Book bindings of the Royal National Library of The Netherlands. Via BibliOdyssey, where you can find a selection.
Archives for February 2010
Primitive Technology Handbook
Primitive Ways makes use of the internet to teach us the lost knowledge of our Stone Age ancestors: making fire, tools, weapons, cooking utensils, musical instruments, shelters, and much more.
Not everything is that useful in the 21st century, but the site contains a wealth of information and many of the diy-projects sure look like fun. Moreover, they also combine traditional skills with modern materials, like in this four-hour kayak. Some articles are extremely short, but very useful – see the Inuit Thimble, for example.
Primitive Ways is also available as a book or a dvd, but all information is freely accessible on the website. Articles also appeared in the “Bulletin of Primitive Technology”, a print magazine from the Society of Primitive Technology.
Another good resource is “Primitive Technology: A Book of Earth Skills
Digital Books and Your Rights
A checklist for readers by the EFF. Previously: Second hand bits and bytes.
Pen Shaking Centrifuge
“Sometimes, if a pen stutters, you can get it going again by shaking it. But sometimes it seems to take a lot of shaking. So I figured, what if I could shake it really really hard? What if I built a centrifuge to get the ink flowing again? And so this project came about!”
Hand tool overkill. Don’t miss the video (and the other projects by Matthias Wandel).
Via Make Magazine.
Low-tech Snow Scooters: Kick Sleds
“Kick sleds are the Scandinavian answer to winter bicycling. Kick sleds look like Zimmer frames on runners, or like a dog-less dog sled. Like bicycles, they increase the rider’s speed and freighting capacity while demanding very little extra physical input. Unlike bicycles they have no moving parts and are very easy to maintain”.
Kick sleds are sold by Esla, Kickbike, Norax en LjusdalsSparken.
Anti-skid detachable safety soles are a useful accessory.
