Landing nets with a difference

So, to make a net I use oak ribs for the bow and different wood for the handle. Normally I use two layers of oak in the bow for my grayling/trout nets and three layers for my salmon nets. I always hand-pick the oak planks and normally it is one in 15 that has the right structure. The fibres in the oak must go through the whole length of the oak rib.

I also use elk horn and sometimes horn from reindeer which is an old material that people in the Nordic countries have used in knifes for a long time. Then I put some tin and birch bark between the horn pieces and finally put a brass knob in the end.

 I have a couple of templates that I use.

 

To bend the oak ribs, I use a pipe that I have plugged in one end. Then I just put boiling water in the pipe and let the ribs lie there for about 15 minutes. Sometimes I reheat the water so that the ribs will be soft and will not crack when I bend them in the template.

 

I use about 20-28 clams to press the ribs against the handle and the template. Then it must dry out for at least 5 hours. The next step is to glue the ribs and the handle. So I remove all the clams, putting some glue between the pieces and put all the clams back together. Because I use PU glue (polyurethane) the pressure must be high.

After the glue has dried overnight, the time has come to grind the “net” for the first time. It’s a lot of grinding. Then I grind, again…, the end of the handle so it would fit perfectly to the horn pieces.

 

 

The next step is to cut out pieces from horn. It means a lot of searching to find the right pieces. Normally you can use maybe 5-10% of a horn. The rest have too much marrow or have the wrong shape. The best piece is the “rose wreath” which is the piece that is closest to the head. Then I grind all the pieces and measure them so they will fit perfectly without gaps. It is very important that the horn in the end of the handle don’t have any marrow. If there is some marrow, the horn will be dirty and it is impossible to make it smooth. Then I drill a hole in the centre of the horn pieces. That is for the screw that hold all the pieces tight to the wood handle.

 

I also cut out tin and birch bark pieces. I often use bark from birch but sometimes I also use spacers in different colours. It is a modern knife material and it’s made of some plastic material.

 

Once I have grinded all the horn, tin and bark pieces, I will glue them together with epoxy and tighten them up with a long wood screw. The screw is later on covered with the brass knob. I use an epoxy that hardens slowly. So until I can work with the net again I must wait for maybe fourteen to twenty hours depending on the ambient heat.

 

After that, there is a lot of grinding, grinding and grinding, and then a bit more grinding. 

 

I make the brass knob from a brass bar. I proceed by putting the bar in a special kind of a drill and then shape the knob with a file. Once I have got the right shape, I polish the knob and drill a hole in it. Then I seal it with epoxy and a brass nail to the horn.

Then, when I am satisfied with the finish I put the net in an oil bath for at least 24 hours. Most of the time I let the net take a bath longer than that. I use clarified linseed oil of highest quality and a dash of organic turpentine. After the oil bath I continue putting oil in the net for at least 36 hours but then I’ll use a brush.

 

 

When the wood is full with oil, the landing net must rest for some time. In most cases, I let the net rest for at least 5 days or more. Then I mark out where the hole must be drilled in the bow. My way to fasten the mesh in the bow is to drill small holes in the bow and then fasten the mesh with epoxy. Normally I drill 40 holes. I don’t drill the holes completely through the bow, its looks nicer if the outside is “clean” and without holes. Then I grind and grind and…

 

 

And then I grind and grind and then there is the last moment, and this is to polish the landing net. And hopefully, hopefully I have made a net that some fisherman or woman likes and will use to land beautiful fishes.

 

 

If you want to make a net for yourself, I have written below a step-by-step guide. But remember, this is my way of making a net. Maybe you have a much better way...

For further details on my unique trout or salmon hand-crafted nets, see Landing-nets.com

 

Mats Dahne.

 

Step-by-step Guide Select oak planks with the right structure Saw plane and grind the ribs Saw and grind the handle to the right shape Soften the ribs in boiling water Fasten the handle in the net template Press the ribs in the template for at least 5 hours. Glue the ribs and the handle and press it for 8 hours Grind the net Select and saw out pieces from elk horn Grind all the pieces so they fit perfectly Drill holes in the pieces Saw out tin pieces Grind and drill through all pieces Drill a small whole in the end of the handle for the screw Glue all pieces with epoxy and fasten the “package” with a long screw Let the glue dry for about 20 hours Grind the net using finer and finer sandpaper More grinding More grinding Make a brass knob from a brass bar Glue the brass knob and fasten it with a sprint going through the horn Fine grinding Soak the landing net in an oil bath - linseed oil and turpentine – for at least 24 hours Paint the net only with linseed oil for two more days Then the net must rest for 5 days or more Measures out and drilling the wholes where the mesh is fastened, normally 40 wholes Fine grinding Fasten the mesh with epoxy Fine grinding Polish the net The landing net is ready!