Washington State Creek Knife & Arrowhead!

[moldavitemike]

;D

There I was digging for fossils in a creek bed when I spotted this in my sifting basket. At first it looked like some old paintbrush handle because the blade was folded up with a little rust and muck concealing it. Upon closer examination I realized it was a pocket knife and it looked hecka old so I took it home.

After scraping the bit of corrosion from the outer part of the blade I was able to to pry the blade out with some pliers. It turned out to be very rusty, but I thought I could make out the word FRANCE just near the handle. A friend recommended scrubbing it with a wire brush and some baking soda and water, which I did, and it turned out I was right. Not only does it say FRANCE but it also says LE SAVOYARD on the blade. On the ring around the outside of the handle it says OPINEL No.8 and from what I think I can make out VIROBLOC BREVETE. I googled it and it appears that the knife may have been made in France in 1897! I wonder how long it had been in the creek?

...

The kicker is that the next day we went back to the same spot
and I found my very first arrowhead! Even though it's point is broken I'm still pretty stoked on it because when light passes through it it displays almost a pentagram pattern that I am unfamiliar with. Does anybody know about the mineral they used here?

ROCKS!

Attachments:

[arappaho]

Man, that sounds like a really great spot! Cool Finds!
Either something's been bringing folks to that spot for a very long
time, or that's where the flow is dropping things off at.
Maybe a little of both.
Another cool thing is that "arrowhead" you found looks more like
a knife, too! Of course projectile points often doubled as knives,
but this has knife written all over it. imo.
Your going to have to name that "Old Knife Creek", or sumthin!

The two main lithic materials in your area are agate and obsidian.
There are lots of different types of agate around there and I
couldn't begin to try and pick out a name for what you found.
Someone around there ought to have a good idea, but I'll see
what I can come up with waaaaaaaaaay over here on the
other side of the continent.

Cool Finds and Great Story. Thanks for sharing,
Joe

[arappaho]

Hey Mike,
Couldn't find anything on what kind of agate that might be
but wanted to link you to this site for projectile point typology.
It's a good "general" reference and I'm linking you to a page
that has something "similar" to what you found.
Not saying this is "The" answer, just something to explore.

www.projectilepoints.net/Pages/Searches/Points/Cody.html

And here's another site I stumbled on that you might want to
browse when you have the time.

qmackie.wordpress.com/2010/10/31/nw-geology-field-trips-lead-to-chert/#more-3351

Keep up the Hunt,
Joe

[leonardo]

Bring a metal detector with you next time if its legal in that area...Good Luck... could have been a camp in that area and the knife could have come from a French Canadian fur trader.. ...research...

[Craig]

Great Find Mike.

This knife is from the legendary French cutlery company OPINEL which was founded in the mountainous French provence of Savoie in 1890 by the three OPINEL brothers. (Thus the 3 fingers in their emblem.)
The blade has the Old OPINEL emblem. Also the "MADE IN FRANCE" stamp is on the other side of the blade. After 1970, the "MADE IN FRANCE" was put on the same side as the emblem.
The phrase "1er CHOIX" (1st CHOICE) is marked on the handle. This was discontinued over 30 years ago.
Opinel knives are so well thought-out that in 1985 the original Opinel knife was recognized together with the Porsche 911 and Rolex as one of “100 Best Designed Objects In The World” at the Victoria And Albert Museum in London, Great Britain.

I hope this information Helps.

Take Care,
Craig