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Bushcraft Club thread
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The weather was good to us this weekend. The sun shone for the majority of it and at night the moon lit the forest in an eerie light that had us wondering who had left a head torch on. Day time temperatures were mild and drop sharply in the evening. Our task for the weekend was to construct some primitive traps of different varity and for different prey. These traps were not deployed or used in any way during the weekend other than for demonstration and practice. No animal or person for that matter was subjected to them. Although the thought of having someone upside-down dangling from a tree had crossed my mind.
Each one of us took on the task of constructing a different trap either from memory or a book that could be used in a wilderness setting.
One of my favourites is the Arpuca trap mainly because it is a live trap and allows you to release the bird unharmed. Good for practicing what baits work for which birds.
Jim went for a twitch-up snare. The trigger was cool and I personally hadnt seen that type of trigger used before.
Kevins one which was interesting because it required no carving. Great for when you wouldn't have a knife to hand but still had some cordage, like a boot lace.
Tony went for the more traditional twitch-up, with notched triggers.
Andrew had a go copying the Arpuca but using scavanged cord instead of making some. Initially we thought he stripped someones car for the wire but he assured us he didn't :-) He proved a good point, the material to hand is more valuable, rather than having to make it.
Another few tricks in the bag and cups of tea in the belly. The weather is certainly getting colder but debates about snow this year was on the topic list. Our next meeting is in December but is only open to current members. January will be our next meeting open to new members.0 -
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In the belief that you can never see too many fire lighting demonstrations here's a few pics taken of Tony getting the fire going at the last meet.
The fire source used was a magnesium tinder block and ferro rod. Spruce resin was used alongside the magnesium.
The first step was to shave a decent amount off the magnesium block.
Next he struck the ferro rod with the back of a knife
This produced sparks
As this was not the telly it took more than a single attempt for one of the sparks to ignite the tinder, but soon there was a small and consistent flame as the magnesium and spruce resin burned together. More than adequate to ignite a couple of stick bundles.
The end result was very helpful in allowing us to enjoy a November evening outdoors.
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The last meet up of 2011 was a cold one but thankfully not as cold as we were expecting. The Christmas meet up always seems to result in people staying close to the fire and chatting rather than running around in the freezing rain. So it was a show and tell for us as people brought out their crafts and explained the process. Jim had just come back from a knife making course and had a lovely little neck knife, John had his deer hide and freshly ground knife with antler handle. Tricks and trinkets fell from everyones pockets as we sat and waited for the stew.
We traditionally cook up a community pot stew for the last meet of the year. With all kinds of everything and a can of stout for flavour. The weather was cold and showery but we have certainly had tougher weather in past years.
Chris making a bow saw out of hazel
Its been another great year for the club and we've added some more great people to our members list. Our next meet up is in January and is open to people looking to join. Within the new year, we are going to be pressing personal development of members and up-ing the skill levels with more diverse activities. We have already started to talk about Scandanvia again and another potential trip to the Northern wilderness.0 -
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That is a lovely sheath Jon, I really like the image. Excellent stitching considering it was done with an awl and needle by the campfire
I think the finish you got working on this sheath in the woods makes it an altogether nicer piece of work than it would have been if you'd done it in a workshop. Lovely stuff.
Jim0 -
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hey guys. i have a piece of smaller guage railway, and it is pretty ok for using as an improv anvil. i also have a very large piece of I-beam. the i-beam is great, plenty strong enough for small things such as knives. the problem is the noise. I-beam rings like a bell when forging. and when i say bell, i mean the kind of bell they probably use to announce dinner time in guantanamo bay. lol. neighbours do not approve. i think if you could seat it in sand, and build the sand up the stem a good way, it might help.
there are some awesome little anvils made from railway sleeper. just have a look about the netz.
if anyone has the tools/skills/interest to make up a few of these, i also have about 3 foot of railway track i will donate to the project. and moneys for all the grinding disks you would go through. lol.
regards my saw, it is 30" blade i think. it was done out of seasoned ash. i keep a nice stack of sticks in my utility room for making things from. these were waiting about 6 months with their bark peeled and ends taped to prevent splitting. was worked out with my mora. the lengths are very ovaled, to maximise strength and keep weight down. the joint is a simple blind mortice and tenon, not too deep. did them with a little hand operated whisk type drill and a cheap chisel. lines and measurement were roughed out with a bit of string. no fancy carpentry here. lol. the beech tensioner and pins were also carved from seasoned branches. beech is very hard when seasoned, so this was a pig. but the look lovely, and the pins are strong enough to hold up to blade tension. finished the lot with a blended cream of linseed oil, turps and beeswax. makes it just fine to use outdoors.
i will bring it with me if i can get out to the next meet. super light and portable.0
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