Just think of it! Back somewhere in New Zealand 30,000 to 45000 years ago the tree that gave birth to this crochet hook was alive and growing. Then what some say was a tsunami fell the tree and buried it under layers of mud. That was a time when saber tooth cats roamed the earth and humans were just beginning to show up in Europe. Before the Ice Age. This is the world's oldest known workable wood.
There are folks in New Zealand who dig up these huge trees and cut the wood into workable pieces. So when I found out that there were pieces available at my local Woodcraft store..... Let me tell you it seemed to be an almost reverent event, shaping this wood into a crochet hook. I was revealing layers of wood that had not been exposed to light for maybe 45,000 years!
And what's incredible too is that the wood is entirely workable and beautiful to behold. It has "chatoyance", a sort of sparkle when very carefully polished. So the wood in this hook has been polished, starting with 200 grit sandpaper (medium fine) to remove the tool marks, then worked with 400 grit, then 600, then 1500, and so on, all the way to 12000 grit. For hours. And it was worth the effort. Of course the picture can't show the effect, because you can see how the light dances only by turning the hook in bright light.
I have enough of this wood to make only 4 hooks. What you see here is hook #1. The other three will come as time allows. But for now, it was decided that I should auction this hook, possibly to a collector, although I think it will crochet very well. In fact I did a short chain and it worked just fine. However, if you crochet really tightly and have a tendancy to break hooks, please don't bid; or if you do, consider keeping the hook as a collector's piece.
When making the hook, I paid very little if any attention to size. My only concern was to make a useful hook, and not risk making one with a tiny head that would break easily. So when all was done, I measured the shank and it's right at 8mm (an L). Normally when I let a hook just find it's own size, it turns out to be between actual sizes, but this one is right at 8mm! And it's a good length (8.25 inches or 21 Centimeters). I decided too, that I would wait to carve a thumb rest pending the buyer's preference.
To the auction..
This auction will run 10 days, and will close on Feb. 21 at 10pm Pacific Std Time.
To new bidders: I try to post bids as they come in. I'll not be here ALL the time... so if your bid doesn't show up right away, not to worry. Your bids will be posted as soon as I'm able to get to them. Identical bids are entered by first bid posted, so if your bid is the same as another, I'll go by which ever one mailed. Also please increase bids by $5 minimum. email bids, if you like, to me at
jimbocrochetwhittler@yahoo.com
Thanks for visiting!
Jimbo
Bids:
Carla starts with $35
Emily takes it to $50
Diana says $65
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