Ulu

The Ulu (pronounced ooloo) is an all-purpose cutting tool of the native people of the Arctic. Traditionally a woman's knife it can be used to cut food, filleting fish, or even to cut hair. Uluit (the plural of ulu) come in a variety of sizes depending on the intended use. A small ulu would be an excellent addition to a sewing kit while a larger blade would be better for skinning and cleaning animals. Uluit have been found that dated as early as 2500BC.

The Inupiat version usually has the center piece of the blade cut out and both ends fitting into the handle. The Canadian ulu is attached to the handle by a single piece. Before other materials were available the handles would have been made from antler or bone and the blade from slate. Today caribou antler is still used for the handle but steel is more frequently used for the blade.

Let's say you want to cut a piece of meet with your ulu. Hold the handle of the ulu in the palm of your hand with the beveled side of the blade away from you. With the meat on a cutting board hold the ulu at a slight angle and use a rocking motion to cut. It takes a little practice but you will find they cut remarkably well.




The one shown here is from Nome, Alaska. It was given to me as a gift after I had worked at a camp there one summer. The handle is caribou and the display base is whale bone. It is made more in the Canadian style with a triangle shaped blade I think this ulu was probably made for one of the local Nome gift shops. There is a shop in Anchorage called the Ulu Factory check out their website at http://www.theulufactory.com/

Less than one week later I would get the opportunity to learn how to use an ulu at another camp which was located twenty miles south of Barrow, Alaska. I first got to practice while preparing some caribou meat to make jerky. More about that adventure later.