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    Stropping compound?

    Ok thanks. I will keep it in mind.
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    Hello folks - Beginner bow drilling

    I’m getting reasonably successful at it now. I’ve achieved fire with my last five attempts.
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    Stropping compound?

    Thanks. What sort of oil is used please?
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    Stropping compound?

    Thanks. I did the same and it seemed to give a lovely mirror finish. I do remember when using it on my motorbikes back in the day that the idea was to polish with it and then let it dry before scrubbing it off with a buffing cloth.
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    Stropping compound?

    I can slice the paper if I tweak the tension as you say, but I’ve only once had it to the point where it would just instantly slice numbers of slivers off the piece of paper. It’s of no real importance other than to learn the skill. I’ve been using it to carve a few hearth boards for bow...
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    Is a psk really needed in the UK?

    He does charge like a wounded Rhino it has to be said. I remember seeing some knife he endorsed by Wilkinson Sword being offered at £600 plus.
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    Is a psk really needed in the UK?

    No that’s true. I just meant it as a bit of a tongue in cheek way of giving an instance where there might be a need for a PSK over here.
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    Stropping compound?

    Thanks. One article I read said to let the Autosol dry on the leather before stropping? My knife is shaving sharp. I.e I can shave the hair on my arm with it. It’s just the paper slicing thing it struggles with. It’s something I’ve seen people do on YouTube. I can almost slice the paper, and...
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    Stropping compound?

    Thank you. It is 3mm I think. I actually thought it might have been a bit too thin, as I nicked the smooth side a couple of times while stropping.
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    Is a psk really needed in the UK?

    It’s an interesting question. I have various bits dedicated to survival, but probably in all honesty don’t really have a need here in the UK. Unless you listen to Ray Mears’s speech at the Bushcraft show that I watched online. Ray was pushing the point, quite seriously really, that it would...
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    Stropping compound?

    Sorry for the late reply but thank you all for the helpful advice. I have since made a stropping block with leather mounted on a hardwood block. The rough or back of the leather one side, the smooth outer side on the other. I have now, both a block of Smurf poo, and a tube of Autosol, and I’ve...
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    Hello folks - Beginner bow drilling

    I was out in that same woodland today and thought of this thread. This tree is typical of the multitude of dead standing trees in there. As you can see a small collection of these hopefully shouldn’t have too much impact on the insect life in these woods?
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    Ideas?

    Hi folks. This is the plant I took to be Hogweed. (The pale tubular one that looks like a big dried bit of Cow Parsley.) Can anybody confirm whether it is or isn’t please?
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    Hello folks - Beginner bow drilling

    Thank you. A great deal of credit goes to the helpfulness of the members on here. I had to delete the video. I hadn’t realized that when I noticed the ember had burned through the tiny tinder nest and was about to fall on the floor I uttered a minor expletive. As all the videos I put on YouTube...
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    Hello folks - Beginner bow drilling

    I managed it earlier today, but only after a few failed attempts on a hazel hearth that I eventually decided was too hard. It was eating the drill up trying to get an ember. I got at least half a dozen, but none of them would stay alight. I swapped to a softer sycamore hearth and got a viable...
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    Hello folks - Beginner bow drilling

    Thank you and the feeling is mutual. I’m looking forward to meeting you all.
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    Hello folks - Beginner bow drilling

    Thank you, yes I can honestly say the attempt to learn this skill has given me a tremendous amount of enjoyment- and a little bit of hair tugging. And I’ve been bowled over by the friendliness and community spirit bestowed on me by the contributors. I am aiming to attend the summer ‘moot’, and...
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    Hello folks - Beginner bow drilling

    Thank you Stew. Your video definitely did provide the final piece of the jigsaw for me.
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    Hello folks - Beginner bow drilling

    Thank you. Rest assured I will! (I can’t seem to add emoticons, but it would be the grinning one.)
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    Hello folks - Beginner bow drilling

    One last point at the risk of boring everybody to death. I tried a much thinner and much longer drill today. It’s about 18mm thick and 400mm long, and is from a dead standing piece of hazel. It actually had a slight curve, but I applied some heat to the middle of it and straightened it to...