Bushcraft Arts and Crafts

I have been putting together a couple of 550 cord bracelets and I thought I'd show them to you. Here are three different variations, the tan one is ready to wear, the combo and the green ones just need a little bit of finish work. I learned how to make them with a tutorial over on bushcraftuk.com. Hope you find it interesting and they inspire you to make your own.

And now for something completely different.

I'll admit it. I am a dreamer. Always have been. It never take much for me to start dreaming about this new hobby or that potential adventure.

A few months ago I started noticing an occasional article in my local newspaper about a local family of four who decided to buy a sailboat and cruise the Caribbean for one year. Wow. So for the past few hours I have been alternating between staring out the window watching the snow flurries blow sideways and reading about a real life adventure in the warm waters and sunshine of the Caribbean seas.

Check it out here. Now, where did I put the classifieds section of the paper and I wonder if there is area any sailboats for sale?

Contest!

THE American Bushman, known the world over as "B" is having a homemade fire steel contest over on his blog. Check it out and maybe earn a free JRE sheath for your favorite bush tool!

I also found another birch bark canoe build along. More great stuff!

1,000 year old fishing trap found with Google Earth

This story caught my eye. Pretty cool how technology found something so low tech, while the same technique is still being used (on a much smaller scale) and taught during survival courses!

Fishing weirs on Wikipedia (so it MUST be true!)

Another boat

All I can say is




WOW!




A hand made driftwood kayak. Amazing!

Birch Bark Canoe ala Ray Mears

I ran across an amazing series of videos on youtube with Ray Mears helping construct a birch bark canoe. Give it a watch, it is really incredible!

New bushcraft knife

Krein knives just came out with a new knife called the XL bushcrafter.

Straight from the horse's mouth, so to speak:

When I designed the standard length Bushcraft I was trying to build a more compact knife. Something that you wouldn't leave behind because it was too big or heavy. I think I met my goal. With that said there was a good bit of interest in a Bushcraft with a slightly longer blade.

So I sat down and did a little redesign work. I made a few Bushcrafts with 1" longer blades. While I like how they turned out, it seemed that a slightly longer handle would compliment the longer blade. The new XL Bushcrafts have a 1" longer blade and a 1/2" longer handle. This makes for a much larger feeling knife.

The overall length is right at 9" with a 4 1/8" blade. Blade thickness is 3/16" and they are full flat grind

I have 2 with green canvas micarta with black liners and 2 with amber canvas micarta with black liners. They are all O-1 tool steel that I heat treated in the shop. They also all have the ultra-light option (skeletonized blade under the handles to decrease weight). They come with a multi position kydex sheath with a large Tek-Lok, or a nicely done oiled leather pouch sheath.

Missing pictures

I was reviewing some older blog posts today and noticed a few pictures were missing.

Apologies. I'll see if I can find them.

Survival vs. Woodsmanship

I found a great article called "when things go wrong" about the priorities to live by and woodsmanship/bushcraft compared to "survival." Check it out here, and while you are there, browse around the rest of the Northwestwoodsman.com website. Loads of great information, articles, videos and pictures.

Carp-Diem Boat project

About a month ago I started working on a boat. A completely handmade wooden boat. It has been something on my future projects list for quite some time. I scoured the internet for just the right boat, I bought a couple plans, but there are loads of good, solid, basic designs for free. Although my Dad, who lives just a little ways away, has a well stocked woodworking shop, most of what I found could be built with more simplistic tools such as a jigsaw.

I found a small flat bottom skiff-dingy capable of being rowed, paddled or motored along.

Perfect for bow fishing for carp. I am really looking forward the the Idaho Traditional Bowhunter's Carp-ie Diem bow fishing outing!

It fits in the back of my rig for a quick trip to a local bluegill pond or is light enough for solo car topping.

I modified the plans a little and added higher sides and shortened the overall length just a little bit, but it remains to be seen if this will be a one man or two man craft.

In praise of the lowly bandana

Recently I found a thread over on britishblades.com about your four favorite bushcraft items. Of course, a knife, firesteel and axe or saw were on nearly everyone's list. A hank of 550 cords would also be up there.

But my choice might be a bandana.

There are hundreds of uses for the little 20" square of cotton (sometimes the only cotton I take with me into the woods). I am reminded of my earliest "bushcraft" book, one I have possibly read more than any other book, the Boy Scout Manual. Scouts around the world typically have a bandana around their neck. I think I prefer a square bandana to the scout's triangle, but either way, the uses are only limited by your imagination and the situation.

Sling, sunshade, waterfilter, mosquito net while sleeping, dishcloth, headband, napkin, tourniquet, tie your hair back ( for those of the long hair persuasion), blow your nose (hankie), "lunchbox", evaporative cooler (roll it up, dunk it in water, tie it around your neck. It will cool your jugular veins and carotid ateries nicely), travel identification (give everyone in your group the shame color and waer them, or tie one on your luggage), placemat, camera lens or sunglass cleaner, tie extra stuff to your backpack, a "Punky Brewster" bracelette, carry foraged goods (mushrooms, berries, shells, rocks....), dust mask (old West style), sweat wiper, tear soaker, belt (I might need more than one), bandage, washcloth, potholder, sleep blindfold (my secret to travel, along with some earplugs, I sleep like a bay anywhere), fly swatter, gift wrap, head and neck sun protection (try tucking it under your hat, Lawrence of Arabia style), dog coller, ice compress, mark a trail, use as a "terrible towel" to chear at a sporting event, signal, water filter, neck gaiter for cold mornings, and possibly my favorite one I found while browsing the internet.....


"disguise your voice on the phone."