Sadly, I really think he's serious.
What would have been great though, is if he rummaged through that bottle dumpster and found an unopened case of beer. That'd be some real survival there.
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The Elitist's War on Bushcraft: Part II !!! SERRATIONS!!!
- Thread starter Sam Wilson
- Start date
Sadly, I really think he's serious.
What would have been great though, is if he rummaged through that bottle dumpster and found an unopened case of beer. That'd be some real survival there.
Don't forget there is a reason the military has gone away from seratons on all of there spec op orders. In fact, even though most units can order whatever they want from an approved vendor, all tested blades and custom orders are plan edged now days. I think better testing and better training has all but done away with serations in the military. Most look very much like the Bravo 1 these days. I don't know of any groups that have been trained on the use of a knife that would give seration the time of day. They are still very popular with You Tube "experts" though.
I also think the whole sharp blade which is best thing is silly too, it simply doesn't hold water. If you can't keep you edge sharp in the field (serations excluded) you propably shouldn't be carrying a knife.
That said, I do enjoy these videos.
I also think the whole sharp blade which is best thing is silly too, it simply doesn't hold water. If you can't keep you edge sharp in the field (serations excluded) you propably shouldn't be carrying a knife.
That said, I do enjoy these videos.
...And sadly I think he probably had to eat his soup cold after many failed attempts and making and using a stove.
True, I did exclude prior approvals and blades intended to be mounted.
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Nah. I'm a mod on the ESEE forum and good friends with all the ESEE guys. I haven't had any fallings out with anyone, anywhere. My postings/videos have nothing to do with ESEE or any other company. I do not represent or speak for anyone other than myself.
I just traveled a lot last year and spent a LOT of time outside with different people from different cultures. Seeing how other people do things really made me think about how I do things and how I've looked at the skills of the outdoorsman in the past. I am now firmly convinced that one of the most important (if not the most important) concepts for outdoorsmen and wilderness living is to act like the natives.
There are certain skills that translate from one environment to another and certain constants that do not change over time or when you go from point A to point B. Those are skills and concepts worth practicing to the point that they are second nature. There are, however, environment specific skills, concepts and practices that do not translate. What keeps you safe and comfortable in the desert may or may not work in jungle. What works in jungle (hammock, tarp, bugnet) may not work on plains with no trees, or in desert with no trees of significant size or at elevation in the mountains. You might very well be able to walk barefoot or with extremely minimal footwear in a sandy desert where you can see where your feet are landing, but being dogmatic about that and trying it in flooded jungle may not be the best idea.
I am trying to get to a point where I carry a very basic skill set with me everywhere, but stay open minded enough to learn from the people who actually live there. I am certainly not perfect at that and I'm not where I need to be.
I suppose that what has me all riled up is the mistaken notion that studying one book, by one author, written about a microenvironment is 'the only way' to do things. Mind you, a very small percentage of the world's population actually lives in the Boreal forest. I think that there are certain segments of the 'bushcrafting' community that are potentially creating great harm by fomenting the idea that there is one way to do things, and any variation shows that you do not know what you're doing. It closes minds to the enormous amounts of knowledge that you can gain by just paying attention to how people who live in a certain environment actually manage to live there.
And I'm not wrong about dogmatism and lack of an open mind killing. I've read a lot of accounts of explorations and adventures. What trips people up is when they try to stick to what they do at home and ignore the natives. The natives couldn't possibly know what they are doing because they are primitive and they don't do things the way I do. Look at the way he is sharpening that knife. Look at how he uses his machete to dig a hole in the mud. That guy is a moron. Amirite?
I recently broke one of my own rules and engaged in an argument on the internet. That was stupid, because it was with members of a community who are extremely dogmatic and gain status and 'badges' by demonstrating that they know how to do things 'the right way.' Frankly, it was a complete waste of my time and I should never have opened my stupid mouth. When you confront a group of woodsy hipsters with flaws in the groupthink, expect to be wolfpacked and for them to quickly take things out of the realm of discussing facts and into the realm of personal attack. That is PRECISELY why I have a rule about arguing on the interwebs, and I foolishly broke it. Thankfully I had the sense to just walk away.
Before I walked away, I made the point that if you want to see real experts in a particular environment, you need to go there and watch how the people who live there actually do it. That seems like a fairly non-controversial truth to me, but what do I know? That lead to much flaming, none of which I actually read because I knew it was coming and that it would be baseless and senseless. Anyway, lesson learned.
I'm going to try to make the point in my videos going forward that you should act like the natives and not worry so much about doing things 'the right way' so you can earn your forum badge. I'm studying the Kochanski book because I am actually curious about how to do things in the Boreal forest and he seems to know what he is talking about.
That's not just true with Bushcraft, but all walks of life. I went through some trainging that was a real eye opener for me. Out of the various types of people the only grouips that failed were the experts in those fields. Those who didn't know any better passed to one degree or another, some with flying colors. Simply put...They didn't know they were supposed to fail. After retooling folks brains to include all thought processes and personallity types success came easier and much quicker for all involved.
People often say don't use a hammer as a screw driver, yet training has turned their brains into a single tool in which they often try to use as a hammer. It can be hard to step back and re-learn things a different way sometimes.
People often say don't use a hammer as a screw driver, yet training has turned their brains into a single tool in which they often try to use as a hammer. It can be hard to step back and re-learn things a different way sometimes.
Sam Wilson
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
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I'm still laughing from when a certain gentlemen, let's call him Senor Negro, said that if he walked by your fire, he would probably kick it out all over the place because of the way you made it. I just can't stop laughing. I can 't. Seriously. Please help me stop laughing.
Sam Wilson
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
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I don't think most natives have a Gransfors Bruks (very nice equipment, not knocking IT), so how could they possibly know what they're talking about? They only do this stuff to survive every day, not to film videos of themselves making love to their new gear. They don't stand a chance in the real wilds, like up on grandpa's property.
I think a lot of the last few posts can be summed up in one of Murphy's Laws of Combat: "Professionals are predictable, but the world is full of amateurs."
One of the best ways to learn about any environment, is to find some old fart that lived there his whole life. Many times, these guys don't use the things that the "experts" say are necessary. Where I live is considered subtropical. Oh boy, everyone keeps telling me I need a machete. Yet, if you look what I use int he woods, and just about everyone else uses that grew up around here, you will find few machetes, and a lot of axes, and long Bowie knives. But then, all the biushcraft experts know that big Bowie knives are the mark of amateurs....
Which brings me to: a lot of the most inventive people are those who never had an expert tell them that they couldn't do what they do on a regular basis.
And yes, I have used one of the tines on the claw en of a framing hammer to drive in a slotted screw that had backed out 1/4", rather than climb down the ladder to get the "proper tool" (I've since discovered the wonder of multitools, however).
One of the best ways to learn about any environment, is to find some old fart that lived there his whole life. Many times, these guys don't use the things that the "experts" say are necessary. Where I live is considered subtropical. Oh boy, everyone keeps telling me I need a machete. Yet, if you look what I use int he woods, and just about everyone else uses that grew up around here, you will find few machetes, and a lot of axes, and long Bowie knives. But then, all the biushcraft experts know that big Bowie knives are the mark of amateurs....
Which brings me to: a lot of the most inventive people are those who never had an expert tell them that they couldn't do what they do on a regular basis.
And yes, I have used one of the tines on the claw en of a framing hammer to drive in a slotted screw that had backed out 1/4", rather than climb down the ladder to get the "proper tool" (I've since discovered the wonder of multitools, however).
Kind of like it's interesting how much campfire wood I've split with my tomahawk before getting on the internet and finding out that they can't split wood....
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Yeah that was comedy. He sent me some PM's about it that I saved and printed off for future reference. In a word, I left that particular site because I thought that the culture was adopting a groupthink that will do harm. I did not wish to contribute and thus make it look like I was supporting the groupthink. The bulk of the information is good information and the instructor is outstanding, but the dominant culture is frankly dangerous. For the record, leaving and refusing to post somewhere is a very different thing from being 'kicked off', no matter how it is spun later by those immersed in the groupthink. I withdrew my sanction. Period. End of story.
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9 out of 10 times arguments are often misunderstandings. Online the ratio is 9.99999 out of 10. I have also been in interweb arguments and nearly all were based on some failure of myself or others to understand what was being said.
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I also didn't know people ever said they couldn't be used in the woods. I can't sharpen serrations well so for me they're not preferred but also not going to toss out my knives that have them. Then again there is a humorous aspect of the OP's video so I don't take it 100% on face value.
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Please tell me those serrations are symmetrical, and not chisel ground. That would just be...too much
Can you sharpen them on a rock? Huh, CAN YOU?
If they're chisel ground you can
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Self important sloppy drunks run away when they dont get the attention and acclaim that they feel they deserve.
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There are very few people who want acclaim who would refer to themselves as average anything. There are very few people who want to be considered 'experts' who would put at the beginning of every video "I'm not an expert." If I were looking for acclaim, or to be considered an expert, I would seek it in the field where I actually do have some expertise and earn my living, not in a forum of people that share one of my hobbies.
My reasons for leaving are as stated. Nice ad hominem, by the way. Shows real class.
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Funny how when you can't see someone's facial expressions and hear their tone of voice and body language, how miscommunications can happen. I'd bet those things are a bigger part of our communication than we think sometimes. I have a rule of not arguing on the internet because of how easy it is for things to get taken the wrong way. It is also VERY easy for people who are anonymous, faceless people to quickly go from discussing something to slinging personal insults. I've never seen that particular line of tactic lead to anything productive and I try to avoid it and the people who use it. It always amazes me just HOW QUICKLY someone will jump to name calling on the internet, when they would never consider doing it if the person was standing in front of them.
