Embryo Wire:

The Americans call this ‘O.B. Wire’ (for ‘obstetrics’). Vets use it to cut up a stuck calf inside its mother! I have used this stuff to de-horn hundreds of goats in past years (It is not possible to breed poll goats as the poll gene is linked to hermaphroditism).

You can quickly tie a length of it to a couple of sticks. It then makes quick work of horn and bone. If you hanker to be an Ultralight Deer Hunter you might carry a length of it in your pack (as I do). There is no lighter way to retrieve a set of antlers!

I am currently using it to lift some ceramic floor tiles without breaking them for a bathroom renovation we are ‘working’ on – in between demolishing the 1924 buggy shed and replacing it, a general farm tidy up, sorting and loading stud sheep for export, a heap more fox-proof fencing, planting a few hundred more trees, planning on yet another wilderness trip & etc. We are making a walk in shower recess (as against our geriatric ‘progression’) where I will re-use the tiles. This beats re-tiling the whole bathroom, and saves money besides.

I can get a stainless steel shower drain from Bunnings for A$89, a shower rail for $58, and a bidet seat for A$59. That should take care of most of it. We already have a toilet. I am taking out the existing bidet to make room for a wheelchair turn around (if ever needed). I will also increase the width of the door (for the same reason) by adding material to each side of the two leaves. I priced a new door. Over A$500! What nonsense! I am putting in a new 6′ x 4′ window, A$111 here so that Della can sit in the bath and gaze out at her beloved back garden. I will install it using a A$47 6 metre length of ID 14mm aluminium channel.

Of course as usual we will be doing all the work and plumbing ourselves (which you can still do on a farm! We built the whole house ourselves even making the bricks by hand and sawing every piece of wood and driving every nail ourselves – with the kids’ help) Including heaps of new cupboards, making a new vanity, and attaching tile sheeting on the (wet) walls, I doubt we will have to spend more than A$2,000 (less than the purchase price I was quoted for a window alone by a local window supplier). About half of that will be in the sheeting. Della has grown tired of cleaning (wall) tiles, so they will be replaced.

PS: This approx 1 metre length of embryo wire weighs only 5 grams! Pretty good for an ultralight saw. It’s still looking OK too considering I have hacked off various antlers with it over the years plus a square foot bathroom tile yesterday! It is quite robust stuff.