bearing block bracelet

That is pretty cool, but there just seems to be something odd about using a precision sealed bearing for primitive fire building.
 
unit said:
That is pretty cool, but there just seems to be something odd about using a precision sealed bearing for primitive fire building.
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agreed on some levels
but this is wilderness and survival skills
tho i too am more on the paleo side of some things
this very concept won a coveted wss giveaway knife
skab came up with this
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=772151&highlight=contest
see it as thinking outside the box.
the bracelet takes it one step further
 
I think it's a really innovative idea and definitely thinking outside the box.
 
i like it as a survival kit addition cause it's always with you and pretty much all you need minus the wood. i liked the antler version also but i think this is just a bit easier to always have with you and takes up a little less room. all very cool ideas though
 
Man, a bearing setup would really let the smoke flow. That is a cool setup for sure, thanks for the heads up.

Moose
 
That's really cool!

I could see that bearing getting full of dirt out in the woods though, but if it had a little removable cover that would take care of that. Great idea for a survival bracelet, seems a lot more useful than just a paracord one.
 
Truth be told, the use of the bearing really rocks. If you're going to carry a ready made bearing block of antler or hardwood, why not make it the best you can.

I'm not real sure about the bracelet, but with my version in antler, if the bearing does happen to fail, I can still use the antler as my bearing surface.

To the question of dirt and dust getting in there, it is a skateboard bearing and I myself have put them thru hell and back as a child with very little issues. So They work well for my purposes.

Just as the poster of the bracelet on BCUSA, I have been able to get woods and other materals to work with this bearing block that I have not had success with on normal bearing block surfaces.

But to make sure I stay up to snuff on my skills, I do not always use the sealed bearing and make sure to practice with found, natural materal bearing blocks as well.
 
I think it would be even better if rather than a bearing it just had a small piece of forged steel with a slight bowl shape to it as a bearing block. That would keep it low tech and old school, and make it a little thinner. Also prevent issues with dirt and sand.
 
I saw that on there. Very cool idea.

I agree with Skabs post. The amount of stuff I have put skateboards through in my youth, I wouldnt worry about messing it up. Antler or a hardwood one would be cool too. I think I have just enough leather leftover to try something like this.
 
Sorry, but I dont think that is a cool ideea.
Were is the fun, next step is to make a fiberglass bow and an aluminium/fiberglass stick with a removable wood end, at home, only for a false impression that I master the skill?
Why not a firesteel necklace, waterproof matches or a lighter?
Why not only a knife or stone knife?
When you truly need this skill is a bad situation, and you need to do it right with whatever tipe of wood you can find.
I believe W&SS is about mastering what nature offers and not about what you can craft at home and carry in nature.

Just a humble opinion.
 
leon08 said:
Sorry, but I dont think that is a cool ideea.
Were is the fun, next step is to make a fiberglass bow and an aluminium/fiberglass stick with a removable wood end, at home, only for a false impression that I master the skill?
Why not a firesteel necklace, waterproof matches or a lighter?
Why not only a knife or stone knife?
When you truly need this skill is a bad situation, and you need to do it right with whatever tipe of wood you can find.
I believe W&SS is about mastering what nature offers and not about what you can craft at home and carry in nature.

Just a humble opinion.
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I think the idea of this is to have some of the harder to find/make components of a bowdrill set with you at all times just to help you out a bit in a real survival situation. I don't think it's supposed to be a substitute for actual knowledge though, however some people may use it like that. I think as a last resort fire starter for a real survival situation it's a good idea because it's strapped to your wrist, not much chance of losing it and saves you from having to make good cordage or find a suitable bearing block. It's a good idea to learn how to make all the components of a bow drill from natural materials but having something like this as a backup couldn't hurt. That's my opinion anyway.
 
It seems like a cool idea to me.

The bearing is neat, but even if you wore some other kind of socket-the bracelet is perhaps the part I like best, you could really take off with this idea and get real artistic like.

these bearings are not given away free at ace hardware; sheesh.

Where should the line be drawn as to what's purchased, home made or bush made? I guess it's for each to decide; but isn't there a bar set or standard to allow one to say-I am the greatest ever?
 
I think the premise is to be able to make the entire kit at will from whatever you find. That is what I was taught, and that's how I do it. With that said, there is no cheating when it comes to wilderness survival. As a matter of fact, the very idea of wilderness survival depends on the most amount of work with the least effort. Use whatever you can to gain the upper hand.

Making a bearing block takes very little time in the grand scheme of things, I can make a working bow drill set, from 1 piece of wood, in about 20 mins, hearth, spindle, bearing block and bow. I use paracord, mainly because I always have some with me, and I'm not that good at making good cordage. So I use paracord, big deal, I wear a para bracelet at all times, I have para on everyknife I own, and its stuffed away in every bag, and coat pocket I own. Chances of me being without paracord is slim to none.

I like the idea, and I am going to look into putting a skateboard bearing onto one of my knife sheaths, so I can try it out. They put divots in micarta handles on knives, and at least this way, you don't have a knife edge to worry about.

Like I always say, learn the skill, then learn how to make it faster, better, and easier to do. No shortcuts or cheating there, just good sense.

Moose
 
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