Archive for June, 2009
Fishing Techniques Part 1 – Know Your Prey
June 27th, 2009 | 
Author: 
Spending my early years in Worcestershire, I did a little fresh water fishing. Then living by the sea in Cornwall I progressed to sea fishing. Regarding the fresh water fishing I caught a few trout (mostly rainbow), bream, perch and a few pike. Sea fishing has mainly been whiting, mackerel, flounder and if I’ve been very lucky the occasional bass.
**Please note that in normal situations you should NOT use some of these techniques that will be covered in this and future fishing articles, in the United Kingdom as they are illegal and others require the correct permit or licenses.**
OK! Let’s address the most common mistake that inexperienced anglers make. When I say ‘inexperienced anglers’ I’m thinking of people such as myself. I’m interested in survival and bushcraft not fishing itself. When I am fishing it is not for sport or merely pleasure, although I do enjoy it to a certain degree, it is to obtain food. Food which may possibly help to keep me alive or at least enable me to function.
Grey Owl – The Man, the Myth, the Conservationist, the Fraud?
Almost as soon as the man known as Gry Owl died in a Prince Albert, Sask., hospital on April 13, 1938, his many secrets began to emerge into the open air. That same day, The North Bay Nugget ran a story it had sat on for three years, revealing that the famous Indian naturalist was actually an Englishman named Archie Belaney. And not just any Englishman, it eventually turned out, but a binge-drinking bigamist who had had five “wives.” His closest supporters, especially Lovat Dickson, the Canadian-born London publisher who had made Grey Owl a household name in Britain, were devastated. They were desperately worried that all the good Grey Owl had done the cause of conservation would now be interred with his bones. But the twists and turns of Archie Belaney’s strange saga by no means ended with his death.
The Leatherman Wave – We Review this Tool in the Field
The Leatherman Tool Group was founded by Timothy S. Leatherman, a 1970 graduate of Oregon State University who majored in mechanical engineering.
Leatherman apparently came up with the idea of a ‘Boy Scout knife with pliers’ during a 1975 driving tour of Europe with his wife. When he was unable to use his pocket knife to fix his repeatedly malfunctioning car.
Leatherman spent several years perfecting his prototype, getting his first patent in 1980. He also spent those early years refining his sales model. He originally expected that industrial companies with large staffs of technicians would be his largest customers, but attempts to sell the tools to companies such as AT&T failed. It was only following the advice of a contact at the Early Winters catalogue company to simplify his product that sales began to grow. It was mail order catalogue companies such as Early Winters and Cabela’s that gave Leatherman his first significant sales.
How to Sharpen Your Crook Knife
Three easy steps to sharpening up your crook knife.
In some ways it is easier to sharpen than a straight knife. The tip will take a little special attention to get a sharp needle point or a slightly rounded profile with a razor edge. A crooked knife blade flush to the handle on the back allows for much more control while sharpening.
We start with a 11 1/2″ x 2 1/2″ combination arkansas oil stone, 250 x 1000 grit. Cleaned, lightly oiled and then wiped. Water stones are great. Some master carvers only use wet/dry fine grit emery and leather glued to sharpening stone sized pieces of level and sanded lumber, like a 1″ x 3″ x 12″. A friend of ours has had some of his boards for 20 years. He can get his knives very sharp.
How to make a Hobo Stove from Tin Cans
After success making pop can meth’s stoves I thought I would try a Wood burner and the Wood Gas ones also looked interesting to try.
Food cans lend themselves very nicely and I am sure this isn’t original etc
A shopping trip to the supermarket, shopping by Can size and type I came back with cans for 2 sizes of stove this is the smaller version the larger will have to wait till I bring myself to Eat the dog food.
This stove is made from 2 Sainsbury’s Basics Sweet corn cans and one Sainsbury’s Italian chopped tomato can. Cost is under £1 even if you chuck the Food contents
The sweet corn cans have locking stacking ends i.e. the bottom is crimped to fit into the top so are secure when stacked and one of the reasons I chose them as it securely locates the top pot stand /wind break on the burner unit.
The tomato can has a ring pull so when removed it has a nice clean edge and a lip to add strength
A Survival Tip Worth Remembering – The Rule of 3
Make good use of the rule of three:
• 3 seconds : The maximum time you have to escape or take action on an immediate danger.
• 3 minutes : The average time you can survive without breathable air.
• 3 hours : The time before you start dying of hypothermia or hyperthermia in a stressful and extreme situation.
• 3 days : The time before dehydration can claim your life because of lack of water.
• 3 weeks : The time before you cannot do any daily necessary task because of lack of food.
Survivorman A Trip to the Woods with the Bare Minimum of Kit – Part 4
I set about collecting anything I could find that would be good to add to my bedding. Dead fern, bracken, leaf litter, grass it all went in there. I didn’t put it in the shelter straight away but spread it around under the trees to try and dry it as much as possible while the rain held off. Collecting extra bedding was a chore i found myself doing everyday throughout the week. It’s amazing how much you need. Spend just one night on a layer of bedding as thick as the length of your arm and the following morning you’ll find it squashed down to just a couple of inches.
Right that was the bed sorted. I then spent the rest of the morning collecting more fire wood, boiling some water and making myself hot drinks. I did notice that as well as rehydrating me the drinks also helped to keep my hunger at bay a little. Talking of hunger, it was high time I went in search of something to eat…
Samphire
Just a heads up to anyone who lives near, or might be going to an estuary in the near future.
The Marsh Samphire (Salicornia europaea) is just starting to come into season. This delicious saltmarsh plant is an annual species, growing from seeds deposited in the previous year. Seeds germinate anywhere between May and June, growing quite rapidly into the succulent pale green plants beloved of posh fish restaurants and which are sold vastly overpriced in some fish shops.
Return of Ice Man – A Legend of the Cherokee
Once during the autumn in the Great Smoky Mountains some dry leaves in the woods caught fire, and before the people could beat out the flames the fire spread to a big poplar tree. The tree blazed fiercely until it turned to ashes, and then the fire went down into the roots and burned a great hole in the ground. It burned and burned, and the hole grew constantly larger, until the people became frightened and were afraid it would burn the whole world. Time after time they tried to extinguish the fire, but it had gone too deep, and they did not know what to do.
At last a chief said that Ice Man was the only one who could put out the fire, and he lived in a house of ice far away to the north. The chief called the people together for a council to choose two messengers to journey northward in search of Ice Man.
After travelling a long distance the messengers found Ice Man. He was a very old person with long hair hanging down to the ground in two plaits. The messengers told him why they had come to ask his help.
Alcohol Burning Camp Stoves Review
A while ago I did this review and posted it on another forum. I thought it may be of interest to folk on here too, so here it is.
From left to right:
• Tatonka (minus legs)
• Vargo Triad Ti
• SA Trangia
• Standard Trangia – taken from a 15 year old stove