Willow Rod Preparation Tools

The tools a basket maker uses to turn raw willow rods into workable weaving material before any basket is started, including the cleave that splits a rod lengthways into slender skeins and the willow brake that a rod is pulled through to strip or flatten it. A tool belongs here when its cited source describes it as used to split, strip or otherwise prepare willow rods. It excludes the tools used while weaving and the knives and awls that finish a basket. Preparation sets how fine, flexible and even the working material will be, so these tools shape the quality of everything woven afterward.