- Joined
- Dec 26, 2008
- Messages
- 611
What a day! I went for a walk in the low hollow area around Raccoon Creek today. Its been pissing rain for the last few days, but I wasn't to be denied today. I figured it would be a good day to test some knives and try to test my wet material fire making skills.
I brought the Fiddleback Bushcrafter, RAT Pack Forum Knife, Izula, and my GB small forest axe. I had the RC-6 on the hip, but completely forgot it was there and never used it until I had packed the camera away.
First off, I prepped the area with a stone ring. I don't know why I always do this, its not really necessary. I suppose that it heats the rocks and radiates heat better, but as you can see in the pictures, this just a meal fire. I did set it against a large rock outcropping so that the heat would radiate back to me.
Then the scavenging began. I hunted all the upright, dead wood that I could find. I figured it would be dryer than what was lying on the ground. It turned out to be fairly wet still, but not dripping. I didn't have to go far to get a good amount so it was quickly back to the cave so that I could split it up with the GB Axe. I really like the GB SFA. Its very lite and carries well on my Maxpedition Falcon 2. It cut through the seasoned dead wood like butter, and did a great job on the large fresh piece that I found as well. In no time at all, I had a gracious plenty of split and mostly dry wood along with some damp but usable leaves from the back of the cave.
I knew the hardest part was still to come though. I had a fire steel and a several knives and the thought of a fuzz stick test came to mind. First up was the Fiddleback Bushcrafter which did a great job on the first batch of ribbons. I was curious to see if there was a noticeable difference in the performance compared to a flat grind like the RC products. Surprisingly (or maybe not so) if found that it was a tad easier to produce fine ribbons of material with both the Izula and the Forum Knife.
After the testing was complete, I had a wad of fuzz stick ribbons laying on the gathered material. Even with the amount of thin ribbons in layers, it still took me about 30 strikes to get the flame started. Once it lit though it was on and roaring in short order.
Here are some pictures of the day.
The cave...its really just a deep hole in the wall. There are much better ones around here, but they are privately owned.
I'm standing in the stream taking the pictures of the cave. There is material stuck in the branches 10 feet over my head that was left there when the 500year flood came through here in September. That was a helluva friggin flood.
OK, here are the blades and the test results.
Fiddleback Bushcrafter
Izula
Forum Knife
Group Shot
Tea Time - I had a Beef Stew MRE packet for dinner.
I really enjoyed the hike and the testing. I gotta get out more often! Thanks for taking a look.
Johnny
I brought the Fiddleback Bushcrafter, RAT Pack Forum Knife, Izula, and my GB small forest axe. I had the RC-6 on the hip, but completely forgot it was there and never used it until I had packed the camera away.
First off, I prepped the area with a stone ring. I don't know why I always do this, its not really necessary. I suppose that it heats the rocks and radiates heat better, but as you can see in the pictures, this just a meal fire. I did set it against a large rock outcropping so that the heat would radiate back to me.
Then the scavenging began. I hunted all the upright, dead wood that I could find. I figured it would be dryer than what was lying on the ground. It turned out to be fairly wet still, but not dripping. I didn't have to go far to get a good amount so it was quickly back to the cave so that I could split it up with the GB Axe. I really like the GB SFA. Its very lite and carries well on my Maxpedition Falcon 2. It cut through the seasoned dead wood like butter, and did a great job on the large fresh piece that I found as well. In no time at all, I had a gracious plenty of split and mostly dry wood along with some damp but usable leaves from the back of the cave.
I knew the hardest part was still to come though. I had a fire steel and a several knives and the thought of a fuzz stick test came to mind. First up was the Fiddleback Bushcrafter which did a great job on the first batch of ribbons. I was curious to see if there was a noticeable difference in the performance compared to a flat grind like the RC products. Surprisingly (or maybe not so) if found that it was a tad easier to produce fine ribbons of material with both the Izula and the Forum Knife.
After the testing was complete, I had a wad of fuzz stick ribbons laying on the gathered material. Even with the amount of thin ribbons in layers, it still took me about 30 strikes to get the flame started. Once it lit though it was on and roaring in short order.
Here are some pictures of the day.
The cave...its really just a deep hole in the wall. There are much better ones around here, but they are privately owned.
I'm standing in the stream taking the pictures of the cave. There is material stuck in the branches 10 feet over my head that was left there when the 500year flood came through here in September. That was a helluva friggin flood.
OK, here are the blades and the test results.
Fiddleback Bushcrafter
Izula
Forum Knife
Group Shot
Tea Time - I had a Beef Stew MRE packet for dinner.
I really enjoyed the hike and the testing. I gotta get out more often! Thanks for taking a look.
Johnny
