Post #207182 by kaha kii on Thu, Jan 12, 2006 4:36 PM

Aloha again brah,
Howzit?
Well bruddah,you can use raffia with the modern technique of ancient Hawaiian kaula but you have to be careful not to over stress the material when you plait the separate cords that make up the kaula. Usually on my makau i do a 6-plait (I use waxed nylon on my makau kaula, stronger than natural fiber and wont break down from sweat, body oils detergents etc.) but with the raffia, youll probably only need to go 4-plait or even 2...
Next time I plait a kaula, Ill take some pics and we'll get you started!
As far as the pilau stink from da bone brah, wait until you start carving the whale bone I sent you! Beef bone is downright pleasant compared to the whale bone. No matter how old the whale bone is, it still retains a lot of the oil from the marrow. If youve never had the pleasure of smelling a dead whale on the beach, youll be in for a little treat when you start to grind the whale bone! get ready brah! No matter what kine respirator you wear, youre still gonna smell da kine! AU-Way brah, Its stinks!!!
Not sure what tikitanked was talking about though, Ive been a bone carver for years (carving at least 20 different kine of bone) and Ive never had a problem removing the stink from my body or clothes...
Good idea is to maybe invest (or build yourself) a nice down draft table with good filtration to catch most of da kine dust so you wont stink up your shop too much! I can help with that too brah if you like, just let me know!

Aloha auinala cuz, keep up the good work!

Malama Pono!