174 THE POINT BARROW ESKIMO. 
. 
thin, long shavings which eurl up like “curled hair,” are carefully saved 
and used for the padding between stocking and boot. Whalebone is 
also sometimes shaved for this special purpose. The tool is essentially 
a little spokeshave about 4 inches long, which is held by the index and 
second finger of the right hand, one on each handle, with the thumb 
pressed against one end, and is drawn toward the workman. The col- 
lection contains three specimens of the ordinary form (savige), repre- 
sented by No. 89306 [885] (figured in Point Barrow Report, Ethnology, 
Pl. m1, Fig.6). This has a steel blade and ahaft of walrus ivory. The 
upper face of the haft is convex and the under flat, and the blade, 
which is beyeled only on the upper face, is set at a slight inclination to 
the flat face of the haft. The edge of the blade projects 0-2 inch from 
the haft above and 0:3 below. The hole at one end of the haft is for a 
lanyard to hang it up by. The other two are of essentially the same 
pattern, but have hafts of reindeer antler. 
The collection also contains six tools of this description, with stone 
blades, but they are all new and very carelessly made, with hafts of 
coarse-grained bone. The shape of the tools is shown in Fig. 146, No. 
89649 [1213], from Utkiaywin, which has a rough blade of soft, light 
greenish slate. The other five have blades of 
black or gray flint, roughly flaked. All these 
blades are glued in with oil dregs. No, 89652 
[1225] is like the others in shape, but more 
Fic. he nalehne shave, slate neatly made, and is peculiar in having a blade 
of hard, compact bone. This is inserted by saw- 
ing a deep, narrow slit along one side of the haft from end toend. The 
blade is wedged into the middle of the slit, the ends of which are neatly 
filled in with slips of the same material as the haft. This was the only 
tool of the kind seen. It is very probable that shaves of stone were 
formerly used, though we obtained no genuine specimens. The use of 
oblong chips of flint for this purpose would naturally suggest itself. to 
a savage, and the convenience of fitting these flakes into a little haft 
would soon occur to him. No. 89616 [1176] is such an oblong flint; 
flaked to an edge on one face, which is evidently old, and which was 
said to have been used for shaving whalebone. The material is black 
flint. Whalebone is often shaved nowadays with a common knife. The 
slab of bone is laid upon the thigh and the edge of the knife pressed 
firmly against it, with the blade perpendicular to the surtace of the 
slab, which is drawn rapidly under it. 
Saws.—lIf the Eskimo had not already invented the saw before they 
became acquainted with the whites they readily adopted the tool even 
when they had scanty materials for making it. Crantz' speaks of “a 
little lock saw” as one of a Greenlander’s regular tools in his time, and 
Egede? mentions handsaws as a regular article of trade. Capt. Parry? 
| History of Greenland, vol. 1, p. 149. 2 Greenland, p. 175. 32d Voyage, p. 536, 
