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My lunch today (Pic heavy) latest on post #52
- Thread starter hughewil
- Start date
- Joined
- Apr 12, 2011
- Messages
- 943
It was really nice out today. It has cooled down and the temp is in the high 70’s and the sun is shining so I of course had to head out to my new escape during lunch.
The steel business is busy so loaders were driving around the scrap yards. Not wanting my little lunch trips to attract any attention I still couldn’t get back to the original spot I went to that I have to walk across the yards to access. So Instead I simple following the tree line by the creek looking for another entrance. I eventually spotted what looked like a small animal trail and headed in towards the creek, it was only about 25 feet from the gravel road to the water, but this is what it looked like entering.
For lunch I brought turkey and swiss on wheat (not turkey lunch meat, but real turkey. We cooked one on Saturday and now I have real turkey for lunch all week) chips and some trail mix. I actually took a picture but accidently deleted it. I ate my sandwich while enjoying the view and decided to save the trail mix for later because I had some stuff I wanted to do.
Since my last pop can stove was a failure (I tried to use leaves as the fuel source) this time I brought some HEET (yellow bottle) to try again. Using my ever present Wenger I cut out the can bottoms
I used the awl to poke holes along the top and side of the stove (wanted to do a side burner since I brought no pot stand). Put a little insulation and poured HEET in and put the cans together. It lit up no problem (I took a bunch of pictures trying to get the flame son film, but they would just not show up. This picture was the only one where I could really see them at all) I lit it using my fire steel and it flamed up on the first spark.
The other day I stopped at Deals (a local dollar store) and found a stainless steel drinking bottle for $1. I bought it and I brought it along because I wanted to try it out and see if it would actually hold up to the flames.
I poured about a cup of water in and put it on the stove, it took about 4 minutes and the water started to boil
Satisfied with my test I pulled the bottle off and doused the stove. I checked the bottle after it cooled down and it was no worse for ware. Also the bottom was nice and clean, just a bit of brown residue. I am used to black soot from using wood fueled hobo stoves, the HEET burns nice and clean. I am building a pocket stove where I will have a burner and pot stand all contained in an altoids can, I can’t wait to build and try it.
I was impressed with the one dollar water bottle, it worked great for holding and boiling water, if I ever do the $10 challenge I would like to do this would work out well.
With the experiment over I sat for a bit then decided I needed to put my BK13 to use. There was a nice sized tree limb that was laying on the ground so I went to work
Even dead it was hard wood, but the BK13 did the job, I will say it again this is one tough little knife.
Not wanting the effort to go to waist I batoned through the limb again a bit farther down so I had a piece about 1 /12 foot long. I then batoned that section in half
I then got to carving and in 10 minutes made a crude little spoon. If I had a fire I would have used a coal to burn the bowl, but without one I just drilled with the tip of the Remora.
Before I left I decided to stand by the creek and take a picture of the other side. It looks to have an uphill slope and to have a bit of cleared area. I really want to get across there sometime.
Right next to the waters edge I found some tracks in the soft ground, I think they are deer tracks but the toe looks kind of rounded.
Any opinions?
All in all great weather today, not to hot, and the bugs were not as bad as last time. A good lunch (mmm turkey) success with a alcohol stove, and a great deal on a water bottle.
The steel business is busy so loaders were driving around the scrap yards. Not wanting my little lunch trips to attract any attention I still couldn’t get back to the original spot I went to that I have to walk across the yards to access. So Instead I simple following the tree line by the creek looking for another entrance. I eventually spotted what looked like a small animal trail and headed in towards the creek, it was only about 25 feet from the gravel road to the water, but this is what it looked like entering.
For lunch I brought turkey and swiss on wheat (not turkey lunch meat, but real turkey. We cooked one on Saturday and now I have real turkey for lunch all week) chips and some trail mix. I actually took a picture but accidently deleted it. I ate my sandwich while enjoying the view and decided to save the trail mix for later because I had some stuff I wanted to do.
Since my last pop can stove was a failure (I tried to use leaves as the fuel source) this time I brought some HEET (yellow bottle) to try again. Using my ever present Wenger I cut out the can bottoms
I used the awl to poke holes along the top and side of the stove (wanted to do a side burner since I brought no pot stand). Put a little insulation and poured HEET in and put the cans together. It lit up no problem (I took a bunch of pictures trying to get the flame son film, but they would just not show up. This picture was the only one where I could really see them at all) I lit it using my fire steel and it flamed up on the first spark.
The other day I stopped at Deals (a local dollar store) and found a stainless steel drinking bottle for $1. I bought it and I brought it along because I wanted to try it out and see if it would actually hold up to the flames.
I poured about a cup of water in and put it on the stove, it took about 4 minutes and the water started to boil
Satisfied with my test I pulled the bottle off and doused the stove. I checked the bottle after it cooled down and it was no worse for ware. Also the bottom was nice and clean, just a bit of brown residue. I am used to black soot from using wood fueled hobo stoves, the HEET burns nice and clean. I am building a pocket stove where I will have a burner and pot stand all contained in an altoids can, I can’t wait to build and try it.
I was impressed with the one dollar water bottle, it worked great for holding and boiling water, if I ever do the $10 challenge I would like to do this would work out well.
With the experiment over I sat for a bit then decided I needed to put my BK13 to use. There was a nice sized tree limb that was laying on the ground so I went to work
Even dead it was hard wood, but the BK13 did the job, I will say it again this is one tough little knife.
Not wanting the effort to go to waist I batoned through the limb again a bit farther down so I had a piece about 1 /12 foot long. I then batoned that section in half
I then got to carving and in 10 minutes made a crude little spoon. If I had a fire I would have used a coal to burn the bowl, but without one I just drilled with the tip of the Remora.
Before I left I decided to stand by the creek and take a picture of the other side. It looks to have an uphill slope and to have a bit of cleared area. I really want to get across there sometime.
Right next to the waters edge I found some tracks in the soft ground, I think they are deer tracks but the toe looks kind of rounded.
Any opinions?
All in all great weather today, not to hot, and the bugs were not as bad as last time. A good lunch (mmm turkey) success with a alcohol stove, and a great deal on a water bottle.
- Joined
- Nov 19, 2008
- Messages
- 3,396
great thread. Practice and DOING THINGS are what turns information into skills. 
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2009
- Messages
- 5,168
Very nice. I truely enjoy your lunches. 
- Joined
- Apr 12, 2011
- Messages
- 943
Well I haven't posted here in a while. With the heat we had mixed with rain I haven't had alot of chance to get out during my lunch breaks. I did however get out last week.
I hauled out a can of pork and beans with some other ingredients. Bacon, Onions, peppers, honey, BBQ sauce, and a couple of hot dogs left over from the grill.
I prepped it all up and turned the bean can into a hobo stove
I fired it up, mixed everything together, and let it cook for about 10 minutes till it was good and hot
It turned out pretty darn good
Used my parasite knife for the prep and making the hobo stove, my SAK got the job of opening the pork and beans.
With fall coming I will have more of a chance to get out for lunch, if I am still here. It is looking like I might be getting a job offer in another city and I will have to think hard about taking it or not. Where the new place is located there are no nearby woods for my little excursions.
I hauled out a can of pork and beans with some other ingredients. Bacon, Onions, peppers, honey, BBQ sauce, and a couple of hot dogs left over from the grill.
I prepped it all up and turned the bean can into a hobo stove
I fired it up, mixed everything together, and let it cook for about 10 minutes till it was good and hot
It turned out pretty darn good
Used my parasite knife for the prep and making the hobo stove, my SAK got the job of opening the pork and beans.
With fall coming I will have more of a chance to get out for lunch, if I am still here. It is looking like I might be getting a job offer in another city and I will have to think hard about taking it or not. Where the new place is located there are no nearby woods for my little excursions.
- Joined
- Apr 12, 2011
- Messages
- 943
I haven’t been out for lunch in a while. It’s either raining in the morning making it to wet or I have a meeting around lunch time. But today there was no meeting and I decided as long as it wasn’t raining during lunch I was going to head out and try something that I have been wanting to do.
Well lunch came and even though it was overcast the clouds had not yet opened up so I headed out. I got to what has become my spot, a animal trail that leads down a small slope to the creek.
Here is a view once you are creek side and looking downstream
Now like many here I often think what equipment would I need to get by if something happened (lost while hiking etc.), and one thing I almost never mention is a sharpening stone. I do have a little GI stone that I throw in my pack, but don’t think about it much and I don’t keep one in my pocket. I guess my thought has always been that since I sharpen freehand on a whetstone I should be ok finding a smooth rock to use in a pinch.
Well I have intentionally let my everyday SAK get dull enough that it no longer will shave hair and slightly tears rather than slicing cleanly through paper, and today I wanted to test if I could sharpen on a stone or not.
I went down by the creek and grabbed what looked like a fine rather flat stone and went to work.
Now before I started I ran some water over the face of the stone and wiped it, but as I was sharpening I noticed what looked like sand gathering as I pushed my blade. I don’t know if it was the type of stone or there was to much grit built up or what but it was almost like the rock was disentigrating.
I went ahead and continued sharpening for a while and then stropped the blade on my shoe and decided to give it a test….FAIL!
The blade was duller than ever and I was bummed. I sharpen on a stone freehand all the time and didn’t get it. I isolated the flattest part of the stone and tried again keeping to the smaller area. No good, it was till super dull, at this point it wasn’t even slicing paper just tearing it.
While looking it over I wondered if maybe it was the rock I had. The bunching up of granules when I pushed maybe was causing the edge to dull. So I got up and found a harder stone. It was smaller and not as flat but it was much harder. Since it was smaller I stuck to doing circular motions as I sharpened, and honestly I could hear a scrape that I had not heard on the other stone.
After a good 15 minutes I gave it another shot and viola! It would shave hair and once again cut paper cleanly.
I checked to see if it would carve some small and curlys, and no problem
I declared it workable and satisfied spent some time just walking and looking around the woods by the creek
As I was standing a butterfly landed on a branch in front of me. I know nothing of butterflies but I saw two or three more that looked like this in the area.
I also came across this huge stump where a tree had been ripped out, the hole looks like it would be a great place for some critter to den.
After walking and enjoying the outdoors for a bit it was time to come home, as I approached a train starting passing by.
All in all not bad, I now feel if I had to I could use a natural stone to sharpen up a knife at least good enough to get by for a while.
Well lunch came and even though it was overcast the clouds had not yet opened up so I headed out. I got to what has become my spot, a animal trail that leads down a small slope to the creek.
Here is a view once you are creek side and looking downstream
Now like many here I often think what equipment would I need to get by if something happened (lost while hiking etc.), and one thing I almost never mention is a sharpening stone. I do have a little GI stone that I throw in my pack, but don’t think about it much and I don’t keep one in my pocket. I guess my thought has always been that since I sharpen freehand on a whetstone I should be ok finding a smooth rock to use in a pinch.
Well I have intentionally let my everyday SAK get dull enough that it no longer will shave hair and slightly tears rather than slicing cleanly through paper, and today I wanted to test if I could sharpen on a stone or not.
I went down by the creek and grabbed what looked like a fine rather flat stone and went to work.
Now before I started I ran some water over the face of the stone and wiped it, but as I was sharpening I noticed what looked like sand gathering as I pushed my blade. I don’t know if it was the type of stone or there was to much grit built up or what but it was almost like the rock was disentigrating.
I went ahead and continued sharpening for a while and then stropped the blade on my shoe and decided to give it a test….FAIL!
The blade was duller than ever and I was bummed. I sharpen on a stone freehand all the time and didn’t get it. I isolated the flattest part of the stone and tried again keeping to the smaller area. No good, it was till super dull, at this point it wasn’t even slicing paper just tearing it.
While looking it over I wondered if maybe it was the rock I had. The bunching up of granules when I pushed maybe was causing the edge to dull. So I got up and found a harder stone. It was smaller and not as flat but it was much harder. Since it was smaller I stuck to doing circular motions as I sharpened, and honestly I could hear a scrape that I had not heard on the other stone.
After a good 15 minutes I gave it another shot and viola! It would shave hair and once again cut paper cleanly.
I checked to see if it would carve some small and curlys, and no problem
I declared it workable and satisfied spent some time just walking and looking around the woods by the creek
As I was standing a butterfly landed on a branch in front of me. I know nothing of butterflies but I saw two or three more that looked like this in the area.
I also came across this huge stump where a tree had been ripped out, the hole looks like it would be a great place for some critter to den.
After walking and enjoying the outdoors for a bit it was time to come home, as I approached a train starting passing by.
All in all not bad, I now feel if I had to I could use a natural stone to sharpen up a knife at least good enough to get by for a while.
Excellent post Hughewil. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading these posts. I have done the same thing a couple of times over the years and the feeling is almost surreal. I have often wondered the same thing about having to use a rock. I assumed it would be that way but you know what happens when you assume. Keep the posts coming. I could read these all day and the pics are amazing.