Traditional Basket Making
Today I came across an amazing glossary of tools and techniques used in
basket making.
We often use some of these terms without realising their origin, and appear in the
Thyme and Season shop site
Well worth a read over a cup of tea !
HERITAGE OF BASKETMAKING
TOOLS USED IN WILLOW BASKETMAKING
Bodkin/awl/fid
A bodkin is essential when basketmaking. It is useful to have several in
several sizes and diameters. A good general purpose bodkin has a metal
spike that is around 5” long and that tapers gently towards the tip and a
wooden handle. (When buying the size usually applies to the length of
the metal spike). Larger bodkins are used when inserting handle bows in
the sides of the basket. A fine bodin is good for small work.
An awl is usually all metal and does the same job.
Sometimes you need to rap down on the wooden end of the bodkin when
working so it should be strong enough to take this treatment.
A selection of bodkins of different sizes.
A fid is a tool used in rope and sail making. It can be a useful tool
for basketmaking because it has a hollow side that allows you to thread
a willow rod through without taking the bark or skin off the willow.
A shell bodkin performs the same task, this tool is commonly used when seating a chair with cane.
Shell bodkin
Brake
This tool is used when stripping the bark from the willow rod to produce
white willow. There are several designs, two pieces of metal are sprung
together so that the rod can be pulled through. It is held firmly in a
post in the ground. Stripping may also be done by a machine but in the
past women and children did the white willow stripping rod by rod and
this always took place in the spring when the sap was rising using rods
that had been overwintered in shallow ‘pits’ of water to keep them
alive.
Bake
for peeling willow by hand for white rods. This would be clamped to a
sturdy post and the rod pulled through the sprung metal bars
Formers
Generally made from wood, these are used as aids for shaping. They range
from simple hoops that can be attached or put around the uprights to
keep them in position to moulds that help to form complex shapes. A
thick willow rod may be formed into an oval around a shape cut out of
ply or a lobster pot may have the ‘mouth’ made by inserting rods into a
thick wooden post.
Greasehorn
This was usually a cow’s horn filled with a mixture of tallow (animal
fat) and horsehair. The bodkin was inserted in this before using it and
the tallow made sure that the bodkin was ‘greased’ which helped when
inserting stakes into a base or a bow for a handle.
Hammers
A small woodworker’s hammer is used to tap in small pins to secure the
weave on a lid or when there is a post with a discontinuous weave for
example on the gap of a dog basket.
In square work a hammer is used to knock the side stakes into the
thick outer sticks of the base. For this a hammer weighing at least
2lbs with a leather head is most suitable.
Knives
A shop knife was usual in the workshops. A suitable knife for basketry
could have a straight or curved blade. Straight bladed knives were more
common in England, curved ones in France.
When choosing a knife suitable for basketry, it should be strong and
fit the hand comfortably. An Opinel knife found in most good hardware
stores is suitable, always remember to lock the blade so that it can’t
fold up on your hand. Knives should always be sharp in order to cut
safely, a whetstone or diamond sharpener is essential.
Picking knife
This knife with a curved or outward facing blade was used for ‘picking
off’ or trimming any unwanted ends of willow once the basket was
finished. It needed skill to press down and only cut the rod that was to
be discarded without cutting through the weave. Today shears or
secateurs are generally used instead for this job.
Plank and lapboard
Sitting ‘on the plank’ is the traditional way of working. The plank is a
long board, a general measurement would be 6’ long x 2.6” wide. It sits
a little above ground level. The basketmaker sits at one end of the
plank on a thick cushion with legs outstretched and the ‘lapboard’ on
which the basket is woven is held on his thighs at one end, at the other
it sits on the plank. In this way the willow rods are to hand, on the
left hand side, and the tools are on the left. The underfoot bases of
the baskets were also made ‘on the plank’ with the maker standing on
them.
Colin
Manthorpe sitting on the plank making a herring cran at the 2003
Basketry and Beyond Basket Fair and Water Gala. The lapboard is raised
up on a wooden box.
Today basketmakers often choose to have a bench or an arrangement
that allows for a variation of heights at which to work because working
on the plank is very hard on the back.
The ‘lapboard’ is a smaller board (sizes vary) with an extra piece of
wood at one end so that it sits higher at the front than the back and
sloping towards the end of the plank when the basketmaker has it in
position. It may have a series of holes drilled down the centre where
the basket can be pinned down using a bodkin. The basket is held on the
lapboard so that the maker is looking at the sides and not down on the
top.
Rapping irons
These tools are used to compact the layers of weaving by beating them
down. A useful weight for a metal rapping iron is between 1 ½ – 2 lbs.
Heavier irons are used for larger work, for example, balloon baskets.
Some have a ring at one end that is used to straighten uneven sticks. A
commander is a special tool used to straighten large sticks by putting
pressure on any unwanted bends or curves using the dog leg end.
A wooden rapping iron is useful when working with brown willow as it
does not damage the bark. It needs to be made of a dense wood, box or
fruit wood and sometimes wooden rappers have metal bars inserted in them
to make them heavier.
A
selection of rapping irons of different designs and weights; a very
fine one at the back useful for fitching, a wooden one in the centre,
the tool at the front is a commander
Shaving horse
This is a specialised piece of equipment used for green woodwork but is
also very useful for shaving down thick split willow pieces for use in
basketry, for example as runners on the bottoms of baskets. The ‘horse’
or ‘mare’ is wooden, three legged and has a bar that is held down by
pushing forward with the feet to grip the splint being shaved. A
drawknife is used for doing the shaving.
The shavehorse with a drawknife
Shears or secateurs
These are used for cutting or trimming the willow rods. The blades
should be of the ‘bypass’ not ‘anvil’ design in order to make a clean
cut. A narrow blade at the tip is useful so that the cuts can be made
close to the work.
Skeining tools and cleaves for larger split work
A set of skeining tools were used when making ‘skeins’; thin ribbon like
pieces of willow for lapping handles or when doing very fine work.
Cleave: This was a tool, generally wooden, used for splitting willow into three or four down the length of the rod.
Shave: A tool for shaving the pith from the back of the
skein, generally an adjustable blade held horizontally in a metal or
wooden framework.
Upright: Two blades at an angle, held vertically in a
metal or wooden framework, the skein was pulled through them to take off
the edges and ensure an even width.
Two
wooden cleaves, on the left a large three-way cleave for splitting
large sticks, on the right a small three-way cleave used for smaller
rods
Soaking tank
Dry willow needs to be soaked in water to make it pliable enough to
work. A galvanised tank such as those used in fields for providing water
to cattle is used. 8’ is a good length. A tap or plug needs to be put
in at one end so that it can be drained and cleaned easily. To hold the
soaking willow under the water pieces of wood exactly the width of the
tank that will fit under the rim should be cut, or the willow may be
held down by a piece of galvanised wire attached at each end to a brick
or weight.
Weights
A selection of weights of between 2 – 7 or more pounds is useful. They
are used to hold the work down on the lapboard when working. If the
weight has a hole in the centre the work may be pinned to the board with
a thin bodkin, still allowing it to be rotated.
A selection of weights
Madeleine
1Get a bundle of willow shoots. Baskets can be made with any type of pliable reed, grass, vine or branch, but willow is a popular choice because it creates such a sturdy basket when it dries. You can cut your own willow or buy dried willow shoots from a craft store.[1]
2Rehydrate the willow shoots. In order to use willow shoots to weave, you'll need to rehydrate them to make them pliable. Soak the shoots in water for a few days, until they will easily bend without breaking.
3Cut the base shoots. Choose several thick shoots that will serve as the basket's base. Use a hand pruner to cut 8 pieces of willow of equal lengths. The size of your base willow pieces will determine the circumference of your basket's bottom.
4Slit the centers of 4 of the pieces. Start by laying one piece in front of you on your work surface. Use a very sharp knife to make a 5 centimeter (2.0 in) vertical slit in the center of the willow piece. Do the same with three more of the base pieces, so that you have 4 pieces with slits in the middle.
5Construct the slath. This is the foundation of the basket base. Line up the 4 slitted pieces so that the slits are adjacent. Thread the 4 remaining pieces through the slits so that they lie flat and are perpendicular to the slitted pieces. You now have a cross shape composed of the 4 slitted pieces threaded through with the other 4 base pieces. This is called a slath. Each limb of the slath is called a spoke.
