Scraper

Made from soapstone, this scraper was used to prepare caribou skins. It has a dull or blunt blade and was used for the initial stages of preparing skins: stretching the animal's skin; softening it; and removing its thin layer of subcutaneous fat.

In general, this kind of scraper was made from a caribou's shoulder blade. In this particular case, and rather unusually, it was carved from soapstone to look like a shoulder blade. Because soapstone is more resistant than caribou bone, this scraper could last much longer.

Nowadays, skins are more often prepared with scrapers that have a wooden handle and an aluminum or metal blade.