Backyard SURVIVE!n'

I use the small cotton balls and sosk them in tA then stuff then into large a large straw. I get the straw from the dollar store, its the giant pixie stick (pure sugar candy). It helps contain the mess when using it in the field. I just pull out what I need. Seal off the rest. I'll throw 4-5 throughout the pack since they weigh nothing. Here's one in my pocket/knife tin.

 
I dread going to the local dollar store but this is worth a trip. That'll definitely help me remove extra stuff from the kit to make room for a fishing kit.
Do you happen to make your own improvised fishing reel when you're out there?
I saw a video where a guy brought his own eyelets and made a reel out of a branch and it appeared to work well.
 
Its Halloween those pixie sticks will be everywhere. I have a kit with eyelets but I just use a forked branch. I don't keep much line in my kits.
 
Oh ok that makes sense. The eyelet reel seems ok but that's just more parts to lose or have fail.
 
I don't keep much more then what I can hand toss. I usually have enough to toss out three lines or so in case something happens with one or more.
 
Lookin' out over my favorite place on the planet.

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Very cool. I always imagine Iowa as hills and mountains. (Not the kind with clever wielding hillbillies.) Love to see more of the backyard bud.
 
Practiced a little fire starting today on wet wood. It has rained for about a week straight.











I learned that it can be easier/faster to make a huge pile of curls to start your fire than trying make a nice feather stick. Also that the misch metal fire steels I have require a very sharp edge to throw sparks. I had been using a light my fire steel and striker and never had an issue. Im going to have to come up with some striker item that works well. The awl on my tool worked best. I only took a few pics, but made a bunch of feather sticks and free curls that piled up to about the size of a grapefruit. I also made one big feather stick out of one of the split logs. After all of that, the first inch or so near the choil wouldnt shave hair very well so i hit the plain leather strop. I counted 20 passes per side and tested the edge. It was so sharp that the hairs jumped of my arm before the blade even touched! 3V is a pleasure to use. Over all a good little practice session.

That hawk is my new 2Hawks Longhunter. So far I like it. It chops well and seems to split one foot long rounds that are 4-5 inches wide pretty well.
 
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Forgot to add... I normally use dryer lint to catch the sparks. It ignites immediately and get curls going very quickly. I didn't use it this time and the curls were damp and difficult to light.
 
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Thanks for bumping this thread up! I'm going to have to try doing a wet fire pretty soon just to be safe. I've done high elevation and high wind fire starting, but I've heard that wet wood fires are a completely different animal.
I'm really liking that Hawk you have also! I had an H&B forge medium camp axe but I thought it was a bit small. I'll have to look yours up.
 
Nice work! That has got to be gratifying to get a fire with those methods in those conditions. Great tips as well! Very helpful especially for someone with my (lack of) experience.

Have you said before what type of strop you use? I do still want a big ol' DMT set up, but considering some things I've read lately about blade preservation, I've been rethinking stopping as a bigger priority.
 
Nice Riz. I tried a while back doing a wet wood situation after about a month of rain. I was able to get it lite after about 30 min.(I broke my cheapo fire steel loose from its handle) once lite it was difficult to keep going. I did end up cheating with my cotton balls and triple antibiotic to eventually light.
I need to look into a good 16-18 in hatchet. Mine I feel us to small and its just a cheap one from TSC. It takes a great edge but won't hold it long at all. I've also seen small areas of chipping just from splitting kindling. Any suggestions $50-$70 range?
 
I use these spyderco stones for sharpening when needed. To finish off the edge I put the stone back in its leather slip and strop right on the slip. It works great. I dont ever let my blades get so dull that they need real reworking of the edge. I have found that really I can get away with using just the darker (medium) stone and then stropping on the slip will give me a very nice shaving edge. The white stone (fine) doesnt seem to do much to 3V, S35VN or S30V. I think they are too wear resistant.






I also have a few strops that I made like this one. Its a small piece of oak board with leather, rough side out, glued to it. Black compound on one side and green on the other. I also made a 4 sided one that has black, green and plain rough side out and plain with the smooth side out. They all work great. They were very easy to make too.



 
The gerber/fiskars hatchets are awesome for the money and would compliment an S!K very well. The wetterlings stuff is also good if you like a traditional type of gear.
 
SN, you might want to check out the hatchets and axes by Huskvarna. These tools are hand forged, and I have read that it is believed that they are made by Weterlings. I have one of their splitting axes that works like a charm, and it came shaving sharp. At $40 to $50, their hatchets look like a good value.
 
I forgot how affordable Husqvarnas were, good recommendation!


Thanks, Riz, for the pics. You and MoS are inspiring me to get serious about stropping.
 
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