ChetChat wins!
The correct answer is Slate and Women or Female both of which are acceptable.
Sorry but Slate and Stone are different.
So Congrats to ChetChat!
Send me an email with your snail mail address to
iamdawinna@bladeforums.com
For you history buffs here is some info I found on the Ulu.
"Way back in time- in fact, more than 3,000 years ago, the Ulu knife was probably the favorite kitchen (or campfire) utensil of the native women. Long before the white men ever reached Alaska, the Eskimo women were using the Ulu or "woman's knife" to cut and prepare food. Then as now, it had a crescent shaped blade with a handle on the top, and with it the women could skin out a seal, cut up a caribou, split a fish, slice birds into cooking parts and even cut her sewing thread, probably out of sinew. Then museum at the University of Alaska Fairbanks has a collection of Ulus that illustrates the variety, shapes and materials the natives used to make Ulus down through the years. According to the museum, the Ulu dates back to pre-history, and the earliest remains of Ulus found in archeological digs in Alaska are about 3,000 years old.
Originally, Ulu blades were made of slate and the handles were made of a wide variety of materials such as leather, wood ivory, reindeer antler and bones of other animals. Usually the handles were made in two pieces with a deep groove along one edge into which the blade was forced. Sometimes holes were made through both the handle and the blade and then sinew or hide strips were used to lash the handle to the blade. Usually the fastenings were put on wet in its groove and was thereby securely fastened to the handle. More recent ways of keeping the blade in the groove includes bolts, nails, and either wood or metal pegs. In recent years, natives have made the blades from all kinds of metal using whatever was available such as parts of oil drums, scrap metal of all kinds and broken saw blades with the latter being the preferred material because of its hardness and ability to keep a good sharp edge.
According to tradition, the Ulu was made by a woman's husband or perhaps her uncle or father made it as a wedding gift. Recently, a native craftsman would specialize as an Ulu maker, making them for the entire village and for barter, trade, or sale. Many Ulus are passed from father to son and mother to daughter. The Ulu has become a functional heirloom with some sentimental value attached to it because it was previously used by a grandmother, mother or favorite aunt.
Natives may or may not be the inventors of the Ulu. According to the University of Alaska "this semilunar knife is common to almost all circumpolar peoples." The reason the Ulu has remained popular over centuries seems to be because the style and shape is small, practical and easy to make of locally available materials. When you have an Ulu you can use it to cut, chop and slice almost everything: thread, sinew, leather, vegetables, steaks, animal skins, and more.
There is an art to using an Ulu that is both passed down from generation to generation and learned by daily use. Then native way is to slide and push the Ulu with each slicing stroke. When cutting vegetables,for example, your left hand holds the vegetable in place and the right hand holds the Ulu with the bevel facing away from the piece being cut. Sliding and pushing the Ulu in a rocking motion makes cutting and chopping an easy task. It takes a little practice to get the motions just right.
Most people develop their own techniques over a period of time. An example of cutting motions for cooking is as follows; first make very thin slices of the food you are preparing (onion or garlic), then to make smaller pieces, rock the blade back and forth and follow this by using the flat of the blade to mash the chopped onion or garlic to release the juices. Use different cutting techniques to produce different flavors. Often, use of an Ulu means you can use fewer onions or garlic and get more delicious flavor. Next, use the wide surface area of the blade like a spatula under the chopped onion to scoop it up and out of the pan or mixing bowl.
Using a sideways cut, you flex you wrist to move the blade in a sweeping arc. This motion natives found essential: when skinning and boning a seal... its also the technique used on chicken parts and skin and trimming fat off the beef.
Most of the old time Ulus were undecorated but carefully made and well cared for by the owner. Many modern Ulus have scrimshaw decorations on the handle and even laser etching on the blade thus decorated, they make a practical gift used in many ways by homemakers, gardeners, chefs, fishermen, hunters and many others.
An accessory used widely by chefs and cooks in home kitchen is the chopping bowl. This bowl fits the curved blade of the Ulu for a perfect cutting combination. Onions, celery, carrots, nuts, etc. chop exceptionally well in the bowl. Because of the curves fitting perfectly, items being chopped cannot bet away from the sharp blade of the Ulu.
The Ulu is an ancient artifact now being rediscovered as a modern convenience. You too may discover with a little practice why the Ulu is a perfect kitchen tool and why its popularity is quickly catching on world wide.
by Kelli Deems"
And thanks to PJ and the team at Turner Manufacturing for donating a terrific prize!
If you do any hunting and need an allround skinner/hatchet/whatever get this thing... It is cool!
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Mike Turber
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