it looked pretty cool. What do you think?


you can see the how the edges are beveled

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Agony and Death on a Gold Rush Steamer: The Disastrous Sinking of the Side-Wheeler Yankee Blade - Grab it through Amazon!

[jamey]

hello there,i see alot of those types of rocks,i think they did use them as a tool,but they weather bad and get really rough.id bet they did use them for vegtables or something,though you can not get them sharp like flint i still think they had a use.some i see you can tell they took a flake off,but i think they are natural in the way they form but taken advantage of alot back then
oh i look for grinding marks on em when i see them,but the way the minerals build up on them,makes it tough,you will run into some smooth ones too,thanks for sharing as i put some thought in to them everytime i see them.they look like an axe too sometimes with a very good bit end

 

[quito]

I does look nicely beveled, if you think there is something under that rough exterior, I'd get to soaking that in vinegar in case all that stuff is just mineral deposits.

 

[rock]

You have 2 great answers already from 2 great guys.

 

[jamey]

gee thanks rock.im not saying that it is an artifact.but i have seen some that really made me think that they would use them.quito knows alot more than me about artifacts.

 

[rock]

Looks like schist to me which is really hard to tell if it is a artifact. I have seen schist before that will make you stop and wonder. It splinters in slices naturally but they did use it at times.

 

[jamey]

i dont think it split rock,it is whole and the way they are formed,like flint does.they are kinda oval though natural when i see them,wish i knew more about rocks.

 

[jamey]

i think it is the same as this one,but has alot more minerals on it or something

 

[yakker]

I'm thinking it looks like a blade- and the advice to soak it in some vinegar seem like solid advice to me. Good eye- to see something so rough and yet w/ an edge. You post some really interesting stuff- and I can't wait to see what you come up w/ next! Yakker

 

[Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp]

G'd morning, coffee You realize that if you 'soak' limestone in any acid it dissolves so go carefully/


Don Jose de La Mancha

 

[rockheadhunter421]

It may be an expedient tool. Made for one time or minimal use, resharpened very little or none at all, made most of the time from a local material not normally used and it's discarded after use. Then, there are the more commonly known curated tools. Made for extended use, shows signs of resharpening, made from a quality material and it's discarded when the material is exhausted. If it's really limestone, I would categorize this as an expediently used tool for a survival situation.

 

[curious kat]

...it sure is interesting looking huntress...I'd have picked it up to!

 

[NC field hunter]

I've always wandered if soaking mineral deposits off of an artifact would ruin its patina, and cause problems with authenticity. I guess not??

 

[quito]

I've always wandered if soaking mineral deposits off of an artifact would ruin its patina, and cause problems with authenticity. I guess not??

I use it on occasion to remove caliche or heavy mineral deposits on both glass and rocks and it does not harm them. They will still have patina, just not the crusty deposits.

 

[rock]

I use it on occasion to remove caliche or heavy mineral deposits on both glass and rocks and it does not harm them. They will still have patina, just not the crusty deposits.

So what do you use quito? I have some that could use some soaking.

 

[rock]

@Huntress When I find those types of things I am not sure about I will hold it between my fingers and push on it. If it breakes I know it wasnt strong enough to be anything worth keeping and it most likely just a rock. If its solid I will take a better look at it. Here where I live in GA the NA people did use it and I have seen it in collections at shows. They usually used them as hoes or digging tools.

 

[rockheadhunter421]

So what do you use quito? I have some that could use some soaking.

I think he said vinegar....

 

[rock]

Now most Schist will crumble in your fingers but just so you know it will hold Garnets and Rubies so be on the lookout for that.

 

[Harry Pristis]

Schist is a metamorphic rock which will not contain fossils. This appears to be limestone. The chances that it is a NA tool are slim-to-none if there is any chert or flint in your area of KY. Tropical Tramp points out correctly that acid will dissolve limestone.

 

[rockheadhunter421]

Now most Schist will crumble in your fingers but just so you know it will hold Garnets and Rubies so be on the lookout for that.

I've plucked out garnets the size of my pinky-nail before! The garnets are very low grade due to the amount of metamorphic pressure but to see the unusual crystal structure is cool to me.