Used the pencil sharpener again !

pitdog

pitdog

Joined
Apr 13, 2007
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The rain was coming down quite fast today as it has been for about the past week. Everything in the forest is soaked, perfect for practicing fire starting !

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My success rate when using natural tinder in these conditions has not been all that great, I decided to give the pencil sharpener another go today.
I deliberately did not place my tinder under any cover as this would not always be possible to find.

A nice little pile of fatwood shavings....

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Took quite a few strikes, in fact I was just about to give up when it finally caught !

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I don't think the Tiny Terror is too fond of the rain either !!!!

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Not to fond of the rain? What has Maisy been doing? Isn't she supposed to teach the TT about water? :D
 
Pit, if you get a chance, or dont mind telling my on the boards, where on the island are you? Im coming back in May, thought I would see what you were up to.
 
pitdog - you are a lucky guy to live where you do! I always love your pictures and stories - THANKS. Kudos on carrying the sharpener which is a useful little piece of kit.
Happy New Year!
 
I spent a couple late summers to early winters living in Olympia. In 1973 a three foot wet snowfall took out the power for 3 days all up and down the coast. I was house sitting a little cabin on Summit Lake deep in the rain forest and spent the next few days stoking a desperately needed fire in the fireplace. Only one little chunk of firewood was dry, with the rest out in the elements. I formed a semicircle of the damp-to-drenched wood around the back of the firebox and kept rotating my inventory.
Thank god I had matches!
Seeing your photos, I can still feel the chill in my bones that never seemed to go away.
Vermont gets cold, but it just doesn't seem to penetrate and persist like in your neck of the woods. I can sympathize with your little 4-footed buddy.
Still, I miss looking over my shoulder and seeing Tacoma looming on the horizon.
Nice job with the fire. Stay warm and have a happy New Year.
 
I just found my "kit" box of all my small PSK items and it has a few of those dual bladed sharpeners like yours. That's good to see how effective they are not to mention the intended purpose of sharpening your pencil:thumbup:

ROCK6
 
make a pile of shavings into your hand, then crush them into finer pieces. Takes a spark better.
 
Fonly said:
Pit, if you get a chance, or dont mind telling my on the boards, where on the island are you? Im coming back in May, thought I would see what you were up to.
Click to expand...

I'm on the Southern end Fonly near Victoria. Message me nearer the time and we'll try and work something out !!!;):thumbup:
 
Bushman5 said:
make a pile of shavings into your hand, then crush them into finer pieces. Takes a spark better.
Click to expand...

Bushman5 beat me to it!

First time I used the pencil sharpener with fatwood, I was not pleased at how long it took to catch a spark, crushing really made the difference.
 
Cool info. I had never heard of using a pencil sharpener to make tinder (of course I don't hang around the survival forum as much as I should). I could see the blade in the sharpener dulling quickly or the opening not being big enough. Any suggestions as far as a good sharpener for this purpose? I'd guess it would need to be pretty rugged. Thanks!
 
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