Living primitive?

  • Hey Guest, Early bird pricing on the Summer Moot (29th July - 10th August) available until April 6th, we'd love you to come. PLEASE CLICK HERE to early bird price and get more information.

longshot

Need to contact Admin...
Mar 16, 2006
174
1
57
Newfoundland, Canada
torjusg said:
Earthpeace

I think a cow hide may be too thick to tan hair on with tannins. It needs so long soaking time that the hair will slip. But it should still make excellent leather though.

I have tanned very little, but alder is said to produce the softest leather, while oak the hardest. With a weasel pelt (alder tan) and a roe deer hide (braintan, wet scrape) as my only real tanning experience, I would crossreference a little. :)

What you need to tan hair on primitively is probably to use the braintan, dry scrape technique. That will thin it too. Never tried dry scraping, but there are some books on the subject.
slightly OT appologizies
torjusg, do you have any recepies for veg tanning, especially using alder as i have tonnes of the stuff.

thanks
dean
 

torjusg

Native
Aug 10, 2005
1,246
21
41
Telemark, Norway
livingprimitively.com
longshot said:
slightly OT appologizies
torjusg, do you have any recepies for veg tanning, especially using alder as i have tonnes of the stuff.

thanks
dean

On the weasel pelt I soaked the pelt in a mixture of chopped up alder bark and water for perhaps a week (doesn't really remember). It seems like predators (or maybe fur animals in general) hold better to their hairs than herbivores. The saami used to apply the solution to the flesh side only, to prevent slippage of the hairs. That probably only works with thin skins, like reindeer.

For thick hair off hides, just soak it in a container with water and bark. Equal weight of bark and hide they say. Remove the hairs first (by soaking a week or so before), otherwise they will also soak up some tannin. Leave the hide in the solution for a couple of months.
 

bushman762

Forager
May 19, 2005
161
0
63
N.Ireland
Hi all,
Attached are a few links to pics of making sausages at home...

Not particularly bushcrafty, but certainly useful! I made these today!

Sausages_1.jpg


Preparation

Sausages_2.jpg


Bag of Pork

Sausages_3.jpg


Pork diced to feed the mincer

Sausages_4.jpg


First mincing

Sausages_5.jpg


Minced twice

Sausages_6.jpg


Stuffing sausages

Sausages_7.jpg


Finished Product...alsmost 9lb of Homemade Sausages...Hmm!

Hope you enjoy the pics as much as I will enjoy the BBQ!

Best Regards,

:)
 

bushman762

Forager
May 19, 2005
161
0
63
N.Ireland
Hi Snufkin,

I have reared my own pigs in the past..saddlebacks, gloucestershire old spots, and Landrace / Duroc cross, all reared in arks in the garden, but these sausages were just made from commercially available pork.

:)
 

Earthpeace

Tenderfoot
Sep 4, 2006
75
0
38
France
Nice photos bushman762 very clean.

Getting back to the subject, I was thinking how did the cave people in Perigord in France get on. I don't think they were nomadic, they lived in the caves all year long.
I think they were the only cave people in France. May be wrong :confused:
 

torjusg

Native
Aug 10, 2005
1,246
21
41
Telemark, Norway
livingprimitively.com
Earthpeace said:
Nice photos bushman762 very clean.

Getting back to the subject, I was thinking how did the cave people in Perigord in France get on. I don't think they were nomadic, they lived in the caves all year long.
I think they were the only cave people in France. May be wrong :confused:

They may or may not have been semi-nomadic. With the wast herds of reindeer and other large ungulates that crossed the tundra of Europe, people residing along important migratory routes probably could stock up food for a long time during the various seasonal migrations. Because of that, they may very well have lived in permanent settlements.

That changed in the Mesolithic though. A more forested landscape no longer supported the big herds the tundra and steppe could. Much more of the biomass became tied up in vegetation. Smaller animals became more important and as forest animals tend to be more bound to one area, they had to move once they had depleted the game-stock of an area.

The Paleolithic environment is no longer relevant, except a very few places in the far north. Today we are in essence living in a badly degraded Mesolithic environment.
 
  • Like
Reactions: laurens ch

bushman762

Forager
May 19, 2005
161
0
63
N.Ireland
What no more pics? I would like to see more of the horses being worked and also the firewood being split with the tractor and log splitter, thanks...in fact any pics of things done in a style of yesteryear!

Best Regards,
:)
 

bushman762

Forager
May 19, 2005
161
0
63
N.Ireland
Nice one! Is the llama kept for meat? is there much demand for them?

what price is firewood in France? I have been cutting some fallen timber myself, but having to split it with a maul, but thats much easier then with the axe I used to use!

IMG_0212.jpg


Firewood at rear of house 2006

We tend to have to buy firewood by the bag (fertiliser bag) and there can be a huge difference in weight between different suppliers! I like the way most countries sell it by the cord much fairer method!

Best Regards,
:)
 

Simon E

Nomad
Aug 18, 2006
275
14
53
3rd Planet from the sun
I bet you a pint of the black stuff you spent a good 30 minutes out there admiring your handywork when it was all done and the missus brought you a big mug of tea and gave you a pat on the back.

was I close?


:p
 

Snufkin

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Oct 13, 2004
2,097
138
53
Norfolk
Simon E said:
I bet you a pint of the black stuff you spent a good 30 minutes out there admiring your handywork when it was all done and the missus brought you a big mug of tea and gave you a pat on the back.

was I close?


:p
The wife of a mate actually caught him sneaking out with a spirit level to check on his woodpile :lmao:
 

Earthpeace

Tenderfoot
Sep 4, 2006
75
0
38
France
bushman762 Yes you can eat llama it taste's like mutton ( although I have not tried it myself), We have only started breeding them this year so we will not know how well they will sell until next year. We hope to use them for meat and milk ( taste like marshmellows). The Inca used them for to carry heavy loads, tallow for candles, meat, milk, hide rug or leather, sinew and dried there dung for fuel plus it is the best you can get for the garden, you can put it straight on the plants it does not burn the plant like other manure.

We sell our fire wood the local going price, which is 30Euro ( £20 ) a metre square of hardwood. We used to split by hand but after doing 24 metre square just for one year wood for us, its a bit differant.


Spikey DaPikey I don't see why your landlord should say no, they are very quite and clean animals.
 

Snufkin

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Oct 13, 2004
2,097
138
53
Norfolk
Simon E said:
Sounds like my dad! :D
Found a pic I took of his wood pile (He couldn't bring himself to burn it and it was still there a year later).

2006_0630Image0018.jpg
 

BCUK Shop

We have a a number of knives, T-Shirts and other items for sale.

SHOP HERE