Bone needles

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Woody girl

Full Member
Mar 31, 2018
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Exmoor
John somewhere in have a penanular I made aswell but I've no idea where it is now.
I think I once spent a night in that hut in your photo about 22 yrs ago. It looks very familiar. It has partitions on the inside for sleeping spaces doesn’t it? I'd love to visit again sometime. It's a lovely place from what I remember. Though for the life of me I've forgotten the why's and wherefors of how and why I stayed overnight. I know I was in costume. But I did a lot of shows and things at the time so it's all a bit blurred in my memory. I was with the silures group.
 

Woody girl

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Mar 31, 2018
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What sort of fish would you need?. Most fish bones are quite small. Nice and sharp tho..! At least the ones I get stuck in my throat seemy to be.!!!
 

Robson Valley

Full Member
Nov 24, 2014
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McBride, BC
Plenty of fish bones are plenty big enough for needles.
However, in the main, the collagen scaffold of fish bone is not as well mineralized as terrestrial animal bone.
In fact, the greatest mineral ash content is in bird bones. Leg bones. More wild bird road kill than domestic roasting chickens.
Ostrich leg bones ought to be grand but somehow, those birds just aren't very common in my Boreal Forest = Taiga.
 

Janne

Sent off - Not allowed to play
Feb 10, 2016
12,330
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Grand Cayman, Norway, Sweden
I remember they have found fish bone needles in Scandinavia, but do not remember which species.
From fish butchering I recall that Halibut has fairly straight, strong bones .
Will try to remember and save some next summer!
 
When I was young boy my father took me on a long trip up north over several days travel, somewhere east of the Barren grounds I guess and we came across a camp of Innuit and the women were sewing skins together to make tents. They were using bone needles still and this was in the late 1950's or very early 60's. I remember this because my I wondered why they used bone but I think we were told that using bone was easier to handle and push through thick leather furs. I guess also they were using thicker sinew and that wouldn't go through modern steel needles. But it was a long time ago.
 

John Fenna

Lifetime Member & Maker
Oct 7, 2006
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Pembrokeshire
John somewhere in have a penanular I made aswell but I've no idea where it is now.
I think I once spent a night in that hut in your photo about 22 yrs ago. It looks very familiar. It has partitions on the inside for sleeping spaces doesn’t it? I'd love to visit again sometime. It's a lovely place from what I remember. Though for the life of me I've forgotten the why's and wherefors of how and why I stayed overnight. I know I was in costume. But I did a lot of shows and things at the time so it's all a bit blurred in my memory. I was with the silures group.
I have a penanular as well :)
The HOUSE is at Castell Henllys and used to have divisions... a group called The Silures used to stay and do demos - I think they were Cardiff based ... any connections?
Fish bones sound useful and I can see why the Innuit liked the bone needles - my sinew thread will not fit most modern sharp needles!
 

Woody girl

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Mar 31, 2018
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Yes John that's the crowd of reprobates ! Steve and El Jones ran it. I think some members came from Cardiff and also Bristol area. I mostly was based at the peat moors centre in Somerset but used to shoot off to various happening in Wales too. Fun times! They don't exist as a group anymore as far as I'm aware.
Sorry did I say hut???? Of course it's a house!!!
 

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