Kerry McCluskey
Northern News Services

NNSL (Nov 09/98) - After years of researching the ulu -- the knife traditionally used by Inuit women for sewing, butchering and eating -- Judy McGrath has come to one focal conclusion.

"I've discovered that there are as many shapes as people who make them," says McGrath, who has grand plans to use her seven years of research to write a book which, so far, has the working title From Stone to Steel.

Speaking from her home in Ottawa, the former 28-year resident of the North says her study into the ancient knife first began when her husband, an economic development officer in the Kitikmeot region at the time, asked her what the most common shape of the ulu was.

McGrath says she started looking at the history of the knife and began to do research. She kept becoming more and more intrigued until she realized she had enough information to write a book about the topic.

"I know more than you ever wanted to know about the ulu," laughs McGrath, who has a small but, nonetheless, impressive collection of knives she has accumulated in her travels.

"I bought one from a store in Alaska and it's made from Thule slate. I didn't like to buy it because it's an archaeological piece, but I figured someone was going to and it might as well be someone who would look after it," says McGrath.

Considering releasing her book in conjunction with an ulu exhibit, McGrath says she is still trying to uncover the origins of the Inuit variation of the knife. It's basic lunar shape has been used around the world for thousands of years and she notes the existence of an Asian knife that may have influenced the ulu.

"It may come from an Asian harvest knife called the olo...but I'm still trying to connect whether the Inuit one came from Asia or the Indian population on the west coast or if the shape just evolved naturally," says McGrath.

It is possible, however, to determine the ulu's regional origin because of very distinct differences. McGrath says the size of the ulu, the handle, the shape of the blade, the way it is sharpened and the tang -- the piece that joins the knife together -- all vary and permit her to attribute it to its proper region.

She also says the size and the type of materials used are regional constants, but she does maintain that availability of wood or bone and metal plays a role.

"In Pond Inlet, there's a sunken ship that is full of hard wood. They bring up pieces of the ship and it's a deep ebony colour and they use that to make the handle."

McGrath hopes to finish a serious edit on her book this winter and have it on store bookshelves sometime during the next few years.