Hello world! (+beginners kit thoughts)

[gwc.websites@gmail.com]

Hello all!

I used to do a fair bit of hiking in my teens (DoE, Cadets, with friends) so i'd describe myself as "comfortable enough" in the outdoors when i'm taking everything I need with me and using all the mod cons. I'd really like to look into the making/crafting side of things, rather than just turning up with issued cookers and fuel etc...

I'd like some thoughts/tips on basic kit. I still have my backpack, tent and sleeping system, and all seem to be in good order. I also have hiking clothes/boots which have seen use as lately as last week. Oh, and lets not forget my trusty swiss army knife! :P

I was thinking i'd expand my arsenal with a fire striker, sheath knife, folding saw, and DIYing a small wood stove (for shits and giggles?).
I'd like thoughts on these :
http://www.greenmanbushcraft.co.uk/c...pro-knives.htm
http://www.greenmanbushcraft.co.uk/c...g-wood-saw.htm

And this as a DIY project :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxODae_BS74

Cheers!

[rik_uk3]

Can't go wrong with a Mora knife. A folding saw is often more use than an axe, http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BAHCO-396L...EAAOSwepJXYjeM less than twenty quid delivered and will last you years. Hobo stoves are OK so long as you have permission to use them on the land your on, a small gas stove for me would be a real 'must have' bit of kit. Fire strikers are fun, Bic lighters and strips of rubber work even wet so take both.

[gwc.websites@gmail.com]

cheers for your thoughts, yeah *if* i ever did go anywhere without lighter + gas stove then it'd be a long long time in the future... probs never!

[Woody]

Hello and welcome!


+1 for Mora knives and Bahco Laplander folding saw.

They're inexpensive but virtually indestructible.

[Pootle]

Hello and welcome to the forum.
Mora clipper / companion is great. I've had mine for about eight years now and it's not let me down yet.
Never used the bahco saw so can't comment. But I will say that the number of cheapies I've got through have probably added up to more than one good one would have cost.

[Pootle]

Making a small wood stove is a good project. But to be honest I rarely use mine. That said it cost next to nowt and on the odd occasion I do use it I do really enjoy the simplicity and efficiency of it.

[FishyFolk]

I rarely use a a saw. The thickness of the wood where a small garden type pruning saw like the praised and probably very good Bahco Laplander type saw is efficient for, is faster to cut trough with a big knife, like a Leuku. And wood to thick for the Leuku, you'll either need an axe...or a bow saw for. Anyway, the main for not using a saw is that whenever I use one, I get tired quickly...(I have a medical condition that makes me fatigue quickly).

So I swear to the axe and knife combo, simply becouse when I use those, I am able to produce enough wood in one go, without getting tired and need rest.

Now for summer use here in the Arctic, a small hatchet is more than enough to get you the wood for a cooking fire. But for the winter camp, where you need
a countinius fire to keep you warm and dry...nothing short of a full sized bow saw and full sized felling axe is the thing... but for wild camping in the UK that may be a tad over the top, I guess :-)

Now there are risks involved with axe use, especially for the inexperienced axe user, and I count myself ammong those. But how to learn without actually using one?
And well, risks are part of every day life. You every waking hour is actually about calculating risks. Which ones you are willing to take are up to yourself. ANd I am willing to take the risks
involved in using an axe, while following some simple rules to minimize those risks, like never using one while I am tired.

Small wood stoves. Charming, I love them, and they irritate the living daylights out of me. Simply becouse of my camp routine I guss, wich is...make fire, then set up rest of camp.
Simply becouse I will be hungry, or need a brew to get my strength and energy up. Or to get warm and dry. Now a real camp fire, I just light, and by the time I have to pay attention to it again, the water is boiling and the camp is up. The little stoves...I have to constantly watch and feed. As if I turn my back to it for two seconds, it either burns out, or just
puffs out as wood here is never dry...luckily a small trangia type alcohol stove fits in a pocket...only you have to carry the fuel for it as well, same for all other types of stoves. So these small wood stoves has
one + from me there.

Fire strikers...I love them. I love them so much I actually learned to use old fashioned flint and steel just for kicks. Also they are great as a back up for when (not if, WHEN) that piezzo igniter stops working on your gas stove). Anyway, I have one on my knife sheath, one in my pockket, one in every ruck sack and back etc. And a BIC ligher back up, that I use when I am to wet, cold, and tired to even try to play the wild man of the north, and just want my hot chocolate....anyway, I can start a fire withja fire striker as quickly as I can with a lighter when my tinder is dry.
I use the cheapest no brand ones I can find. Some will argue against that, saying the brand name ones are better etc.. but sometimes good enough is good enough. You do not always need a Ferrari.

Mora knives...fantastic for the money. Again a case of when good enough is good enough. Always have at least one in my pack. My belt knife is not always the best for everything I might do with a knife.
Specially when I need a knife to be a knife, and not a sharpened crow bar , or an axe. I.e when I use a knife for what knives are supposed to be used for, I grab the mora....mine is a Mora 911. I do own a Mora Robust and a Mora 2k, plus those small whitling knives too, but they mostly sit in a box...

[Pootle]

Some Good points Rune. When I use my wood stove it's to brew up or cook some noodles or similar. I never need to keep it going for more than five minutes.

[rik_uk3]

"The little stoves...I have to constantly watch and feed." Good point Rune. I was given a Honey Stove to test prior to their commercial launch, the only good thing about it is that its designed to burn not only twigs but to use a Trangia burner. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIDmWrX-18g