Day 4,
The Triple P,
Today the KA-BAR and I set out to construct the dreaded Triple P
The Prefabricated Prisoner Poker. Or as it is more commonly known. The Fish Spear,
I headed off into the woods with all the tools I would use for today's project. The Dog's Head and my walking stick. I hate these heavy loads.
First up, pole selection. This one looked fairly straight,
After chopping it down, I dragged it over to a nearby workbench.
Chop off the top.
Next up clean up the bottom chopped end. I should note here. I had a catastrophic failure at this stage. The stick I was using as my baton broke. Oh My! I grabbed another stick and moved on.
Tap the knife into the end twice to form a cross and split it into four prongs.
It should look something like this. For right now, just go down 8"-10"
Y'all carry twine in your packs right?
Measure down approximately 16"-18" inches. I just go from the back of my elbow to my finger tips. And wrap roughly 2"-3" inches of twine snugly around the pole. This will keep the splits from continuing to split past this point. Then take the knife and finish splitting the prongs down to the wrapping.
Hint #1,
It is easier to turn the pole to wind the twine on, rather than try and wrap the twine around the pole. I find for most of my uses. A length of twine wrapped from thumb to elbow six times works well. Any longer and it gets tough to keep untangled.
Next, grab one of those branches from top part and make yourself two little pegs. They should be just a little wider than the pole.
Work one peg down into each split. Get them as close as you can to the wrapping. You don't have to get them all the way. So don't lose your mind.
Hint #2,
Take the walking stick and roll it down into the splits. It will make working the pegs down much easier. Alternate back and forth a little bit at a time.
Here is what they look like with both in place,
Now that all the risky stuff is done. It's time to sharpen the points.
Hint #3,
If you can find a downed log or tree. Take your hiking stick or any stick, and drive it in the ground right behind the downed tree. Then take the spear and slide it up snug to the stick. This creates a primitive shaving bench. Now you can take your Dog's Head with both hands and use it like a drawshave. This speeds up the point carving process quite a bit.
No need to get too crazy with the points, Personally, I like Caveman Tanto myself.
Almost done, some folks just wrap up to the pegs and tie them off to hold them down. I like to wrap down to them from above. This gives me the ability to adjust the spacing of the spears. I just start on one of the spears with a Clove Hitch. Leaving a tail that drops past the pegs.
Then I just wind my way down to the pegs. Setting the spacing at the start. Wrapping the lose end in as I go.
When I reach the pegs, I tie off to the top one, boat cleat style. And then tie the lose end from the clove hitch to this end, done!
Finished product,
One last shot with the Dog's Head in it for well deserved photo credit,
This knife just plain rocks!
Some additional thoughts,
One reason I like to use twine in this application and many others is that it acts the exact opposite of para-cord. It shrinks and swells when it gets wet. Instead of stretching and getting skinnier. It is also way cheaper and biodegradable. Not to mention the Fonzi factor. It just looks cooler.
About the knife. Everything done to this point has been with the original factory edge from KA-BAR. I have not touched it yet. Things will only get better.
That was Today's KA-BAR moment. Jeez, I sound like Marlin Perkins.
The original television survival guy. Who names their kid after a lever gun and a British boat engine?
