What do I have, Native American Spearhead??

[Oldnrth]

My Great Grandfather was a farmer in Bemidji, MN. My grandmother said when he was out plowing the field (~1940’s) this came to the top of what he was plowing. Kept it over the years and when they passed away my grandmother received it, she gifted it to me a few years back and we’re trying to figure out exactly what it is. Please see the pictures and that you for the help, my grandmother will appreciate knowing exactly what her father unearthed all those years ago!

 

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[bravowhiskey]

could be, but I think knife blade

 

[GaRebel1861]

I’d call it a blade as well. No doubt it’s a good find!

 

[Oldnrth]

Thanks for the feedback! Are these a rarity or a common find? Apologize, I just know absolutely nothing about this type of collecting.

 

[old digger]

That is one beautiful knife blade. If you can you might want to see if you can search the same field.

 

[sandchip]

Pretty material, too.

 

[Oldnrth]

Wish I still could, the farm land has since been developed and is now nothing but houses :/

 

[bravowhiskey]

Wish I still could, the farm land has since been developed and is now nothing but houses :/

No knives are not unusual as they were a mainstay tool. One in that good of shape and as thin as is shows master craftsmanship and is a real prize.
a real shame about the farm Oldnrth, and they call it progress.
Have fished Bemidgi many times as a young'n and know the beauty of the Northern lakes.

 

[Oldnrth]

No knives are not unusual as they were a mainstay tool. One in that good of shape and as thin as is shows master craftsmanship and is a real prize.
a real shame about the farm Oldnrth, and they call it progress.
Have fished Bemidgi many times as a young'n and know the beauty of the Northern lakes.

Thanks for the feedback, my grandmother will be excited to hear this all! I had no idea - yeah they had a small farm, when I was a kid I remember sitting on the old black (I believe Cadillac) out in the field, had the huge 60’s fins on the back. Big red barn, outhouse, and about ~70 acres of hay fields. They had a lot of scrap metal lying around so my parents never wanted me to venture out too far into the fields, years later wish I had explored more. Parents like near Grand Rapids, old logging camp on their property and you can still see where the dirt was all pushed up for the cook shack. Shot up parts of the old stove are back there never fully metal detected it, plan to do that this spring.

 

[smokeythecat]

Welcome. I would also call it a knife blade and that large they are quite desirable. I'd keep it forever.

 

[newnan man]

Welcome, that is a very nice knife blade and rare to find them that big and still not broken by plows, disks, etc. My dads side of the family were all Minnesotan's, if that's a word!? Much further south though. I remember it as a beautiful state. Everything is growing and changing, here in Florida too, there is a mad rush to clear land and move in a crowd more of people. They are stupidly destroying what makes the place so desirable. All about the $$$$!

 

[Relicgrubber]

Nice sized blade! Nice rescue by your GG...

 

[Oldnrth]

Welcome, that is a very nice knife blade and rare to find them that big and still not broken by plows, disks, etc. My dads side of the family were all Minnesotan's, if that's a word!? Much further south though. I remember it as a beautiful state. Everything is growing and changing, here in Florida too, there is a mad rush to clear land and move in a crowd more of people. They are stupidly destroying what makes the place so desirable. All about the $$$$!

Thanks you Newnan Man. Out of curiosity what timeframe do you think this would’ve been made and used in? It’s a fascinating piece to me, I mainly collect coins and militaria so this is all new and exciting to me!

 

[Buckleberry]

Big ole knife! Sweet!

 

[tamrock]

Great artifact and a wonderful heirloom to keep passing down. We took a few summer vacations up by Bemidji when I was young at place called Little Bass Lake. A very meaningful memory of mine is when, just me and my dad went fishing. My brother passed away in 1972 so we just got away. It was just a good time of heading for dad and I with that trip. I remember a museum in Bemidji with artifacts found in the area and during its construction they uncovered a grave and so they left it open with a sealed glass cover over it and layed out was the skeleton of a native American if I recall. Ofcourse Bemidji will always be known by the legendary folk figures of Paul Bunyan, Blue Ox and Lobo the last of the killer wolves in the region.

 

[The Grim Reaper]

I agree with a Blade or Knife and a very fine example as well. I tried to look for Blade types from Maine but all I found is a Boats Blade and yours doesn't look like that type. Also, that material looks like Pennsylvania Jasper.

This is a data base for Maine. The tray consists of artifacts from Maine I acquired for my states collection.

https://www.projectilepoints.net/Search/Maine_Search.html

 

[Older The Better]

Semi related question, some point types are named but also recognized as preforms to other types. Could this blade also be a preform or is a blade a blade?

With proper notching it’d make a beautiful dovetail

 

[newnan man]

Thanks you Newnan Man. Out of curiosity what timeframe do you think this would’ve been made and used in? It’s a fascinating piece to me, I mainly collect coins and militaria so this is all new and exciting to me!

Knives can be difficult to date when not found in context with known artifacts from a specific time period. As " form follows function" most knives resemble each other down through various archaeological periods. There are exceptions but a late Paleo knife could resemble a late Woodland blade closely. If you were finding a lot of certain time period artifacts like Kirks or Hardins then you could assume your blade was from those periods. Since you inherited it from your grandfather you may never know. Still a very nice old blade and a family memory which to me makes it invaluable. Others on this site know a lot more and may have some more info.

 

[Tdog]

Semi related question, some point types are named but also recognized as preforms to other types. Could this blade also be a preform or is a blade a blade?

With proper notching it’d make a beautiful dovetail

...a dovetail or other type. Good point (no pun intended).