Goahti
Ulu
The ulu (OO-loo) is a traditional all-purpose knife with a brilliant design by the Arctic peoples. This crescent-shaped cutting tool is used for everything ... from skinning and cleaning fish and butchering animals, cutting hair, chopping up food, and even for cutting blocks of snow and ice to build igloos!
First used over five thousand years ago, ulus are considered very valuable and are traditionally passed down from generation to generation.
Traditionally, the ulu blade was made from hard, polished, slate rock. Today steel is used for the blade. Its handle is made from caribou antler, whalebone, or drift wood and is often carved with distinctive designs or markings as a kind of signature by the maker of the knife.
The size of an ulu can tell you what it is used for. A small ulu with a 2-inch (5 cm) blade would be used in a sewing kit to cut thread made from animal muscle. A larger ulu with a 6-inch (15 cm) blade would be an all-purpose kind of knife. Sometimes, even very large ulus are found, some with blades as large as 12 inches (30 cm).
The Ulu knife is incredibly forceful and precise in its cut. Because the center of force is concentrated directly over the middle of the blade, it creates twice the direct downward force compared to that of regular knives, where the cutting force is behind the center of the blade. Even those with hand or wrist problems can easily cut and chop with an ulu ... And it is a wonderful tool for cutting pizza, cheese, and vegetables of all kinds!
Source and image courtesy of: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulu, ulu.com/aboutulu.htm
