Blue Rock Station,
1190 Virginia Ridge Rd.
Philo Ohio 43771 USA
+1-740-674-4300 (phone)
+1-740-674-6303 (fax)
Or contact us by e-mail.
1190 Virginia Ridge Rd.
Philo Ohio 43771 USA
+1-
Or contact us by e-
Copyright 2008 Blue Rock Station, All Rights Reserved
Please add me to your mailing list...
Straw Bale Needle
Now, where else are you going to find a field-tested needle for building your dream house from bales of straw?
This design won our informal contest amongst our students - unscientific, granted, but still...
This design won our informal contest amongst our students -
The metal needle is hand-forged by a local blacksmith, the handle is made of Osage Orange (as a university website describes it - “this beautiful wood is very strong and so dense that it will neither rot nor succumb to the attacks of insects for decades”) lovingly cut from the hills of Appalachia and polished by hand.
The needle is about 32 inches long, the handle about 5 inches in length.
So what exactly is a straw bale needle and why do I need one? Well, if you have ever thought of building a home (or an outhouse or pretty much anything) out of straw, you need a tool to thread the twine through the bale so that it can be lashed tightly to supports (usually saplings or bamboo or wood of some form or fashion).
This needle does a terrific job. It is rounded and smooth, allowing it to slide easily through the bale. It has two holes large enough to accommodate various sized twine, and a crescent tip to push with.
The shape and position of the handle allows for a secure, comfortable grip -
What can we say. You can pay a lot more for a straw bale needle, but this is a quality product that works well for what it is designed to do.
Check out our book on Building a Vaulted Straw Bale Wall