Threads 16: Basketry Tools Made of Bone

It is hard to imagine a time when tools were not made of metal. Basketry certainly predates that time. The first bone basketry tool that I encountered was in England when I went to a course to learn to make a bee skep.  The technique used for bee skeps is coiling. 

A bundle of straw forms the core and then wrapped with a long strong weave. Originally they used the long shoots of wild blackberries as weavers, today we use quarter-inch flat reed.

An awl is used to make a passage in order to carry the weaver through between the bundles. Today the awl is made of metal., but in ancient times they used the thigh bone of a large turkey!

To make the bone awl 

Firstly, buy the biggest turkey you can find. Have a party and keep the thigh bone, boil them and clean them up. You may want to wrap it in an old rag and then secure it in a vice. I used a sharp hacksaw to cut it on the diagonal. See pictures below. It makes a perfect awl, but there is only one problem, you have to make sure your dog does not steal it!

More bone tools

These little treasures, see photo, were given to me by a basket maker in the USA whose husband was a hunter. They are made of bird bones. Again they are perfect for coiling smaller pieces. The needles are sharp and strong.

Basket tools made from bird bones for coiling smaller baskets