Tested: Adam opens out his leatherworking cabinet to talk about one of his favorite materials used in the construction of his Indiana Jones bullwhip replica. Every maker should have some waxed twine in their string drawer, but Adam prefers using super strong artificial catgut sinew for low profile wrapping of projects where the twine doesn't bulk up. And one spool of it will probably last you a lifetime!
5 comments:
Who knew that Kangaroo hide was the perfect material for bullwhips? Before watching this video, I was completely unaware that catgut sinew existed let alone artificial catgut sinew! Leathermaking is a world that I have never explored before, but it is fascinating to hear how intricate and low profile the workers need to be in order to properly hide the catgut or waxed twine ties and wrapping beneath the the multiple layers of braided leather. Hearing Adam’s story of how he braided his bullwhip to be like that of Indiana Jones’ was so fun and interesting to hear, especially since he was able to speak to the creator of the movie’s famous prop himself. I am wondering what other purposes could something as low profile as the artificial catgut sinew serve to use for making props, or possibly even in the scenic shop. While I now know that artificial catgut sinew’s main purpose is to make tennis rackets, I wonder if this handy little string can breathe new life into projects and builds.
-Sarah Bauch for TD1
There is nothing I love more than learning about new materials and ways to use them. Artificial cat gut definitely sounds like something that I want to have in my shop at some point. I am sure there are countless props applications that it could be used for. With the frequency with which I use waxed twine, I know it would be just as useful. There are so many things we make in the prop shop that are really small and need to be tied together really well. Puppets are the main thing that spring to my mind. Making little joints and connections work with really fine detail can be really hard especially when you only have something like thick bailing twine, but this would totally change the game. I like how it is not circular too. That makes me feel like its low profile qualities are actually superior to any kind of string I have ever used except maybe sewing thread but that is often not strong enough for many applications.
I love the passion and energy Adam Savage has in these videos. Normally I would not be excited about artificial cat gut. However, this is a pretty cool tool and/or trick to know about. These are the kinds of things that I find interesting for this reason. The artificial cat gut fulfills a very specific need, in this case it works well for bullwhip making but the overall trick is about trying precise and small or hidden knots. Although it is unlikely I will ever use it, this is something that may be useful to someone else, like Cooper Nickels, had he not discovered this post as well and found himself making bullwhips or another creation that also requires the need to have precise, hidden knots. You never know when you might want or need something like this in the back of your mind or the back of your toolkit. This is especially true for the industry we work in, you never know what the next project might have you do or needing to learn to achieve that set out goal.
I have always been a huge fan of both Tested and Adam Savage. One of my favorite series is Adam Savage's One Day Builds. It was until recently that these short "Tool Tips" started to show up on my YouTube feed. These small tips and tricks are almost always those small tid bits that you may never need, but when you do, you'll be thankful you've watched the video. While this trick in particular is one that I highly doubt I will ever use (I don't see myself building a bull whip anytime soon), it is something that I am sure I could apply to other leather working projects I may do in the future. Like Cooper said, I am sure cat gut will find a use in my shop some day. In theater, and many other industries, you never know what you may need to do to get the job done.
Along with it’s purpose of sharing how great of a tool artificial cat gut is, this video shows how important and beneficial it is to talk to other makers about their craft. Adam was able to talk to David Morgan, creator of the whips used in Indiana Jones, about constructing his own. As an expert in his field, David was able to answer questions and provide helpful tips that Adam couldn’t get from his book. He was able to get so much guidance from just asking. Personally, I would never think to reach out to such a professional because I would assume they are busy. This video really makes me think, what’s the worst that can happen? They say no. I think we should constantly be learning from other creators, whether that’s from watching videos, asking questions, or having a conversation. From this video alone, I learned that people use cat gut for projects. I have so many questions about that...
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