Archive for August, 2009
How to Make a Bamboo Fishing Spear
August 30th, 2009 | 
Author: 
Back in May a neighbor gave me some bamboo, I thought I’d see what I could make with it. The first thing I made was a fishing spear.
First thing I did was whittle off the end just shy of a ring on the larger end, and then tied some string very tightly around the shaft at the second joint from that end, and then split it lengthwise in quarters down to the string and started shaping the tines.
5:11 Agressor Jacket Review
An outdoorsman needs a good jacket – fact! A windproof is a boon – a waterproof is a god send and a warm jacket on a cold day is a pleasure …….but what if you could get them all in one jacket?
Over the years I’ve tried and tested numerous jackets and smocks from isotex to Ventile and back again, Gore-Tex and Aquafoil – you name it I’ve tried it. Some granted are good Lowe Alpine triple point ceramic is excellent but the price tag isn’t.
The Swedish Candle
I thought I would share this good idea with you.
Its called a “Swedish Candle”. It makes a very enjoyable campfire to sit by for the evening, there is no need to add wood to it every 30 minutes or so either, just one log, one match. It also makes an excellent cook fire as billies, kettles etc. can be placed on top.
First select a good sized diameter log, the one shown here was just short of being 18″ in diameter. I cut this log right at 42″ in length.
You then rip the log length wise to within 4″ of bottom cutting it three times to make what looks like a cut pie on top. Tip your chainsaw in-wards at the bottom to make the inside of cut lower than outside. This gives the fire once lit air from below which is drawn up the length of the log to top, like a chimney and helps to feed the fire with oxygen.
Bison Bushcraft Guide Shirt Review
Well it’s not very often you get a garment made in the UK with materials sourced and woven in the UK giving a well known brand made in china cheaply made garment a run for its money but Roger from Bison Bushcraft has managed it with the Guide shirt!
I saw the prototype garment and immediately wanted one, and now it’s here and its set to knock the RM popularised Swanndri off its shelve in my opinion.
Buffalo and Eagle Wing – A Native American Indian Story
• A long time ago there were no stones on the earth. The mountains, hills, and valleys were not rough, and it was easy to walk on the ground swiftly. There were no small trees at that time either. All the bushes and trees were tall and straight and were at equal distances. So a man could travel through a forest without having to make a path.
• At that time, a large buffalo roamed over the land. From the water, he had obtained his spirit power–the power to change anything into some other form. He would have that power as long as he only drank from a certain pool.
• In his wanderings, Buffalo often travelled across a high mountain. He liked this mountain so much that one day he asked it, “Would you like to be changed into something else?”
How to make a toasting fork
Here’s a good simple fork to make in the woods, and a good thing for kids to make to help with their knife skills.
How to Harvest Fatwood
Because of its great flammability and its ability to be easily ignited under wet and rainy conditions and even after being submerged under water for hours even days. fatwood is a great resource and being able to recognise it in the bush can make things a lot easier on wet days. If you get enough of it going it will continue to burn in the lighter rains. I went up onto the Suckreek Mountain section of Walden’s Ridge to do some hiking and photography and some peace and quiet. While I was out hiking I collected some fatwood stumps, I gathered three different ones to show how the look of it can vary in the wilderness. Fatwood as I know it comes from pine tree stumps, where the sap has settled in the lower sections and maybe gone through some type of fermentation process. You will see if you look at the forest floor and the other trees around, that while these are pine tree stumps I am collecting, I am in a forest that is predominantly hardwood with only about five to ten percent pine trees (getting fewer by the year thanks to the southern pine beetle.