Implements and Artefacts of the North-east Greenlanders. 425 



tip (PI. XXI, 7 and 8); in some, however, the back also curves near 

 the tip, the knife thus tapering to a gently rounded point which lies 

 almost in the middle line of the blade (Plates VIII, 1 ; IX, 4 and XXI, 3); 

 lastly, there are a few knives of divergent forms, which will be de- 

 scribed below. 



Usually the back is thick, and the blade increases in thickness 

 from the edge towards the back, a feature most pronounced in PI. 

 XXI, 7 and 9; some, however, are thickest at the median line, the 

 thickness decreasing both towards the edge and towards the back, 

 which has then a rounded (PI. XXI, 3), or even quite sharp (PI. XII, 1 

 and XXI, 4), edge, so that the knife becomes double-edged, but evi- 

 dently only the one edge has been used for cutting, the form of the 

 implement being more or less assymetrical. 



L. 3401, from Renskajret, house 130 (PI. XXI, 1) is of a peculiar shape 

 with highly curved cutting edge and a straight tang, 1'8 cm. long. The tip 

 is missing, and the back is .unfinished along its entire length; probably a 

 fracture. The knife is polished only along the cutting edge and on the edge 

 of the tang. The former is so highly curved that had it not been furnished 

 with a tang, it would have been taken for the cutting part of a woman's 

 knife. Length 12'7, extreme breadth 3'4 and extreme thickness 0'9 cm. Mate- 

 rial, grey slate. 



L. 3550, from Renskaeret, house 134 (PI. XXI, 5) is fragmentary, a small 

 piece from the tip, and a portion, doubtless considerably larger, from the 

 handle end missing. The blade narrows on both sides somewhat abruptly 

 to the handle, the shoulder on the side of the back being deeper and about 



1 cm. nearer the point than the other. The knife has been polished on 

 both faces throughout, but not so perfectly as to eliminate all hollows on 

 the surface; the back is rough. The present length of the knife is 8, its ex- 

 treme breadth 36 cm. The knife is thickest (7 mm.) near the median line, 

 where, however, there is no sharp ridge; the back is about 4 mm. thick. Ma- 

 terial, reddish slate. 



L. 3309, from Maroussia, house 140 (PI. XXI, 7). Length 12'3, extreme 

 breadth 2'8 cm.; thickest (9 mm.) at the back, which is polished and straight, 

 while the cutting edge, for a distance of 4 cm., curves to the tip. The blade 

 narrows abruptly to the very short handle portion, the shoulder on the side 

 of the back being the deeper, and unlike all the other specimens also 

 the more remote from the point; the distance between the shoulders is about 



2 cm. The portion behind the back shoulder has been ground rather thin, 

 and at the end is a hole for nailing or lashing; a part of the tang may have 

 been broken off. Material, reddish slate. 



L. 3356, from Maroussia, house 144 (PI. XXI, 4). Present length 13 cm., 

 but a portion, probably considerable, of the fore end is missing. Both back 

 and edge are sharp, and the blade thickens regularly to a marked median 

 ridge; the thickness along this line increases towards the handle, from 7 to 

 12 mm. Behind the cutting edge a slight shoulder has been ground for the 

 handle, which at the butt end, on this side is furnished with a knob, 'si- 

 milar to that on the snow knives. At the back the shoulder is as usual 

 both deeper and nearer the point, in this case more than 3 cm. The edges 

 of the handle are facetted, while its end is plane. The handle portion 

 reckoned from the base to the shoulder is on the side of the cutting edge 



