Few but essential tools for processing and weaving wicker and twigs from other wild plants gathered in the countryside.
Among the tools to be used, all of which are readily available, one first needs a small knife, used for cutting reeds and severing branches.
Next, a wooden or bone awl, which is useful for opening cracks between woven fibers, and shears for cutting off larger twigs.
And also a reed, specially carved to make the braid in the baskets and to make several twigs follow one and the same course in the weaving, inserting inside the reed the twigs that are to proceed together.
Next, simple but essential tools are needed for their effectiveness.
These include the
willow splitter
, for breaking the willow branch into several equal parts or strips, which are then used for weaving in order to save material.
And the
cane splitter
, for splitting fresh and dry reeds into several strips. It used to be made of wood but then of a different material due to the easy corrosion from its continuous use. The peasants therefore alternatively used a small sharp cross created from reeds, which, when pressed onto the end of the reed to be broken, allowed it to break.
