A short wander; Plants & Playing With New Kit

[Mistwalker]

Well, I’m doing some work on the house since I came back from vacation… so not a lot of time lately. But, I did get out for a little while the other afternoon to walk through some local woods and play around with a couple of new pieces of kit. The sun was bright so in some cases I adjusted the shutter speed to pull in some details on lighter colors which gives the photos an interesting light.




Lots of thistle popping open

Lots of Ocoee out too, with some nearly ripe, and more to come.

The Coyotes carry corn cobs from the fields off in to the woods to eat so you find corn growing in odd places.

Not sure what this is yet, any ideas?

I was traveling light, but never know where I’ll end up so…the Janus kit I had in my shoulder bag. The contents are Wenger Ranger SAK, Suunto MC-2G, some band aides, alcohol pads, and gauze, a plastic fresnel lens, whirl pack water bag, Katadyn water purification tabs, a small light, a fire rod, fishing line and hooks and a few other odds and ends

I really like the lower sighting window of this compass more than the higher sight of my other sighting compasses.

A turkey feather I should have brought home and turn into a quill pin

I played around with the trapper some while I was out. It’s really well set up for fire-crafting.

The new model Fire Tool is made by Exotac Inc. and incorporates a lot of their standard features such as the knurling and a threaded and replaceable rod. It holds enough PJCB tinder to start a few fires under decent conditions and probably one or two in a down pour with proper preps. The rod itself can be used to pack the tinder.

Finding a good piece of bark for a base I used some of the thistle I had found earlier and some dry leaves for tinder to start a fire. I left just enough thistle exposed to catch the sparks, flash flame, and ignite the leaves.

A curious visitor stopped by.

Then since it has a bow drill divot in the handle I decided to give it a go as a bearing block. I made a quick two-stick hearth and spindle from some of the Yucca I had in the truck

It was a nice afternoon break, hopefully I’ll get to do it again soon…

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[Foilist]

Cool ferro rod. I also didn't know about the two stick fire board trick. I will have to try that.

 

[Mistwalker]

Cool ferro rod. I also didn't know about the two stick fire board trick. I will have to try that.

Yeah, the fire rod is pretty cool, I really like it.

As for the two-stick fire board that's something I learned from Rick. He and Ken have both done posts on it but I'd have to search their posts to find them and don't have time for that right now. Here is a thread I did on it with Yucca stalks that will tell you a little more about it but it's not limited to any one type of wood.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/793148-Two-Stick-Hearthboard-(Yucca-Stalks)

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[pitdog]

Another great post buddy, you always take awesome pics !

How are ya liking that Trapper ? Does it have a secondary bevel ?

 

[Gevonovich]

Another excellent post Mistwalker. I am interested in the Trapper...who makes that knife? Looks like a very well thought out design. I've photographed the ocoee flower recently but did not know what it was and that if had fruit. I will look it up now to learn more about it. You seem to have some nice depth of field in your photos...what camera are you using and what lens ...out of curiosity?

 

[jca21]

great pics bro.


looks like a wood bear knives raven model you have there.

 

[JTC]

Nice post. Very informative as usual. Is the Exotac Fire rod available yet and if so where? Thanks,


John

 

[Rotte]

Nice snaps Mist. What camera are you using?

 

[sicily02]

Love the pics, Brian.

Bryan

 

[tknife]

Awesome pics and some cool new gear :thumbup:

 

[TheGame]

Great pics again Mist. I've been looking at several of the Suunto compasses lately, how has it done for you so far? Once I receive a few products I have on order, I will likely pick up one, along with something from Exotac... thanks to your posts on them.

 

[Mistwalker]

Thanks guys, glad you enjoyed the post.

The knife is made by Habilis Bush Tools, and i am liking it a lot. For me it combines a good point and good size for bushcraft with my apparent love for sharpened pry bars for rough use. Because it is so thick (3/16") it may be a bit thick for some people. I wouldn't mind if it were 5/32" myself. Yes it does have a secondary bevel that I don't think will be hard to work out.

The fireROD will be available later, probably in October, these are just protos I'm field testing. Exotac will produce them all and sell the ones like what you see here, and Habilis will have ones with a longer ferro rod as their new model Fire Tool. As far as I know they will come in three colors; Black, Gunmetal, and Orange and maybe more colors later.

Nice snaps Mist. What camera are you using?

Thanks bro, these were all taken, I think, with the Nikon D3000 with just the standard 18-55 lens it came with.

Love the pics, Brian.

Bryan

Thanks Bryan, I put the orange one in the fire steel loop on the Sojourner, I took a few pics earlier when I was lighting up a little fatwood to run off some mosquitoes, I'll post them later.

Great pics again Mist. I've been looking at several of the Suunto compasses lately, how has it done for you so far? Once I receive a few products I have on order, I will likely pick up one, along with something from Exotac... thanks to your posts on them.

I'm really liking it. It is a little bulkier than I am used to in a sighting compass because I have been using a Silva Guide for so long now, but it's much lighter than my Camenga. I do like the dual sigting windows, particularly the lower one. It definitely isn't as picky about level as some of my compasses and I have learned to like the larger mirror for getting things out of my eyes .

Exotac makes some great gear, and Rob is one of the only people I know who started out with a lot of his operation done over seas and then found local sources for those steps so he could produce all his wares here in the US.

 

[grunt soldier]

great pics for sure. i'm digging that ferro rod. enough storage to keep some stuff on you but not so big as to get in the way. are they released already?

 

[Mistwalker]

great pics for sure. i'm digging that ferro rod. enough storage to keep some stuff on you but not so big as to get in the way. are they released already?

Thanks, and that's exactly what I'm thinking. I'm going to see how many fires I can start under wet conditions with what it will hold soon. No, not on the market yet but soon.


I used one to light up a little fatwood outside to run off some mosquitoes when I was working in the yard earlier today. I used the old Sojourner to prep the fatwood and spark the ferro rod. Two sparks and flames

 

[facablade]

Thanks, and that's exactly what I'm thinking. I'm going to see how many fires I can start under wet conditions with what it will hold soon. No, not on the market yet but soon.


I used one to light up a little fatwood outside to run off some mosquitoes when I was working in the yard earlier today. I used the old Sojourner to prep the fatwood and spark the ferro rod. Two sparks and flames

I like this setup which firerod model it is?
The knife looks awesomeeeee

 

[sicily02]

I bet you get nearly a zillion fires with that set up. I love the orange firesteel.
That knife is pretty awesome to if I do say so .

Bryan

 

[pitdog]

Hey Mist, a little off topic but I keep looking at those TOPS Bird and Trout knives, how is yours holding up ? Do you still rate it ?

 

[Mistwalker]

I like this setup which firerod model it is?
The knife looks awesomeeeee

I'm pretty sure that's the orange one

I think this is the version that will come from Exotac.

The knife is awesome! Bryan did an fantastic job of bringing the Sojourner design to life for me. I put it up for a while intending to make a new sheath for it then got busy and almost forgot about it. I have been carrying it most of the last few days.

I bet you get nearly a zillion fires with that set up. I love the orange firesteel.
That knife is pretty awesome to if I do say so .

Bryan

Oh, not sure about that many but I'm sure i'll get a bunch

And yes it is, even if you do say so yourself

Hey Mist, a little off topic but I keep looking at those TOPS Bird and Trout knives, how is yours holding up ? Do you still rate it ?

Oh, only a little off topic lol. But yes I still like it a lot, for a fishing knife especially. It is a great shape, easy to work with and holds an edge well. My partner has taken up fly fishing lately and has been doing a lot of fishing in general so he has been carrying it and he really likes it too.

 

[kgd]

Looking good Mist and nice job on the two stick. I tried doing a two-hole in the bush yesterday but failed at it miserably. I assume you sheath the knife when using the divot in the handle? How do you like it compared to a stone?

 

[Hawkeye5]

Thanks for posting Mistwalker . I always enjoy your post. I have the same compass.It is a keeper. I also have knife with a ( B ) on it and really love it.

If it was not 104 Degrees and we were not under a burn ban I would get out and play with mine.
Thanks
Jeff