How parochial. My oldest brother came back with a block with a hole cut in it, with 4 nails, wanting to buy yarn. Soon me, and my two brothers were using all of our nervous energy cranking out red, blue and rainbow colored finger tubes by the dozen. We gave them to someone who knew how to crochet, and were given plastic blocks to knit the hands, each in our size, in a months time, we each had three pairs of warm gloves for the mornings. We gave the blocks to our younger cousins in Canada, and they cranked out enough gloves for classrooms of children.
So when I saw these devices, I knew exactly what they were for:
1. Making gloves.
2. Confusing people who never had used a knitting block, and
3. causing un-due speculation.
Why no wear on the nob necks? Soft wool. Our blocks used high carbon steel finishing nails, which never wore, but even brass, would at first polish, and then would patina over, leaving no marks.
Why no hooks? for finishing? Those would have been made of wood, and like other looms, would have disappeared. what they should be looking for is collections of brass nails.
"Wool was the most important fiber in the Roman world."
How parochial. My oldest brother came back with a block with a hole cut in it, with 4 nails, wanting to buy yarn. Soon me, and my two brothers were using all of our nervous energy cranking out red, blue and rainbow colored finger tubes by the dozen. We gave them to someone who knew how to crochet, and were given plastic blocks to knit the hands, each in our size, in a months time, we each had three pairs of warm gloves for the mornings. We gave the blocks to our younger cousins in Canada, and they cranked out enough gloves for classrooms of children.
So when I saw these devices, I knew exactly what they were for: 1. Making gloves. 2. Confusing people who never had used a knitting block, and 3. causing un-due speculation.
Why no wear on the nob necks? Soft wool. Our blocks used high carbon steel finishing nails, which never wore, but even brass, would at first polish, and then would patina over, leaving no marks.
Why no hooks? for finishing? Those would have been made of wood, and like other looms, would have disappeared. what they should be looking for is collections of brass nails.
"Wool was the most important fiber in the Roman world."
https://sites.google.com/view/dulciasromancloset/roman-texti...