Care Of Horn Handles

Beo,

I didn't ever know much plant biochemistry, and have forgotten most of it. It's complex as all heck. I think most trees have some annount of tannin in the bark, it helps defend the plant. Of course lots of critters have evolved a way around. Ever continuing chemical warfare.

When you mentioned hide tanning, some wierd synapse in my brain lit up and I think I remember something about oak galls being a rich source of tannin and being collected by early people for leather curing. Could be a total cranial misfire, but it makes sense for for a gall caused by an irritating parasite to be rich in defensive substances.

I was thinking about asking the pharmacist for lanolin, good to hear you can get it. Not to many tack stores in my immediate area. I was actually almost thinking of asking my neighbor (who likes my khuk) if is wife was using the nippy stuff. Whew!
No proposals on using lansinoh for hair tonic yet?

At least Yvsa isn't gonna use sheep to power the sheep-squeezer. That would be a real gulag.
 
Bro has his own particular (particular is close enough :)) sense of humor at times.....I wouldn't delve too deeply into "sheep squeezing"....he's probably just sitting there waiting...and grinning :D
 
Originally posted by beoram
For some reason I'm thinking tannin is only present in conifers, at least in a useful concentration. I could be wrong, as it's not an area of expertise for me Of course, Saxons & others would have also used tannin for curing leather.

cheers, B.
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Ben the Mighty Oak's bark is full of tannin IIRC, it's been a while.
Many of the ndn bands in So.Cal. harvested acorns from the Live Oak, pounded them into mush, flushed the product with several rinses of clean water and used it as one of their staples.
I understand it makes a delicious flour.
If you've ever been curious and cracked an acorn, bit into it and tasted the very bitter meat you will have experienced the taste of tannin.:)
Tandy Leather's logo for their leather had a picture of a live oak tree. That particular leather was vegetqable tanned and was some of the finest available.
The Old English Calve Skins, can't remember its name that Tandy sometimes imported, was also some of the finest, easiest carving leather I ever put a swivel knife too.
It tooled very nicely with some of the most beautiful burnishing I ever saw.
You can tell nicely tooled leather that's not been dyed by the deep brown rich color of the burnishing against the light surface of the natural vegetable tanned leather.
Absolutely stunning. Leather dye has its place, but also covers a multitude of sins commited by the craftsman.
My finest pieces were never dyed.:)
 
Originally posted by Walosi
Bro has his own particular (particular is close enough :)) sense of humor at times.....I wouldn't delve too deeply into "sheep squeezing"....he's probably just sitting there waiting...and grinning
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Sheep don't have enough sense to power the cane press alone. You would have to put way too many of them into harness and then get your best dog to nip at the sheep's heels, if sheep have heels, to get them moving.:p ;)
I think perhaps the only thing dumber than a dayumed dumb sheep is a tame turkey!!!!!!!
Given the chance a tame turkey will stand out in the rain with its head pointed to the clouds and it's mouth open just waiting to drown, which mercifully doesn't take too terribly long I've been told.:rolleyes:
Another thing the yonegi screwed up entirely!!!! ( They took one of the finest game birds with more sense than many people I have aquaintance with, some even being prime candidates for the Jerry Springer Show, with one of them being my my grand daughter, whom qualifies almost too highly to be allowed on the show I'm ashamed too say!!!!:o )
And turned the bird into a senseless fowl on drumsticks the size of Paul Bunyon's Blue Ox'es front legs and with a breast even larger than Dolly Parton's, loaded with all kinds of growth drugs so we can ooh and aaah at them at certain holidays.

On the other hand a Wild Turkey, not the Whisky, that's something the yonegi did get right :), has great oil and grease in its skin perfect for the preservation of mediveal blade ware.:D

Yvsa, on a roll tonight.:D :p
 
firkin & Yvsa - thanks for the info ; shows what I know :rolleyes: ;)

When firkin mentioned conifers I remember something about pine mulch and tannin, that's what I was thinking.

My guess is most plants probably have some tannin in them then, because I know tea has a good bit of tannin.

Ah Tandy - I remember when they used to have physical shops, they're on the web now, but alas! no more shops.

I wonder do any of the leather shops sell tannin? Or would one have to borrow Yvsa's sheep-squeezer and press pine-mulch and acorns? ;)

Not that I have any wootz or pattern-welded blades anyway, but it'ld be interesting to try the tannin etching if I did ever get my hands on one.

cheers, Ben.
 
stay away from the pine needles, unless you want something halfway 'tween pitch and Pinesol!

There's a ton of that piney stuff in the needles in addition to whatever tannins are there.

It's there to keep them from getting eaten. And the chemicals in the fallen needles kill off a lot plants sprouting near the tree. More nutrients for the tree. They are into chemical warfare big-time.

A friend of mine cut a little pine out of his yard and thought he'd move a nice healthy little avocado tree from a pot into that spot. It's been REALLY sickly ever since.
 
Originally posted by beoram
firkin & Yvsa - thanks for the info ; shows what I know :rolleyes: ;)

I wonder do any of the leather shops sell tannin? Or would one have to borrow Yvsa's sheep-squeezer and press pine-mulch and acorns? ;)

Not that I have any wootz or pattern-welded blades anyway, but it'ld be interesting to try the tannin etching if I did ever get my hands on one.

cheers, Ben.
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Ben I don't know if it has tannin in it, but Tandy's did/does sell a tanning solution.
I used it quite successfully on a really large sow beaver skin that thankfully had been killed on the road in November while it was really cold enough to not spoil. It was at a bad time for me and it took me 2 days to skin that sow out!!!!:barf: :rolleyes: :eek:
It actually turned out fairly nice. It was my 1st attempt at tanning anything and I learned quite a lot from the experience.
That dayumed sow was really fat!!!! Probably made her really slow and was the reason she got hit.:)
Roadkill is the Great Mystery's way of providing us skins, ndns, with feathers and skins.:D

If it was me and I wanted some tannin I would check around the firewood lots. They might let you pick up all the bark you wanted for cheap unless they shredded it a bit to sell for mulch. then they would probably sell it cheap. You could even buy some pine bark mulch at your local home and garden supply!!!!!
Fill a container with water, sink the bark, preferably oak or other hardwood, cover it to prevent any rain from running it over and viola in a short time you would probably have a pretty strong solution.

I might even give it a try myself. With us having the Sweatlodge the oak bark is easy for me to come by.
Sounds like it may be just the ticket for my nicer keris and without the danger of arsenic, just can't bring myself to try and buy any!!!!!!:eek:
 
I just got a call from PITA.
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Well, I know that PETA is People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. So you may have gotten a call from their rival org. People for the Inhumane Treatment of Animals--probably wanted detailed instructions from Yvsa on pressing sheep, and of course your recipe for fried squirrel heads:D :D :p

Seriously if your significant others are breastfeeding it can "pull" double duty. Emphasis mine.
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No pun intended eh Rob? hehehehehe
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LOL!:D
 
There's also PETA's doppelganger,

"People Eating Tasty Animals"

motto: if God didn't want us to eat animals, He wouldn't have made them out of meat

:D
 
If you see a poster of a missing cat on a telephone pole with a description. Post on a separate poster underneath "for sale, catskin rug" with the description of the missing cat.

Never had the nerve to do it myself but it sounds amusing.
 
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