Who's the resident Ulu knife maker ???

Could have sworn...someone on TMan..makes ULU's.

Any help would be appreciated

The guy that owns the tourist shop next to the Red Dog in Juneau Alaska?

Gulo? Might ask on the wilderness forum. Likely can plenty on the net.

Get a hold of Mark Knapp at Edge of the artic trading post in Fairbanks Ak .

They support trappers and trapping .

John Epler used to sell them

I've made several over the years- fun project.

There is a big difference between "tourist" ulus and "working" ulus!

Pete

I have heard of people using skil saw blades. I suspect that the body of them now is fairly soft with only cutting tips being hard. Whats a good steel to use? Have made pelting knives with trap springs but they just dont hold an edge. At all.

Johnny Thorpe used to make & sell them
many moons ago here in NYS.

I think that would be me Nessie! Last few years I have been laid low due to some health events but am slowly getting back into production.

Moosetrot

I made one , but I think it was moosetrot who gave me the idea to use an old hand saw blade but said old enough ones were getting hard to find as they used to be tempered all through later it was just an edge temper

and I guess I was one minute late in saying that

My wife uses a Moosetrot ulu have couple in the kitchen.


Mac

"Never Forget Which Way Is Up!"

Scored this ulu from the great Black Otter (aka Moosetrot) at the WTA District 5 rondy earlier this summer.

Moosetrot - You making them again for sale?

Slow but sure. I have a couple folks on here that have been patiently waiting that I need to take care of. The last 4-5 years have brought a lot of ups and downs for my wife and I health-wise. For a few of those years I had a very tough time even getting up and down the stairs to my downstairs shop. My wife's cancer situation required all of my attention.

But...

Things are now looking up and I feel like we've come out the other side okay. I made a few for the WTA D5 Rondy as Muskrat said. I love making ulu and have been making them for over 20 years and with retirement looming at some point I will have plenty of time to get cranked up again. I am capable of good production.

Folks, including the Aleut and Inuit, seem to really like them as i try to keep them in a traditional style and only use blades of high quality, high carbon steel. I have about 100+ old saws of the high quality carbon steel. If while grinding they don't spark right I throw them away. I cut and grind them cold to not mess up their temper.

At this point I want to throw out a special Thanks to Posco. He knows why and he played a large part in getting me up and rolling again. Will not be forgotten.

Soooo...that's where I am at. Once I take care of some patient folks that have been waiting I will start selling again.

Moosetrot

Perfect. Get yourself taken care of and let us know.

Moosie...get my name in line for one .

And thanks to all that posted

I saved an old 2 man cross cut saw that I was going to use for an ulu, never got around to it

Just got back from a cruise. You could find Ulu's in just about every gift shop. But did see some real nice ones in a shop in Sitka. Very nice.

I used to send 4 dozen a month up to a guy with a shop in Homer. He would sell to the tourists but would also sold a lot of them to the natives, who liked them because of the traditional style and the steel I made them from.

Moosetrot

I have two "tourist" models from the 80's that are not bad.....
(And I remember part of the night at the red dog,,,,,)

I got my caribou ulu from Moosetrot in 2017. Beautiful.

Nessy - I just have to post this for inspiration....



I thought you might be planning some radish roses!

Man, just thinking of the fine hand saws you have killed lol
Making a pattern/sheath for a blade shaped like that would take some studying.

Moosetrot what kind of saws would you recommend, other than old. Does it matter if they are pitted with rust ?

So.....If it's Patrice Approved...I definitely want one now !!!

Yeah. in some respects I have "killed" a lot of old handsaws but the majority of them were headed to the scrappers until I "saved" them. Some of the older saws have very ornate handles and hardware holding them together. If those handles are in decent shape I always hang onto them. About 10 years ago I ran into a guy that restores saws. We worked out some great trades, handles for blades, and we both came out winning. Sometimes I run into classic saws that are in excellent shape. I don't have the heart to cut them up so they get hung back up in the basement

I REALLY like the ones that have the manufacturers touchmark on them. They look really cool and add a little class...and price. I made some clear plastic patterns I use to orient the touchmark to the ulu pattern.

I only use carpenter handsaws from around the 1880's to 1890's. Back then the entire blade was tempered nigh carbon steel. Sometime after that they started only tempering along the cutting edge. Kind of tough to make an ulu unless you can use the entire blade. You can tell when you grind them by the sparks they make. As I said earlier if, when I grind, they don't spark right I toss them.

I prefer the ones that are pitted with rust. Gives them some character. I soak in vinegar for a couple days and clean them up some, all by hand.

You CAN make an ulu out of nearly any material that can be sharpened. Many of the earliest ones were made from slate. In 1981 I was in an archeology dig on a 2000 year old Aleutiq hunting site on Chugachik Island on Kachemak Bay, near Homer Alaska. I found a slate ulu blade and sat and admired it and imagined its uses by the natives who held it before me. I could not keep it but I certainly kept the memories which spurred me to start making them.

They used slate, copper, and a pile of other materials. It was when the whites (probably the Russians) brought in the handsaws that they figured it was the best blade material. The blade material I use and the traditional styles are the main reasons the natives prefer my ulu over a lot of the others.

My ulu are in the "user" class and there's a ton of them in Alaska, all over the U.S., and even in Europe in some galleries. I think most of them have wound up on display on shelves but they are certainly made to be used. I am going to start putting out some more decorative ones, using old Inuit and Aleut carving designs. Sometime I will get my hands on some heavy sheet copper and see what I can do with it.

I have used all kinds of antler and bone for handles. I usually use Moose or Caribou. I got some Caribou from The Beav that worked very well and was very appreciated.

I learned to use an ulu on Salmon from an Aleutiq woman on the shore of Kachemak Bay. I am often asked how to sharpen them, and as in most things, it is best to keep things simple. She used a beach stone, giving the cutting edge a few swipes when necessary.

Moosetrot

As Patrice showed in the pictures, a great kitchen knife.
Not used as they were intended, from the natives....

Forgot to mention I have sold or given a lot of them to folks who may have weak or otherwise disabled hands/arms. As Patrice and Vinke said they are great in the kitchen. The angle of cutting pressure is far different when using an ulu versus a long chef or whatever knife. They work well and are very efficient in the kitchen.

My son and I have used ulu when skinning bear, deer, and beaver. Also forgot to mention I used one while frost-scraping Beaver, as Boco taught us, and it worked extremely well.

Moosetrot

Thanks Moosetrot , I have an old two man crosscut that is very old. Both handles are missing and the blade is very pitted, it’s not something I wanted to throw away and now I know what I will do with it.

Have fun!!!!!

Moosetrot

I think Patrice ulu is on the small side. Probably good for someone, a woman, with small hands. A guy would want a some what larger ulu to fit his man size hands. Most ulus are symmetrical, like patrice,s. The Kobuk River natives use ulus that are longer on one side. I like that style.

Nice knives.I would need a bigger handle though.

I have made a lot of them through the years. I use my Ulu with meals and for dicing veggies and other works that a knife is needed. Here are a few I rounded up in the house and a few other knifes. Mine are nothing special but I like using my home-made product. I have given away a lot of them to friends and for a token of appreciation.

Nice work, Snowy! They certainly are versatile tools that are fun to make.

Moosetrot

And the same to your display of knives.

Another picture i found that shows some of the more substantial handles I use.

Moosetrot