Old Norwegian Man Weaves And Spins Bast Cordage And Makes Pack Straps

[SkogKniv]

The Norsk Folkemuseum has a channel where they post these very old films. Some are very cool.

This one and old Norwegian man works with Bast to makes pack straps and some rope.

The title of the video says "Spinning and weaving of bast"

[wulfesinger67]

i can tell its a natural cordage but what exactly is bast made from? i have seen some old chairs with a loom like this on the back slats. ( roy underhill even shows one in his books) now it makes sense as to the small size.

[Tor Helge]

Bast is a common (unpresise) norwegian word for the fibres of any plant used to make string.
The man on the film uses "bast" from linden (Tilia cordata)

[Dadio]

Lots of cool details in this video, like the reinforced knees on the gentleman's pants, and that small stool with the carved seat and the four legs. Wish there was some machine that would download knowledge from folks before the pass on - books and videos are better than nothing, but you know that we are losing crucial details of the way things used to be done each day. Just as an aside, Southern Illinois University once did a film of my grandfather making brooms as part of a similar "document the old skills" program - I really wish I had a copy of that!