How to Carve a Bone Into a Hook
Primitive people used bones for many necessities of daily life. Fishing cultures used bones as hooks to catch fish. There were several types of hooks carved out of bone or other available materials. Gorge hooks were made from a straight section of bone with carved points and a groove in the center to tie the line. Composite hooks were made from two sections of bone that were lashed together to form a sharp “J” shaped hook with one sharp point. Other hooks include variations of “J” and “V” shaped bones carved from a single section of bone with a single sharp point. Carve a gorge hook as an introductory bone carving project.
Other People Are Reading
Things You'll Need
- Two-inch section of bone
- Pencil
- Bench knife
- Fine-grit sandpaper
- Fishing twine
- 1-inch section of bone, 1
- 1 3/4-inch section of bone, 1
Instructions
-
How to Carve a Gorge Hook
-
1
Draw the basic curve of the hook with a pencil. Indicate the gradual points at both ends of the hook. Make the center curve in to accommodate the fishing twine.
-
2
Carve thin slivers of bone away at each end to create the point.
-
-
3
Carve the center groove all around the cylindrical bone hook. The groove is where you will tie the fishing twine onto the hook.
-
4
Sand the points of the bone to create a smooth and sharp point on the gorge hook. Sand the center groove of the hook.
-
5
Wrap fishing twine around the hook several times and tie it off to secure it to the hook.
How to Carve a Composite Hook
-
6
Carve a gradual point on the one-inch section of bone. Shave off thin slivers of bone from the middle of the bone toward the point.
-
7
Carve a notch on the end opposite the point. The notch should be large enough to accommodate the 1 3/4-inch section of bone that will be lashed to it. A notch that is the depth of half the bone's diameter will be sufficient. This is the hook section of the composite hook.
-
8
Carve a notch on one end of the 1 3/4-inch section of bone. This is the shank section of the hook. The notch should be half the bone's diameter to accommodate the point section of the hook that will be lashed to it.
-
9
Place the shank and the hook section together. The hook section should lock into the shank section. Position the hook section to form a "V" shape with one side, the shank, extending further up than the hook side. Lash the two bones together with fishing twine. Cut off the excess twine.
-
10
Carve a small notch in the top end of the composite hook shank. Tie the fishing twine onto this notch.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Carve several different sized gorge hooks and composite hooks to create a versatile fishing tackle set for different sized fish.
Carve in a direction that is opposite your body to avoid cutting yourself if the knife were to slip.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit fishing image by Igor Kovalenko from Fotolia.com
