Could This Be A Trade Knife???

[Izzy]

Hello fellas, I know that this is as good a place as any and loaded with knife know how so I figured Ill ask here first.   I found this knife at the site of an Iroquois encampment. We also found some trade points as well as Onondaga flint stone points and pottery shards, all on the surface.

      The site is certainly not pristine and there have been many modern day campers at the site since the natives inhabited the area so it may be just a butter knife that was left by a modern day, toast loving camper.

      I know that a trade knife is a broad classification  of  knives so what Im really asking is from the pictures do any of you think this could be 100s of years old? Thank you, Izzy            

[kansas stik man]

would be hard to tell without a carbon dating.  the problem with old stuff made of steel is that sometimes it can rust completely away.  so it could be really old or it could be a butter knife that has sat there for several years but of no real importance.  either way cool find.  but in my opinion it looks to be of the old world.  that kinda rust dont ussually happen fast.

[Bobby Urban]

Kinda makes you wonder if it was even a knife the way the tail end of the handle is formed??  Maybe there was a similar section on the other end that has rotted away.  And then who knows that that would have been?  Cool find either way - I really like finding old things.  

I ofen wonder when watching that show, "American Pickers" how many Bear bows, old broadheads, Marbles knives and other cool pieces of hunting and archery history they could find if they knew what was valuable.

[ericmerg]

can you post a pic of the "tip" i dug an old draw/skinningknife that had the same style handle

at a 1860's house

[Izzy]

Glad to see you fellas are interested in finding old relics too. The really crazy thing to me is that this was found within 2 miles from Henry Hudsons northern most point of exploration of the river  which he called Mauritius in 1609 and was later named after him. With a little bit of imagination you can see the natives in their dugouts and smell the smoke from their fires as the explorers made their way up the pristine Hudson River every time I set foot on that ground.  

[Bobby Urban]

Izzy - I am liking Erics direction that it may ave been a fleshing knife with dual handles.  I am seeing wood handles past the loop on the tang and a trapper scrapping the hide off a pile of beaver pelts.