Adventures of an Imperfect Man In Search of a Handmade Life
“Anyone who believes in indefinite growth in anything physical, on a physically finite planet, is either mad or and economist ,” Kenneth Boulding, environmental advisor to President Kennedy.
A realism to ponder when listening to bankers and politicians.
I don’t drink much beer these days, being all paleo-diet and such but when I do, it’s always a good one.
“Great republics do not last. Whatever has been the rule in history may be depended upon to remain the rule. History repeats itself. Vast power and wealth corrupt a nation. It incites dangerous ambitions and could bring the republic down. It can pack the Supreme Court with members friendly to its purpose, rundown the Congress, and crush the people’s voice. This has been a strange panic. It’s like a blight, a paralysis, in which a mighty machine has slipped its belt and is still running.”
Mark Twain
Something for an arrow maker to aspire to. There is much to learn from the old masters in their fields. Wonderfully tapered shafts, great fletchings, and good use of paint.
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Crimean Tartar Arrows 
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| Turkey, 18th–19th centuriesFour military arrows for use with Crimean Tartar bow. Straight wood shafts. Hawk feather fletching, three fletches, radial form, glued on. Bulbous self nocks, painted red on inside of notch. Hand-forged steel broadhead points, ridged at the base and thickened towards the tip; sinew reinforced. Decorated with red and gold paint.
86.5 cm long, shaft diameter is 0.8 cm. MAC 1994-0745 Click here to access the Grayson collection, Museum of Anthropology, at the University of Missouri. |
19th century archery set, one bow missing.
Bow, arrow, and target from a culture that still loved archery, 1856.
Mike is finishing up his remarkable vardo in the great white north. He included a mollycroft in the roof which not only looks cool but should add a lot of light and headroom. The front storage is accessible from the outside like a sheepherder and it will have an enormous bay window in the front. As it comes along I hope he’ll write up more about the design and construction of the wagon. With this wagon and Jack’s build last year, I think I’ll add a page to the header bar for “other vardos” so that they are easy to find on the blog.
Enjoy! Hopefully more to come…
Here’s a link to a short article about the Basques in Oregon from the Oregon Encyclopedia. I’m just in it for the wagon photos of course.
Bone point from Saguenay-Lac Saint Jean Region; Québec; Canada. Probably very early 20th century.
If I could ever look this cool…
Woodblock print, British Museum. Click the image for more information.
Preindustrial Craftsmanship 