There s an old saying " That you cant make a silk purse out of a sows ear" did pigs ears used to be used to make purses and pouches. The size of some sows is pretty impressive and when butchered needs to be quartered like beef. The pigs ive seen that are not slaughtered grow to a great size ears included and as nothing was wasted was this an easy way to make a purse?
silk purse out of a sows ear
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I dont see why not. I have a pouch that the aboriginals in Australia used and thats made out of male kangaroos dangly bits!!!!! A Pigs ear wouldn't look like much, I guess thats where the saying comes from but it would be practical and you could keep really fine things in it as it would not have a seam the pouch I have was also used buy the gold prospectors in Oz for this very reason there gold powder could not escape through the seam.
James
James
Kangaroo "pouches" are very soft indeed. Mmmmmm soft!
Not sure how other animals compare. Anyone had any experience?
Not sure how other animals compare. Anyone had any experience?
jdlenton said:
Maybe sex-change clinics could offer a lot of cheap raw materials. On the downside, maybe thay shave them before the operation. If you want hair on tan that is.
BorderRiever
In Norway at least, they used the penile bones (little chance of impotence there by the way) of bears as crochet hooks. A real man was supposed to give his bride to be a crochet hook of a bear he had killed himself.
Don't really know if the dangly bits of males were used (probably were by some), but the dangly bits on females (mostly teats of cows) were used as tinder pouches.
Torjus Gaaren
Not European, but: http://www.buffalorobe.com/BUFFALO-PRODUCTS.htm
Scroll down to "BUFFALO BULL SCROTUM".
Also, a little ethnographic type info here: http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/buffalo/garden/garden-XIII.html
If you're easily offended, I'd recommend not searcing online for this stuff.
Pappa
Scroll down to "BUFFALO BULL SCROTUM".
Also, a little ethnographic type info here: http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/buffalo/garden/garden-XIII.html
If you're easily offended, I'd recommend not searcing online for this stuff.
Pappa
the skin is pretty stiff.. it was deem that there was not much use for the saying suggests making something essential useless and not very attractive in to something soft beautiful and useful.. its due to their tough tecture they are general given to dogs to eat.
Strictly speaking the phrase is wrong, as it has been proven that you can make a silk purse from a sow's ear, as shown HERE. 
Admittedly not a very practicle process but still possible and also makes a good point of don't just take someone else's word for it.
Admittedly not a very practicle process but still possible and also makes a good point of don't just take someone else's word for it.
fa11en ange1 said:Strictly speaking the phrase is wrong, as it has been proven that you can make a silk purse from a sow's ear, as shown HERE.
Admittedly not a very practicle process but still possible and also makes a good point of don't just take someone else's word for it.
I liked that
Thanks. 
BorderReiver said:
At the risk of being grotesque, a friend of mine has a rather ancient pouch said to be made from a Sioux scrotum. Seems to work quite well. A relation has a knife sheath quite obviously made from human skin, unknown which tribe. Very nicely tanned. 18th and 19th century Indian wars stuff.
PG
I got a big kick out of the scientists that actually disproved the "silk" purse from a sow's ear... Now... we're in trouble, you know, if they disprove that "you can't get blood from a stone".
Tara
Tara
Buckshot said:Ears are basically 2 bits of skin with nothing in between ]
I know some folks at my work who basically have 2 ears with nothing in between...
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