- Joined
- Jun 17, 2010
- Messages
- 644
We've been getting hit pretty good with snow here in Upstate New York so I decided today I was going to head out and try to practice some fire making. I also wanted to get out and test the new leather sheath I had made by Dwayne Puckett for my Ratmandu. It carries very well and he did an exceptional job at a great price. We've had snow the past 6 days and today it rained/pissed wet snow all day. Temperature was 33 degrees Fahrenheit. Everything was soaking wet and cold. I hiked about 4 miles total.
Instead of doing two write ups on my hike today and what I think of my new sheath, ive decided to combine them. Hope yall dont mind!
Heading in there was fog covering the hills. The camera didnt pick it up too well:
It was so dang wet there was a stream running through the middle of the trail:
The further I moved into the woods the less fog there was, can you find the squirrel in this picture?:
Not far in a found a nice dry dead tree. I chopped a baton off it, im not sure what kind of tree it was but it was pretty hard:
I then used the Baton to cut the rest of the tree down for fire wood:
I took the trail leading down to the bay to have a look. Ice is forming early this year. Super heavy fog over the bay:
From the edge of the bay I hiked about a mile into the hills. The hillsides were super slick. Here's a few more shots of the bay on my way up the trail:
When I made it to my spot I started to prepare the wood I picked up earlier for my fire:
The ground was soaking wet so I batoned out some small flat pieces of wood to keep my fire up off the wet ground:
I then got some fuzz sticks ready, the Ratmandu had no problem doing that:
I made some very fine shavings, toothpick sizes pieces, and pencil size pieces. Even though the tree was standing when I harvested it, the wood was a little damp on the inside:
I had no luck getting natural tinder to ignite with my misch metal firesteel. Everything was just way too soaking wet. If my life depended on getting a fire going with natural tinder I would be dead. The plan was to find some fatwood, but that didn't happen. Good thing I had plenty of vaseline soaked cotton balls. Fire with first strike:
Overall I learned a lot today. I have seen lots of youtube videos of people finding tinder during winter that easily ignites with their firesteels. I figured it would be just as easy for me but I was wrong. I wish I would have thought to take pictures of the things I tried as I dont know the names of them, but none of them worked. I was able to get some to glow orange for a second, but they would quickly go out. Much easier to stick with cotton balls until I can find some fatwood.
Now onto the Ratmandu and sheath
Dwayne really impressed me with his work and the lack of money he charged me for it. Here is what I got in the mail minus the firesteel:
I love the X pattern for the belt loop for its versatility, but when im hiking I like to have my sheath drop down some. I sent him an email last minute asking him if he could make something to allow it to ride low and he delivered:
It is made of thick 8-9oz leather and is super high quality. The knife fits in nice a snug and doesnt move or rattle at all. The loop for my firesteel is perfect too. There was one small flaw I found, but it doesnt bother me at all.
If you are looking for a leather sheath I highly recommend you check Dwayne out. I did my research and he beat everyone else's price of what I wanted by 50 dollars. He responds quickly to emails, is very patient with customers, and is very pleasant to deal with. His website is www.armoralleather.com.
Going to end this way too long post with a few pictures of my well loved Ratmandu. Its been put through all kinds of hell the past few months and it keeps asking for more. This blade takes an edge and holds it. I dont think there is a better knife for the money.
Thanks for reading everyone, Id appreciate any comments or suggestions.
Instead of doing two write ups on my hike today and what I think of my new sheath, ive decided to combine them. Hope yall dont mind!
Heading in there was fog covering the hills. The camera didnt pick it up too well:
It was so dang wet there was a stream running through the middle of the trail:
The further I moved into the woods the less fog there was, can you find the squirrel in this picture?:
Not far in a found a nice dry dead tree. I chopped a baton off it, im not sure what kind of tree it was but it was pretty hard:
I then used the Baton to cut the rest of the tree down for fire wood:
I took the trail leading down to the bay to have a look. Ice is forming early this year. Super heavy fog over the bay:
From the edge of the bay I hiked about a mile into the hills. The hillsides were super slick. Here's a few more shots of the bay on my way up the trail:
When I made it to my spot I started to prepare the wood I picked up earlier for my fire:
The ground was soaking wet so I batoned out some small flat pieces of wood to keep my fire up off the wet ground:
I then got some fuzz sticks ready, the Ratmandu had no problem doing that:
I made some very fine shavings, toothpick sizes pieces, and pencil size pieces. Even though the tree was standing when I harvested it, the wood was a little damp on the inside:
I had no luck getting natural tinder to ignite with my misch metal firesteel. Everything was just way too soaking wet. If my life depended on getting a fire going with natural tinder I would be dead. The plan was to find some fatwood, but that didn't happen. Good thing I had plenty of vaseline soaked cotton balls. Fire with first strike:
Overall I learned a lot today. I have seen lots of youtube videos of people finding tinder during winter that easily ignites with their firesteels. I figured it would be just as easy for me but I was wrong. I wish I would have thought to take pictures of the things I tried as I dont know the names of them, but none of them worked. I was able to get some to glow orange for a second, but they would quickly go out. Much easier to stick with cotton balls until I can find some fatwood.
Now onto the Ratmandu and sheath
Dwayne really impressed me with his work and the lack of money he charged me for it. Here is what I got in the mail minus the firesteel:
I love the X pattern for the belt loop for its versatility, but when im hiking I like to have my sheath drop down some. I sent him an email last minute asking him if he could make something to allow it to ride low and he delivered:
It is made of thick 8-9oz leather and is super high quality. The knife fits in nice a snug and doesnt move or rattle at all. The loop for my firesteel is perfect too. There was one small flaw I found, but it doesnt bother me at all.
If you are looking for a leather sheath I highly recommend you check Dwayne out. I did my research and he beat everyone else's price of what I wanted by 50 dollars. He responds quickly to emails, is very patient with customers, and is very pleasant to deal with. His website is www.armoralleather.com.
Going to end this way too long post with a few pictures of my well loved Ratmandu. Its been put through all kinds of hell the past few months and it keeps asking for more. This blade takes an edge and holds it. I dont think there is a better knife for the money.
Thanks for reading everyone, Id appreciate any comments or suggestions.
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That's the way a knife should look, a little "weathered" & looking for more. I was out last week-end & also had a little trouble using natural tinder, not as easy as it sounds. Found a bird's nest & put some dry grass & a few leaves in it, couple of shots off the firesteel, & it was roaring in 4 minutes. Thanks for taking us along, nice country to be out in.
I really do like having the extra cutting capability available in case I really need to power through some thick limbs and don't want to baton them with my knife. Also, it makes for less wear on my knife edge, which really isn't an issue, but less time spent sharpening means more time having fun.