A bodkin is one of those things you never knew
you needed, but after you use one you'll never be without it
again. A bodkin is the tool you need for running cords,
elastic, ribbon, rattail (shown above) through casings and
tubes. The alligator teeth clamp down on whatever it is your
pulling through the case and successfully carry it through
to the other side. If your working with a fragilie cord you
may not want to clamp it in; simply slide the ring down
closing the teeth and side the cord in the opening that is
created. The bent bodkin, the upper image, has been in
my service for about 5 years. It has strung countless
numbers of hand bag cords, not to mention the too-many-to
-count hooded sweatshirt cords that inevitably come out in
the laundry. This amazing little tool is well worth the
price, a bargain for sure.
Bodkin $2.00
But there is more about a bodkin than meets the
eye. They, like so many other ordinary items, have a
gruesome story from our past. I warn those weak of stomach,
do not read on!
Food was scarce in the Jamestown, VA settlement.
To ensure everyone had enough to eat, food was stored by the
community and rationed to each person. One day, a man was
caught stealing a loaf of bread. His sentence was death. The
good citizens of the settlement tied the criminal to a
nearby tree and peirced his tongue with, you guessed it, a
bodkin. The smallest hardship for the man was his inability
to eat. Worst of all, he could not swallow even his own
saliva. So there it was, the criminal died of thirst while
tied to a tree all because of a bodkin.
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