How bushcraft tools have changed.

transmaster

transmaster

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I am reading through the Bushcraft books written in the late 19th Century into the early 20th century/
Woodcraft, Nessmuk (George W. Sears) 1887
Camping and Woodcraft, Horace Kephart 1906
Camp-Lore and Woodcraft, Carter D. Beard 1920
There is also a lot of bushcraft information published in The Boy Scouts of America's, Boy's Life magazine before WW2.
Most all of these Bushcraft books and publications are available for free download from Internet Archives

What I have noted is the raise of the "survival knife". Basically a single knife that can help you in a post apocalyptic world restart civilization. This is not what the original writers in bushcraft thought. They all wrote of the 3 tool set, a Moose, or Jackknife (folding knife), a fixed utility knife, and a small straight poled axe. All sized for easy carry on your belt.

Horace Kephart (1862-1931) is presently the best known of the writers in Bushcraft. His 3 bladed tools, the Jackknife a largish folding knife such as the Buck 110, The Kephart design as the Kabar BK-62, and finally his small straight poled axe. Nessmuk (George W. Sears) also advocated the 3 bladed tool set but his axe is a much better design. It is a small double bit axe he called his double barreled axe. A 2 bladed axe gives you sharpening options. One side for chopping wood and the other side for butchering a deer.

My grandfather on my paternal side was a rancher, and big game hunt outfitter in North West Wyoming. I am sure he must read the books of Nessmuk, and Kephart. Grandpa Johnny has been gone a long time but I remember he abhorred Eastern "dude" hunters who showed up with bowie knives you could have chopped down Redwood tree with. He mostly used a folding Jackknife which could have been the Buck folding hunter. He did have a small straight poled axe. At the time (early 1960's) wasn't up on people like Kephart. He used this little axe the way I would use a heavy duty Chinese cleaver today. If I were to get such an axe today it would be the the Nessmuk design. There are a number of forges that are making both of these axes. Often these same places make the Kephart, and the original Nessmuk design fixed blade knives. Nessmuk design was the official sheath knife of the Boy Scouts of America before WW2.

Kepharts set.

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Nessmuk's (George W, Sears) set

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I have the Kabar BK-62, and the OKC Small Game and Fish version the Kephart design. The BK-62 is the best fixed blade field I have ever owned. The OKC SG&F knife is a thinner blade version. It is such a good vegetable knife it is sitting in my knife block for everyday use. I am looking to get the Nessmuk axe. I will not take it to the bush but I can see no better tool for breaking down a rack of Smoked Ribs, the pole handle keeps you hands out of the way of the juices coming out of the ribs, and you would look like "Stan" the barbarian Mountain Man hacking at the ribs. Plus if Zombies attack you will be ready. 😁
 
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To add to the Bushcraft theme of this tread the is a obscure Hunter, not so much a woodsmen, Dall DeWeese. When he wasn't tending his 10,000 acre orchard near Canon City, Colorado. He was hunting. He joined the Klondike Gold Rush in 1897 not for the gold but for giant Alaskan Moose. DeWeese was not an author, except for a small number of letters to the Cañon City Record. His only narrated his hunts. He didn't mention what sort of axe he carried but it would have been something like the 2 designs you see above. But he did have a field knife design that is interesting is even more minimalist than the Kephart knife. Going into the Yukon was done on foot horses did not work in this region so everything had to be as light as possible. Marble picked up his design. Total length in about 8" with a 4" blade.

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Great post. Thought provoking.
I agree with you on the old school 3 or 4-some getting it done.
My experience's in 65+ plus years in the woods has got me down to a simple 4.5 carbon steel flat ground f.b. by Daado of this forum.
A SAK Electrician Plus and what the old timers couldn't have but I find invaluable is a good folding saw . My choice being a Silky Pocket Boy.
If I think I need a chopper, it'll be an old re-handled Estwing or a Village Utility Knife style khukri by Himalayan Imports of this forum.
I realize the khukri is not traditional but I've found it to fill this niche well and be utilitarian in several other ways.
Not in a place to post pics at this time.Sorry
 
For a wood chopper this is what the Grandfather on my maternal side used. A US Marine Collins Type 1005 Engineer Bolo Machete. They were made from about 1896 until 1920. I used to watch him cut down trees with his. He kept it in the trunk of whatever car he had at the time. The early ones had green horn handles the later one were wood. I never touched it this was back in the early 1960's the thing scared me.

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Well before I married my knife-nut of a wife and joined this damn forum, I was perfectly happy being old-school like that out inna woods, folder in my pocket, fixed blade on the belt, and a hatchet, and that's all I owned for decades....now I got 35 blades and 7 axes.

You people did this to me.
 
Speaking of Bushcraft, the one thing I have not run across in these old bushcraft books yet is mention of a shovel. Grandpa Johnny alway had one on a pack horse, or his person mount. He had a small "T" handled spade, but mostly after WW2 he had the folding Military pick shovel
 
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