Hand-made by Skalla

howdy, i was gonna start a thread for member creations... ok, that sounds bad, i mean ats folk's hand crafted items then i found this forum, so i guess i'll just post some of my recent work instead:

this is stuff i've worked on today and last night:

L-R:
a cow horn archer's bracer - i just need to attach some thongs to fix it to the user's arm
a spoon blank, from hawthorn - i'll finish this when i get a chance in the next couple of days
a flour scoop, from hawthorn again, finished with sesame oil and beeswax
a carving knife, not made by me, just for scale.

and some stuff thats a little older:
more spoons first..

Top to bottom
Cherry, 2 from Beech, last one is Sweet Chestnut.. all have been gifted away as is often the case.


Glass arrowheads from milk and beer bottle bottoms


a flint knife, fixed to a blackthorn handle with homemade pine-pitch glue.. rather overdosed on the stuff as i did not have any suitable sinew for hafting.

and...

sometime it goes wrong

Thanks for looking!

nice cache blade, too bad she broke!!!

Awesome spoons!

I make a shot glass every time we go camping from fresh cut wood....

how did you make the Pine pitch glue?

Nice work!

You can buy artificial sinew at craft stores, I think Tandy makes it. If not.... the real thing is as close as your nearest road-killed deer!

Originally posted by paratus
nice cache blade, too bad she broke!!!

Awesome spoons!

I make a shot glass every time we go camping from fresh cut wood....

it's cool, every time i break something it's my own fault and i learn from it

i've never made a wooden drinking vessel yet - i plan to get some birch for a tankard soon but keep forgetting, and i have some hawthorn logs that would make a nice small kuksa, but they are well seasoned rather than green and the effort and repeated stropping of my knives kinda puts me off at moment. thanks for commenting

Originally posted by camaro68ss
how did you make the Pine pitch glue?

well i used a woodland rather than a kitchen method...but here goes - please note pine pitch is obvs very flammable!!

first i had a lot of pine pitch - usually i gather from wounds in living trees but found a massive standing dead pine with golf ball sized gobs all over it and got a carrier bag full..

then i powdered some charcoal from the fire pit, and mashed up some sheep droppings i had dried by the fire and put them to one side - you can use shredded dried grass instead of dung, and lint from the tumble drier works just as well too.

then i made a *little* fire in a small narrow trench (say 6-8" long, 4-5" deep and wide) and propped a sheet of slate over it to be heated by the fire. the slate was at an angle like a ramp, so i could put bits of pitch on to melt on the hot stone. it's basicly a stone age hotplate.

this allows the melted pitch to run down the ramp while the debris like bark stays in a lump at the top of the slate ramp.

as the pitch slowly runs down (too big a fire and it will run too fast making the process very chaotic, and it can burst into flames too - be careful!) the hotplate srinkle the charcoal and dung/lint/grass fibres over it quite sparingly and gather on to the end of a stick. dip it in water to set it.. keep going untill you have a glue stick that looks a bit like a bull rush. or sausage on a kebab squewer.

proportions of ingredients vary between folk, but i'd say you want two thirds to three quarters pine pitch, the remainder shared equally between the other ingredients. the resulting glue stick should not look too glassy/smooth but have a slightly matt texture. if you mess up, you can just re-melt and add more charcoal etc.

i hope this makes sense, feel free to ask for clarification etc

ETA: here is a good vid on PPG

reply to post by butcherguy


thanks - i've found artificial sinew hard to find in stores in the uk, and while i have some muntjack sinew it's very short so it's still waiting to be used. road kill deer are very uncommon where i live, or i would have a very smelly back yard

I love your little Mora carving blade. Nice work! I love to see things made from nature. I was fortunate enough to have Errett Callahan as an instructor for making blades, if you haven't seen his work you really should.
Do you make any blades for use or aesthetics only?
I have yet to try bottle bottoms but it's a handy skill given the number you could find just about anywhere. Do you market your work someplace?

Find a slaughterhouse, they might be able to hook you up with sinew.
Failing that thin rawhide strips are a fairly good second choice.

reply to post by skalla


Here is a link to Tandy Corp, you can buy artificial sinew online. 300 yards for $25 US

Tandy- Artificial Sinew

Originally posted by skalla

Originally posted by paratus
nice cache blade, too bad she broke!!!

Awesome spoons!

I make a shot glass every time we go camping from fresh cut wood....

it's cool, every time i break something it's my own fault and i learn from it

i've never made a wooden drinking vessel yet - i plan to get some birch for a tankard soon but keep forgetting, and i have some hawthorn logs that would make a nice small kuksa, but they are well seasoned rather than green and the effort and repeated stropping of my knives kinda puts me off at moment. thanks for commenting

Actually the shot glass is more of a "shot canoe" ....

Wow, that's some beautiful work!
Those spoons and especially your flour scoop would go wonderfully in my kitchen !
Your handwork is really nice, and the glass arrowheads are awesome. How do you do it without shattering the glass?

Thank you for sharing these.

reply to post by Asktheanimals


thanks for stopping by

the mora blades are great - really affordable (maybe about £12 for that one iirc) and are sharp as heck when you buy them. i've not had to sharpen it yet, which considering the amount of seasoned horn, hawthorn and holly it's cut is a tribute to their quality - i just strop them with 400 grit wet and dry laid over a leather pad on a board... i'll look up the blade maker - i've only ever made one steel knife but it still needs tempering and a handle.. i have a heap of half finished projects!
my stone blades are mostly for fun and as a passtime though i have some ground slate blades i've used in the kitchen and i've used flint blades for harvesting veg and woodland materials too , as well as making burins for use as primitive drills... eventually i'll make a stone toothed sickle when i get around to it i've made tv glass axe heads too, hafted in a slotted celt fashion - i may try to cut softish branches and saplings with them at some point - i reckon they would handle willow and poplars ok, maybe even hazel but i've not managed a flint axe head that i've been happy with yet - thats kind of a target for me knapping wise.
as for marketing stuff, i may do someday, beit via etsy or a craft fair etc. my main craft hobbies though are walking sticks, cudgels and spoons - i reckon i could get a worthwhile price for the spoons but sadly i dont think i'd get a decent price for my walking sticks given the time and work that goes in to them. usually they either brighten up my home or end up as gifts.
agreed on rawhide being great stuff too - i use knotted raw hide dog treats and soak them for softness before cutting them and binding with them - i've used them for fixing copper wire pressure flakers in split sticks and hafting spear blades

reply to post by woodsmom


many thanks, glad you like them! if you are feeling brave, drop me a line a few weeks before your birthday and i may just hook you up

the arrowheads are easier than you may think.. there is a knapping thread in my sig that could get you started, i'm happy to offer further advice and so on too. i took a friend who was a novice through the arrowhead process and he made a really good one on his first effort, obvs it helped to have 1-1 tuition but once you understand the basics glass is great to knap, you just take the breakages as lessons.

a few more bits and bobs..

i've been lucky enough to spend some time with an excellent glass bead maker on a few occaisions - it's a hypnotic art, i'll have to get me a blow torch one of these days


i made a snowman bead for the chrimbo tree too:


i made a sweet Dalek bead for my GF who's a sci-fi geek too, couldnt find a piccy though, i may add one when i see her next and ask her to bring it over.

i enjoy felt making too - i made some Boots for my boy when he was a toddler..


and finally a psychedelic warlord hat, modelled by my fair self

reply to post by skalla


Thanks for the offers!
I may have to take you up on them. The glass knapping would be a fun project to do with the munchkin. If we need any extra help, I know where to go, thanks again.

The felt work is cool too.

Fantastic artistry brother! You have found your calling for sure.
S&F from me

reply to post by kimish


Many thanks Kimish, i've spent about ten years working with a lot of traditional crafts folk and picked up as much in the way of skills, info and feedback as i could along the way..
i'm going through a protracted/attempted change in the whole work/life/living arrangement thang at pres and hopefully it will end up in me teaching more woodland/primitive crafts at some point (and to a less challenging and stressfull client base, i've been working with autism and *highly* challenging behaviour for a decade and really needed a change for some time now) as well as more time to practice this stuff and maybe get round to at least making a bit of a living from selling work.
thanks for commenting

reply to post by skalla


Ah Skalla,

I love all of your pieces, I especially like your knapped items. You are my favorite primitive.

Thanks for sharing and have a great day.

reply to post by Bybyots


cool, i'm glad you like them, i dont really have much more knapped work i could show sadly - i'm still learning my limits in the craft and i often get to the point with a piece where i'm happy with it, but wonder "hmm, what would happen if i try this?" and break the thing, but i dont really mind as the fun is the puzzling involved in the whole process.

i love my cavemanism when i get the chance too dude, and you are my favourite steampunk-warlock thingy

reply to post by skalla


I had already had you high in my book and you just went up a few notches.
Whether you believe or not, You've been touched. (blessed)