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There's a Q&A site being proposed that will allow people to share knowledge about anything related to the great outdoors. I think it would be great if more people committed to helping that site get set up. Please help launch that website if you have knowledge you could share, and or you...

Hi all Near where I am there is a tree that is dropping this fruit. I have no idea what it is or whether I can eat it. Can you tell me what it is please, and whether I can eat it? Bonus points for telling me how to prepare it if I need to cook it first. IMAG0690 by bhofmann, on Flickr...

We went for a walk near Lustleigh today and were rewarded with a bag worth of hazelnuts. Though we collected them from the ground, most are still green (see photo below). My question is what to do with them now. Do I try sun drying them, stick them in the airing cupboard, or oven even to dry...

Mooching around the car boot, on the lookout for buoyancy jackets for my new sport (canoeing) I came across the following axe. The head is clearly hand forged with hammer marks still evident. A lovely looking axe, and for £5 I simply could not resist it. Well, £4.70 actually since I'd spent 30p...

Hi all I'd like to buy a map that'll help me know where I am and where to go when walking. The little I know tells me I need an OS map. I'm looking for maps that have landmarks and altitude contours (is that the correct term?) to indicate hills and valleys. Where is the best place to get...

Hi all Please let me know if there's already a thread here on this because I did use the search feature for Kelly and Storm Kettle and only found threads on people discussing them. I'm wondering whether anyone has tried to make one. The first obvious concerns are being able to produce the...

Tomorrow is my birthday, but since I won't be home (working away) we celebrated my birthday this morning (mostly for the kids to share it). My wife bought me an old axe at a car boot. She got it for a song - £3.50. She is excellent at finding bargains! ;) It looks well made (I am a novice...

I've just seen a thread with some less than optimal photographs which reminded me of an article I wrote off the back of a lesson on how to photograph things we make. The original article is here, but I've copied it below so you don't have to go off-site to read it...

We're so widely spread out here in the South West that it's all too rare we get the chance to meet up and share skills. Ashley tweeted earlier about their (NaturalBushcraft) Spring Meet coming up: http://twitter.com/NaturlBushcraft/status/9881726312 Warning: This is the weekend of...

Hi all I have a lovely leather hat I bought last year and I left it in the car on the dash. It's dried up somewhat and has shrunk! Now it's too small to get on my head properly. Is there anything I can do besides sell it or give it away? I'd hate to see it go but it's just too small now...

I was thinking about washing and cleaning recently and wondered how long people here have lived rough and not washed. I'm not saying being filthy is something to be proud of, I just remember that I was about the only person in army training who opted to stay in the bush when the rest of the...

Hi all I thought some people might like to know that NaturalBushcraft have just launched a revamped version of their site and they've put a video review of the Pro-Force Trooper 45 Rucksack on the home page. http://www.naturalbushcraft.co.uk/ goodjob Enjoy!

This post follows on from my most embarrassing moment in ages (claiming the hook knife was blunt when really it was just in a protective wax :o). I've been out for a walk and found a branch that had broken and was dangling to the ground. I would have preferred a larger section of wood, but...

My hook knife arrived from Axminster yesterday, only 3 weeks and a day after ordering it. Yes, THREE WEEKS. I'd nearly forgotten about the order. I think they had to have it made for me. That said, when I took it out of the shrink wrapped plastic on card back, I noticed how blunt it is. When my...

I'm fully expecting to be told to leave the group by posting about this :surrender:, but since fishing, hunting, and the laws that apply are discussed here as well, I thought I might ask about hunting under water.... I was wondering whether there are any people in the South West (or elsewhere...

Hi I hope this is the right forum for this. I've got two sheep skins/furs that have been in the garage for a long time and are dusty and filthy. I'd like to clean them before I try make something from them like a waist coat or body warmer. Does anyone know whether I can machine wash them...

My wife likes the car boot (I swear she'd leave me for the right bargain). But today I decided I'd tag along and see if I could hunt down one of those elusive creatures of the car boot forest, the bushcraft knife that hides within old files. She was the one who spotted the files in a toolbox...

I originally posted this in a different thread and someone suggested I start a new thread for this. So here it is: Options (please let me know which you'd prefer) next Saturday (16 Jan 2010): OPTION 1: Walk in the woods on the common (we cannot cut down or take from the common, but we...