leverhead
Well-Known Member
If you have a need for a long needle to string leaf with and have access to used windshield wiper blades, this is a pretty easy project. For me it works better than umbrella wires, especially on the smaller leaves. The material is the "backbone" salvaged from cartridge type wiper blades, what I got was 1/32" thick X 5/32" wide. The material is galvanized, I removed that with sandpaper and it blunts the sharp edges at the same time. The point is ground like a knife edge with a large included angle, 60 - 90 degrees works well. It doesn't need to cut anything, just parting the fibers below the point as it penetrates the stem. The point itself really only needs to be sharp enough to go through the stem easily and dull enough not to get your finger. Taking the point of the needle as the "top", I put the open side of the hook on the bottom. The other way around tears up the stems too much passing the leaves off onto the string. To shape the hook I used a motor tool with an abrasive cut-off wheel, at a low angle about 2/3 across the width. I then blunted all the new sharp edges with a file and sandpaper.
To use, I loaded up the needle with leaves and then hooked the string and pulled the leaves over the string in bunches. It's much easier to do with sticky fingers than trying to thread an eye.
To use, I loaded up the needle with leaves and then hooked the string and pulled the leaves over the string in bunches. It's much easier to do with sticky fingers than trying to thread an eye.
