Tawse

Hi Mike, I regret to say that I am no longer in a position to prepare pizzles due to living circumstances. I look forward to Jim taking up the art again. I initially did mine whilst working in Africa which has quite a different climate to te UK. Best wishes, John That would be great to see some you've done. I do appreciate all your valuable input. I'm just hoping I can devote the time needed to correctly do the next one. Thanks again, Mike

Hi Mike, Thanks for the pics - I am impressed. I think that the age of the animal must have a major effect on the finished product. Did you wash it in brine or some form of sterilizing solution before starting? Did you use alum at any point? Here is a pic of another Victorian Pizzle - its rather like flexible bone. Good luck with the next one John Here's a couple of pictures. Like I said I haven't sanded it or anything else yet. You can see where it shrunk from the wire. I'm not real happy with how it turned out but it's my own fault for not staying after it. I think the next one I try will be from a young bull this one was from a big old bull. I plan on sanding it down and using it for a putter handle or possibly a couple of quirt handles. Mike

Hi Mike, Pleased to hear it was successful. Did you use alum at all? It might be worth applying some neatsfoot before sealing it with shellac or varnish. John

Hi, I would like to know if your attempt at stretching and drying a pizzle was successful. Jim's instructions seemed to be very valuable. Best wishes John

Hello Jim, Thanks for the info which I found fascinating. The idea of smoking the pizzles as they stretch is a revelation to me. If you drop me your email (I am joxbrough@hotmail.com I would be happy to send you a pic of the Victorian Pizzle. Its a great shame that the art of making them was not written down. Thanks once again for the info. Best wishes, Jonh

Hello, I have just joined the site hence the late entry. I found your entry incredibly helpful. I tried to fashion a pizzle by curing it with salt. I did not try to stretch it - which was probably a mistake. I did not use a wire rod but the pizzle dried out to resemble an inflexible walking stick. I did not scrape it as it dried but was advised to 'fashion it, once dried, with a spoke shaver. Although this produced a decent shape, I now know that it would have been better using a safety skiver. I oiled the finished product with neatsfoot oil but its flexibilty was lost. I did not use alum (I am not sure how this alters the finished product) although I do know that it is used in tanning. This was probably another mistake. I was going to try again with dried pet shop pizzles but they are oven dried and I thought that this would alter their tissues to the extent that they would be useless. Any comments please? I recently aquired a Victorian Pizzle - see pic - I wonder if their methods matched your own. The end result is most impressive. John