tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5086026991280831425.post5688456361682934556..comments2024-03-18T11:38:13.384-02:30Comments on Elfshot: Palaeoeskimo Skin Processing ExperimentsTimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11473674521424237610noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5086026991280831425.post-60757269038138327362010-05-11T08:12:10.673-02:302010-05-11T08:12:10.673-02:30Thanks Desmond! I really appreciate hearing about ...Thanks Desmond! I really appreciate hearing about your experiences with sealskin. At this point, its been drying in the frame as a thong and the skin has become quite stiff and dark, although the hair especially seems to be holding on to a lot of grease. I test shaved a small section and the hair came off fairly easily. As you said, it had that black outer skin look to it. That is how I want the finished leather to look. The plan now is to shave it this weekend using an assortment of stone flakes. After the hair is off, I'm not sure whether I'll string it back in the frame or soak it in water a few times first. Probably soak it and then hang it under tension again. I have a couple projects that I'd like to use it on in the next month or so.Timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11473674521424237610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5086026991280831425.post-33133990965278246832010-05-10T23:32:02.563-02:302010-05-10T23:32:02.563-02:30When I do animal skin i find there are different t...When I do animal skin i find there are different tools for different animals. Seal fat is easily cut off with an ulu by just making careful slicing action at about a fourty to fourty five degree angle. After i have rough fleshed the skin i place it in a frame and i cut off bits that i have missed. Thats the way that i learned to clean a seal skin.<br />A good way to remove the hair from the hide is to put the seal skin into a small brook. Leave it there for a few days and then the hair will come right off. Thats how my grandfather would do it, if he was going to bark tan seal skin for boots. It was not uncommon either to shave the sealskin too for the bottom of the boots. they would leave the black outer skin on the hide and bits of fur to aid in traction<br /> You want to wash your sealskins too a few times in warm water to get as much grease as possible out of the hide. Because as long as you have grease you will have smell. I have heard that my ancestors(inuit) would use animal urine to wash the seal skin which helps to remove grease. I have to say i am thankful today for sawdust and borax. I also keep my sealskin out drying for a few months but in a somewhat shaded area or you will sunburn your sealskin. The prolonged drying process will help get rid of lots of grease. i always check it every once in a while wiping the excess grease off and giving it an extra scrape. You can never have your hides too clean.Desmond Canningnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5086026991280831425.post-26538347951704515082010-04-07T12:18:14.659-02:302010-04-07T12:18:14.659-02:30Interesting.
Tim: Yeah, parchmenters' worksho...Interesting.<br /><br />Tim: Yeah, parchmenters' workshops would have been in permanent buildings at the edges of town, downriver from everyone else, in the same neighbourhood as the other smelly craftspeople (tanners, butchers, etc). The lunellum would have been used specifically for scraping hides, and other tools would have been used for cutting.<br /><br />Lori: As far as I can recall, parchmenters would let the hides soak in a water-lime solution for a few days before even starting the scraping. That loosened the connections between the fat, hairs, and layers of skin, so that they peeled away relatively easily. They would then do a quick scrape to clean up what was left, then soak the hide again, before taking it out for the final stretching and scraping. I guess the lime did a lot of the work you guys did by hand... maybe they didn't need the flexibility with positioning?<br /><br />And hey, there's a reason books were rare in medieval Europe!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5086026991280831425.post-42629925086588692852010-04-07T11:00:14.925-02:302010-04-07T11:00:14.925-02:30I found myself holding the ulu blade (not just the...I found myself holding the ulu blade (not just the edge) flush to the skin more often than not, a position which I think would be hard to do with the two-handled parchmenter's scraping tool. The ulu also allowed me to easily switch back and forth between its use as a scraper and knife, depending on the thickness of the blubber.<br />However, I imagine once the blubber was removed and the skin was at an even thickness I dare say the parchmenter's tool would work like a charm at thinning it out. Though, after all that time, sweat and labour I wouldn't have done it all for a piece of paper. I'd rather a pair of boots ;-)LoriWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04450142685082437734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5086026991280831425.post-58547300062041160232010-04-06T22:01:41.717-02:302010-04-06T22:01:41.717-02:30I don't have any answers, but I could see the ...I don't have any answers, but I could see the advantage of having a two handed handle for a hide scraping tool. It would give you more power and control and not overly tire out one arm. However, its makes a bigger, less portable tool. The ulu would have had many other jobs besides hideworking and the women using it would have spent a lot of the year travelling from camp to camp. <br /><br />I don't know much about the lives of parchmenters, but I'd guess that they had a more permanent workshop. They probably lived in a permanent village and had a workshop that they could keep all their tools hanging on a wall year round. <br /><br />It was interesting to see the parallels between ulus and lunellum. Very similar design for the same function and the names even sound alike. <br /><br />Thanks for the comment!Timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11473674521424237610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5086026991280831425.post-25950778974548177992010-04-06T16:36:10.621-02:302010-04-06T16:36:10.621-02:30This post reminds me of a question that's been...This post reminds me of a question that's been rolling around in the back of my head for a few years. What sort of handle make a hide-scraping tool easier to use: the kind on an ulu or the kind on a parchmenter's knife?<br /><br />(A parchmenter's knife generally looks something like this: http://www.seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/readerguides/peregrines/parchmentier.html)<br /><br />Any thoughts?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5086026991280831425.post-88007550765849099692010-04-02T19:01:14.630-02:302010-04-02T19:01:14.630-02:30Steve: Thanks - I can definitely write something u...Steve: Thanks - I can definitely write something up for the PAO Archaeology Review. I think that would be a good format and I like that its a little less formal and widely available:<br /><br />http://www.tcr.gov.nl.ca/tcr/publications/index.html#Newsletters<br /><br />qmackie: I read your blog post today and found it really interesting. I'm in a hide working frame of mind this week :) I guess I never really understood the importance of degreasing the hide before. The wide slate scrapers were ideal for pressing out the grease. By the end of today's work the little chert endscrapers became the right tool to use. The hide was dry enough that it started to get fuzzy on the inside. The slate scrapers would slide over that fuzz, but the sharper chert endscrapers would ball it up and cut it off.Timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11473674521424237610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5086026991280831425.post-73155877109655917472010-04-02T18:40:48.775-02:302010-04-02T18:40:48.775-02:30I intend to use the "Pamela Anderson" as...I intend to use the "Pamela Anderson" as my new measurement of almost everything.....<br /><br />It's interesting you settled on that big, tabular scraper. We happen to be talking scrapers at my blog today as well, and there are several accounts posts of using very large scrapers, hafted on to robust, baseball-bat sized handles, for use on moose and caribou hides. These were used with stone bits as recently as 1980 in NW British Columbia and of course continue to be used to this day.<br /><br />I was also intrigued by the use of seal blood as a glue...<br /><br />http://qmackie.wordpress.com/2010/04/02/caribou-metatarsal-hide-scraper/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5086026991280831425.post-57771722727172795822010-04-02T18:27:47.692-02:302010-04-02T18:27:47.692-02:30I tend to do that to everyone.I tend to do that to everyone.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14363108273569776527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5086026991280831425.post-56552192226490248112010-04-02T18:10:55.823-02:302010-04-02T18:10:55.823-02:30First it was Pamela Anderson, and now with the hai...First it was Pamela Anderson, and now with the hairless thong... you're undermining our credibility here!!!LoriWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04450142685082437734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5086026991280831425.post-62474641896609627582010-04-02T17:03:32.469-02:302010-04-02T17:03:32.469-02:30and oh yeah.....mmmmmm hairless thong.........and oh yeah.....mmmmmm hairless thong.........Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14363108273569776527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5086026991280831425.post-80539959713756552812010-04-02T17:03:01.912-02:302010-04-02T17:03:01.912-02:30I know it is a long while away but I would be happ...I know it is a long while away but I would be happy to have this written up in the PAO Archaeology Review for next year!Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14363108273569776527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5086026991280831425.post-69567660608232999002010-04-02T14:51:08.055-02:302010-04-02T14:51:08.055-02:30Wow! A large greasy seal skin prepared with stone ...Wow! A large greasy seal skin prepared with stone tools alone is a serious undertaking. I fleshed a raccoon hide once with a stone thumb scraper and thought that was a chore. And the results from the binding experiment are very enlightening.<br /><br />Also, I'd like to reiterate what Steve said above; publish, publish, publish!!! I know it is easier said than done, but I've learned a lot from your site. I'm sure others would enjoy and benefit from what you have to offer as well.Johnhttp://lithiclabs.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5086026991280831425.post-49661786031555361772010-04-02T12:52:32.816-02:302010-04-02T12:52:32.816-02:30Thanks Steve. Yeah, I guess I should find a way t...Thanks Steve. Yeah, I guess I should find a way to publish this stuff in a format that is a little easier for folks to reference. If I would have had time to prepare for this in advance I might not be so surprised by every turn of events.<br /><br />I'm still struggling with the hair issue, but I'm leaning towards cutting the hide into thong with the hair on and seeing what happens. I really want this thing to dry when the sun and warm temperatures hit it and not start to stink. I think increasing the surface area by cutting it into a strip should help it dry out more quickly. If the hair doesn't fall out on its own and I decide that I want hairless thong I can always shave it later.<br /><br />There you go Steve - you made me say "I want hairless thong I can always shave it." That should drive the google traffic to the site through the roof.Timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11473674521424237610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5086026991280831425.post-64057569725048889802010-04-02T12:17:03.142-02:302010-04-02T12:17:03.142-02:30This has been an amazing few days and a huge learn...This has been an amazing few days and a huge learning curve processing our first seal skin and innards. Given we had so little notice we were pretty lucky Tim had the tools on hand that we did. It would have been nice to prepare our toolbox and house a little better but we've managed really well considering. If I could wish for any changes it would be colder weather, as we feel like we're racing the forecasted warm weather before the skin starts to putrify (and we start upsetting neighbours).<br />I abandoned Tim yesterday and that wasn't very kind of me. It will take both of us, and perhaps the generous hands of a few friends, to remove the hair and cut the skin into a thong tomorrow.LoriWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04450142685082437734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5086026991280831425.post-81663702281113415292010-04-02T11:41:23.214-02:302010-04-02T11:41:23.214-02:30Fascinating, seriously fascinating. This whole se...Fascinating, seriously fascinating. This whole set of posts with the seal pelt have been very, very interesting. Are you thinking about publishing this work? I really think you should - so many people would be interested in reading these ideas about the sinew vs baleen, or how much grease and fat are in the hide alone! We are so far removed from these activities yet we think we have it all figured out!<br />Have you considered using a beamer for removing the hair? I`m sure you have. Is it too early at this point?Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14363108273569776527noreply@blogger.com