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FishyFolk
24-04-2012, 04:17 PM
Write a couple of lines what you did in bushcrafting, or preparation for bushcrafting today...

Me I sharpened the kids Mora 2000 knives to razor sharp, so now they are safe to use for the summer...well, spring...uh, the next couple of days I pray...
Else I looked at a Mora crooked 162 spoon knife, but could not buy it as she-who-must-be-obeyed was also looking, but I have an excuse for going alone tomorrow :-)

Humakt
24-04-2012, 05:34 PM
I put a new lanyard on my compass.

Basha72
24-04-2012, 06:06 PM
Had a quick flick through uncle Rays outdoor survival book I got of e bay for a couple of quid, the one with him stood with his bino's and map/compass not a bad read, will help pass some time at work !!

Dave

Kernowek Scouser
24-04-2012, 07:27 PM
I don't know if this is 'proper' bushcrafting but, I went for a wander this afternoon. I scouted a few potential sneaky wooded overnight sites with a sea view and while there, scavenged some wood in anticipation of the arrival of the crook knife I've ordered. I did a second field test of my Crusader Cook Unit (review to follow... if I remember to save a copy before I post it) atop a sea cliff, then fashioned a lasso type thing, from the para cord I carry in my day pack, to retrieve the sunglasses I foolishly put down then kicked over the edge of said cliff. Then on the way back home, I practised expanding my ability to identify the flora around me, beyond the general classifications of Tree, Plant & Grass I have used for most of my life.

A pleasant afternoon.

AL...
24-04-2012, 07:52 PM
Sounds like a fun time Kernowek :)

ME! I put a new handle onto my old Tomohawk head that I found while looking for an old fishing reel ................ (Still havent found the reel)

Cheers
AL

El
24-04-2012, 07:56 PM
I made a bushcraft tea spoon.
4403
Sugar tongs tomorrow !

luresalive
24-04-2012, 08:02 PM
Ate some fireweed shoots..tasty

AL...
24-04-2012, 08:03 PM
Bonnie spoon El
Realy like the grain in it .. What wood did it come from?

Cheers
AL

Basha72
24-04-2012, 08:07 PM
Bonnie spoon El
Realy like the grain in it .. What wood did it come from?

Cheers
AL

Looks like its spalted

El
24-04-2012, 08:24 PM
Al, its Ash, I took part in a fun bushraft group challenge yesterday..making a spoon..and cut off a twig more or less and carvved the tiny tea spoon lol

markal17
24-04-2012, 08:35 PM
made tea in my zebra billy in the open fire starting said fire with striker

Realearner
24-04-2012, 08:37 PM
Been reading hedgerow by John wright, good book easy read. So I hope to be able to identify some wild edibles.

AL...
24-04-2012, 11:18 PM
Al, its Ash, I took part in a fun bushraft group challenge yesterday..making a spoon..and cut off a twig more or less and carvved the tiny tea spoon lol

Thats real smart .. Ash is a beautiful wood to work with and thanks for gettin back to me.

Cheers
AL

m0txr
25-04-2012, 12:52 AM
I bought two Mora companion knives, bought 40mtrs cordage from £land, spent half hour chatting to a nice looking policewoman on a big gee gee near £land. And bought a trangia stove set (the one for 3 or 4 people) to use with my lads. And got 2x books From charity shop by that chap john wright thats in hugh fearnley whittigstall's programme of old. One on fungi/ mushrooms and other on hedgerow foods etc. Then returned home and told porkies to the mrs as to how much i had spent. Mac

CanadianMike
25-04-2012, 02:03 AM
Me I sharpened the kids Mora 2000 knives to razor sharp, so now they are safe to use for the summer...

How many bandages this time? ;)


Me, haven't touched much camping stuff recently, but the only thing I can add is making a new sheath for Jeep's Scout knife, since the normal upside down style I make is illegal over there in Denmark, and because of the micarta handle, the center of gravity is such bending over makes the knife and sheath go inverted. So I'm making a new one, with a belt loop, that will raise the CoG and keep him from getting arrested.

Nutshell, I'm working on someone else's bushcraft gear. :D

FishyFolk
25-04-2012, 02:19 AM
How many bandages this time? ;)



None actually. Only now she-that-must-be-obeyed is pestering me to sharpen her kitchen knives...but that's just boring....

CanadianMike
25-04-2012, 03:50 AM
Start cooking for her and maybe you'll appreciate different types of cutting edges. ;)

Nutshell, a great bushcraft edge can be a lousy ripe tomato slicer.

Don't mind me, I have been owning and sharpening knives since I was in early high school, then after studied Chef Training at the local college, learned a lot about knives and handling, then just every day stuff up til I got into camping more, knife usage, etc. A wealth of knowledge to be gained by various forms of knives, cutting tools, wood, food prep, etc.

Besides, get a 1"x30" belt sander like I use for all my knife work, various fine belts, her complaining about dull knives will cause you to smile and think "Mmmmmm, power tool!!!!!"

Lol

FishyFolk
25-04-2012, 07:13 AM
He he, of course I'll sharpen her knives. I use them as much as she does :-)
And yes, my head says powertool, my wallet says 3£ sharpening stone...and I have that.

FishyFolk
25-04-2012, 12:12 PM
Whitled a spoon:

But first I had to get the tools:
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-fGEZWwYPbjw/T5fYXnUTQ8I/AAAAAAAADjY/odyxlp8W2jI/w500-h375-k/IMG_2510.JPG

Then it was just the chore of finding the spoon that was hiding in here
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-BXkxPS69EAo/T5fYYmrqbwI/AAAAAAAADjg/nmBbVfKnBHM/s765/IMG_2511.JPG

It's coming out!
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-0cFlCL0uCvI/T5fYZLnhHVI/AAAAAAAADjo/UvMrIUpqFTk/s765/IMG_2512.JPG

Slowly does it
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6xz9BbPNDzk/T5fYZiXbIPI/AAAAAAAADjw/GSgXUWzmJzE/s765/IMG_2513.JPG

I guess I am supposed to work with my hands, not on my hands!
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-q-p-UXdjDew/T5fYaX1PiPI/AAAAAAAADj8/NDcg725tOG8/s765/IMG_2516.JPG

Getting there
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-mY_mXBCzD2c/T5fYbjH5CyI/AAAAAAAADkI/GY5nnm7HsnQ/s765/IMG_2518.JPG

And thats it :-)
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-iCxe-gC7v5s/T5fYcNwdSBI/AAAAAAAADkM/JxPYrBAw9co/s765/IMG_2522.JPG

CanadianMike
25-04-2012, 12:59 PM
Bandage again, eh? Let me guess, from the back edge of the hook knife? Been there, done that!

FishyFolk
25-04-2012, 01:11 PM
Bandage again, eh? Let me guess, from the back edge of the hook knife? Been there, done that!

I really should stay away from everything that is sharper than boiled spaghetti....:mad2:

comanighttrain
25-04-2012, 02:11 PM
Trying to decide what bit of kit I need to upgrade...

My jacket is a cheapy jacket that came with a waterproof suit long deceased...but it still works.

Crusader cooker and cup work well enough, real cooking kit would be nice though.

Thermal liner or inner bag to go with my buffalo 4s outer...but it works well enough (and I have a ton of sleeping bags...)

Looking at osprey exos 46 as its a kilo lighter than my snugpak rocketpak...again though the rocketpak works well enough...

Most likely upgrade is the bivi bag though, the alpkit hunka just didn't cut it for me.

CanadianMike
25-04-2012, 04:24 PM
I really should stay away from everything that is sharper than boiled spaghetti....:mad2:

Is ok, nothing gets done if you don't try. Safe to say those sharp things that cut you like you. :)

Is funny, for the extreme sharpness of the knives I make, none have cut me, but my hook knife, cabinet scraper, bastard file, utility knife, etc. I haven't been so lucky with. Lol

AL...
25-04-2012, 04:45 PM
I always wear a leather glove when working with the hook knives .. Saves getting blood on the wood yer working on :D

Cheers
AL

FishyFolk
26-04-2012, 01:00 PM
Put together a fire kit containing:

1 Large "Army" lMF firesteel with striker
10 cotton pads with petroleum gel inserted between the layers
Matchbox in zip-lock bag ( my wife cant understand why I want to use "stone age" methods when we have lighters and matches, so thats for her use when we go out, she is cooking anyway)
Small "1" ligther
5 meters of hemp twine (cordage as well as tinder)
2 pieces of quarts (substitute for flint)
steel striker
Small tin of petrolum gel (so that I can lube up when the banjo's start playing)
2x 10cm pieces of Maya stick

Replaced the lanyard on the firesteel with hemp twine, and secured my steel strikker to the bag itself with half a meter of the same. So that is extra tinder, cordage as well.
Seriously worried about losing that fire steel, as I have never seen one on sale here before or after I bought mine. So not so easy to replace.

Also need some char cloth and/or tinder fungus in the kit as well. And will add a small folding blade to it....

Hushwing
26-04-2012, 04:08 PM
Nice spoon.

and yes have also done that with the double sided hook knife - prefer the single sided for that reason - probably due to my beginner dabbling status! :zombie-fighting:

Oh I've been reading Foxfire's book and sharpening my ringy zingy axe (don't know the model as was given it 2nd hand - but it makes a nice ringing sound).

JEEP
26-04-2012, 04:15 PM
Small tin of petrolum gel (so that I can lube up when the banjo's start playing)

Xp

JEEP
26-04-2012, 04:22 PM
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068473/

Yup...

FishyFolk
26-04-2012, 10:14 PM
Experimented some with the hemp twine. When fluffed up it will take a spark just as well as cotton balls/pads. Lights at first strike 9 out of 10 times. I think this will be my favourite
tinder. Also soaked some in petroleum gel. But like cotton balls thats a messy affair. So I ended up just pushing half a meter of it into the gel tin, where it can stay to soak.
Also wrapped a good length of the stuff around my knife sheet.

comanighttrain
27-04-2012, 01:47 PM
Just booked some time off to head up the great glen way.... the atko will be making it's debut!

FishyFolk
28-04-2012, 06:53 PM
Wrapped my Mora 711 and my Mora 120 knives in vinegar soaked cloth to force a patina on them. Hopefully that will give them a tad more rust protection as they live in my shed, and humidity is not excactly low now during the snow melt....just have to remeber to go out there and take that off before putting my head down tonite...

CanadianMike
28-04-2012, 11:05 PM
Better tip, warm up vinegar to almost a simmer, pour into a glass and set your knife in there point down, you'll get a patina in a fraction of the time, and a harder set one, since the heat causes the steel to expand slightly, letting the patina set in deeper. Plus, you can control the patina just by watching it.

Should say, I did a couple Opinel carbon knives this way, they turned really black in about two mins. Most I do, such as O-1 steel knives I make, takes 10 mins to get a dull gray colour.

Experiment, and have fun!

FishyFolk
29-04-2012, 08:39 AM
Better tip, warm up vinegar to almost a simmer, pour into a glass and set your knife in there point down, you'll get a patina in a fraction of the time, and a harder set one, since the heat causes the steel to expand slightly, letting the patina set in deeper. Plus, you can control the patina just by watching it.

Should say, I did a couple Opinel carbon knives this way, they turned really black in about two mins. Most I do, such as O-1 steel knives I make, takes 10 mins to get a dull gray colour.

Experiment, and have fun!

I may try that, but it requires more vinegar than I had in the house. The knives turned out okay though. Also did the axe I polished off the paint on a couple of weeks back. That turned out great!
But will try your tip later. But something tells me that this is for the shed...the smell must be horendous....lol

GwersyllaCnau
29-04-2012, 01:08 PM
Non stop rain here, so yesterday my 10 year old son had ago at making nettle soup, on our Swedish army cooker..

I've never tried Nettle soup, tried worms, woodlice, crickets, etc but never nettle, will have to give it a go... where's my thick leather gloves ;).

Found this
http://www.liveandfeel.com/medicinalplants/nettle.html

El
29-04-2012, 01:14 PM
Gwersyllacnau,
The nettles are quite nice..
we used gloves to pick the nettles and put them in a plastic carry bag...On the way out of the woods we spotted some wild chives..I picked em and put them in the bag..but this time no gloves on..result..stung my hand to bits on the nettles in the bag lol

GwersyllaCnau
29-04-2012, 01:18 PM
Gwersyllacnau,
The nettles are quite nice..
we used gloves to pick the nettles and put them in a plastic carry bag...On the way out of the woods we spotted some wild chives..I picked em and put them in the bag..but this time no gloves on..result..stung my hand to bits on the nettles in the bag lol

Sorry had to laugh at that

El
29-04-2012, 01:28 PM
Gwersyllacnau, that is a cool link thank you,it has a good list of other medicinal plants below the nettle thread I will be checking them out :)
http://www.liveandfeel.com/medicinalplants/nettle.html

(There is prob some moral to my nettle picking story lol)

CanadianMike
29-04-2012, 03:10 PM
I may try that, but it requires more vinegar than I had in the house. The knives turned out okay though. Also did the axe I polished off the paint on a couple of weeks back. That turned out great!
But will try your tip later. But something tells me that this is for the shed...the smell must be horendous....lol

Only if you get it past the simmer point! Lol

Basha72
30-04-2012, 01:05 PM
Made up some new base boards for bow drill set, couple of ivy and a couple of hazel just letting them dry out some more

Now off to work !

Dave

FishyFolk
30-04-2012, 06:31 PM
Took the todler todlin about in the woods as we've had a tremendous snow melt the last few days. And with the runt todling about, we did just go a few meters in, but found this :-)

4493

Now all I have to do is make birch lye, and cook it in it...what a mess. Anyway, what part of the fungus is it that I actually use?
In the picture is a couple of quartz rocks I also found...in my driveway.

Hushwing
03-05-2012, 01:58 AM
I've never tried Nettle soup, tried worms, woodlice, crickets, etc but never nettle, will have to give it a go... where's my thick leather gloves ;).

Found this
http://www.liveandfeel.com/medicinalplants/nettle.html

There's a cracking recipe for nettle fritters which I will try and get from the person that made them for me - really good meal. Nettle tea is meant to be a good hangover cure but I don't know if it'll taste as good as Irn Bru does on a hangover!

Hushwing
03-05-2012, 02:01 AM
Gwersyllacnau, that is a cool link thank you,it has a good list of other medicinal plants below the nettle thread I will be checking them out :)
http://www.liveandfeel.com/medicinalplants/nettle.html

This is a pretty good website also:
http://www.pfaf.org/user/default.aspx

FishyFolk
03-05-2012, 02:04 PM
Worked on my Bushcraft channel on Youtube...nothing serious, just me having something to do.

And the biggest of all...I...that is me, have managed to catch a spark on a char cloth, made my myself, and created an ember using a traditional steel striker and quartz found in my own driveway!

Does this mean that I can finally count myself among tre ranks of true cave men?

FishyFolk
04-05-2012, 07:14 PM
Took the SIB out on the fjord and secured dinner...got a nice cod, saw a Golden Eagle etc...sadly no camera.
But had a really nice afternoon out on the waves.

AL...
04-05-2012, 07:38 PM
Cod and chips . Man thats got to be the best supper ye can ever have :D
well done that man

Cheers
AL

JEEP
05-05-2012, 03:39 PM
Just made a simple paracord lanyard for my new Leatherman Wave...

CanadianMike
05-05-2012, 03:46 PM
Need to get going on gathering and organizing my camping gear soon, planning a trip with friends to Lake Clear again in two weeks, island camping and walleye fishing!

AL...
05-05-2012, 03:59 PM
Wait for me Mike!!!!
:D


Cheers
AL

FishyFolk
05-05-2012, 04:02 PM
Need to get going on gathering and organizing my camping gear soon, planning a trip with friends to Lake Clear again in two weeks, island camping and walleye fishing!

I do a mustering of my gear now and then, just lay out everything on a tarp and look what I have, what is broken, what can be repaired and what goes in the pile of bits and pieces (I am male so nothing ever gets thrown away)...

FishyFolk
05-05-2012, 04:05 PM
Checked if the sap on the goat willows have risen enough to make a whistle...and that is still a no go, but it should not be many days now :-)

JEEP
05-05-2012, 08:39 PM
Boiled water for a brew on my bushcooker at our allotment while making preparations for the summer.

GwersyllaCnau
05-05-2012, 10:03 PM
Sorted out a continuous ridgeline for the new DD tarp and put the guylines on, also adjusted the suspension on the new snugpak underquilt so I can just hook it to my karabiner mod in preparation for my trip into the woods tomorrow.

Hushwing
05-05-2012, 11:21 PM
Looked at a failed metal 'thermos' flask to see how would convert it either to a woodgas stove or a storm kettle (or is that a Kelly kettle or a ghillie kettle or my name for it a billy kettle). Couldn't decide whether to go for a woodgas stove or billy kettle - eventually plumped for a stove ... then changed my mind... then went back to the stove idea and now finally plumped for making a billy kettle ... or have I.... will post details once done.

AdrianRose
06-05-2012, 11:26 PM
Spent the day filming 2 new wild food foraging videos for my YouTube channel and website.

Intended doing just plants today, but manage to find some more St George's mushrooms, Chicken of the woods and 2 Morels. Didn't video them yet tho as I'm gonna be doing a fungi special in a couple of weeks.


Good day all round.

Ade.

Tony1948
06-05-2012, 11:38 PM
Started another blade..lit the forge.............?

CanadianMike
06-05-2012, 11:46 PM
Yay! I just finished a blade and sheath.....

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/33939_292984030786133_117036668380871_627499_12509 50030_n.jpg

Tony1948
06-05-2012, 11:55 PM
Nice one Mike,R some of them rivit a diffant size?

Tony1948
07-05-2012, 12:19 AM
ear's my new one4516

Primerib
07-05-2012, 04:59 AM
For fox hunting I built a blind out of a bunch of hazelrods, cable ties (not very bushcrafty but very quick to use) and camouflage net. I also picked out a nice forked hazelbranch as a shooting cane to rest the rifle (.22lr) on. Works fine...all 5 testshots on 35m would fit on a matchbox. My fiskars retracting saw and my mora companion were definetely the right tools for these tasks. Didn't see no fox at the kennel...weather was to cold and wet but a buck sneaked up on me as close as 20 meters from behind and then looked at me baffled as i turned around. Will try again on tuesday hoping it will warm up enough for the young ones to come out.

AL...
07-05-2012, 07:19 AM
Mike that truly is a thing of beauty mate
Thanks for sharing ............................... Gonna stop droolin now!!


Cheers
AL

FishyFolk
07-05-2012, 10:10 AM
Started to plan this summers big adventure. Which will take place in this area:

4520

The plan is to use my little SIB to get around on the lake, and fish the smaller lakes surrounding it. Never been on the southern side of that lake before, and even if there is a road up there, that one is closed
so it's not likely that I will see other people. Will overnight one or more days in my tent. Maybe the boat is bnot so bushcrafty, but it's what I have :-)

The SIB

http://www.fishyfolk.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/IMG_1756.jpg

AL...
07-05-2012, 12:03 PM
Thats one tidy wee boat there bud
Just right for you yer kit and a couple of nice trout (unless its a sea loch ) Then a Cod or two on an open fire in the evening :D

Cheers
AL

FishyFolk
07-05-2012, 12:25 PM
Thats one tidy wee boat there bud
Just right for you yer kit and a couple of nice trout (unless its a sea loch ) Then a Cod or two on an open fire in the evening :D

Cheers
AL

So far I have only used it on the fjord. Usually go out with it in the morning, land myself a cod, then bump ashore on one of the small islands, and boil it in seawater, with some potataoes. If I am lucky I find some sea gull eggs as well to go with it :-)

Then on the way home I drag up some dinner for the wife and kids.
But this lake I plan a trip to is fresh water. The other lakes in the area is full of either brown trout or arctic char. But this trip have to wait until end of june, for the ice to melt off the lakes...

AL...
07-05-2012, 12:30 PM
Cool that gives me time to row from Scotland to Norway and join ye then LOL :D

Cheers
AL

P.S
Oh Aye! Need to build me a boat first lol

CanadianMike
07-05-2012, 12:51 PM
Nice one Mike,R some of them rivit a diffant size?

Thanks Tony, no, what you see are the cap screws that are holding the belt loop on.


ear's my new one4516

Now there is an interesting set of handles! Looking forward to seeing what you do with it.

:)

Mike that truly is a thing of beauty mate
Thanks for sharing ............................... Gonna stop droolin now!!


Cheers
AL

Thanks Al, wasn't without it's frustrations though!

FishyFolk
07-05-2012, 03:28 PM
Cool that gives me time to row from Scotland to Norway and join ye then LOL :D

Cheers
AL

P.S
Oh Aye! Need to build me a boat first lol


You and anyone else in here would be more than welcome, so start whitling yerself a boat :-)

AL...
07-05-2012, 04:17 PM
Maybe I should start workin on a Monster Bowl !!!
Somethin like this>>>>>
lol
Finished that one lastnight and sold it today!!!

Cheers
AL

FishyFolk
07-05-2012, 04:18 PM
Maybe I should start workin on a Monster Bowl !!!
Somethin like this>>>>>
lol
Finished that one lastnight and sold it today!!!

Thats rather nice actualy :-)

AL...
07-05-2012, 04:33 PM
Thanks bud :)


Cheers
AL

CanadianMike
07-05-2012, 05:05 PM
That's awesome, maybe I should make a big bowl.....

FishyFolk
08-05-2012, 04:34 PM
Made a spruce spoon for my wife :p

Fletching
08-05-2012, 04:40 PM
Rigging up a hammock setup diagonally across my Landy 90!

Roadkillphil
08-05-2012, 05:01 PM
Rigging up a hammock setup diagonally across my Landy 90!

T^

Hushwing
08-05-2012, 05:09 PM
Looked at a failed metal 'thermos' flask to see how would convert it either to a woodgas stove or a storm kettle (or is that a Kelly kettle or a ghillie kettle or my name for it a billy kettle). Couldn't decide whether to go for a woodgas stove or billy kettle - eventually plumped for a stove ... then changed my mind... then went back to the stove idea and now finally plumped for making a billy kettle ... or have I.... will post details once done.

Finally plumped for a billy kettle! Tried drilling holes today and only broke one drill piece. :rolleye: Forgot how tough stainless is. Realised that even with a large number of holes in the external base of the flask that it is not letting the heat up well enough (7+ mins to get "just hot enough to wash yer hands in" water). Think will have to take the base off properly - need to find someone with a dremel.

FishyFolk
08-05-2012, 07:53 PM
Toojk another recon up the hills to find out how far up I could go before being stopped by rotten snow. Had a brew and went down agin. Surprised at how easy it was going today. I wen't twice as far up as but did not feel half as exhausted. That must mean that the excercise I am getting trough these walks must be working :-)

Martin
08-05-2012, 08:03 PM
Toojk another recon up the hills to find out how far up I could go before being stopped by rotten snow. Had a brew and went down agin. Surprised at how easy it was going today. I wen't twice as far up as but did not feel half as exhausted. That must mean that the excercise I am getting trough these walks must be working :-)

That's really good news. Keep up with the rehab!! T^

Martin

jus_young
08-05-2012, 08:45 PM
Rigging up a hammock setup diagonally across my Landy 90!

How was the fit? Only ever heard of it done in a 110.

FishyFolk
08-05-2012, 09:46 PM
That's really good news. Keep up with the rehab!! T^

Martin


You tubed the trip:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwAZSrztiXU

AL...
09-05-2012, 09:42 AM
Dont know if this is the right place to put this so any Mods can move it to where its ment to be :)
Anyway!!!!
I have just made myself a Steel for striking flint (Which Tony kindly sent to ye yesterday) Out of an old File I had lying in the workshop.
AND THE BLOODY THING WORKS TOO!!!!!! Sorry but the shock got to me lol I made some tinder from Horsehoof fungi and after a couple of minutes trying It cought and smoldered away like a good un..
Heres a pic of the striker and a small piece of the flint .

Cheers
Caveman AL... :campfire:

JEEP
09-05-2012, 09:48 PM
Just made charcloth for the first time.

It was a lot easier than I thought it would be :)

The stuff takes a spark from my flint and steel readily.

AdrianRose
09-05-2012, 10:37 PM
Which fabric did you use Jeep? Most folk I know use cotton tea towels/dish cloths.

However, I have always used denim and found it to be excellent and always takes even the vaguest of sparks.

Ade

JEEP
09-05-2012, 11:01 PM
I used pure linen fabric. I have a lot of that, from making undergarments for my medieval re-enactment clothing.

FishyFolk
09-05-2012, 11:31 PM
Wen't for an evening stroll having a look at the neighboorhood, pine cones and found a good piece of quartz to use with my fire striker...


http://youtu.be/W0DLs1IBY2Q

FishyFolk
09-05-2012, 11:38 PM
Which fabric did you use Jeep? Most folk I know use cotton tea towels/dish cloths.

However, I have always used denim and found it to be excellent and always takes even the vaguest of sparks.

Ade

The one time I have made that, I used a 100% cotton t-shirt. Worked fine, and managed to catch a spark from striking a pice of quartz.

AL...
10-05-2012, 12:35 AM
Great vid there mate :)
Looks real nice round about there

Cheers
AL

jus_young
10-05-2012, 11:09 PM
Took the Cub group on a woodland walk. Covered tree identification as well as other plant I.D. Introduced them to three cornered leek, cleavers and ramsons which went down well with one of the parents who now wants to put it in with his salads. Found some old woodpecker nests and deer tracks and generally had a very good evening.

AdrianRose
10-05-2012, 11:30 PM
Took the Cub group on a woodland walk. Covered tree identification as well as other plant I.D. Introduced them to three cornered leek, cleavers and ramsons which went down well with one of the parents who now wants to put it in with his salads. Found some old woodpecker nests and deer tracks and generally had a very good evening.

Did you find the Three Cornered Leek growing wild here?

Ade.

jus_young
10-05-2012, 11:37 PM
Did you find the Three Cornered Leek growing wild here?

Ade.

Yep, loads of it around. Thinking about it there was probably more of the three cornered leek than the ramsons in the woodland we were walking in which seems a little odd as this time last year it was the other way round.

AdrianRose
11-05-2012, 12:44 AM
Yep, loads of it around. Thinking about it there was probably more of the three cornered leek than the ramsons in the woodland we were walking in which seems a little odd as this time last year it was the other way round.

Thanks for that. It's interesting to see that a relatively newly introduced species is "outdoing" a much more established species.

Thanks again.

Ade.

FishyFolk
12-05-2012, 09:01 PM
Why I choose to vegetate in front of the TV today....


http://youtu.be/G3OJFvYbHAg

AL...
12-05-2012, 09:06 PM
Aye yer better off infront of the TV with a mug of coffee for sure lol


Cheers
AL

FishyFolk
13-05-2012, 11:10 AM
Made a batch of charcloth. Home made meths burner from a small tin can is excellent for cooking it :-)

Hushwing
13-05-2012, 10:27 PM
Started work on a handcarved spoon

made and used my converted stainless steel container (£2.97 from Tesco) into a 'billy can', with a wire coat hanger handle. Seems to take longer to boil than a pot of water (is this due to heating a column of water compared to a wider shallower level of water???) but has the advantage that can be left to its own devices for a while before I have to rush over to it and make my brew. Believe me during a busy bird survey that sometimes is good. anway it is another cheap pot.

Have dabbled with my prototype conversion of my failed (as in it stopped keeping heat in) metal 'thermos' flask. This conversion also seems to work but is very slow to heat up. But it then is slow to cool down so maybe again there has to be a bit of give and take depending on what the brew-up situation requires.

FishyFolk
19-05-2012, 10:58 AM
Sanded the varnish off She-that-must-be-obeyds cheap, useless, piece of human dung, Leuko handle, so it won't go flying out of her hand when she sets forth to chop down a birch tree for her fire, and put an edge on the blade...(which will disintegrate as soon as you pull it out of the useless sheath and try to cut hot butter with it)...

But she refuses to let me buy her a real leuko...even if this is the kniofe she uses for just about everything...( the lass grew up with an "ithoo" Thai/Cambodian "machete" in her hands similar to this one, so she knows what a sollid knife is supposed to do....


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbXqevnU3ig

AL...
19-05-2012, 12:42 PM
Tidy lookin tool there FF
Thanks for sharin

Cheers
AL

Tony1948
19-05-2012, 01:48 PM
Nice FFT^

paulthefish2009
19-05-2012, 09:28 PM
carved my first spoon today from a birch burl I "found" last weekend, bit of a fun if nothing else.going to save the rest of the burl for my next knife. paul

AL...
19-05-2012, 09:28 PM
Tried out my new Ehh hemmm !!! Firebox which is a stainless steel veg Colander !!!!!
Worked so well that I made a cuppa coffee on the fire along with my first batch of Charcloth . Real happy with the result of both the Colander and the charcloth . ..
Got the Charcloth to take with one strike of the steel on the flint
So well chuffed

Cheers
AL

FishyFolk
19-05-2012, 09:45 PM
Well done on the charcloth...now what the h... is a veg colander?

AL...
19-05-2012, 09:58 PM
One of theese :D
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colander
Got it in my fave Bushcraft shop ..... Pound Land lol

Cheers
AL

FishyFolk
20-05-2012, 04:22 PM
To windy to do much today, but managed to dodge a few widow makers in the forest to get a couple of horse shoe fungus going.
Fired up the barbecue by the use of char cloth and steel striker on quartz again. I thibnk I have got that squared now :-)

Okay, spent the whole day out in the wind, so now she-that-must-be-obeyed have the waffles and hot chockolate ready for her boys :-)

Yummy time

rich290185
20-05-2012, 05:30 PM
i put a plated neck cord on my bennos and picked some ramsoms for some pate mmmm smells good cooking at the mo.

AL...
20-05-2012, 05:42 PM
Made a leather leg pad so I could sit out in the sun today and work on a new Bowl .
My son came home from a weekends camping with a beautiful set of Red stag antlers for me .
I was so chuffed he did that. Will have to think of something to make with them now !!!
:D

Cheers
AL

Adam Savage
21-05-2012, 08:37 PM
Today I finally got round to making myself a strike-a-light (steel striker, for use with natural flint). Made from an off cut, from an old file. Annealed the file, cut a slice from it, heated it in the forge, put a little curl on it (to help when holding it, during use), and quenched in hypoid gear oil. No tempering with this, just hardened (approx 65 HRC). Tried it with some of the charcloth I made a while back, along with a piece of freshly knapped flint, and it works beautifully :)

A picture of the striker, next to some of the contents of one of my tinder pouches...

http://i1024.photobucket.com/albums/y304/crazysaint22/projects%20and%20equipment/IMG_0649.jpg

FishyFolk
21-05-2012, 09:10 PM
Nice. T^

Is that some charred amadou I spot there as well?

FishyFolk
21-05-2012, 09:13 PM
Just returned from a walk in the hills and saw the sun set...we'll just have a few days of those left now and the midnight sun is here. It's allready been daylight 24/7 for a couple of weeks...

Adam Savage
21-05-2012, 09:33 PM
Nice. T^

Is that some charred amadou I spot there as well?

Almost (well, it's fungal anyway lol), it's King Alfred cake/Cramp Ball/Daldinia Concentrica :)

GwersyllaCnau
21-05-2012, 10:56 PM
Tried packing my tarps a different way. As I set up my son's hammock and tarp as well as my own, i can now try one tarp the "new" way and one tarp in the snakeskins..... Will let you know what i think of the different methods when I've tried them a few times.

Adam Savage
21-05-2012, 11:02 PM
Tried packing my tarps a different way. As I set up my son's hammock and tarp as well as my own, i can now try one tarp the "new" way and one tarp in the snakeskins..... Will let you know what i think of the different methods when I've tried them a few times.

I know a guy who uses a snakeskin on his tarp, as well as the hammock. Looks like a really neat way of doing things. What's your "new" method? :)

jus_young
21-05-2012, 11:18 PM
I tried the snakeskins on both the tarp and hammock. It just ended up as more to carry and made the hammock and tarp more awkward and bulky to pack due to the trapped air. Done away with them now and gone back to folding the tarp whilst hanging from the ridge line (nice, neat and less bulk) and the hammock is stuffed back into the bag being squeezed as it goes.

GwersyllaCnau
22-05-2012, 12:43 AM
I know a guy who uses a snakeskin on his tarp, as well as the hammock. Looks like a really neat way of doing things. What's your "new" method? :)

It's not a "new method' just new for me;)

It's the way the guy in the time lapse video on the DD website packs his tarp, as far as I can tell. Jury is still out as to what method I prefer.

When I had the tarp that's supplied with the hennessy I used to pack the tarp and hammock in the one set of snakeskins. REALLY FAST. But now I use the DD tarp which is MUCH bigger only the tarp fits in the snakeskins.

jus_young... Thats exactly the reason why I'm not sure about the snakeskins. Can be a bit of a struggle to get the tarp in (I have the smaller hennessy skins) the tarp when in the snakeskins is stiff, more awkward to fold neatly but I compress it further by wrapping the ridgeline tightly around it, but still a bit more bulky than my "new" method which seems to be the same as your method:D

When I get chance (and had more practice) I'll do a detailed video of the 2 methods side by side, because I think the video on DD's website is a bit vague. No offense meant to the guy that filmed it.

Adam Savage
22-05-2012, 12:48 AM
Cool. Looking forward to any videos :)

FishyFolk
27-05-2012, 11:03 AM
Gale force winds right now, and we expect some 15mm of rain in the next few hours...indoor sunday. :campfire:

FishyFolk
27-05-2012, 07:32 PM
Finished a cooking spatula on comission from SWMBO :

4635

Old Guard
27-05-2012, 08:42 PM
Hung my first Hammock today, I bought a cheap TW one a few weeks ago, so it needed trying.

Used Webbing slings and amsteel loops with 'D' buckles.

Very comfortable :-)

Will be using it for real next weekend .My son and grandson will be joining me, spending 4 days in the woods.

I will make sure I have some photos to post, of 3 generations camping together !!

OG

jus_young
27-05-2012, 11:24 PM
:mad: Just spent a fantastic weekend on a Scout training session being taught on how to set up and run a camp. :zombie-fighting:
(sarcasm is most definately in abundance on that statement!!)

This must have been one of the biggest wastes of my time ever, and even ended up having 'heated discussions' over how things should be done including the safe use of our most commonly utilised bushcraft tools. I was informed that this training was a requirement in preperation for an assessment on a camp that I organise and run, which seems kind of stupid considering what I have already done in the past, but I think you can guess my reaction when I came across a document this evening that stated the training was not mandatory.

Still, got to spend another comfortable night in the hammock, and I slept so well :)
Woke up as dawn was breaking, surrounded by woodland and the sound of the songbirds. It was just a shame that the training started a few hours later and spoilt it all.

FishyFolk
29-05-2012, 12:52 PM
Picket up a new, cheap 10£ hatchet today. Anyway it's got a hickory handle and I like the shape of the axe head. But the paint on it just gotta go, as well as the varnish they put on the handle.

So have done that. The paint strips easily off using CRC carburator cleaner. Just spray it on and wipe off with paper towels.
Then I simply sanded off the varnish on the handle, and gave it a liberal coat of linseed oil. Will repeat that every day for a week, and then every time I use it until I have the effect I want.
Will also force a patina on it with vinegar. I am making a boring YT video about, just because it's fun to make them. But I am home alone with the runt today, so he is demanding most of my attention.

Anyway I will patina my Samii knife at the same time.

Here is the hatchet as from factory.

4672

It got a 09,kg head on it, and it's Swedish steel, if that is worth anything on such a cheap thing. There is no edge at all, so suspect it will need a file to get one on. I hope it will split better than my current hatchet. That one just burries itself into the wood....

Hushwing
29-05-2012, 08:50 PM
Sunday - Got back from first full family camp together. Spur of the moment thing and the lad enjoyed it. Midges 2 - 3 Scenery/views and atmosphere. Will do full report (more really a pictorial) in another posting.
Monday - Made some more charcloth using converted sweetie tin and using a poundland well, £1, kitchen utensils holder as a mini-brazier. Then had a go at making willow 'drawing' charcoal using the same method.
Tuesday/Today - Had a go with using some of the Norfolk flint I got a few years back from near my Grandad's house (sadly he's no longer around) and the back of a file to try my first sparks - was okay - first time it has worked for me but need to be a bit more directional with it.

FishyFolk
02-06-2012, 08:42 PM
Sharpened a new axe, picked some raspberry leaves and made a tea, sharpened mmy mora 711 after the kids used it to whitle a rock :confused2:

FishyFolk
03-06-2012, 10:53 PM
After a week of rain, sleet, snow, something i hope was winters last hurrah, june arrived with summer. Spent the day on the shoreside, did a spot of luckkless fishing, hiked around a little and visited some WWIi ruins...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLITZ_L01mE

AL...
03-06-2012, 11:48 PM
Great vid FF
Pity there was no real catch but thats why they call it fishing and not catching :D

Cheers
AL

FishyFolk
04-06-2012, 08:05 AM
Yeah but I definately prefer catching over fishing....

AL...
04-06-2012, 09:53 AM
HAHAHA!! Aye same here .
Real bonnie place to spend a couple of days too
Keep the Vids commin they are great FF

Cheers
AL

FishyFolk
04-06-2012, 10:18 AM
Well, this year we skipped spring and went straight for summer. Last week it was snowing, today it's shorts weather :-)
So the next fishing video will probably be afloat in my SIB (Soft hull inflatable boat ). It's just an 8,5 foot little rubber dinghy with a Johnson 4hp from 1973 :-)

AL...
04-06-2012, 10:35 AM
I remember the photos of your wee boat . Just the job :)

Cheers
AL

Fletching
04-06-2012, 10:49 AM
Just made another batch of Dragon's Eggs© (petroleum jelly soaked cotton wool balls coated in ground Maya Wood dust).

Hushwing
04-06-2012, 01:47 PM
Just made another batch of Dragon's Eggs© (petroleum jelly soaked cotton wool balls coated in ground Maya Wood dust).

Great name (copyright noted) but does sound a wee bit like some fierce Anne Summer's contribution to bushcraft!:confused:

AL...
04-06-2012, 05:40 PM
My daughter (The Fathead) is going up to Rockness next weekend had has just sent me a text asking if I can do something about the tent cause it leaked last year!!
Would have been nice to know LAST YEAR!!! so this evening I will be checking out the tent and sorting out what needs sorting outand reproofing it!! B****Y kids!!!!!

Cheers
AL

FishyFolk
04-06-2012, 06:15 PM
The normal notice I would get that the kids are doing something extra is around bed time, the day before. But I lucked out this time around. The 13 year old is going on a bicycle trip as an outing with the school on Wednesday (they will spend the night, and the parents will take turns baby sitting them trough the night), and he actually told me today that he need new brakes on his bike, or the teacher won't let him go...the catch is of course that their bikes will be inspected by the teacher tomorrow...As luck would have it, I have a donator bike with new brake blocks that fit...so that was my afternoon activity, along with hanging up a swing for the todler. Sandbox next :-)

AL...
04-06-2012, 07:07 PM
Its wonderful bein a Dad init? :D

Cheers
AL

ChristerM
05-06-2012, 06:51 PM
Haven't done much bushcrafting lately... :(
BUT... Me and my nephew are almost finished with his knife and sheath... :) :)
But not really "bushcrafting" it, since we are doing it inside... :) (The rain has been quite stady over the past few days)

Hopefully I'll remember to take some pictures of it! :D

FishyFolk
08-06-2012, 06:07 PM
Made a birch handle for the new fire steel I purchased for the sheath of the Brisa Enzo Trapper O1 knife that is on it's merry way here. Apparantly by donkey cart from Oslo. Not Brisa's fault. "Posten" the Norwegian equivalent of Royal Mail, is the only one that brings parcel up here. Does not matter who the courrier is, they all hire Posten to do it for them...so we are still in the dark ages when it comes to mail...that is we have slid back to them.

Anyway, picture of the new creation will come tomorrow when it's done soaking in linseed oil :-)

paulthefish2009
08-06-2012, 08:02 PM
Been out checking on some birds nests I've been watching,all fledged! Fishing season starts next week,time to sort my gear out this weekend. Paul

FishyFolk
08-06-2012, 08:11 PM
Here is the fire steel I made. Just chopped off the plastic handle it came with, and amde a birch handle. Just drill a hole, whittle it down, sand it, stick the rod in with some super glue, plonk it in linseed oil for a few hours. That should look good with my Enzo trapper :-)

4704

AL...
08-06-2012, 08:20 PM
Tidy job FF

Cheers
AL

jbrown14
10-06-2012, 02:22 AM
Yesterday, for the first time ever, I tried making char-cloth.

I had a mint tin kicking around in the bag I use for work and have been meaning to try it out for some time. So, yesterday while cleaning my garage, I turned on the grill, cut up some squares of an old t-shirt that was relegated to shop rag duty, snapped the tin closed and put it on to cook.

When I checked it a little while later, the fabric had turned from it's original black to a sort of earthy brown, and I knew from watching Ashley (or maybe it was Dave Canterbury, now that I think about it...) make char cloth that some of the cloth may not fully carbonize on the first go, so I put it back on to bake a little longer, forgot about it until my wife came out and asked me why the grill was going without any food on it...:D and when it cooled, I had char cloth!

I dropped a square on my work bench and gave it a shot of sparks from my ESEE tools fire steel and it took the tiniest spark that came off. I was fascinated to watch the little red ember glow and begin to spread, and then begin to rage when I picked it up and blew on it.

I am totally putting char cloth in my tinder kit now and I'll fight the man who tries to take it from me.

All the best to all the best!

Josh

Adam Savage
10-06-2012, 05:20 AM
There's always something special about these first times, especially when it comes to fire related items :D.
Charcloth may be a fairly simple thing to do, but it's still great to make it work, and even better on the first go. Also, it's still a traditional process, that mankind (and womankind) have been performing for hundreds of years.

Well done Josh T^

FishyFolk
11-06-2012, 12:15 PM
Took the wifey and the runt fishing yesterday :-)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgkI0z_A34A

AL...
11-06-2012, 12:34 PM
What can I say?
Fantastic vid bud and had me laughin at the bonnie new cooking pots gettin chucked into the fire . Pan size trout are the best :D :camping:
A pricless day for sure and thanks for sharin.

Cheers
AL

FishyFolk
17-06-2012, 12:44 AM
We were out by the lake again, different camp site. I was planning to do something with the new knife, but forgotthe memory stick in the 'puter at home. So had to use the mobile phone.
That ended up with very bad sound, and the pictires look like an old time 8mm movie....so slapped some nice music onto it, and left it like that.

Alos, remade the logo i little...tell me what you think of that please :-)


http://youtu.be/uYNQVFHiuW4

Adam Savage
17-06-2012, 07:55 AM
You have a beautiful country buddy. Like the logo too.

Looks like you guys had a great time at the lake :)

rosseveritt
17-06-2012, 08:54 AM
Making beef jerky (if that counts). Marinated it yesterday, now 6 hours of drying it for tasting later. :)

Adam Savage
18-06-2012, 06:49 PM
Just finishing annealing of a piece of spring steel and a few old files, ready to be forged into a few goodies :D

http://i1024.photobucket.com/albums/y304/crazysaint22/projects%20and%20equipment/IMG_0700.jpg

Also made the "gas bottle" stove today, but I still need to make the door and cowl for it...

http://i1024.photobucket.com/albums/y304/crazysaint22/projects%20and%20equipment/IMG_0701.jpg

FishyFolk
18-06-2012, 07:15 PM
What a great ide. Love the stove Saint :-)

Adam Savage
18-06-2012, 08:22 PM
Thanks FF. There's got to be hundreds, if not thousands of this style stove/wood burner in the UK alone. Thought it was about time I made one, and needed an easily controllable fire for annealing steel in, so decided to kill two birds with one stone (or should I say stove :D). Was thinking of painting it with stove paint, but think I'll just leave it naturally rusty :)

paulthefish2009
18-06-2012, 08:24 PM
Nice stove crazy,bet it draws well with that chimeny! does it have holes around the bottom? Paul

FishyFolk
18-06-2012, 08:54 PM
Thanks FF. There's got to be hundreds, if not thousands of this style stove/wood burner in the UK alone. Thought it was about time I made one, and needed an easily controllable fire for annealing steel in, so decided to kill two birds with one stone (or should I say stove :D). Was thinking of painting it with stove paint, but think I'll just leave it naturally rusty :)

I showed this to the wife, who is from Thailand. Beleive it or not, but there, many, old people mostly die during the winter from carbon monoxide (not sure if thats what it's called) poisoning during the "winter".
Night time temps drop to like 10-12 degrees, and the old light their charcoal burning stoves with no chimney inside their housess to try an keep warm. The year I lived there this happened in our village. And many other places. Wehn temps drop like that, the Governor declared it an emergency area, and started handing out wool blankets to the sick and the old!

Making a stove like that should not cost much, and they have the excact same gas tanks. And the wives brother is jobless at the moment ( he is a builder, and injured himself on the job), anyway, he is also a good welder, and should be able to coble up a few of those for for just a few Thai baht. There is even a couple of those tanks in my shed down there he can start with :-)

AL...
18-06-2012, 09:26 PM
Great job saint :D

Cheers
AL

Adam Savage
18-06-2012, 09:44 PM
Nice stove crazy,bet it draws well with that chimeny! does it have holes around the bottom? Paul

Thanks Paul. I draws quite well, but needs a door really. For the first few minutes of starting, it smokes a bit and comes out the top of the opening. The bottom is solid, so it contains the ash build up a bit better. When I make the door, it'll have a few holes at the bottom to act as air intake :)


I showed this to the wife, who is from Thailand. Beleive it or not, but there, many, old people mostly die during the winter from carbon monoxide (not sure if thats what it's called) poisoning during the "winter".
Night time temps drop to like 10-12 degrees, and the old light their charcoal burning stoves with no chimney inside their housess to try an keep warm. The year I lived there this happened in our village. And many other places. Wehn temps drop like that, the Governor declared it an emergency area, and started handing out wool blankets to the sick and the old!

Making a stove like that should not cost much, and they have the excact same gas tanks. And the wives brother is jobless at the moment ( he is a builder, and injured himself on the job), anyway, he is also a good welder, and should be able to coble up a few of those for for just a few Thai baht. There is even a couple of those tanks in my shed down there he can start with :-)

Sounds terrible :(, like you say, this type of burner can be made quite cheaply, especially if you can weld yourself. The most expensive bit is the chimney. I was lucky enough to get a 1300mm, 80mm steel tube, with a 3.5mm wall thickness, for £1 at the local tip. I think your friend could do a great service by making these, as well as making a little money :)


Great job saint :D

Cheers
AL

Thanks Al. It'll look much better when it's got it's door on, and it's under my forge lean-to :D

AL...
18-06-2012, 10:03 PM
It will for sure mate :)

Cheers
AL

AL...
18-06-2012, 10:36 PM
Coffee down on the river this evening
Tiffin tin works a treat
Cheers
AL

FishyFolk
18-06-2012, 10:42 PM
Coffee down on the river this evening
Tiffin tin works a treat
Cheers
AL

Looks like you had a nice afternoon Al :-)

Adam Savage
18-06-2012, 10:49 PM
Coffee down on the river this evening
Tiffin tin works a treat
Cheers
AL

Did you boil the water in the Tiffin tin?

AL...
18-06-2012, 10:54 PM
sure did Saint on a small Hexi burner
I think ye can just about see it in the photo

Cheers
AL

Adam Savage
18-06-2012, 11:22 PM
Oh yeah, I didn't notice the hexi stove lol. Glad to know they are good for boiling. I bought a couple of them, but still haven't taken them out yet :)

Kernowek Scouser
18-06-2012, 11:23 PM
sure did Saint on a small Hexi burner
I think ye can just about see it in the photo

Cheers
AL

Cool. Did it knacker the tin at all?

AL...
18-06-2012, 11:33 PM
No mate not at all . There wasent even soot !!
Im realy impressed with the wee tin did the job great.

Cheers
AL

AL...
18-06-2012, 11:35 PM
I think Im gonna get a couple more of them too. Or try and find one thats a wee bit bigger for cooking .

Cheers
AL

allytk
18-06-2012, 11:53 PM
I went in and bought 4 today. I was unsure if the tin would stand being heated. Glad you tried first:P

AL...
19-06-2012, 12:07 AM
It works a treat Ally well worth the quid for sure :)

Cheers
AL

Adam Savage
19-06-2012, 10:16 AM
I guess it makes sense they should be ok for boiling and cooking, as roasting dishes always used to be enameled tin, and we used to heat soup in enameled mugs too :)

Hushwing
19-06-2012, 01:05 PM
No mate not at all . There wasent even soot !!
Im realy impressed with the wee tin did the job great.

Cheers
AL

Only warning I'd give - and I know it is blasphemy to besmirch the holy name of the bushcraftland tiffin tin - is that it's success might be a temperature and time thing. I put the tiffin tin on top of the woodstove to dry out some wet surformings sawdust and forgot about it. 40 mins later it had a small (5p size) burn through the enamel to the metal and some of the sawdust had merged into the enamel. Should say though that the woodstove was extremely hot and I was a doofus for having left it on so long!! Glad to see that it can be used for something like this - the tiffin is god again!

Hushwing
19-06-2012, 01:11 PM
Was at a farm open day event and I had a 'stall' making charcoal using the two tins retort method. Was successful with all sorts of wood but we mainly used rhododendron and it made mighty fine charcoal with little effort. By the way if anyone wants charcoal made from rhododendron (funds go to the National Trust for Scotland - Ben Lomond) let us know. Remember the mantra "it will be summer again, we will BBQ again; it will be summer again...."

FishyFolk
19-06-2012, 03:49 PM
Spent the day shopping with the wife, thus earning a tidy sum of brownie points to be spent on more bushcrafting :-)

Kernowek Scouser
19-06-2012, 11:11 PM
Not really bushcraft, but I walked over the hills from Cornwall's north coast to its south coast (St Ives to Penzance - where spent a few bob in Bushcraftland and Lidl) back round Mounts Bay to Marazion, then followed the road home, arriving just in time for the footy.

jus_young
20-06-2012, 10:23 PM
Scouts evening again so took them all into the woods for a little more on the Survival Badge. It was absolutely tipping it down with rain so decided that it was an ideal time to set them a challenge of lighting fires in small groups and cooking some food. Glad to say that even though everything was soaked, most of them got the fires going quite nicely. Most of the food was edible aswell! One very keen Scout cracked open an egg into half an orange peel to cook it on the embers and although the egg cooked perfectly he stated that 'It really does not taste that good. I'm not doing that again'. But his face was a picture I won't forget in a while :D

AdrianRose
20-06-2012, 11:55 PM
After my recent success with filming a roe deer pricket, I have this evening set up my motion activated trail camera near a badger set.

So fingers crossed folks!

Ade.

JEEP
21-06-2012, 08:44 AM
Chopped my left thumb with my new Wetterlings small axe...

...that counts as bushcraft, right?

AdrianRose
21-06-2012, 09:40 AM
The result of last nights trail camera set up......

http://img.tapatalk.com/925abb72-ddf6-85f5.jpg

Ade.

jus_young
21-06-2012, 09:42 AM
Don't you just love it when a plan comes together!

AL...
21-06-2012, 10:13 AM
Congrats Adrian great capture mate :D

Cheers
AL

FishyFolk
21-06-2012, 10:43 AM
Chopped my left thumb with my new Wetterlings small axe...

...that counts as bushcraft, right?


Definately, and welcome to my world T^

JEEP
21-06-2012, 02:48 PM
It's funny how new tools always want to bite :)

jus_young
21-06-2012, 03:00 PM
They need to be tamed and shown who is boss :D

rich290185
21-06-2012, 07:00 PM
i have pattenered(?) my Mora then i cut the handle off it and started to make a new one for it (i wasnt board at work!!!!)

AdrianRose
21-06-2012, 08:23 PM
Congrats Adrian great capture mate :D

Cheers
AL

Cheers buddy.

Ade.

FishyFolk
23-06-2012, 03:37 PM
Sharpened the Enzo, Leuku, commie knife, and the Mora 711 today as the stropping paddle arrived from across the drink.. Also have a new sharpening stone. Same quality as the old one, which is good enough really. But this one is longer.

Anyway the O1 tool steel in the Enzo was a delight to sharpen. And after stropping with the paddle, it was crazy sharp. It did not really "need" sharpening, but after the way I have been at it with this knife it had a few micro chips that a strop could have cleared with some patience. But I wanted to try the stone first. For stropping I did not order a stropping compound, but simply used the grit
taken off the stone and rubbed that into the leather of the stropping paddles coarse side. And used nothing on the fine side. The results where so good I did the Leuku and mora 711 also.

Going to do the Mora 2K as well, but that requires more patience as that is a stainless steel, so requires a bit more work...

Also got some stuff to fix my commie knife sheath, as everything metal in it basically fell out and was lost during the first week I had it...lol
But the leather and the is stitching is okay quality, and so is the AUS8 steel in it for what it is. Actually have no complaints about that knife except the
embarrasment factor...and I see a lot of use for it. Just not around people who may know what it is....ha ha

FishyFolk
23-06-2012, 05:11 PM
The world will come to a stand-still, it snowing in hell, pigs are flying and the pope is not catholic.

SWMBO has made a spoon!

Yes you read it right. She has made a S P O O N....

Well she needed a new rice spoon, and since hse is tighter than...uh...whatever you can name, with money, she did not want to fork out for one. So
since she discovered that I have the tools, she went ahead an made one...

Now this is a dangerous situation. This means that she possibly will demand acess to the shed, or bumble in there without prior notice. Which again means that I am in the risk of she finding
other gear purchased over the years under her radar. Now some of it may be expalined aways as "I've had that for years dear...", other stuff can't....

What to do?

AL...
23-06-2012, 05:49 PM
Build her her own shed mate :D

Cheers
AL

FishyFolk
23-06-2012, 06:36 PM
Build her her own shed mate :D

Cheers
AL


She's got one. But we call it "the kitchen"....

paulthefish2009
23-06-2012, 08:06 PM
My svord peasent arrived a couple of days ago,love the concept and the blade is great(57 rockwell,tested it at work)but the handle! crude and poorly finished are the words I think. Anyway today I stripped off the "gloopy" varnish, rounded off the back end and spent some time easying the corners and takeing out the machine marks.While I was at it i marked the inside of the handle to find the places the blade never got near,these I have infilled with some walnut strip. A;because I think it will look better and B; to put some weight in the handle,the knife as is feels unbalanced to me. Pictures to follow,anyone else played around with one of these? paul

paulthefish2009
23-06-2012, 08:08 PM
oh forgot to add it,s all having a nice long soak in linseed oil now.:)

AdrianRose
23-06-2012, 09:36 PM
My svord peasent arrived a couple of days ago,love the concept and the blade is great(57 rockwell,tested it at work)but the handle! crude and poorly finished are the words I think. Anyway today I stripped off the "gloopy" varnish, rounded off the back end and spent some time easying the corners and takeing out the machine marks.While I was at it i marked the inside of the handle to find the places the blade never got near,these I have infilled with some walnut strip. A;because I think it will look better and B; to put some weight in the handle,the knife as is feels unbalanced to me. Pictures to follow,anyone else played around with one of these? paul

Hi Paul
I've redone several Svords over the past few years.
Heres one I did for a pal for his 40th

http://img.tapatalk.com/5b7de3c2-2877-9b1a.jpg

And another which also changed the blade shape on to make it "street legal".

http://img.tapatalk.com/5b7de3c2-28c6-3b6c.jpg

Ade.

FishyFolk
23-06-2012, 09:37 PM
oh forgot to add it,s all having a nice long soak in linseed oil now.:)

Bushcrafters....can never leave thinsg as is, always have to modify stuff. Thats why I love it, he he

AL...
23-06-2012, 10:41 PM
I feel the same way!! Love tinkerin about with gear or makin stuff from scratch.
Justnow Im in the middle of whittelin a couple of Catapults from Ash forks for my Sons . Im real glad they are taking an intrest in Bushcrafting again . be great to get outdoors with my lads again :D fingers crossed that they want to have a wander with there old man again!!!


Cheers
AL

FishyFolk
23-06-2012, 11:03 PM
I feel the same way!! Love tinkerin about with gear or makin stuff from scratch.
Justnow Im in the middle of whittelin a couple of Catapults from Ash forks for my Sons . Im real glad they are taking an intrest in Bushcrafting again . be great to get outdoors with my lads again :D fingers crossed that they want to have a wander with there old man again!!!


Cheers
AL

With the house 17 year old....forget it. But he will come allong if he his mom and younger brother also goes. And generally appears to have a good time, when he chooses to get involved. But normally he
tend to roll himself into a bivvi bag, plug himself into his phone and we have to kick him to life when it's time to go hiome. But he is fairly strong for his age, and is a good pack muel, so it's not a total waste to bring him allong....lol

His 13 year old brother on the other hand loves to fish. Ever since I placed a fishing rod in his hands when we first met. So he will sometimes ask me if we are going fishing. If I ask him if he wants to come allong, it's a 50% chance he will agree. And we generally have a good time together. He is interested in the the cool parts of bushcraft, but cant understand why I use quartz and steel, when we have lighters....lol

The runt don't have a choice yet, but seems to be delighted just to be outside and have some fun...we'll se how long that last. Anyway, here is me teaching the 13 year old to fish. He was around 6 then...

4881

jus_young
23-06-2012, 11:05 PM
Just spent the last few hours with the stone, strop and numerous knives. Somehow managed to get one hell of a notch in one of the clippers so that has now been taken out.
I got so lost in the sharpening that I ended up grabbing the Bacho axe and reprofiled the blade on that aswell. Now it works a little better on finer work and I can use it on a demo with the Scouts on making feather sticks along with the knife just so that I can show different tools that can be used for various tasks. I keep looking at it though and wondering how I can reshape the head into something a little more visually pleasing without the metal heating up too much and loosing the hardness.

Fletching
23-06-2012, 11:44 PM
I got on the sharpening cart as well. Eight knives, an SFA and a BA machete. No cuts this time.

Got a blister though. :)

FishyFolk
24-06-2012, 12:00 AM
I got on the sharpening cart as well. Eight knives, an SFA and a BA machete. No cuts this time.

Got a blister though. :)

Amazingly my blades drew no blood this time either, just a near miss of a skin cut that was not deep enough to bleed :-)

Does that mean I can play with the big boys now?

FishyFolk
24-06-2012, 05:32 PM
http://youtu.be/MQ5vNc_YX_I

AL...
24-06-2012, 10:46 PM
Great vid FF you live in a beautiful part of the world mate and thanks on the info on the sheath I always wandered why they were so deep. makes a shed load of sence now :) .

Cheers
AL

FishyFolk
27-06-2012, 04:34 PM
Thanks Al :-)

Today I made a neck knife with a firesteel attachement starting with a Brusletto Balder knife. These are souvenir knives, with a carbon steel blade that is about 3-4 cm long, and a handle that you can jsut wrap 3 fingers around, with a classical puukko look. Comes with a leather sheet. These small knives are not really meant to be used for much other than perhaps sharpening apencil. But the carbon steel takes a wicked edge. So it's nice for cutting tag ends of fishing lines etc.

Also looked at my new ProTec Fire steel. Boring plastic handle, and the usual striker. So why not pimp it up some?

So made a handle from some dried juniper I had. And attached a bungee cord to it. Then took another piece of juniper, and drilled a hole that the firesteel fit into. carved out a sylinder formed sheath for the firesteel, and tied that to the leather sheath of the knife with some hemp twine. Then made lanyard for it all, so know I have a fire steel and striker with a knife edge :-)

Think I have found my birthday/christmass pressent for everyone I care for this year :-)

The knives are around 14£ and the protec fire steels 3,50£ but I can find them cheaper in bulk on that aucton site I guess....

Anyway here is pictures :-)

48954896489748984899

FishyFolk
27-06-2012, 04:37 PM
49004901490249034904

AL...
27-06-2012, 05:33 PM
Can I just say its my birhday in October ????????????????????????????????????????
hahaha
Fantastic idea and love the set up FF Great job mate :D

Cheers
AL

Kernowek Scouser
27-06-2012, 07:55 PM
Good work FF :D

Don't know whether it counts as Bushcraft, but yesterday I did a bit of a mega hike.

After rising late, I set off mid morning from St Ives and headed to Trencrom Hill, where I set up my tarp and had a late breakfast. Then followed the Pilgrims Path to Marizion, where I rewarded myself with a brew, I followed the coast path to Porthlevan, then on to Loe Bar, where I had me dinner on the beach, walked around most of Loe Pool (failing to spot Excalibur in its murky depths) then cutting inland, rather than return to the Bar, I made my way up many a hill and across many a farmers field to Relubbus, just beyond where I set up my tarp on the banks of the river Hayle and had me tea. After a brief and untended kip I followed the river to the estuary, made my way along the unofficial coast path to Lelant, then followed the coast path proper back to St Ives.

I actually intended to leave Loe Pool at the Helston exit and get the bus home, but I had my walking head on and as I still had plenty of food and water, decided to walk back instead. Reckon I did just shy of 30 miles.

The food was a couple of rat pack meals and a pudding, a chocolate bar (for energy) a cup a soup, an extra chocolate bar, instant noodles, a spare chocolate bar, lots of my brew concoction, an emergency chocolate bar, fruit juice powder (I love that stuff), hot chocolate powder, midget gems, Kendal mint cake (with a chocolate covering), a couple of fruit and nut chewy bars and some chocolate covered raisins (for energy). I also took about two litre of water with me.

The gear was my new 25L Lidl rucksack inside which I carried my F.A.K., a map, poncho, knee length gaiters, tarp (plus utility rope, bungee ties, tent pegs) Cru cup, cooker, hexi tabs, fire steel, storm lighter, folding spork, cloth, hand towels & lid (all nested together), my poo kit, a spare penknife, my head torch and all of the above food. On the outside of the bag I attached two walking poles (which were used solely to erect my tarp) and carried the 58PWB and my new Swiss WB (which is taller and thinner the the 58P) in the external mesh pockets (which also ended up providing a home from the wayward walking pole handles) and tied my 3 in 1 emergency whistle (in the dry compartment of which I carry waterproof matches and water pure tabs) to a shoulder strap. I also had a slightly better penknife and dropable LED torch in my pockets.

The weather was pretty average, dull and mizzley, a bit windy on the coast paths and atop the higher hills, but still rather warm.

I took in some beautiful sights on the walk and despite all of the chocolate, feel a tad less fat today, but I do ache like a bar steward.

Fun times.

AL...
27-06-2012, 08:49 PM
Thats one hell of a day out mate!! lol
How did the rucksack hold up? ok on the shoulders?

Cheers
AL

Old Guard
27-06-2012, 09:03 PM
Sooooo Jealous, I remember when I could do 'milage' like that. Good for you.

Kernowek Scouser
27-06-2012, 10:15 PM
Considering the cheapo nature of the rucksack, it sat really well on my back throughout the trip, the shoulder straps didn't really bite as thinner straps can do after a while and with and more often, without the built in rain cover, the pack proved to be pretty water resistant. No a bad little day sack, just about the right size for yesterday's wander.

I can just about do the miles, certainly did enough of them last year on my adventures and on top of my general wandering, I do try to get a ten plus miler in at least once a fortnight. But this is my first 20 plus miler of the year and I am feeling it today. Thankfully not suffering from either tender shoulder, specific achy back or blister feet; just a more a general stiffness and occasional overall ache. And, I'm putting that down to lack of practice (not to the fact I'm getting older, oh no!) Doing longer walks, more often should sort that out :D

AL...
27-06-2012, 10:23 PM
Great stuff mate :)

Well the stove is done now just made a windbreak for it out of 2 big foil trays from Bushcraftland and a couple of paper clips to keep it together!! :D

Heres a couple of pics

rosseveritt
27-06-2012, 10:51 PM
Considering the cheapo nature of the rucksack, it sat really well on my back throughout the trip, the shoulder straps didn't really bite as thinner straps can do after a while and with and more often, without the built in rain cover, the pack proved to be pretty water resistant. No a bad little day sack, just about the right size for yesterday's wander.

I can just about do the miles, certainly did enough of them last year on my adventures and on top of my general wandering, I do try to get a ten plus miler in at least once a fortnight. But this is my first 20 plus miler of the year and I am feeling it today. Thankfully not suffering from either tender shoulder, specific achy back or blister feet; just a more a general stiffness and occasional overall ache. And, I'm putting that down to lack of practice (not to the fact I'm getting older, oh no!) Doing longer walks, more often should sort that out :D

You should try geocaching. :)

Kernowek Scouser
28-06-2012, 02:07 PM
AL... (http://www.naturalbushcraft.co.uk/forum/member.php?6293-AL) Well the stove is done now just made a windbreak for it out of 2 big foil trays from Bushcraftland and a couple of paper clips to keep it together!! :D

Looks good Al, when do you reckon you'll get a chance to try it out in the wilds?


rosseveritt (http://www.naturalbushcraft.co.uk/forum/member.php?1700-rosseveritt) You should try geocaching. :)

I had a quick look at this Geocaching last night, looks interesting, have you had a go yourself?

My current lady friend has been sneezing in my general direction for the last week and I think the cow light of my life has only gone and given me Manflu.

Do women not realise that what may only a irritating ailment for them, can be a LIFE THREATENING CONDITION for a man?

So just cybercrafting for me today.

AL...
28-06-2012, 05:33 PM
HIya Scouser
Thanks mate . I was thinking on headin out this weekend but with all this rain I think I would need a surfboard just to get to the bus stop. so will try and get out over the next week and give it a try.
Cheers
AL

FishyFolk
28-06-2012, 06:12 PM
The sun is shining, but we got this blasted, ice cold wind from the north, and I am on the lazy side today. Just can't be bothered to turn...so nothing done today. Re-starting TV induced vegetatative state....

FishyFolk
28-06-2012, 06:14 PM
The sun is shining, but we got this blasted, ice cold wind from the north, and I am on the lazy side today. Just can't be bothered to turn...so nothing done today. Re-starting TV induced vegetatative state....

Well, hold on a second. Just discovered that bench belt sanders and those bench drill thingys are not all that expensive pieces of gear...and I got my birthday coming up in September...

FishyFolk
30-06-2012, 08:02 PM
Made a fire steel tube for the Leuku sheeth, same way as for my neck knife. So now I have a firesteel with each of the knives I am likely to carry on my person while in the sticks...
Also converted the Enzo sheath to horizontal carry, while retaining the vertical carry option from the dangler if I want/need to....f.ex when carrying a large bergen with a hip belt that may interfere with the knife.

AL...
01-07-2012, 08:00 PM
Also converted the Enzo sheath to horizontal carry

How did you go about that FF? sounds intresting mate

Cheers
AL

FishyFolk
01-07-2012, 08:39 PM
I actually converted it back now....or there would be pictures.

Anyway, just cut of an old leather belt I found in my dads shed (you never get rid of the kids do you?)
Cut that in half so I got two cm wide strips of leather, and then used chicago screws to make two belt loops for them pendicular to the sheath. the tp one, nearest the
opening I threaded trough the original belt loop, while the lower loop was threaded trough the dangler part of the loop. But here I need some kind of snap lock, so that I can use the dangler.
I cant make my mind up as to what is best.

The problem is walking to the woods. I walk trough a residential area, with lots of kids playing in the street. So someone may not like seeing a man walking
with a knife dangling from his belt. With Horizontal carry it's easier to hide the knife under a jacket or pullover. Butr in the woods I prefer the dangler, as then the handle his right by my hand when I need it :-)

So the bottom belt loop needs to be a snap on so I can take it off whjen i am not using it. The reason I need that is that I thread that trough the dangler loop, both to get the dangler loop out of the way,
and to keep the sheeth from slipping out of the loops.

It's a fairly rough sollution. And tonight I fairly much concluded that it was better to just keep the kife in my jacket pocket until I am in the woods. As there it would be a legal carry. Carrying a knife in Norway, no matter what size, shape or form is illegal, except if you have an honorable purpose for it, such as bushcrafting, fishing, hunting etc.

FishyFolk
01-07-2012, 08:41 PM
Made a video showing off my fire steel kits for knife sheaths that does not have a fire steel loop.


http://youtu.be/Ewm6JknqG2w

AL...
01-07-2012, 08:46 PM
OK I got ye mate Thanks for that . Its much the same here but you can carry a knife that has a 3 or less inch blade as long as its not a lock knife.
I keep my knife in my daysack untill I get out into the woods or down the river then put it on my belt from there . Half the time though I forget to take it off when headin home lol. Not good for me I know.

Thanks for taking the time mate
Cheers
AL

AL...
01-07-2012, 08:59 PM
Great vid FF Thanks for sharing mate

Cheers
AL

FishyFolk
01-07-2012, 09:11 PM
Great vid FF Thanks for sharing mate

Cheers
AL

If there is one thing that is for sure. if nobody is commenting on my videos, at least Al will have something kind to say :-)

Thanks mate

Rune

FishyFolk
01-07-2012, 09:17 PM
OK I got ye mate Thanks for that . Its much the same here but you can carry a knife that has a 3 or less inch blade as long as its not a lock knife.
I keep my knife in my daysack untill I get out into the woods or down the river then put it on my belt from there . Half the time though I forget to take it off when headin home lol. Not good for me I know.

Thanks for taking the time mate
Cheers
AL

The only knives that is totally forbidden here are balisongs and spring assisted opening blades, after a couple of knee jerk reactions from politicians after some murders some years ago.
They tried to do that with Rambo style knives a few years ago after a murder using that kind of knife. But reason prevailed. Technically what is the difference
between that typ of knife and a leuku?, that everyone has in their daypack when out in the woods, he he

AL...
01-07-2012, 10:32 PM
I think they see the Rambo knife more as a weapon and the Leuku more as a tool .

Its the same thing here bud

I realy like your vids they are real . Nothing faked Just you and the famley out having a great time as well as the fishing ,history, and foreging. Keep them commin mate They are cool
By the way FF What is the tune you use on your Youtube? Its great

Cheers
AL

ChristerM
01-07-2012, 10:58 PM
Rune: Did you get that firesteel at Rema?? :) For 37,-??? :confused2:

FishyFolk
01-07-2012, 11:03 PM
Rune: Did you get that firesteel at Rema?? :) For 37,-??? :confused2:

yep, 37,50,- to be precise. It's from Pro Tec. I just chop the handle off them and make a juniper (einerbusk) handle for it. looks better.
They are a tad softer than the overpriced LMF firesteels, but so cheap you can buy 3 for every LMF, and they work great, or even better. Huge shower of sparks.

I have to go and get some more before they are off the shelves...

ChristerM
01-07-2012, 11:09 PM
They don't carry them down here... :( :(
If you get a few extra, I would happily buy some of them from you... :D

FishyFolk
01-07-2012, 11:21 PM
They don't carry them down here... :( :(
If you get a few extra, I would happily buy some of them from you... :D

Kan jo altids plukke opp en ekstra og sende til deg. Jeg trenger en til joikesabelen :-)

Ooops....translation: I'll pick up an extra for you next time I go there. Probably do our weekend shopping there at the end of the week.

ChristerM
01-07-2012, 11:48 PM
:D :D :D
Glimrende!!

I'll shoot you a PM, and we can work out the details... :D

FishyFolk
04-07-2012, 10:21 PM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uK2B8lxZUKU&feature=g-upl

AdrianRose
04-07-2012, 10:53 PM
Just got back from checking my wildlife cameras......

http://img.tapatalk.com/57709420-bb2f-f11b.jpg

http://img.tapatalk.com/57709420-bb46-fc35.jpg

http://img.tapatalk.com/57709420-bb5d-ec1c.jpg

http://img.tapatalk.com/57709420-bb84-5371.jpg

Hope you like

Ade.

AL...
04-07-2012, 11:36 PM
Rune that made my night mate LOL and I love the colour change in the wee man's face at the end . Nothing that soap and water wont fix like? .. looks like you get plenty common Gulls there Mate Its mostly Herring Gulls we have here.
Thanks for putting up the vid

Great pics Ade they are amasing beasties and they are great to watch .

Cheers
AL

Tony1948
04-07-2012, 11:54 PM
Wot a great vidio FF I love it just dad and the boy out for a rome a bit of food the boy hazz a sleep on the way back after Dad takeing him out for a stroll very niceT^

Tony1948
04-07-2012, 11:55 PM
Great shots Ade,Love em

Adam Savage
05-07-2012, 05:40 PM
Not strictly bushcraft, but I use the forge to make bushcrafty things, so kind of connected lol.

Made myself a 2200w forge blower, from an old vacuum cleaner, the top part of a plastic washer fluid bottle, a short length of waste pipe, and a 99p storage box :)

http://i1024.photobucket.com/albums/y304/crazysaint22/projects%20and%20equipment/IMG_0718.jpg

http://i1024.photobucket.com/albums/y304/crazysaint22/projects%20and%20equipment/IMG_0719.jpg

http://i1024.photobucket.com/albums/y304/crazysaint22/projects%20and%20equipment/IMG_0720.jpg

http://i1024.photobucket.com/albums/y304/crazysaint22/projects%20and%20equipment/IMG_0717.jpg

http://i1024.photobucket.com/albums/y304/crazysaint22/projects%20and%20equipment/IMG_0716.jpg

http://i1024.photobucket.com/albums/y304/crazysaint22/projects%20and%20equipment/IMG_0721.jpg

http://i1024.photobucket.com/albums/y304/crazysaint22/projects%20and%20equipment/IMG_0715.jpg

paulthefish2009
05-07-2012, 05:44 PM
Thats great crazysaint,never ceases to amaze me how inventive some people can be. Paul

AL...
05-07-2012, 06:02 PM
Now that is Bushcraft!!! :campfire:
Fantastic job Crazy

Cheers
AL

FishyFolk
05-07-2012, 06:03 PM
Well, the opening post have the words..."or in preparation for bushcraft", so I think the forgeblower is well inside the scope of the thread :-)

Adam Savage
05-07-2012, 06:39 PM
Thanks guys. I'll be making a hand cranked blower at some point, just waiting for my sister to donate one of her kids old bikes for the sprockets and chain lol.
I can tell you this thing blows well. The big bad wolf would have taken out all three houses, if he had one of these under his arm (and somewhere to plug it in lol).

FishyFolk
06-07-2012, 01:05 PM
Got myself an eagle products leather coffee bag. But since I don't drink coffee, it's being pressed into service as my tinder bag. So I have duely water proffed it with
beeswax and stuffed my pyrotechnics show in there. And it's far to much. I won't actually have any room for natural tinder in there. So out goes the little zip lock bags with
modern stuff like matches, lighters, petroleum jellied cotton pads etc.

The plan now is to make two fire kits. One in a bomb proof, water tight container, with all the high tech fire stuff for when the manure has long since hit the rotating device, and it's time to
stop playing 17th century woodsman, and survive....f.eks when I have gone trough the ice in minus 15, and if I don't get a fire going within 10 minutes I'll be dead.
And one low tech, bushcrafty, I-am-using-this-not-because-I-have-to-but-because-I-can-and-it's-fun fire kit. With steel striker and quartz, charred stuff that catch sparks, dried grass, birch bark, pine resin etc
and perhaps a modern fire-steel for when I just want a quick fire for my brew...but the last one will be attached to all my knife sheaths anyway, so perhaps 3 of these is enough...I got one on my Enzo trapper, one on my neck knife, and one on my leuku...so i think påerhaps I can choose not to have one extra in my bushcrafty firekit as well...lol. But there will be one in the high tech one....

Adam Savage
06-07-2012, 01:18 PM
You can never have "too many pyrotechnics" :D

AL...
06-07-2012, 03:57 PM
T^

Cheers
AL

FishyFolk
06-07-2012, 04:34 PM
Another project now is to find a good hinged lid tin to keep my steel striker and some charcloth and quartz in. They don't sell Altoids in Norway. Yes I know it's a crime against humanity, but thats just
one of the hardships we have to survive to be accepted as true Norsemen. Ind them old days we could just have rowed over to the Briths and taken some, but these days we have to keep up an appearcnce of civilization. Also I wan't to make one containing charred punkwood, as I saw a video of some aussie old timer doing that. He called it a tinderbox...anyway, his YT channel is worth checking out. It's called: "historicaltrekking"

The good thing about that is that unlike charcloth that is completely consumed when you put it in your firenest, the tinderbox you just close when done, and that puts out the ember, and it can be reused many times before the punkwood is all gone. Also to make new, you just toast the punkwood directly in the fire to charr it (put it on a stick). So no need to cut old t-shirts and jeans to pices and mess around with holed tins etc.

Adam Savage
06-07-2012, 04:56 PM
Sounds interesting. Maybe a hand warmer tin would work for a small kit. They are often hinged.

A lot of people get confused between punk wood and fat wood over here. Punk (also a name for tinder) is simply dry rotten wood, hence people saying when wood "gos a bit punky" :)

I'd imagine charing it slightly would make it extra dry, and take a spark easier, but if you could "cook" it without oxygen, then a punk-charcoal might work even better ??

Sounds like another great idea that needs my attention lol.

FishyFolk
07-07-2012, 04:12 PM
Went for a walk and found some punk wood, and a place where I think at least 4 moose with a calf had their nights rest, perhaps 100 meters from my house. Well, we've had them in the garden before.
Also when shopping I found a candidate for a tinderbox, as a tin in he right size. Alas it did not have a hinged lid so no purchase was made. But if nothing else can be found, then thats it.

Anyway, a video is uploading on the days walk, so will post it here once this is uploaded...I may go out and do some moose stalking if I get more indications they are nearby :-)
Still got my hunting clothes from younger years...they are a lot more quiet in the dense undergrowth than what I was wearing today, going trough like an elephant in a glass warehouse...

FishyFolk
07-07-2012, 04:13 PM
Sounds interesting. Maybe a hand warmer tin would work for a small kit. They are often hinged.



Looked for those today, but I was informed it is July, so none have them in.

FishyFolk
07-07-2012, 04:54 PM
Tinder walk


http://youtu.be/y7hs_BLb4Xw

Adam Savage
07-07-2012, 06:53 PM
Looked for those today, but I was informed it is July, so none have them in.

Very good point. Forgot about the seasonal nature of the product :)

AL...
07-07-2012, 07:28 PM
Great wee vid Rune and looking forward to part 2 of this one .
Its been raining hard all day here so all Ive done is sit in the workshop and make a couple of Catapults .
Will upload a couple of photos later on.

Cheers
AL

FishyFolk
07-07-2012, 09:09 PM
Not exactly bushcraft but a result of it. Went on the scales today and found out that I have lost 1,5 stone in 2 months, and the only thing I have changed is my walks, and bushcraft is what gets me out there. :-)

1,5 stone more and I am back to the weight I was while smoking....lose 3 more stone and I am where a 40 year old my size should be.
So 1/3 of the way there :-)

FishyFolk
07-07-2012, 09:11 PM
Great wee vid Rune and looking forward to part 2 of this one .
Its been raining hard all day here so all Ive done is sit in the workshop and make a couple of Catapults .
Will upload a couple of photos later on.

Cheers
AL

As you mention rain, I have to get my drying punkwood into the shed, as itæ's clouding over.
Glad you liked it.

AL...
07-07-2012, 10:44 PM
Not exactly bushcraft but a result of it. Went on the scales today and found out that I have lost 1,5 stone in 2 months, and the only thing I have changed is my walks, and bushcraft is what gets me out there. :-)

1,5 stone more and I am back to the weight I was while smoking....lose 3 more stone and I am where a 40 year old my size should be.
So 1/3 of the way there :-)

That is fantastic to hear Rune .. Keep on goin mate

Cheers
AL

FishyFolk
14-07-2012, 02:39 PM
In the grocery bag today was a tin of canned Pizza toppings. The tin will be used as a pot holder/ wind screen for my trangia meths burner and teapot. And it will also fit inside my Norwegian army mess kit.
The bad part of this is that I will have to consume the canned pizza toppings...

biker-bri
14-07-2012, 03:19 PM
[QUOTE The bad part of this is that I will have to consume the canned pizza toppings...[/QUOTE]

Can't you use it to put a patina on a blade !! :rolleyes:

biker-bri
14-07-2012, 03:22 PM
On a more bushcraft note, I have just glued Elm burl scales onto my new blade.

FishyFolk
15-07-2012, 12:24 AM
Spent a rainy evening in the shed, cleaning up my knives and trying to figure out how to best pack my new used back pack...and found out that the people who designed it should be fired.
It looks good, until you try to pack bushcrafty stuff into it in a way that makes them easy to retrieve. So that was 4£ well spent, on a backpack for the kids...lol
The younger one loves it, so it was not a waste to buy it. It was just not what I need me thinks.

Adam Savage
15-07-2012, 10:56 AM
I've had a couple packs like that. Either too few pockets/compartments, or too narrow and tall. Still, they get used for odd things every now n then :)

FishyFolk
15-07-2012, 12:04 PM
I've had a couple packs like that. Either too few pockets/compartments, or too narrow and tall. Still, they get used for odd things every now n then :)

Too narrow is the word. My Bergen is like that. So I am in the market for something wider. The Berghaus Cyclops II that the army has been using are now showing up as surplus gear , so May get one of those. But I don't really need it, as I only use a Bergen perhaps twice a year. But my 17 year old stepson has gone and joined the Red Cross Youth, so he may need a decent Bergen for camps. So that may just about justify it...

I really need a better carrying system. So I am looking for a 45 litre sized daypack that can be pressed into service for light overnight trips also. And then a satchel style thing that I can just sling over the shouleder for a few hours of playing Ray Mears in the local woods. That should be as small as possible, yet big enough to carry my enourmous firkekit, some tea, a meths stove and teapot, etc.

Adam Savage
15-07-2012, 03:09 PM
I use a flecktarn messenger bag for a satchel, which looks a lot like the one in this link, but the one in the link can have two straps attached, so it can be worn like a rucksack if needed.

http://www.military1st.co.uk/54-4008-80-surplus-shoulder-bag-flecktarn.html

FishyFolk
15-07-2012, 04:08 PM
I use a flecktarn messenger bag for a satchel, which looks a lot like the one in this link, but the one in the link can have two straps attached, so it can be worn like a rucksack if needed.

http://www.military1st.co.uk/54-4008-80-surplus-shoulder-bag-flecktarn.html


Yes something like that. Just for a fire and brewkit really. And that one looks like some straps for adding a small tarp can be added too. :-)

FishyFolk
16-07-2012, 07:26 PM
Got my tinderbox sorted as the one I ended up buying off that well known auction website was in the mailbox today. Think of that. I could not find a tin locally. I had to order one from an online shop in the UK!
And again, that was cheaper than ordering from Norway!

Anyway , in the tin is now my steel striker. Some char cloth, pine resin, some fat wood, some untreated hemp twine and a piece of quartz. The tin was a bit large, so I decided not to use it as a char cloth burner, so next to this tin, I have the empty petroleum jelly tin that I used to store my hemp petroluem jellied twine in. This is now filled with cloth pieces ready to be made into more char cloth next time I light a fire. But once I get punk wood to work for me, the char cloth may go as well...

In the leather bag is also some birch bark and dried straw for kindling + my opinel knife.

This firekit will be more and more traditional and old school as I work on it. So the hemp fire twine is now relegated to my modern methods bag. Thats just a zip-lock bag, with that in it, plus zip locked bag with a bic ligher, another with matches, my LMF army fire steel, and some cut offs form a bicycle hose. This is my fire kit to use when faeces has levitated in the general direction of the rotating air cooling device....

Else been working on friction fire. Cant even get the spindle tip warm...so obviously I am missing a trick or two here...