Putting pieces together!

[Martingeetars]

Just messing around with somethings laying on my shelf, I grabbed a bone handle I found
years ago diving and a kirk point I found a couple of weeks ago digging, only because they were somewhat
perportional to eachother size wise, and I slid the point into the handle and right where they come together
there are two notches in the bone that look like, that if this were the case would wear from the shoulders of a point resting there.
This is for example only, but I think its a good representation of what a prehistoric knife would look like. Minus sinew and what ever else they used to adhere point to handle.

 

[flintdigger]

They would have used sinew. If not sinew they would have used boiled pine pitch to hold it in place. If you are thinking about putting it together I would get some deer sinew and use that, the wet sinew would dry and srink and hold it in place and would do no permanent damage to either piece if you should ever want to take the apart.

 

[Cubfan64]

That's likely an excellent example of how they might have made a stone knife with handle. I look forward to the "finished product."

 

[tmodel]

Mart!! if i had those two artifacts i would display them just like in last photo. if point is not tight enought to be safe handleing you could use tooth picks to tighten it, i think they would have used pieces of wood and done it this way if they wanted to keep handle for many blades. Terry

 

[flintmel]

nice fit, like original hafting! How unique

 

[pickaway]

Nice....

 

[Martingeetars]

Thanks for the kind words and info, i had'nt thought of actually putting them together but thats a very interesting
thought. Maybe I'll talk to some of my hunting buds and see if I can get some sinew from one of there future hunts. Would that be like the achilles tendon?

 

[old digger]

Hi Mark; Yes, any tendon will work, the longer the better. Go to a butcher shop and get some cow tendon. The longer the better, and split it length ways in strip of about one eight to a quarter inch wide. Heat the sinew in water carefully, and wrap while it is wet. Use a strong water based glue to tie the ends, or maybe use a super glue gel after it has dried a bit. It's possible that they would put some pitch or ( ? ) inside around the base of the point to keep it from moving back and forth.

 

[tmodel]

if it was mine i would use no glue on bone or stone, if you use pices of wood only get it tight enought to hold saftly for display and handeling, not for use. yes achilles tendon go ahead and wrap with sinew and tie off, they did not glue all handles on, think somebody turnes butter fingered, upoops six pices plus cdips, no glue take broken point out put new one in a lot less damage to handle Terry

 

[old digger]

if it was mine i would use no glue on bone or stone, if you use pices of wood only get it tight enought to hold saftly for display and handeling, not for use. yes achilles tendon go ahead and wrap with sinew and tie off, they did not glue all handles on, think somebody turnes butter fingered, upoops six pices plus cdips, no glue take broken point out put new one in a lot less damage to handle Terry

Oh! but they did use glue made from animal hooves. And it was quite effective. I have tried it myself with help from a modern day mountain man. We boiled some hooves down to the point most of the liquid had disipated, and what was left was a gel consistincy that was sticky and when dried held the sinew in place.

 

[tmodel]

Olddigger!! PLEASE read reply # 8 completeley,, and yes that is one of the maney ways they are thought to have made glue, Tmodel AKA Terry

 

[flintmel]

In the east they were known to use pine pitch (sap)

 

[Tnmountains]

That is very cool and a good fit. You might try lapping the sinew end under the last wrap and when it dries it will pull it tight avoiding the use of any glue.Pine pitch put between the bone and blade would add strength in that little pocket. Very nice looking ancient tool. I like it.