Description

This thin blunt file with a half-round cross-section (also known as cabinet style) was recovered from the French River (Grand Parisien Rapids) in 1962.  It displays manufacturers Benjamin and Joseph Burdekin's mark, dating it to the eighteenth to early nineteenth century. The current interpretation for these objects is that they sank to the bottom of the river during canoe accidents. In the fur trade context, files were valuable trade items as they allows the resharpening of other metal objects, such as axes.