Bushcraft Skills.

tarmix101

tarmix101

Joined
Jun 14, 2005
Messages
2,962
I firmly believe that Bushcraft, and Survival are two hounds of a different breed. Many of the same skills, but to me "Bushcraft" is learning how to live or thrive outdoors, not just survive.

A while back we had a thread where we all discussed skills we wanted to practice and understand better. For me the list is long:

  • Cordage
  • Map and compass orientation
  • Traps/Snares
  • Home made utensils

and the list goes on.:D

Thought I might give some of them a start today. As I have said before. I feel the better you understand whatever tool you decide to use is just as important (sometimes more so) than what you choose to use.

To that end I tried out my carving skills to make some eating utensils. I don't think these skills are necessary to save one's skin, but is a very handy "Bush" skill to have and gives you a very intimate knowledge of your chosen knife.

Acquired a good chunk of Bass wood and went to work. Not going to win a design award, but they are functional and I had fun doing it.

I used my axe to knock all the large chunks down, and two Moras to finish it off.

Pics:
BushcraftSkils001.jpg


BushcraftSkils003.jpg


BushcraftSkils004.jpg


BushcraftSkils005.jpg


BushcraftSkils006.jpg
 
beautiful job man!

I have been making forks and knives for a while now. Mine aren't that nice but they are fun to make.

Brett
 
Nice work. Making things in the field is fun and relaxing. I need to get back to doing more of that.
 
Nice spoons Tarmix. don;t worry if you slip up you end up with really good fuzz sticks. Trying to carve spoons lets ou learn more about species of wood/trees, what works and what does not. Pat
 
SpookyPistolero said:
Cool, man! You did good work, very smooth. I've really got to get one of those crooked knives...
Click to expand...

I tried one of Frosts Crook knives before and I found it a pain in the a$$ to sharpen.

The one I use is made by Woodcraft in the US. It's a half circle way easier to sharpen) and it's flexible. Easy to control, and using the palm of your hand as the main pressure point, it creates less fatigue.


http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?FamilyID=1995
 
i agree heres one i did a while back didn't get a finished pic but used sand stone to smooth them down,i made a large and small spoon but the batterie went dead in the cam. then my mom took them as a gift :D
bushcraft4.jpg

bushcraft-2.jpg

bushcraft6-1.jpg

bushcraft-1.jpg

bushcraft1-1.jpg

bushcraft2.jpg

bushcraft3-1.jpg
 
Nice stuff, all. tarmix, great thread topic! I personally feel "survival" is a sub-set under the whole "Bushcraft" realm, which I call "Wliderness SKills" instead of bushcraft - but same thing.

Bushcraft is long-term as you say, and survival skills are the ones -- part of overall bushcraft skills -- you use for temporary and/or unexpected forays into the wilds.
 
Brian Jones said:
Nice stuff, all. tarmix, great thread topic! I personally feel "survival" is a sub-set under the whole "Bushcraft" realm, which I call "Wliderness SKills" instead of bushcraft - but same thing.

Bushcraft is long-term as you say, and survival skills are the ones -- part of overall bushcraft skills -- you use for temporary and/or unexpected forays into the wilds.
Click to expand...


Couldn't agree more. Nice!
 
Good work! But... sandpaper is cheating! :D :D

Last weekend I went out on Saturday to play a little bit at supper time... Ten minutes driving and 10 minutes walking got me as lost as a baby in a topless bar.

I gathered some wood, made a fire, made a grill with green thin straight branches and put it over the fire once the flames were gone. In the meantime I drank a Coca Cola I had brought along... cut out the top of it with the can openner of a Vic Rucksack, rinse it off and placed it in the coals to heat some water for tea.
img5381pequewt5.jpg


While I was watching the food cook... I thought about making a little spoon (I hadn't brought one along). I picked up a suitable piece of wood and started carving. I set my goal in doing it just using nothing but my F1. Once I hade it shaped, I started carving the concave part of the spoon... Man! That was hard...

I was struggling with the damn spoon and my knife, risking taking a slip and cutting myself open when I remembered something I read long ago... I read about wood carving using the "Burn & scratch" method and I gave it a try. I got to say that it works great!

I picked up a piece of glowing charcoal and kept it in the notch I had already carved. Kept it still with another piece of wood and started blowing on it. The wood arround the coal burnt, I set the coal aside, picked up my F1 and got rid of the burnt out wood with no effort. I kept doing this for a while and I carved the spoon with no effort.

It was like a coffe spoon.. I guess that making a bigger one is much easier (more room for screwing up!) Next time I go out I will try making a bigger one and see how smooth I can get it with nothing but my F1.

Mikel
 
Brian Jones said:
Nice stuff, all. tarmix, great thread topic! I personally feel "survival" is a sub-set under the whole "Bushcraft" realm, which I call "Wliderness SKills" instead of bushcraft - but same thing.

Bushcraft is long-term as you say, and survival skills are the ones -- part of overall bushcraft skills -- you use for temporary and/or unexpected forays into the wilds.
Click to expand...


Agreed. "Woodcraft, Bushcraft, Wilderness skills", they all come down to having the skills to be confident and comfortable while out in the woods/jungle/dessert/tundra.

One thing I have always thought is, the simple act of some DIY woods skills can be a life saver if you think about it.

Once you get yourself into a bad position. The simple act of stopping and making a fire, cup of coffee, or whittling a cooking lean-to, can help stop the panic from creeping up and give you time to think things through.

Besides being a hell of a lot of fun to practice. :D
 
This is a great thread! Awesome pics:thumbup:

While we're at it what species would be less prone to crack as it dried if you made a spoon out of it?
 
hollowdweller said:
This is a great thread! Awesome pics:thumbup:

While we're at it what species would be less prone to crack as it dried if you made a spoon out of it?[/QUOTE]

I'm such a rookie at this whole thing I would like to know as well. I found that bass wood is likely to crack when going in the wrong direction. Can only tell you that because I chipped it out twice, and changed carving directions. Going against the grain with the crock knife was no problem, it was carving the handle in the wrong direction that spit the wood.
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top