Bushcraft shifting focus?

[BOD]

I would sincerely hope that we are moving away from a knife fixation that, frankly, borders on the unhealthy. I mean, how many do you need? (Answer: one or two). !).

Be fair Mikey P. We acquire a knife, find out that its not quite what we want/need so go out and get another and the collection builds up!

Also our needs change depending on what we do - a folder for an afternoon walk, a neck knife for a couple of days camping in the outback and a golok for the jungle.

I have 2 SAKS , an Opinel 8, an Al Mar Air Weight, a puokko and a Frost's Mora and four parangs/goloks.I am not a collector or knife nut. All but 2 are working knives

I admit I could do with just 2 parangs and 1 SAK but the rest are often in use or carried in case

 

[nobby]

Boots, jackets, trousers, UNDERPANTS (!), there are loads of things still to be covered.......

Oi! The underpants was a serious thread in spite of the I don't wear none when collecting fungi 'cos I'm a seriously committed bushcrafter tendency.

I've never been so comfy since taking the M&S Authentic Autographs advice.

Also, once you've assembled your kit to your own satisfaction what else is to ask? There are a lot of red herrings in here.
Take spoons: you must have a wooden one. Why? My metal one is stronger and easier to clean and I didn't cut my thumbmaking it; unlike my wooden one.
Knives: I tried a couple of cheap Moras. Lovely blades but much too long. All I ever do with it is remove breast meat from roadkill pheasant and pigeon, or quarter a rabbit and cut veg. I bought a short bladed knife with a pretty wooden handle in a very practical plastic sheath and the blade is treated against corrosion as well. Less than £60 and it is wonderful but only slightly better than my Opinel folder.

 

[Greg]

Oi! The underpants was a serious thread in spite of the I don't wear none when collecting fungi 'cos I'm a seriously committed bushcrafter tendency.

I've never been so comfy since taking the M&S Authentic Autographs advice.

Also, once you've assembled your kit to your own satisfaction what else is to ask? There are a lot of red herrings in here.
Take spoons: you must have a wooden one. Why? My metal one is stronger and easier to clean and I didn't cut my thumbmaking it; unlike my wooden one.
Knives: I tried a couple of cheap Moras. Lovely blades but much too long. All I ever do with it is remove breast meat from roadkill pheasant and pigeon, or quarter a rabbit and cut veg. I bought a short bladed knife with a pretty wooden handle in a very practical plastic sheath and the blade is treated against corrosion as well. Less than £60 and it is wonderful but only slightly better than my Opinel folder.

So what thread was that!

 

[dommyracer]

The other thing that comes to my mind is the changing of the seasons.

I suspect that at the beginning of the autumn / winter period there will be more kit related questions due to the different kind of kit that people perceive to be required- sleeping bags, underblankets, tents, baselayers, woolens, hats, etc etc etc.

Also, I also think it likely that there will be more people that get the initial spark of interest in Bushcraft in the summer months, so by the end of the summer they decide they want to 'get into bushcraft' and spend the autumn and beginning of winter sitting at home avoiding the weather and finding out about kit.

I think kit is a perfectly valid subject to talk about, some of the people that we hold up as "Bushcraft Heroes" love their bits of kit - Nessmuk had a custom canoe and custom made axe and knife, and spends half his book talking about his preferred tent; Mors K. likes to talk about axe knife and clothing, and we recently heard about how he carries a saw blade around his waist.

I like kit and shiny new toys (who doesn't?), but regularly persuade myself out of buying things I 'need', after being inspired by some of the DIY stuff on here - like Torjus.

That's why I'm looking forward to coming to your place next year and learning some real useful skills.

 

[Klenchblaize]

Be fair Mikey P. We acquire a knife, find out that its not quite what we want/need so go out and get another and the collection builds up!

Also our needs change depending on what we do - a folder for an afternoon walk, a neck knife for a couple of days camping in the outback and a golok for the jungle.

I have 2 SAKS , an Opinel 8, an Al Mar Air Weight, a puokko and a Frost's Mora and four parangs/goloks.I am not a collector or knife nut. All but 2 are working knives

I admit I could do with just 2 parangs and 1 SAK but the rest are often in use or carried in case

Knives be like bullets: You can never have too many!

Cheers

 

[Jodie]

primitive skills

Did you see the article in Science (23 Feb 2007) on the Clovis tools? Cool
picture but the article went quite over my head!
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/vol315/issue5815/cover.dtl

Also... I wondered if since more people are here since your first visit, some
of them might have interests similar to yours and so it appears that there
has been a shift when all that's happened is a selection bias

 

[torjusg]

Did you see the article in Science (23 Feb 2007) on the Clovis tools? Cool
picture but the article went quite over my head!
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/vol315/issue5815/cover.dtl

Also... I wondered if since more people are here since your first visit, some
of them might have interests similar to yours and so it appears that there
has been a shift when all that's happened is a selection bias

Cool Clovis points yes. Far better than what I make to say it the least...

I'm sorry, but that last paragraph you wrote there went straight over MY head. What exactly do you mean?

Regarding Ray Mears, I think people often have a hard time owning up to their influences. It is embarrassing to them.

I was interested in this long before I have heard about Ray Mears, but I was definately influenced of several persons and groups. My interest probably started when reading about indians in cartoons (a Belgian one in particular, called Sølvpilen in Norwegian). In my teens I was further influenced by the Norwegian explorerer Helge Ingstad.

It was the internet (97 perhaps) and the discovery of "The Bulletin of Primitive Technology" that made me a total nutter however... It surprised me that someone still did all those things and I loved the idea that someone still knew how to do all of those things I had been told were lost skills for so long.

 

[Hoodoo]

I find as a relative new comer to the bushcraft family that I would prefer to have a chat with other members about a certain subject rather than going looking for it with the search engine which is more in line with reading a book, I know subjects have been discussed in the past and these threads are available but isn't it better to have regular chats about various things to keep it fresh in the mind and not shelved in a dusty corner! I have always believed that it is easier to learn by talking to people about various subjects rather than reading about them on your own, and possibly misinterpreting the information.

Couldn't agree more. If the only answer becomes "use the search button" then you might as well close the forum and just turn it into a database.

 

[nobby]

I was interested in this long before I have heard about Ray Mears, but I was definately influenced of several persons and groups.

I got interested through cubs, scouts and Kit Carson stories. Joined the army and found the Boy Scout knowledge very useful but got the added bonus of learning to drink a lot. Later did a history degree and focussed on man's impact on the landscape and got interested in people and technology.

I've a lot of books on these subjects but reckon that if you have Scouting for Boys, Nessmuk, Kephart and perhaps one Ray Mears to be modern you don't really need anything else for a knowledge base. Although, on reflection, I add to that one of the better additions of Food for Free, any Collins wildlife books and the Bushcraft UK mag which has started very well in terms of content.
After that it is down to specialities: cold weather camping, canoeing, cycle repairs, Land Rover maintenance and the below average AA man, etc.

Lastly, a dog to share the quiet moments with. Mine's a Cocker; bred for love and stupidity.

 

[Jodie]

I'm sorry, but that last paragraph you wrote there went straight over MY head. What exactly do you mean?

Quite right - it made no sense at all!

What I actually wanted to say was that there may be enough people on the
site now who share your interests that you are able to chat with them
and perhaps not pay so much attention to the other threads that interest
you less.

It's not that those other threads aren't continuing, just that you might not
notice them as much. This is pure speculation, of course hehe.

Before I visited this forum I wouldn't have noticed Land Rovers but now I
keep seeing them all the time where I live. I doubt that the population of
Blackheath has suddenly gone out and bought these vehicles - probably
the same number as there ever was - but they seem to be everywhere,
but only cos I notice them where I didn't before.

Same with Indian Bean Trees. Went for 36 years without clapping eyes
on one and then spotted three in the last year once I'd noticed the first one.


Hope that made better sense!
Jo

 

[Zodiak]

1. Regular camping bushcraft and kit orientation is becoming out of fashion. To me it seems that Ray Mears is increasingly moving away from the kit-oriented bushcraft towards primitive skills. Maybe this is a driver

You think that is bad I used to build "Robot Wars" machines, talk about going out of fashion in 6 months!
Does anybody want to buy any digital radio control grear, 60 amp speed controllers, go kart wheels, etc?

 

[torjusg]

Quite right - it made no sense at all!

What I actually wanted to say was that there may be enough people on the
site now who share your interests that you are able to chat with them
and perhaps not pay so much attention to the other threads that interest
you less.

It's not that those other threads aren't continuing, just that you might not
notice them as much. This is pure speculation, of course hehe.

Before I visited this forum I wouldn't have noticed Land Rovers but now I
keep seeing them all the time where I live. I doubt that the population of
Blackheath has suddenly gone out and bought these vehicles - probably
the same number as there ever was - but they seem to be everywhere,
but only cos I notice them where I didn't before.

Same with Indian Bean Trees. Went for 36 years without clapping eyes
on one and then spotted three in the last year once I'd noticed the first one.


Hope that made better sense!
Jo

Now I understand. It could be in my head. I was however just as interested in Primitive Skills (nearly so anyway) when I joined this forum, so that is probably not it.

But it may very well be that I have developed some kind of inbuilt screening of knives and kit.

 

[Jodie]

Ah, no - not just in your head

Perhaps more people have joined who are interested in primitive skills when
there may have been fewer of them here in the beginning. I thought I had
screened out kit and knives but occasionally I mis-click and find myself in
a thread or forum and have quite an interesting read while there.

I only found out about this place in the first instance because I watched a
'day of Ray Mears' on UKTV History and googled to see what else he'd done
and this place cropped up a lot! It was the Bushcraft survival series with
the skis etc. Fantastic stuff - was glued to the telly, which perhaps is
missing the point hence my efforts to get out a little bit more now!

 

[Snufkin]

I suppose you're noticing the "look what I made/how do I make?" threads as it's winter, the traditional time to sit near the fire and make things ready for the better weather. I'm certainly not complaining, I've been blown away by the quality of some of the projects I've seen on here. I'm certainly no stranger to the edged tools forum or of purchasing "silly expensive" knives but I'd much rather see something on there made by a first timer than another damascus wonderblade handled with spalted Dodo pizzle scales. I can't say I've noticed a growth in primitive tech threads though I'm glad to see the recent atlatl threads and hope more people post primitive stuff as that's where my major interest lies.

 

[Bisamratte]

I think its mainly inspiration. There have been some excellent threads about making things and some wonderful craftsmen and women showing off their stuff :You_Rock_

I often feel that I should be creating something after reading these threads so I just find a little project to work on myself. Sometimes I see someone else's work and think "I could never do anything as good as that" so I just do something that I am capable of achieving.

So my theory is that people are getting inspired to creating things and therfore don't have time for shopping

 

[Deleted member 4605]

On this forum I have lately (late 2006 and 2007) made two observations:
1. Less knives and kit, more posts on making things from scratch.
2. Fewer posts.

I've noticed the same thing. Particularly the latter around February when the weather improved (slightly) - possibly a link?

I don't know whether my observations are correct, but if they are I have two hypothesis on why this is:
1. Regular camping bushcraft and kit orientation is becoming out of fashion. To me it seems that Ray Mears is increasingly moving away from the kit-oriented bushcraft towards primitive skills. Maybe this is a driver.
2. The overall interest in bushcraft is in decline. It is moving into the ranks of the skateboard/snowboard hype etc... In other words, it is getting old.

Neither. I think our community has simply matured. There's now a wealth of information out there so there are less 'dumb' questions asked by newcomers, and the more experienced members are drifting into new facets having become comfortable with the 'core bushcraft values' - i.e. camping and firelighting.

I've noticed my own interests have developed. I'm now learning about archery, snaring and tree recognition - things I had no interest in when I joined this forum. None have been picked up directly from the forum, but it has aided me. I've also started with DIY - I'm currently making a coke can stove and billy combo, even though I've got a perfectly good Trangia. Why? Because I can.

Ray Mears is simply following his own interests, and people here are too.

As far as kit is concerned I think it's a case of most now have what they need, so why talk about it?

Of course it may be that the interest of this forum is in decline or my basic assumptions may be wrong.

I don't think it's in decline - it's just changing. Life would be boring if everything stayed the same! I'd like to think that there a less posts simply because there are more of us getting out and doing it rather than staying in and talking about it.

 

[Deleted member 4605]

So my theory is that people are getting inspired to creating things and therfore don't have time for shopping

Or the money!

Fortunately you don't need a big budget, as proven by some of the advice on this site!

 

[bark-eater]

We write an E-book on the other forum that has a lot of "things to make and do" stuff in it - from recipes to projects. Trouble is it gets huge when it gets over a couple of hundred pages

Perhaps this is something for the "articles" section of this site....then you can just download the one you want...

Red

Im still surprised that theres a "bushcraft community". Its going to take a while but I'll probably read every post on this board. And "the other forum" if I find it. Thanks, woody

 

[British Red]

Oh poo,

I've just realised something....

Having spent ages working on my design for a new type of knife ...and found someone who can make it.....

We've moved on from there......

B*gger

Red

 

[Greg]

Couldn't agree more. If the only answer becomes "use the search button" then you might as well close the forum and just turn it into a database.

Well, Well!!
Someone finally understands me