[Sca-cooks] Viking smoothing board

[Terri Morgan]

> What's a "Viking smoothing board"?
> An ironing board of some type? A torture device?

It is an ironing board of some type - specifically, a lap-sized board (once
made of whalebone or like material) that is decorated slightly with a large
area left plain. That area is where you lay your linen edges and using a
glass , well, blob for lack of a better word (about like a paperweight),
fold over the seam edges and rub them. It makes a very nice sharp fold,
which helps with sewing a seam. 

Viking-era women were occasionally buried with their boards, just like guys
had their shields. (Women also had their weaving swords, which was a nice
contrast to men's war swords.)

I scored a very nice one (Linden wood) this Pennsic from those Viking guys
under the tree...



Hrothny