This lithic reproduction is part of an investment grade collection of lithic projectile points, a knife and a sword that was collected by Ben Ruhe in the early 1990s. All of these reproductions were made by Woody Blackwell , one of the world's most famous (and infamous) flint knappers. All of the points in this collection were made between 1989 and 1992 when Woody lived in the Washington, D.C. area (he served as a major in the U.S. Air Force). Ben Ruhe put together this trove of Woody Blackwell stone weapons and tools during this period. Ruhe, who also lived in Washington, D.C., visited his apartment, talked with him on the telephone, and received mail from him in which he discusses the various pieces. Woody is famous for his involvement in the fraudulent reproduction of early North American lithic projectile points. Because his knapping skills fooled almost all of the experts (see Peter Bostrom's web site), Woody has earned a reputation as one of the world's best knappers. This collection consists of 18 projectile points, a knife, and an 18-inch Tennessee-style "sword." All are notable for their exceptional craftsmanship. Copies of correspondence between Woody and Ben Ruhe (the owner of this collection), will be made available to the purchaser of the remainder of the collection. Dr. Mike Gramly, a geologist and archaeologist (Harvard Ph.D.) who specializes in Early Man in North America, has examined the collection and commented favorably on the craftsmanship displayed by Blackwell. He has no doubt whatsoever that everything viewed was created by Blackwell. Ruhe's extensive correspondence with Blackwell corroborates this.

This item is the largest piece (18") in the Blackwell collection. It is a replica of a very large Solutrean Laurel Leaf (25,000 BP to 17,000 BP) or Ceremonial Dance Sword (North America, Aztec). Woody calls this blade a Mississippian Dance Sword on his website. This lithic reproduction is made out of gray Novaculite. Blackwell used the very difficult edge-to-edge or outré passé percussion flaking technique to construct it. This is a very rare and valuable lithic reproduction, made by Woody Blackwell. Length = 450 mm ; Weight = 404 gm