Guest katfen Posted December 20, 2006 Report Share Posted December 20, 2006 Hi All, Here's an image of a fascinating material I received yesterday. I'm wondering if anyone has worked this before...if so, I'd be interested to hear. Thanks, Kathleen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janel Posted December 20, 2006 Report Share Posted December 20, 2006 What is it? Animal, mineral or vegetable? Sorry, I don't know for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ford hallam Posted December 20, 2006 Report Share Posted December 20, 2006 Looks like kombu seaweed to me, it's used in making the stock for miso soup. or perhaps it's liquorice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest katfen Posted December 20, 2006 Report Share Posted December 20, 2006 Not animal, not vegetable, not mineral..... Not seaweed, not liquorice...... Any other guesses? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toscano Posted December 20, 2006 Report Share Posted December 20, 2006 looks horny to me... -t Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest katfen Posted December 20, 2006 Report Share Posted December 20, 2006 Interesting... Nope, not horny! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toscano Posted December 21, 2006 Report Share Posted December 21, 2006 Kathleen, I am intrigued. It's not part of an animal or plant. It's not a mineral. Is it man-made? -t Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsterling Posted December 21, 2006 Report Share Posted December 21, 2006 OK, I'll bite - some sort of Micarta-like stuff (layers of woven material or paper in plastic matrix). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samuel Rediske Posted December 21, 2006 Report Share Posted December 21, 2006 it looks like black rubber, with some sort of film on the outside, possibly unvulcanized rubber. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest katfen Posted December 21, 2006 Report Share Posted December 21, 2006 Not synthetic..... and enough suspense..... The material in question is Baleen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janel Posted December 21, 2006 Report Share Posted December 21, 2006 I thought that baleen was white or cream colored! Thanks for showing us this material. I wonder what it will be like to carve! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Sanders Posted December 21, 2006 Report Share Posted December 21, 2006 Baleen's from an animal I haven't used it, but there's a guy on Ebay who seems to have a ton of it. What are you going to make with it? Janel- I wonder what you've been thinking of with white/cream baleen. Maybe someone's bleached it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ford hallam Posted December 21, 2006 Report Share Posted December 21, 2006 Hey Doug, I know whale bone was used to make corsets, perhaps you can use baleen too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janel Posted December 21, 2006 Report Share Posted December 21, 2006 Corssette stays? And, uh, give me a break, I live in the middle of the continent and the largest swimming creature I've been in contact with is a huge sturgeon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Sanders Posted December 21, 2006 Report Share Posted December 21, 2006 mmmm. caviar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ford hallam Posted December 21, 2006 Report Share Posted December 21, 2006 the largest swimming creature I've been in contact with is a huge sturgeon. [/quote You had me momenterally shocked there Janel...until I re-read your post. There is a "T" in that last word. Guess who Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest katfen Posted December 21, 2006 Report Share Posted December 21, 2006 Baleen's from an animal Marine mammal actually Doug....try beluga caviar..... What am I going to make with it? This piece is for experimentation and fun. As to what...too many thoughts to decide on specifics. Just got it this week, along with a load of walrus teeth, musk ox, and mammoth. It's a matter of what to work first...plus the 14 or so I already have on the go. The baleen has interesting properties....will post back with details of how it is to work once I get to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ford hallam Posted December 21, 2006 Report Share Posted December 21, 2006 mmmm. caviar. I'm sure Natasha or Sergei could get us some of the good stuff....and some vodka while they're about it. Do svdanye Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest katfen Posted December 21, 2006 Report Share Posted December 21, 2006 And I thought sake was your preference...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Sanders Posted December 21, 2006 Report Share Posted December 21, 2006 hmm. I'm in a cranky mood today... Main Entry: 1an·i·mal Pronunciation: 'a-n&-m&l Function: noun Etymology: Latin, from animale, neuter of animalis animate, from anima soul -- more at ANIMATE 1 : any of a kingdom (Animalia) of living things including many-celled organisms and often many of the single-celled ones (as protozoans) that typically differ from plants in having cells without cellulose walls, in lacking chlorophyll and the capacity for photosynthesis, in requiring more complex food materials (as proteins), in being organized to a greater degree of complexity, and in having the capacity for spontaneous movement and rapid motor responses to stimulation 2 a : one of the lower animals as distinguished from human beings b : MAMMAL; broadly : VERTEBRATE (pedantic smiley) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samuel Rediske Posted December 21, 2006 Report Share Posted December 21, 2006 isnt it illegal to own or buy whale products in North america, I am pretty sure that in the states here we cant get it unless we buy a product from a native american tribe that is licensed to harvest. any thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest katfen Posted December 22, 2006 Report Share Posted December 22, 2006 Hi Samuel, I can't speak for all of North America...only Canada. It's quite legal to purchase (although it's not widely available) or own baleen here. It's all rather complicated from my understanding. I can assure you that I've acquired this material legally and ethically....otherwise, I would not have made the purchase. Hope this answers your question..at least somewhat, Kathleen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsterling Posted December 22, 2006 Report Share Posted December 22, 2006 Here's a link that addresses the issue. Baleen and other whale products are legal to own and sell in the US and most other places as long as the proper paperwork and provenance can be shown (in other words, if it was originally legally obtained and you obtained it legally as well). The devil is in the details with Fish and Game and UN CITES bureaucracies, of course. Boone Trading Company Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmiller3 Posted January 26, 2007 Report Share Posted January 26, 2007 Baleen is from the mouth of krill eating whales - primarily the blue whale I believe. I should think it would be very linear - all fibers go in one direction - and hence tend to split along its principle axis. It is also very fibrous similar to asbestos (for those who have ever handled that mineral). The specimens of baleen I have seen have normally been black, as is yours. I imagine a place like Mystic Seaport or museums in Salem MA would have examples of carved baleen as it was something used by whalers to work. And yes, indeed, it was used to make ladies corsets. I have a quarter round section of a fossil vertabral disc from a whale I found on the beach at Point Barro AK. Have fun w/your baleen and let us see how it comes out! Ralph (who started life as an oceanographer) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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