Victorinox Hiker

[old4570]

A while back I got the Camper , now I also have the Hiker .
The difference ?
One has a corkscrew and the other a Philips driver .. ( That's it )

Anyways , been playing with fire ..
Actually using the Hiker to make fire ..
I like the saw , it cut's thru relatively hard wood with little issue ..
Unfortunately , the main blade is a little on the fine side .. How to put it .. A little to thin N flexible for hard wood .
Trying to use such a small flexible blade was fatiguing on my hand ..
If you know , then you'l want a larger better knife .

Not saying it can't do it ... Just that if you know , then bring something better .
Yes , speaking for myself . The Hiker / Camper size are a little on the small size for any real bushcraftiness .
Yes they can do it , but that's like taking a family sedan to a F1 race .. ( BAck of the pack )

Gumtree Country !

Yeah , we live in Gumtree Country ..
Now Gum does not burn that well , except when it's hot ( Flame / Burn Temp ) ..
So , starting a camp fire can be tricky if using Mickey Mouse methods ( Ferro ? )
In the Good Old Days , I carried a bottle of Kerosene .. Yes , liquid fire starter !
Soak the gum in Kero and watch it burn ! ( Now many bushcrafters would call that cheating )
But I never went bush to play or to Mickey Mouse around .
Times a change !
And I like Ferro , it's ............... Bushcrafty !

But I'm not going to drive 100KM somewhere to find out that my tools are not up to the task .. Why I play in the back yard ..
Best to find Capital S out in the comfort of your own back yard where you have access to ..... Doctors / Ambulance / Band Aids / Disinfectant & Bla Bla !
Get your S together before you go somewhere ALONE ! ( Get it ? ) ............ Anyways !
My imagination imagined better performance from the Hiker .. So reality was a little disappointing ! ( Victorinox Hiker / Camper )
But I really liked the saw .. It did well .. THe main blade ? Not so much ..

I made myself a Coffee can stove .. & it worked surprisingly well ..
I have an idea on how to configure the fuel ..
Just wondering if I can fire up that stove with 100% Gum ( I have fatwood on hand - Really good stuff ) But this is a Gumtree Country !
I will keep using the Hiker , but it is a little small ...

 

[old4570]

Hiker boils water ... Well sort off ..
I had to get out the Ganzo for slicing slivers off the Gum ..
And you know what , even the Ganzo was flexing on that bit of Gumtree branch ..
Shaving - I used the back of the saw on the Hiker .. Did alright .. Not the best but ok ..
I didn't make much fuel .. Main thing was to get things going with 100% gum and not have to resort to Fatwood .
And it worked ..

Cans two ! Big can for the outside and smaller can on the inside ..
I punched quite a few holes in the bottom of the smaller can + Holes in the bottom of the larger Can ..
Thing was to make sure that oxygen / air would feed the fire even with a pot on top ..

Thing is , if you put to big a pieces of wood inside , the flames will climb high ..
Hence the smaller pieces ( like fuel pellets ) . And it looks to work just fine .
Ok for my first effort .. ( I suppose ) .