How to make a hook knife

Ran across a great article on how to make a hook knife and thought I'd share it.

From cariboo blades, Aki and Scott over on my links list. Give it a read, I am sure it will inspire you to give it a try.

Cool video, Knives, and Elk

It never ceases to amaze me how quickly the time passes when I am busy with nursing school and the clinicals that go along with that, not to mention the daily life of a married man with a nine month old. So I may not post as much as I'd like to, but I thought I'd pass along a video I ran across lately that is a fun watch, as well as a knife or two I have been drooling over...

Alone in the Wild
First up is Ed Wardle, a British (?) guy who was alone in the Yukon for a good bit. His goal was three months, but he did not make it that long for some unspecified reason. It is a National Geographic show set to be aired here shortly, and it is worth a watch, but not as nicely filmed as Survivorman, and Ed doesn't have much to say that is very educational, nor is there much in the way of great scenery. C+ to B-, worth watching on a quiet fall afternoon when you can't get out.

Check out a great article written by Roger Phillips of the Idaho Statesman. "The finer points of elk hunting." While you are at it, check out Corey Jacobsen's elk 101 website.

I am in love with Both Gene Ingram's and Charles May's knives over on the blademakers website. They are similar in design, and just look downright handy!

The Gene Ingram #30 with a firesteel and a cocobollo handle looks just about right for anything I can throw at it in the woods.

The Charles May Skifa looks like a top notch bush knife with everything that Mors Kochanski recommends for a all around knife.


Paired with an axe, I am sure I could stay comfortable in the woods for some time, but I am not sure I want to put myself out there like Ed Wardle, Les Stroud or Bear Grills just yet.

Imogene Lake Backpacking Trip

Last weekend my good friend Todd and I went on a backpacking trip. Not just any backpacking trip, but a memorable overnighter to one of my favorite places in the universe, Imogene Lake, deep in the Sawtooth Wilderness of Idaho. Over the years I have visited this particular piece of Heaven on Earth several times, and it's exposed granite and gin clear waters have a hold on me like few other places do. We were planning on a two night trip, but unexpected work delays and a constant rain caused us to rethink our plan and we left our basecamp early on the morning of August eighth. There are two trailheads to choose from, and we choose to drive a bit more and hike a bit less. We started off with gusto and hiked the seven or eight miles in in a little more than two hours, and by the time we arrived at out deserted destination a steady rain was falling. Imogene lake has numerous islands and one large pennensula connected to the shore by a swampy area, fortified into a nice pathway over the years by hikers. We quickly set up camp and began to explore the island. Due to the fragile and slow to decompose nature of 8500 feet backcountry exposed granite the Forest Service installed a pit-style toilet on the island... perhaps the best view of any porceline throne anywhere in the world... We fished some in the drizzle, gathered a meager supply of firewood and enjoyed the solitude of the wilderness and the company of a good friend.

Helle Nying

I thought I'd give the cool little Nying knife I bought at a garage sale last Saturday a closer look. I knew exactly what it was as soon as I spotted it from across the garage, and I knew I wanted it as well. I have had one of these stout little knives in my hands before and immediately knew it was a knife I'd like to own, though I didn't buy it that day.

The Helle knife factory in Norway turns out some fantastic knives. The style isn't particularly American, but I have long held the theory that the best knife for a given region is the ones the locals carry, not the one that is best advertised in the hook and bullet magazines. This might be a machette in the jungle, or a small blade without a hand guard, much like the majority of the Helle knives are. This is a fantastic example of a small Scandinavian knife, and while I won't give you a disertation on the variations of Scandinavian knives with respect to the local regions, I have yet to handle a Scandinavian knife that didn't seem "right."

One of the two places I know of to buy a Helle knife in the USA is over at the Ragweed Forge website (the other is Dryad Bows). According to Rangar, "The Nying is a short stubby knife designed for fishermen. The handle is generously proportioned to give a good grip even when your hands are cold or covered in fish slime. The 2 3/4" blade is laminated stainless steel. The attractive leather sheath has a distinctive cutout. It is fitted with a keeper strap, which engages a stud on the pommel, and a suspension thong. (Blade is 2 3/4", length overall is 6 3/8".)
This knife received the prestigious Norsk Designråd Award for design excellence."

As you can see, the size is small, but no smaller than a typical Swiss Army blade, and, I think, more useful, and most defiantely more stout. Besides being easier to grip with "cold or slimy hands", the thick birch handle also is less fatiguing for long periods of knife work. The weight is essentially non noticable. I look forward to carrying this knife with me this summer and next fall and really putting it to some work.

Garage sale finds

I went garage sale shopping with my wife today. I rarely find anything more than a paperback book that I "have" to have, but today I found a few things... as soon as I saw the knife from across the garage I knew what it was, and I new I "had" to have it. At $10 it was a steal, and then I noticed the books as well, and I added four good books to my library for $2.25. I am a big fan of Helle knives, and this little traditional Scandinavian knife is a gem. It's the Nying model, and it fits your hand (at least my slightly small hands) like the proverbial glove. I can't wait to sharpen it up to razor and put it to good use. It looks like it hasn't been used much at all, and the guy I bought it from said his buddy bought it while he was in Norway.

Firesteel contest

Wow. That is about all that I can say, I am flabergasted, I won the firesteel contest over on American Bushman's blog. I get a custom sheath from JRE industries for having the "coolest" homemade firesteel. Hard to imagine because I saw the competition's, and they were very purty!

Axe sheath

I finished a project that I have been meaning to do for quite some time.... and axe sheath for my "bush" axe which I bought at a yard sale three or four years ago. I didn't want anything fancy, just a basic blade cover. Despite the scrap leather it turned out pretty nice, although I am not 100% sold on the closure mechanism I made, it'll do nicely for now. I used a scrap of ebony and made the button... and of course had to put an elk stamp on it as well.

First float

My lovely wife and son came with me last night to christen the new ship at a local city park pond. It was fun, and by golly, it floats just fine! Spent about 15 minutes on the water. She'll behave quite a bit better with oars or a kayak paddle I think, but other than that and the runners on the bottom helping with straight line tracking, I am pleased! Very stable, I should be able to fly fish and bowfish out of her no problem.

Boat is done!

Well, we'll just say it is done for now. Sealed, calked, ready for the water. Eventually I will add oars (and oar locks of course), and possibly a front seat or bench. But it'll be on the water this coming weekend for the carp shoot, and I am pumped! It will be a while before I start another project this big.... but all in all I enjoyed it and am pleased with how it turned out. And you can't spend this much time and effort building a boat and go out and buy a paddle or oars, so I made a paddle as well.

And as a side note, please go and check out americanbushman's firesteel contest. If you like my creations, I'd appreciate your vote.

red oak bucksaw plans

I ran across this article talking about the virtues of a bucksaw. I recently bought a blade from a closing sporting goods store for $0.50 with something similar in mind, so I am looking forward to tackling this much smaller project after my boat is completed in the next couple days.