figured this was the best place to ask this. I was thinking of makeing some harpoons n fish hooks n such from bone, now bone is of course brittle soooo is there a way to treat it to strengthen it so it doesn't snap as easily.Temper it somehow or soak it in something so it is not quite so brittle. Gonna google working with bone up but doubt I'll find much, really hope to be gladly surprised. thanks guys for any info ya can toss my way YMHS Birdman
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working with bone?
- Thread starter Birdman
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I may be wrong, probably am, but those bone fish hooks were never very good. I think they were used with a long pole and when you got a bite you flipped the pole overhead towards land and hoped the fish didn't fall off before he hit the shore.
Best way to work with bone is to use new bone and then put it enough water to cover it a out 1/2" and then simmer it until all the water is gone - DO NOT BOIL IT! The oil in the marrow will be "cooked" into the bone and keep it much less brittle for tools, weapons, etc. Done this way the bone will not be pure white, but a sort of waxy white, that IMO is more pleasing than the pure white of commercially processed bones. To help clean out the marrow, cut the bone so that the ends are open - most of the arrow will coock away and what doesn't can be cleaned out.
If you are using commercially processed bone - most of which has been boiled and then soaked in bleach or some such - soak it for a week or so in something like Danish Oil or similar then hung out to dry for a week or so.
If you are using commercially processed bone - most of which has been boiled and then soaked in bleach or some such - soak it for a week or so in something like Danish Oil or similar then hung out to dry for a week or so.
crockett said:
Sorry Dave but you are wrong :v , at least based on my using such fish hooks quite a bit over the years. The old timers (Indians that is) I learned from on the Northern Pacific coast often barbed them and generally let the fish swallow the hook, not just mouth them. Done that way they catch fish as good as modern tackle. Most of the guys hand lined them, but of course that was for larger fish such as salmon and steelhead.
There is bone and there is bone.
Deer bone, particularly the legs, and most particularly the lower leg is very strong and resiliant stuff. I'll betcha it will make a good hook. Problem, there isn't much of it, those lower bones are skinny things.
Cow bone would be more brittle but there is more to work with.
Giraffe is becoming popular since it is very strong and thick. A lot can be made from it. I can't wait until the season opening for giraffe here in Arkansas.
Deer bone, particularly the legs, and most particularly the lower leg is very strong and resiliant stuff. I'll betcha it will make a good hook. Problem, there isn't much of it, those lower bones are skinny things.
Cow bone would be more brittle but there is more to work with.
Giraffe is becoming popular since it is very strong and thick. A lot can be made from it. I can't wait until the season opening for giraffe here in Arkansas.
The most primitive method involves gorges rather than hooks, and they only worked when swallowed. Here's a link to an excellent site showing both primitive bone hooks and gorges,crockett said:
http://lithiccastinglab.com/gallery-pages/2009aprilfishhookspage1.htm
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