A friend from Alaska brought a unique gift – a Ulu (pronounced oo’loo) knife. The design was crafted by Native Alaskan People over 5000 years ago. Originally the blades were fashioned from polished slate and given bone handles. They were used primarily for skinning and cleaning fish and sea mammals. As time has progressed, the slate has been replaced by metal and most recently with stainless steel. The design allows for more pressure to be placed on the blade directly above the object to be cut, thus becoming very effective. This tool can be seen used in the movie “The Snow Walker” which I highly recommend. It shows the simplicity of primitive living skills used by indigenous people that are still used today. In the adjacent photo I am using my Ulu on a deer skin during the tanning process.