Native American tribes have made their own tools for hundreds of years, and, although technology has changed the way that knives are made, it is still possible to craft a Native American knife in the same fashion the tool was made centuries ago. The knives Native Americans used were often made out of chert or flint because they were fairly easy stones to work with. The handles were made from trees found in a nearby forest.
Things You'll Need:
- Wooden Block
- Sandpaper
- 2 Stones
- Knife
Carve the wood in the desired shape of the handle. Native Americans used strong woods from trees in their forests. Because there were Native Americans throughout the land, different trees were used in different areas of the country.
Sand the handle down and form a nock where the knife blade can be placed. You can create a nock by carving an insertion area at the top of the shaft.
Strike your knife-blade stone, which is preferable made of chert or flint, with a stone causing chips to fly off. The knife edge will get sharper by chipping away pieces of the stone. This is the same technique used to create arrowheads.
Attach the blade to the handle and make sure it stays in tight. On same occasions, the Native Americans would put decorative beading around the handle to make sure the blade would stay put.
Warnings:
- Creating a knife blade is very dangerous, please do not leave children make knives unsupervised.
Writer Bio
Sanne Godfrey started writing for her college newspaper in 2008 and quickly moved into an editorial position. She has since been featured in "Venture" magazine and local newspapers such as the "Gresham Outlook." Godfrey received an Associate of Arts in journalism and won awards for her writing and ethics. She is working on her Bachelor of Arts in journalism at the University of Oregon.
Related Articles
