Making a bushcraft "kit"

Joined
Dec 22, 2012
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157
I have made a decision and I am going to buy a Condor Bushlore knife. I used to do a lot of bushcraft then I stopped for one reason or another. I never really take much with me, besides items that are hard to replicate in the woods. I take a small bag, if any. In the pack I'll put some food, drink, clothes, and some cord. But now, I am a little more experienced so I am starting over.

My new gear:
Small English tomahawk
Condor Bushlore
Rothco 7"x6"x2" pouch
Ferro rod
10' of paracord (I hardly use it, so I wear it as a bracelet)
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I actually won the hawk in a throwing competition at a fair, and it is actually a very sturdy and durable tool.
 
You dont state if the kit is in addition to firstaid/water container etc.

You may want to add a folding saw to the list if you can handle the slight extra weight depending on what the Tomahawk is for.
If its just for processing wood for a fire then you dont need the saw, but if you plan on making shelter etc you really want the ease of the saw, Bahco Laplander is my preference.

I would replace the ferro rod with a Doan firestarter.
If you dont want to spend the extra money buy some Mischmetal rods off ebay from china for 10 bucks you can get 5-10 large ones and put them in a vice and hit them with a hammer to shear them off to the size you need, you can use a saw but you lose material and it takes longer. Most of the made in USA rods were pretty much only assembled in the USA using the rods from the 2 factories in China.
You use the second rod as poor mans magnesium block, scraping it off with a knife till you have a pile then lighting it helps get a fire started, I cant however stress enough how much better a proper magnesium block like a Doan is.
Do not buy magnesium firestarters from china, they either fail to work at all, or if they actually do "work", do so extremely poorly.

Also you should have a small first aid kit you didnt mention one.. If you dont think you need any.. At least get some Standard Zinc Oxide leukoplast tape(make sure its made in Germany, the stuff made in South Africa is total crap).
Leukoplast has been found to be effective when used as sutures, and the Zinc Oxide is antibacterial. Its also water resistant yet permeable to both air and water vapour to prevent maceration of wounds.
When first put on It does take awhile to fully adhere and it should not be put on hair unless you wish for the hair to be removed with the tape. A trick to get it to adhere almost instantly is to heat the non adhesive side over a small flame, then slap it on while it is still hot. Also works well to stop blisters forming or protecting them once they have on feet.
Actually the stuff is duct tape for the human body.. you can use it for almost everything.
Even good as general temporary tape if you need it, and with needle and thread can even repair small holes in clothing or packs as its actually a woven fiber tape.
You also need a small squeeze bottle of disinfectant to clean dirt from wounds, sterile 0.9% saline soloution if nothing else.

If you need water
Something I really love is the 1L Vargo Bot, it has both a stainless steel and Titanium version, it is both a water bottle and a cooking pot and the Titanium version is very light.

Finally an emergency blanket.

Tons of little things I would also take, but you dont mention your climate or terrain makes it hard to suggest anything major.
 
Magnesium as tinder (Doan Tool) has one major problem: it is so light that fairly mild winds blow it away (One solution: scrape on sticky side of duct tape.).

It has one minor problem: it goes off with a flash.

For those reasons, I prefer a ferro rod (My go to is made in Sweden, not China.) and white petroleum smeared cotton balls. A children with little experience can start fires in Ohio winter with one match and one WPJ'd cotton ball, That's pretty foolproof.

And we do have a wilderness survival forum here at BF.
 
I do have a small first aid kit and military canteen I didn't mention. I prefer the ferro rod because I have a small tin of fat wood. I really just mentioned the tools. I will later post a full gear set. The hawk is actual pretty heavy. But I used to use a saw. Thanks for all the ideas, especially the tape.
 
White petroleum cotton sounds like a great idea.I had some light oil soaked xtra fine steel wool catch fire from a few sparks in my shop one time.Scared the heck out of me it was so flammable.It made me think it would be a great fire starter.Does anyone use it as such?To Caleb..Congrats on winning the Hawk!
 
White petroleum cotton sounds like a great idea.I had some light oil soaked xtra fine steel wool catch fire from a few sparks in my shop one time.Scared the heck out of me it was so flammable.It made me think it would be a great fire starter.Does anyone use it as such?To Caleb..Congrats on winning the Hawk!

Yes. It is often used to start fires with batteries. A dead short with the steel wool across the terminals usually brings flame. But cotton balls with WPJ burn longer and so are more forgiving.
 
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