Bangers & Mash, trap mod, tree ID, scandi sharp magic!

B

bearthedog

Joined
May 17, 2006
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I arrived to see my camp had not been defiled by a bear or raccoon this time; I set down my handful of poplar bark I was gifted from the forest and unpacked my hobo pack. A trip down to the river to fill up my cans and water bag would be a refreshing change of scenery and a chance to collect some new tinder fungus. As I got to the river, a haze consumed the forest and soon darkness followed. Rain was imminent and I could only think of my poplar bark and phone I left out on my table.




Chipmunk staring contest



I got back to the camp and it was officially raining. I had to go for it…there were sausages to be cooked and coffee to be had. I gladly accepted the challenge!





Up and cooking







While the sausages were slow cooking and the water set to boil, I went to look for a bed log, which had cracked when I sat down on it. This was one of the downfalls of using dry wood over green.

I had to get rid of the many knots and uneven parts.





Bangers & Mash…woods style!



My luxury chair



Desert…bear eggs



Figure Four slight modification

I’ve made too many to count. In all the years of teaching this in classes I noticed making the flat head screwdriver/chisel/dog leg part to be the most time consuming part. This is especially true when students get thick pieces. By simply cross-grain battoning the top of the vertical and end of the diagonal piece, it saves time and is easier to complete. No carving or keeping the chisel part uniform.



Vertical piece



Diagonal piece






Scandi sharpening is easier than most other grinds for me. I keep a Smiths diamond stone in camp.One large bevel is easy to feel and eyball.






I then move onto the leather sheath for fine stropping…
First on the thicker, harder part…



Then onto the belt loop before moving to the soft front portion.







Tree ID?

Great building materials, green, flexible, sometimes straight and plentiful in NJ/NY. What is it?








Pure magic!



-RB
 
Awesome pictures and I'm kind of annoyed with myself that I never thought to use the sheath as a strop. Thanks for the new skill and the cool pics.
 
Love your stories and pictures. I always seem to come back from the woods with two or three pictures, and they're all terrible. It takes a lot of work to capture all of that.

But who won the staring contest?
 
You always have great pictures.

Won't give the tree away, but another hint. Makes an excellent astringent from the bark and leaves, inner bark tea good for cough, and it is the same family as sweetgum.
 
I can't believe I never thought of the mashed potato packets before! My wife was deployed to Kuwait a couple years back, and she said that potatoes are basically unheard of over there, so I was sending her the Idahoan packets frequently, making her very popular in the process. I take tuna and chicken in foil packs on hikes because they're lighter and more compact than cans, but some mashed potatoes at camp would be awesome.
 
Thanks for taking us along, great photo story, makes me want to get out in the woods.
 
Great pics as usual! I plan to use your method on the figure 4 trap next time I'm out, thanks for the idea.
 
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