Saturday, January 16, 2010

Lashing with Cane

Tip of the Week ~
Lashing with Cane

When lashing with natural or bleached cane (or weaving a cane seat) look for the tiny nodules along the length. These nodules are where the thorns were removed (cane is the bark of the rattan plant, reed comes from the core of the plant). The cane should ALWAYS be pulled though with the high side of the nodules coming first. If it is pulled in the other direction, the nodules can catch and may rip or shred the cane.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Happy New Year

So far so good as we enter the new year but it sure is cold in a lot of places. Good weaving weather. This Tip of the Week will cover one of my favorite tools.

Tip of the Week ~

One of my favorite tools is our Basket Shear.
The Original (Gardencut Bonsai) Basket Shear has solid red soft flex handles with incredibly sharp and strong, carbon-steel blades. Made in Japan. 2" blades, 8" overall length.

These shears will cut the thickest reed, harvest naturals or trim the thinnest hairs. Great for general household use ~ Bonsai, cutting flowers, trimming shrubs, small branches, etc. (only good for ribbon and soft materials when they are new). Stays sharp and lasts for years. Don't be fooled by cheaply made shears.

These shears make work easy. When they begin to dull, I sharpen them on a sharpening stone. A professional sharpening will make them like new.

I have cut down small trees with these shears. It takes several cuts, but for me they work much better than pruning shears. I keep a pair in the house, in the car, in the shop, etc. Love them!