Rare Flint Shaft Straightener? Anyone ever seen one of these?

[intensecrasher]

I found this several years ago in Minnesota. I was told by another collector that it is a very rare shaft straightener but I find that hard to believe because I think it would have to be used for 1000s of years to make the indentation. The indentation is almost perfectly round and is as smooth as a babies bottom (lack of a better term).

What are your opinions? Anyone ever seen or heard about one of these?

Also, the opposite side of this little knife is pretty sharp.

 

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[Jon Stewart]

I have seen shaft straighteners on the back of mano's. The one you have is very nice and a great find.

 

[NC field hunter]

I have one that reminds me of that. I'll post a pic when I get home. I've been told mine was natural by some. Others say shaft abrader.

 

[intensecrasher]

I have one that reminds me of that. I'll post a pic when I get home. I've been told mine was natural by some. Others say shaft abrader.

I'm sure someone will say it is natural but I do not believe it is. It is too round and too polished. Plus there is an over abundance of material in my area. Why would someone make a knife with a piece of material with such a bad natural flaw? I believe it was put there by human hands.

 

[Rege-PA]

You have an interesting multi tool, the indentation started as a natural inclusion that some enterprising individual found out would shave shafts very well and the repeated use has made it smooth, round and polished, the material being some sort of chert was also suitable for a knife and the first leatherman came into existence. Nice find!

 

[fongu]

Is it true the Indians used to soak their arrows in water before using the shaft straighteners on them? I read this a long time ago, but can't remember the article or book I read it in. Nice tool you have there, I've never seen one of those, but this is still fairly new to me.

 

[iowa trout]

Nice can opener.likely what rege said.

 

[Twitch]

Cool blade. The hole is with out question from where an inclusion dissolved out. Nice find.

 

[GatorBoy]

Yeah its a nice little blade the hole is completely natural that's where an inclusion most likely a fossil popped out or dissolved out.. I don't think it's smooth because anyone used it.
I have pieces of flint you can see entire shells in

 

[GatorBoy]

 

[ncnurseryman]

Natural abrader or not its a nice find! Definitely a blade though.

 

[Rege-PA]

Fongu, you are right about soaking in water and applying heat but that is with a shaft straightener, they are usually a bone with a hole in it so that pressure could be exerted in one specific area. The tool above is a shaft abrader, used to actually thin down the shaft and remove the little high spots. One of the most famous shaft straighteners was found in TX and made from mammoth bone or ivory I believe and has a long shaft that expands on the end with a hole in it so that it could put pressure on the heated wood.

 

[quito]

I don't see anything that shows it was put there intentionally myself. Edges are to sharp (it lacks sign of use wear imho). Nice piece though.

 

[rockheadhunter421]

I have seen something similar to that in a friend's collection. He had not a shaft abrader but a base abrader / grinder. The base of a knife (not arrowhead) would slip into the slot and it would grind it down for hafting. It was made of hardstone too. At first I thought he had just a natural rock on his dresser so I asked him what that was. He actually took a rhyolite knife right out of his case and it slipped perfectly into the groove and he re-enacted how they grinded bases with it. After seeing this I believe this one is definitely an abrader of some sort also. Nice tool!

 

[Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp]

Perhaps my friend, but most used 'low heat ' and our friend 'Intense's' arrow straightener to do this.

I have several from the Yaqui from when I lived with them. , however they had an oversized grove for peeling and smoothing the shaft, plus reducing in size, also served as the straightener, and another hole which was the fial sizer in dia.

Very nice find my friend, may I congrat you.

Don Jose de La Mancha

 

[intensecrasher]

Fongu, you are right about soaking in water and applying heat but that is with a shaft straightener, they are usually a bone with a hole in it so that pressure could be exerted in one specific area. The tool above is a shaft abrader, used to actually thin down the shaft and remove the little high spots. One of the most famous shaft straighteners was found in TX and made from mammoth bone or ivory I believe and has a long shaft that expands on the end with a hole in it so that it could put pressure on the heated wood.

I agree that it is not natural. When you really see it it is different than a picture. Plus the grove almost has a "burnt" look to it. I do not believe the black color inside the grove is the natural color of the chert...rather it is burnt into the chert from friction. Sorry about the confusion on my part. I assumed it was called an arrow straightener because I have never heard the term arrow abrader. I always associated abrading with dulling the edges of a lithic when it was being napped.

 

[intensecrasher]

I don't see anything that shows it was put there intentionally myself. Edges are to sharp (it lacks sign of use wear imho). Nice piece though.

Quito, I thought the same thing about the sharp edges. But if Rege-PA is right, and I suspect he is, the edges would be sharp to help abrade the thick spots on the shaft.

 

[Tnmountains]

Excellent pictures ! I am going with the guess of a worked item where a fossil inclusion or what ever it is called popped out. They like us thought it was cool.

 

[deadeye 22250]

To me the grove looks natural, not like something that was used.

 

[GatorBoy]

I'm sure someone will say it is natural but I do not believe it is. It is too round and too polished. Plus there is an over abundance of material in my area. Why would someone make a knife with a piece of material with such a bad natural flaw? I believe it was put there by human hands.

I just wanted to point out something in this statement... I think it's a way of looking at things that changes a lot about what's perceived and what really exists.
"Too round" and "too polished" would make me think more that it was not done by a human not the other way around