Northwest Coast Native American (Indian) Knife?

fearn · 29th December 2008, 08:26 PM

Hi Tim,

The blade could be African, but it's too short to be a seme (10", right MP?). Trouble is, leaf shaped blades are common from many places. For instance, it could also be a rebuilt spear blade, although I don't think that's likely.

So what do we have? A lanceolate blade with two edges, little or no sign of work wear, pitting consistent with rust near the top of the blade, but it has no makers marks that I see, and the rust and blade have been cleaned so that there's no patina to date it.

The hilt materials are ivory (or bone) and abalone (or MOP) eyes, and it looks like there are leather lashings. The hilt looks sort of like a raven. None of these are unique to the Pacific Northwest.

What I'm not seeing is something that unequivocally says PNW. It could be, but it could be Aleut or possibly Inuit. Or it could be someone trying to mimic the style. In any case, it looks 20th Century, and I'd guess that it was built for art rather than for war or work.
F

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29th December 2008, 08:26 PM	#9
fearn Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 1,247	Hi Tim, The blade could be African, but it's too short to be a seme (10", right MP?). Trouble is, leaf shaped blades are common from many places. For instance, it could also be a rebuilt spear blade, although I don't think that's likely. So what do we have? A lanceolate blade with two edges, little or no sign of work wear, pitting consistent with rust near the top of the blade, but it has no makers marks that I see, and the rust and blade have been cleaned so that there's no patina to date it. The hilt materials are ivory (or bone) and abalone (or MOP) eyes, and it looks like there are leather lashings. The hilt looks sort of like a raven. None of these are unique to the Pacific Northwest. What I'm not seeing is something that unequivocally says PNW. It could be, but it could be Aleut or possibly Inuit. Or it could be someone trying to mimic the style. In any case, it looks 20th Century, and I'd guess that it was built for art rather than for war or work. F