Recent content by tprindle00

Traditonal wooden lacrosse sticks from the Minnesota Historical Society http://www.mnhs.org/collections/museum/mf000453.jpg 1 item : wood, cord ; 86.5 x 7.5 cm. Summary Lacrosse stick has a rounded one piece wood handle and cord net hoop. The hoop is teardrop shaped and lashed to...

Thank you Infagreen and Jeff for the additional information. I was thinking about the basic ph of wood ashes, lye, soap, etc, in breaking down the enzymes of what it's added to. I soaked (not boiled) my recent amadou from last weekend in commercial soap... I looked for lye or a lye based soap...

I got a big kick out of the scientists that actually disproved the "silk" purse from a sow's ear... Now... we're in trouble, you know, if they disprove that "you can't get blood from a stone". :lmao: Tara

Thanks! I'd used hardwood ashes in the past to rett inner basswood bark strips to process for cordage. It removed all the sap that made the basswood brittle, and opened up the fibers making it much softer and easier to work with... is this what it's supposed to do with the tinder fungus also...

I didn't boil it or add any other chemicals. I simply soaked in in water 24 hrs, pounded it slightly, let it soak in the water a few more hours, and pounded it completely flat. While it soaked it was remarkably sponge like, now I understand why fly fishermen prize this for drying their...

My amadou came out great, and was completely dry within a day or two... very thin, feels just like chamois cloth. The whole process was rather painless. Now I just have to learn to use it :) -- Tara

The shoes seem like they're incredibly comfortable -- though you might think the birch bark to be stiff or rough, it's actually quite soft as you peel it down to the softer interior layers of bark. The dark and white outer layers are peeled off. Unfortunately I wear size 11, and these couldnt...

I've been trying my hand at making birchbark shoes in the Finnish / Scandanavian style... I'd seen photos of them but hadn't an idea how they were made. After a few paper pattern attempts, this is what I came up with in birchbark strips. If I'd started with six weavers instead of four across...

I was quite surprised to see John Pringle, a Forest Technician in your first link... he looks just like my dad, uncles, grand, and great grand parents (they all look alike!). Thanks for sharing your story and the links. I would imagine snow shoes would be alot faster than being the first...

Jeff, I'm nearly embarrassed to say that I'm embarking on my firestarting experience. I've always been one to concentrate on the more 'domestic' of bushcraft skills. It makes sense to me that the fluff of cattail and milkweed would be efficient... i guess I've strayed from mullein because I...

Thank you for pointing out that thread. It was great to read about the various methods people use to extract the amadou layer. There seems to be a great concensus on cutting it up before the fomes has a chance to dry out. Identical in 'hoof' structure, the fomes in my area (New England) has...