12 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM, vol. GO. 



The jackknife is a tool for whittling, for making chips or shavings 

 in wood and like substances, and always works by pressure, never 

 by a blow. The first jackknives were spalls of siliceous stone, little 

 modified from natural forms, having one portion, the working 

 part, sharj), the other portion, or manual part, after a fashion fitting 

 the hand. The elaboration of the jackknife consists in the develop- 

 ment of the blade, the handle, and the connective devices between 

 them. The series ends with complicated forms for general use and 

 differentiated forms in endless variety for special crafts. In the 

 mechanical stage of industry the functions of the jackknife are per- 

 formed with great celerity in planing mills. The plane itself is a 

 jackknife working with a gauge. The objects exhibited in this series 

 are suggestive of steps in the elaboration of the jackknife. 



No. 1. Knife consisting of spall of stone 173,563 



No. 2. Knives consisting of spalls sliglitly modified 30,504, 146,131 



No. 8. Knife consisting of long flakes specially selected 99,918 



No. 4. Knife from long flake, chipped on the edge 173,566 



No. 5. Symmetrically chipped blades, the grip formed by wrapping one end 



with fur 98,813, 26,230 



No. 6. Chipped blades, with tang for attaching to the end of the handle__ 17,319, 



14,329, 63,769 



No. 7. Chipped or ground blades of stone, with tang for side hafting 48,826, 



136,991 

 No. 8. Knives of bamboo, the hard exterior forming the cutting edge. West 



Borneo and Gaboon River, Africa 249,048, 164,484 



No. 9. Knife of ivory with slightly shaped handle. Knife of scapular bone with 



wrapped handle. Eskimos, Alaska 26,040 



No. 10. Clam shell with sharpened edge. Beaver tooth set in handle. Eskimos 



and Indians, Alaska 36,366,168,352 



No. 11. Copper and bronze blades ; handle and blade in one piece_ 101,223, 101,405 

 No. 12. Metal blades, with tangs to be driven into the ends of handles. 



No. 13. Metal blades, with sockets for handles 147,420, 14,722 



No. 14. Metal blades, with flat tangs for rivets 101,338, 45,948 



No. 15. Hinged blades, closing in the handle. Morocco 130,324, 168,804 



No. 16. Hinged blade, closing in the handle with a spring. American Frontier. 



54,340 

 No. 17. Farrier's knife, with hinges and springs, showing a variety of blades. 



SERIES 2. EUROPEAN AX. 



Plate 13. 



Tlie lowest form of the ax is a fragment of stone so sharp that, 

 held in the hand, it can be used as a chopping tool. An important 

 first step in human progress was the discovery of means for increas- 

 ing the efficienc}^ of this natural tool by sharpening its edge. For a 

 long period this was accomplished by striking off flakes with another 

 stone; later pecking and grinding were employed for this purpose, 

 and handles were attached in various ways to give greater power to 

 the stroke. It was a long time before metal came into use, and it is 



