Traditional American Woodsman In 2008

B

BASIC

Joined
Dec 23, 2007
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Its 2008 how does the gear and bushcraft of the Traditional American Woodsman fit in?You know they guy with the big beard,dressed in wool,carrying a lever action rifle,sounds like Santa except for the rifle.I this hi-tech modern world is there still a place for wool,canvas,Zippo,Buck,etc?
 
Bernard S Mason's Woodcraft will always have a place in my bookshelf. :)
 
Still lotsa room for the plaid jacket, buck knife woodsman. But that handheld GPS kinda gives you a little edge.
 
have you ever been to "Da U.P" of Michigan eh? What you just described can be found sitting in every local pub/restaurant/gas station once you cross the Mighty Mac.
 
i'm all about the wool and canvas goods.....:D no offense to any of you guys, but i'll pass on the bucks...:o
 
BASIC said:
Some things should never die.
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You're right about that. And again, some things won't die. I still carry one of my father's traditional fixed blade stag hunting knives. I have used it for 12 years now and he used for 30+ years before me.
 
Sure. I'm a traditional type, but somewhat because I've been at it long enough to have favorite gear that still works. I take care of my stuff and it lasts a long time if it was any good to begin with. My little stockman is going strong after 32 years, my propane single burner is from about 1980, and my favorite rifle is a Browning BLR lever in .308 from 1975 even though there is barely enough room left for it in the safe. I used my Western sheath knife to field dress this fall that I got in 1960. Better than the Badger Attack? No, but better than good enough and pleasant to use and carry.

That said, hardship is not one of the things that make the outdoors enjoyable for me. "Too much stuff" is what I think to myself when I see a lot of people away from the pavement, too much stuff to load, haul, unload, and sort through.

When something comes along to increase my comfort without adding to the clutter I'll try it. I'm not much impressed by those who try to "look the part".
I do, though, believe the reenactors are cool and seem to have a lot of fun.:)Regards, ss.
 
BASIC said:
Its 2008 how does the gear and bushcraft of the Traditional American Woodsman fit in?You know they guy with the big beard,dressed in wool,carrying a lever action rifle,sounds like Santa except for the rifle.I this hi-tech modern world is there still a place for wool,canvas,Zippo,Buck,etc?
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Certainly, all that stuff worked. . .then, and it still works now.
Even with allt he high-tech fabrics and such, people still sing the praises of wool.
Pick up a cop yof Backwoodsman or Wilderness Way, and see allt he folks that PREFER canvas and leather to nylon an plastic. Folks who look out for old knives and axes and such. Heck just look HERE at all the folks wanting Nessmuk knives, making Nessmuk trios, or Kepharts. How many custom makers are making traditional styles?

And there's stuff to be said about the traditional stuff. People in times past pretty much figured out what worked and what didn't. Even today, go into the tropics -- you'll see few axes, but a lot of machetes, goloks, etc. Go into northern woods. You'll see precious few machetes, but axes are an artform.

People like Nessmuks because they were damn good skinners at the time (which, IIRC, was Nessmuk's primary use for that knife), and they're damn good skinners now.

There's a lot to be said for traditional things. Even when people go for more modern materials, the traditional patterns still find favor. A lot of the canoe guys buy nylong packs now, but they're cut to the same pattern as the canvas and leather Duluth packs (with Duluth packs still having a strong following).
 
A few items that are time tested & proven time & time again to be worthy ,great threads...if it works and works good why change it
 
BASIC said:
Its 2008 how does the gear and bushcraft of the Traditional American Woodsman fit in?You know they guy with the big beard,dressed in wool,carrying a lever action rifle,sounds like Santa except for the rifle.I this hi-tech modern world is there still a place for wool,canvas,Zippo,Buck,etc?
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ain't nothin' like the classics. if it was good enough for ole Nessmuk hisself, it's good enough for me.
 
The traditional American woodsman is a product of adaptation to the North American wilderness. Wool and canvas are water repellant and durable. They can be replaced with new high tech fabrics but just let me see you cry as you trek through heavy brush and tear your $300 + goretex parka on a snag. The woodsmans axe and hatchet evolved in the N.A. forest. Our ancestors did not carry machetes or khukris because they were not practical for our environment. The Winchester 30.30 is a dependable brush gun for short shots in heavy brush. The classic outdoor books are still as relevant today as they were at the turn of the century. We still go out into the woods for the same reasons as Mason and Kephart did.
 
Yeah, you can get by just fine with traditional clothing and equipment.
But to be honest, there have been lots of advances made in camping equipment.
The old stuff (canvas, wool, leather, etc...) was heavy!
The old mountainmen often had a mule or horse to carry his equipment around.

Back when I was a Soldier we still had the old canvas shelter-halves and they sucked BIG TIME!!!:grumpy:
Especially once they got soaked!:thumbdn:

We also still had the old wool "long johns", wool pile-cap, wool watch-cap, and wool 5 button sweater when I was in the Army....and I hated them too.
Modern polypro underwear is much more comfortable in my opinion.

There's certainly nothing wrong with a lever-action rifle, but I prefer an AK-47 or AR15 based rifle.

Some old traditional things are great (heck, my EDC folder is a Buck 110), but there are lots of old gear that I don't miss at all.
 
For me, fleece is warm, goretex derivatives are dry, and leather boots still rule the roost. I will probably always carry a fixed blade and hawk. For a firearm, I would always carry a pump shotgun with slugs and buckshot. For shelter, tent works well, and with good enough venting, it's warm like you wouldn't believe.

I don't consider myself to be a woodsman, but I would like to think that today's recreational hiker and backpacker is just as resourceful as the old hairy woodsguys of the past, just without the burro.
 
nothin like a good wheel gun re: Ruger Vaquero in .357, and my Marlin 30-30. as for blades and lighters and such....i think i was born a century to late.l
 
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