Flint Ridge, Ohio Knife Blades (aka razor knives)

[smokeythecat]

I have seen some confusion over "is this an artifact?" ongoing on the site. I started looking for artifacts when I was about 8, and frankly, some years didn't get much of anything.

FYI, here is a picture of some jewel Flint Ridge, Ohio flint bladelets. The characteristics are as follows: These are very thin and very sharp. The BEST ones have three flakes on the top portion. Many only have two flakes. These were made in abundance, the longest is about 3" long.

Enjoy! They are still sharp enough to cut you!

 

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[Tdog]

Nice group of bladelets. Thanks.

 

[smokeythecat]

Thanks. These have a lot of color. I found a lot more, but these are some of my favorites.

 

[creekhunter]

Beautiful material isn't it.

 

[justonemore]

Cool little artifacts
Here's a couple of good links on lamellar bladelets, interesting and often ignored artifacts.
https://forums.arrowheads.com/forum...rtifacts-gc7/201487-lamellar-blades-bladelets
Hopewell Cores And Lamellar Blades.

 

[smokeythecat]

Justonemore, WOW! I looked! Unbelievable! But true I'm sure. I have about 5 times the amount I posted. I am 380 miles from Flint Ridge, and will go later this year.

 

[The Grim Reaper]

Hopewell Bladelets and very nice examples. These are very abundant on most Hopewell sites and are almost always made from Flint Ridge Flint.

 

[smokeythecat]

There is only one place there you can look, unless of course you go door knocking.

 

[MAMucker]

Thanks for posting these. They are beautiful. I was wondering about the term “jewel” in your description. Is that like saying they are made of a gem-quality material?

We don’t see much flint here in MA, especially of that quality and outstanding color. Nor do we find Bladelets like those.

Is the “BEST” designation a common understanding, when speaking of the number of flakes?

These are very interesting. Do you mind posting more close-up photos from various angles.

Much appreciated.

 

[smokeythecat]

I didn't coin the name "jewel". I think it's because of the gaudy colors Flint Ridge can take on. Yes' "best" describes 3 long flakes instead of two. I will get more pics and pics of other stuff from there soon.

 

[uniface]

On a large, nearly hunted-out, backwater Archaic-through-Contact Era site I hunted in east-central Pennsylvania, these were the one artifact type I could count on finding nice examples of. Reason being that nobody else seemingly ever knew that these were artifacts and not debitage. Those I found were of the Black Helderberg chert common there. The people who made them were more nearly a peripheral population adopting Hopewell cultural practices than literally "Hopewell Interaction Sphere" members.

The one- or two-ridged business is a matter of where the most convenient spot was on the core to run one off from. Prehistoric pen knives either way.

 

[smokeythecat]

Uniface, you got it! Around here, the hammerstones and hand axes or choppers are ignored. I found SIX notched net sinkers this year and my first ever nutting stones, plus some contact period Indian items. It's been a great year! (Until the doctor got me, but in 2 weeks I'm back at it, if the heat lets up!)

 

[Trezurehunter]

Great looking bladelets Smokey. I like the coloration on those.

 

[The Grim Reaper]

On a large, nearly hunted-out, backwater Archaic-through-Contact Era site I hunted in east-central Pennsylvania, these were the one artifact type I could count on finding nice examples of. Reason being that nobody else seemingly ever knew that these were artifacts and not debitage. Those I found were of the Black Helderberg chert common there. The people who made them were more nearly a peripheral population adopting Hopewell cultural practices than literally "Hopewell Interaction Sphere" members.

The one- or two-ridged business is a matter of where the most convenient spot was on the core to run one off from. Prehistoric pen knives either way.

its like the utilized Flakes I find on my site in Lewis county Kentucky. I actually find some really nice ones in piles of flint picked up while they hunt and then drop. They either don't care for them or don't recognize them. I have several trays full.