but not all the way through, you can pull the two sections apart leaving the little white threads in between like a little violin. The trick of course is to see how long you can get the strings without busting them, and how many of them.
HTDN_23b
You may or may not know about burrs, and what you can do with them. Iâm not going to waste a lot of time telling you how to find a burr bush. The way we found them was weâd be walking through some brush, and if you do, then burrs find you. Theyâd be stuck to our sweaters, our stockings, everywhere. They feel sticky to the touch, but theyâre not. They have dozens, maybe hundreds of little tiny hooks all over them, with very fine points, so fine they stick right into your skin without hurting you.
HTDN_24a
Burrs will stick to anything, including other burrs. You can shape them into any shape you want. We used to make baskets out of them, line them with green leaves and use them to carry berries home in.
HTDN_24b
Sooner or later, however, what we did with burrs was throw them at each other. If they get into a girlâs long hair, they can be a nuisance to get out, and donât ever throw a whole ball of them. They can hurt. Thereâs another kind of burr, shaped like this:
We never found a use for them, but they were kind of nice to look at. By the way, in the old days, when my grandfather was a kid, these were used for finishing off homespun woolen cloth, to bring up the nap.
You may have noticed by now that the things in this book donât come in any sort of order; that some of the things Iâve told you about are for indoors, some for outdoors, some for spring and some for fall and some for winter: as I told you before, youâre not supposed to do all the things in this book in order: when youâve got the spool, build the spool tank. When youâve got the burrs, make a burr basket. I think the best way to use this book is just to read it through once, and then put it somewhere where you can find it when you want it. And then one day, when youâve got nothing special to do, hunt out an old handkerchief and make the parachute. Or find a button and make the buzz saw. But read the book through once. At the back, Iâll put an index so that you can find out what you want when you want it.
Â
One thing youâre sure to have any old time is a pencil; and here are two things we always did with pencils, as soon as we owned a pocketknife. Right now, before I tell you about the pencils, letâs have a little straight talk about a knife. I donât know how old you have to be before you get a pocketknife; thatâs up to your father. If you ask your mother, itâll probably turn out that she thinks you ought to be twenty-one before you can have one. I think youâll be able
to work out something reasonable with your father. Well, letâs assume youâve got the knife. Now, a Boy Scout knife is swell for mumbly-peg, a game which Iâll tell you about later. But for whittling, and for all sorts of making things, a plain old-fashioned penknife is the best. Personally, I like a small knife. You can hold it better and control it better. Itâs my opinion that all you need in a penknife is one, or at most, two blades. The kind I like has a horn handle, and the blades are shaped like the one on this page. This one is drawn about full size. (Of course youâll never have both blades open at onceâThis is just to show you the kind of knife.)
HTDN_27
Now, hereâs something else that youâre just going to have to argue out with your mother; I did with my mother, my kids did with their mother. A sharp knife is safer than a dull knife. A sharp knife cuts more
easily, you donât have to use as much force on it, and you can control it. Nobody can do good work with a dull knifeâand ask any carpenter, nobody can do safe work with any dull tool.
HTDN_28
Now, itâs got to be a
HTDN_23b
You may or may not know about burrs, and what you can do with them. Iâm not going to waste a lot of time telling you how to find a burr bush. The way we found them was weâd be walking through some brush, and if you do, then burrs find you. Theyâd be stuck to our sweaters, our stockings, everywhere. They feel sticky to the touch, but theyâre not. They have dozens, maybe hundreds of little tiny hooks all over them, with very fine points, so fine they stick right into your skin without hurting you.
HTDN_24a
Burrs will stick to anything, including other burrs. You can shape them into any shape you want. We used to make baskets out of them, line them with green leaves and use them to carry berries home in.
HTDN_24b
Sooner or later, however, what we did with burrs was throw them at each other. If they get into a girlâs long hair, they can be a nuisance to get out, and donât ever throw a whole ball of them. They can hurt. Thereâs another kind of burr, shaped like this:
We never found a use for them, but they were kind of nice to look at. By the way, in the old days, when my grandfather was a kid, these were used for finishing off homespun woolen cloth, to bring up the nap.
You may have noticed by now that the things in this book donât come in any sort of order; that some of the things Iâve told you about are for indoors, some for outdoors, some for spring and some for fall and some for winter: as I told you before, youâre not supposed to do all the things in this book in order: when youâve got the spool, build the spool tank. When youâve got the burrs, make a burr basket. I think the best way to use this book is just to read it through once, and then put it somewhere where you can find it when you want it. And then one day, when youâve got nothing special to do, hunt out an old handkerchief and make the parachute. Or find a button and make the buzz saw. But read the book through once. At the back, Iâll put an index so that you can find out what you want when you want it.
Â
One thing youâre sure to have any old time is a pencil; and here are two things we always did with pencils, as soon as we owned a pocketknife. Right now, before I tell you about the pencils, letâs have a little straight talk about a knife. I donât know how old you have to be before you get a pocketknife; thatâs up to your father. If you ask your mother, itâll probably turn out that she thinks you ought to be twenty-one before you can have one. I think youâll be able
to work out something reasonable with your father. Well, letâs assume youâve got the knife. Now, a Boy Scout knife is swell for mumbly-peg, a game which Iâll tell you about later. But for whittling, and for all sorts of making things, a plain old-fashioned penknife is the best. Personally, I like a small knife. You can hold it better and control it better. Itâs my opinion that all you need in a penknife is one, or at most, two blades. The kind I like has a horn handle, and the blades are shaped like the one on this page. This one is drawn about full size. (Of course youâll never have both blades open at onceâThis is just to show you the kind of knife.)
HTDN_27
Now, hereâs something else that youâre just going to have to argue out with your mother; I did with my mother, my kids did with their mother. A sharp knife is safer than a dull knife. A sharp knife cuts more
easily, you donât have to use as much force on it, and you can control it. Nobody can do good work with a dull knifeâand ask any carpenter, nobody can do safe work with any dull tool.
HTDN_28
Now, itâs got to be a