Fossil Ivory Nalbinding Needles

Made with love on Grizzly Mountain!

Jo has just added 8 new fossil ivory nalbinding needles to our Grizzly Mountain Arts Etsy Shop! You'll find a variety of sizes and materials, including fossil walrus and mammoth ivory and deer antler.

Dave has carved the 4 inch, 102mm nalbinding needle above, from fossil mammoth ivory and has hand polished it to a high gloss. We have photographed both sides of this needle to show the uniqueness of the ancient ivory. Each nalbinding needle has been initialed by Dave and comes in it's own velour drawstring bag.

Blue Mammoth Ivory Nalbinding Knitting Needle

This is a beautiful 3 1/2 inch nalbinding needle that Dave carved from rare Blue Mammoth Ivory. One side shows a mix of blue and brown colors. The other side is a solid deep blue, almost black, color. The ivory is at least 10,000 years old. It is initialed by Dave, the maker. Perfect for SCA Ren-Faire!

Ancient Ivory Nalbinding Needle

This nalbinding needle has been hand carved from ancient ivory and has been hand polished to a high gloss. Each of our nalbinding needles has been initialed by Dave and comes in its own velour drawstring bag. This nalbinding needle has been photographed on a ruler so you can see the precise measurement, so be sure and click the link above to view the additional photos.

Fossil Ivory Nalbinding Needles

Rings aren't the only thing Dave has been making lately! Three new Nalbinding Needles have been added to the Fiber Art Tool section of our Etsy shop.

Medieval Nalbinding Needle

**THIS IS ELK ANTLER AND FOR SALE IN USA ONLY**

This is a larger 3 ¼ inch Elk Antler Nalbinding Needle typically used for making rugs (aka Toothbrush Weaving). Lay down your plastic tooth brush handles and move back in time when the ancients used antler, bone, horn and ivory needles and tools for weaving and knitting textiles and enjoy this primitive made tool while doing your weaving.

Dave carved this needle from Elk antler. To add novelty and art to this piece, he inlaced it with copper runes and a turquoise double spiral. Using the runic alphabet, Dave has spelled out NADELBINDER with the copper inlaced runes. Its perfect for use while in costume at Ren-Faire or SCA events.

This needle is initialed by Dave on the reverse side.

Mammoth Ivory Bodkin Nalbinding Needle with Case

This larger ivory nalbinding needle is 4 inches long and comes with a Rosewood case. Larger needles are used for projects using heavier materials such as for nalbinding rugs. Dave hand carved this out of a shard of ancient woolly mammoth ivory from Siberia Russia. He used a new pen case he had on hand and fashioned a engraved brass needle to mount on the top of the case, making it a neat presentation gift or treat for yourself. The ivory is at least 10,000 years old. It is initialed by Dave, the maker.

You can find this Mammoth Ivory Nalbinding Needle currently up for auction on Ebay.

This medieval Norse inspired nalbinding needle was carved from a piece of "blue" fossil mammoth ivory. The arrow design has been inlaced (also called inlay) with brass.

What is "blue" ivory?

Blue mammoth ivory is usually the outer bark ivory of the tusk and gets its color from leaching elements in the soil and ice where it has beed buried for thousands of years. The different patterns makes each needle a one-of-a- kind. Blue mammoth ivory is the most prized in jewelry making and for making expensive knife handles and pistol grips.

New Nalbinding Needles!

Somebody's been making up for lost time in the studio!

These three newest nalbinding needles were just added to our Etsy shop. All of our nalbinding needles are hand carved from ancient ivory and have been hand polished to a high gloss. Each nalbinding needle has been initialed by Dave and comes in it's own velour drawstring bag.

Medieval Blue Mammoth Nalbinding Knitting Needle

Hhhmmmm.....while I was in the living room typing the blog entry about how Dave has been relegated to the couch until he's feeling better, I noticed that he disappeared. When I finished with my post, I went to see where he went, and found him typing away on the other computer (we have three....I know, we're geeks!) listing this latest nalbinding needle.

This needle is 3 1/4 inches long and comes with a velour pouch. Dave hand carved this nalbinding knitting needle out of rare ancient BLUE woolly mammoth ivory from Siberia Russia. The ivory is at least 10,000 years old.

Blue mammoth ivory is usually the outer bark ivory of the tusk and gets its color from leaching elements in the soil and ice where it has beed buried for thousands of years. The different patterns makes each needle a one-of-a- kind. Blue mammoth ivory is the most prized in jewelry making and for making expensive knife handles and pistol grips. It is initialed by Dave, the maker, and is currently up for auction on Ebay.

Medieval Blue Mammoth Nalbinding Knitting Needle

Even More New Nalbinding Needles!

Dave just handed me three new Nalbinding Needles to list in the Fiber Art Tool Section of our Etsy.com shop!

All of our handmade nalbinding needles are carved from ancient ivory and have been polished to a high gloss finish. As no two pieces of ancient ivory are alike, each needle Dave creates is a truly unique piece of art.

Speckled BLUE Mammoth Nalbinding Knitting Needle

NEED A LITTLE LONGER NEEDLE? Dave hand carved this nalbinding knitting needle out of rare ancient BLUE speckled woolly mammoth ivory from Siberia Russia. The patterns of these colorful mammoth ivory shards makes each needle truely one of a kind. He also accented this needle with a diamond inlay of Mother of Pearl.

The ivory is at least 10,000 years old. Blue mammoth ivory gets its color from elements in the soil and ice where it has been buried for thousands of years. Blue mammoth ivory is the most prized in jewelry making and for making expensive knife handles and pistol grips.

This nalbinding needle is 3 3/4 inches long and comes with a velour pouch. It is initialed by Dave, the maker and is currently up for auction on Ebay.

Rare Blue Mammoth Ivory Nalbinding Needle

Dave hand carved this nalbinding knitting needle out of rare ancient BLUE woolly mammoth ivory from Siberia Russia. The ivory is at least 10,000 years old. Blue mammoth ivory gets its color from elements in the soil and ice where it has beed buried for thousands of years. Blue mammoth ivory is the most prized in jewelry making and for making expensive knife handles and pistol grips. It is 2 3/4 inches long and comes with a velour pouch. It is initialed by Dave, the maker.

This blue mammoth ivory nalbinding needle is currently up for auction on Ebay.

Carved Antler with Silver Inlay Nalbinding Needle

Dave hand carved this nalbinding knitting needle out of deer antler and inlayed it with sterling silver. It is 3 inches long and comes with a velour pouch. It is initialed by Dave, the maker. Perfect for SCA Ren-Faire artists!

We use shed antlers which naturally fall off the animal each year after the breeding season. They grow back during spring and summer and are fully developed again by the fall breeding season. After that, they are shed and the process repeated again for the next years growth.

This item contains a part of a native wildlife species and would require a special export license and shipping through a designated customs port. It is not cost effective to sell and ship this item outside the US.

This nalbinding needle is currently up for auction on Ebay!

Ancient Mammoth Ivory Nalbinding Needles

Dave hand carved this set of nalbinding needles out of ancient woolly mammoth ivory from Siberia Russia. The ivory is at least 10,000 years old. The longer rounded needle is 3 7/8 inches long and the flat needle is 3 ½ inches long and they come with a velour pouch. Each is initialed by Dave. Perfect for SCA Ren-Faire! This set comes with a copy of the Affidavit of Ivory Origin.

These nalbinding needles are currently up for auction on Ebay. Please click here if you would like to view this auction.

Ancient Ivory Medieval Norse Nalbinding Needles

Dave was recently contacted by a fiber artist who asked if he had ever made any medieval Norse nalbinding needles. He hadn't, but immediately began researching this tool as he loves adding new fiber art tools to his repertoire. All of our nalbinding needles are hand carved from ancient ivory and can be viewed in the Fiber Art Tools section of our online Etsy shop.

If you are like us and have never heard of "Nalbinding", which can be spelled several different ways, the excerpt below is from Wikipedia and gives an explanation of this ancient art form:

"Nålebinding (Danish: literally "binding with a needle" or "needle-binding", also naalbinding or naalebinding) is a fabric creation technique predating both knitting and crochet. Also known in English as "knotless netting," "knotless knitting," [1]or "single needle knitting," the technique is distinct from crochet in that it involves passing the full length of the working thread through each loop, unlike crochet where the work is formed only of loops, never involving the free end.

More information on this medieval art can be found here.