I'm rubbish at keeping my sharps, well uuhhh... sharp. Not for lack of trying though, just can't seen to get the hang of it.
Bushcraft Confessions ! ( I'm a bit crap at....)
- Thread starter Chris the Cat
- Start date
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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.
But you don't need to; the 24 you can roll off already will probably suit your hammocking requirements.
Sharpening spoon knives and other curved blades!
I can do straight blades, hollow, flat, scandi, convex - no probs!
Curved - rubbish! - all angles and flat spots ....
I can do straight blades, hollow, flat, scandi, convex - no probs!
Curved - rubbish! - all angles and flat spots ....
Good at knots, used to know about 50 and their uses and breaking strain, but always ended up tying on my canoe to the roof rack with just a bundle of half hitches. I love the evenk and rolling hitch. Not good with the majority of plants re identification, and just can't make progress with other than a few coniferous trees. Haven't. A clue about cooking and don't want to know, My wife is a great cook and I don't want to spoil her.
Knife Sharpening!
To be honest, I don't devote much practice time to this but I seem to be good at making something progressively blunter instead of sharper.
Maybe that's why I keep buying the things, so that I always have a sharp one...
To be honest, I don't devote much practice time to this but I seem to be good at making something progressively blunter instead of sharper.
Maybe that's why I keep buying the things, so that I always have a sharp one...
i'm really not as good at tree/plant/funghi ID as i would like to be, but SWMBO is pretty good at trees and plants so i tend to ask her.
echoing what others have said about knot teaching and being left/right handed, i'm left handed and i've always found it easy teaching knots as most folk tend to be right handed and "mirroring" does work pretty well with knot work.
good thread
echoing what others have said about knot teaching and being left/right handed, i'm left handed and i've always found it easy teaching knots as most folk tend to be right handed and "mirroring" does work pretty well with knot work.
good thread
You know what, this little thread has cheered me up!
Nice to know I am not the only one if you get my drift
Loads to learn, fun to be had learning it!
Cheers Cats.
Chris.
P.s Cheers Mr interceptor boy.
Nice to know I am not the only one if you get my drift
Loads to learn, fun to be had learning it!
Cheers Cats.
Chris.
P.s Cheers Mr interceptor boy.
I'm useless at..
Tree/plant/funi id - doesn't matter how much I read, it doesn't want to sink in and stick. I can spot the basics, but thats it.
Carving - I'm hopless, I don't seem to have the "vision" required, and see what has the potential to become a spoon etc. My first (and probably last) attempt at a woodspirit was an epic fail, and was terrible. I don't have the artistic streak for them. I can carve cracking tent pegs though! hahah!
The areas I like tro think I am good in are knots, pioneering, navigation and fire. Whilst I can't (well have never yet tried,) use a fire bow, I can light a fire in almost any cirumstance. All the named skills I am good at, are down to my scouting, I very much doubt I'd be able to, or would be into bushcraft if it wasn't for scouting.
I've never attempted a fire bow, simply because my tree/wood ID is poor, so selecting the best wood is my stumbling point.
Tree/plant/funi id - doesn't matter how much I read, it doesn't want to sink in and stick. I can spot the basics, but thats it.
Carving - I'm hopless, I don't seem to have the "vision" required, and see what has the potential to become a spoon etc. My first (and probably last) attempt at a woodspirit was an epic fail, and was terrible. I don't have the artistic streak for them. I can carve cracking tent pegs though! hahah!
The areas I like tro think I am good in are knots, pioneering, navigation and fire. Whilst I can't (well have never yet tried,) use a fire bow, I can light a fire in almost any cirumstance. All the named skills I am good at, are down to my scouting, I very much doubt I'd be able to, or would be into bushcraft if it wasn't for scouting.
I've never attempted a fire bow, simply because my tree/wood ID is poor, so selecting the best wood is my stumbling point.
Plant id i think for me. I'm good with trees, both the tree and the wood, got a reasonable knowledge of plants i have found a use for. But the other stuff i dont have a use for i tend not to learn.
I'm crap at pretty much everything (especially firelighting and knots), hoping to get to the moot next year or go on a few courses as I learn better with someone to guide me, on a plus note I am getting the hang of this sharpening malarky! I may be useless at most bushcrafty things, but I manage to survive in the wilds and I really enjoy myself - which is the most important thing after all!
as a total rookie, I'm useless at quite a lot:
plant/fungi id - never tried
tracking - never tried
fire from friction - never tried
fire from a spark - have managed this, actually, but only with really good tinder
feathersticks - only got really good ones from pine
sharpening spoon knives.....
do I need to continue?
plant/fungi id - never tried
tracking - never tried
fire from friction - never tried
fire from a spark - have managed this, actually, but only with really good tinder
feathersticks - only got really good ones from pine
sharpening spoon knives.....
do I need to continue?
I can identify most native trees whilst they are still in the ground, quite a few just by the tree shape and bark if there are no leaves or "fruit" but as with a few others my colour perception is not good so once it is in the wood I have a lot harder time id ing it some are more obvious than others I have studied timber charts and so many look the same to me other people have said things like "that one is brown and that one is red" but to me they look the same
As if proof was needed, after this evening I am missing a piece of my thumb. Done with an axe whilst demonstrating to some kids how to do it properly (sic).
The patience of getting ready for a fire. I start out thinking I will get all my tinder, kindling, small sticks etc. then I just get bored with looking for it. After I light it I am running round like a headless chicken trying to find stuff to get it going.
Feather sticks are the same, make a few and think that'll do when I know it's not.
Other than that, I am a messy bugger.
Feather sticks are the same, make a few and think that'll do when I know it's not.
Other than that, I am a messy bugger.
Navigation.
My navigational skills are not too bad, but I'm very slow. No problem when I'm out on my own, but never make me the navigator of the group!
Plant recognition.
I need to rehearse more.
Canoeing.
I must have hit every snag on my last trip. Also managed to get the guy in the back a tree branch whacked on the nose Sorry, Rick!
Knots:
My knotwork used to be bad until I bought two books on knots. It became worse because I wanted to learn as many knots as possible! I then made a distinction between a few knots for setting up camp, which I can use without hesitation, and lots of other knots because I like knotwork. Might become a member of the IGKT.
My navigational skills are not too bad, but I'm very slow. No problem when I'm out on my own, but never make me the navigator of the group!
Plant recognition.
I need to rehearse more.
Canoeing.
I must have hit every snag on my last trip. Also managed to get the guy in the back a tree branch whacked on the nose
Sorry, Rick!Knots:
My knotwork used to be bad until I bought two books on knots. It became worse because I wanted to learn as many knots as possible! I then made a distinction between a few knots for setting up camp, which I can use without hesitation, and lots of other knots because I like knotwork. Might become a member of the IGKT.
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Losing things in the woods. Last item was my lovely Rob evs bushtool. Still cry to my self when no-one is looking.
