cool man... I always thought that bushcraft has to be very popular in Finland. Are there any sites about wildlife photography, bushcraft, tracking, or trail cameras?? I know only this: http://bushcraftfinland.atfreeforum.com
Finnish Bushcraft
- Thread starter Martti
- Start date
There is little available in English, but also in Finnish as many of these skills are taught in schools (identifying animal tracks for example). Of course there are manuals in book format. There are some wildlife cameras available online in various locations around Finland but they show little action at this time of year. From my perspective I have little need for special guides how to take wildlife photographs, but a greater need for general photography guides.
excursionmap.fi - Metsähallitus
Osprey camera
Another osprey camera
If anyone of you need specific information on any of the topics dealt in my previous posts or would like to know something new, I'm happy to browse through my library and provide a translation. I do not know if you're interesting in architecture, but there are lots of old Finnish books digitalized and available online that deal with the log cabin architecture (how to choose right location, what kind of materials to use etc.).
The bark weavings are superb 
and surprisingly even the thin bark from our trees works well for it. We often have to add in lengths, but it's do-able.
The log cabin information would be of interest to more than a few folks I reckon
If you come across clothing patterns, especially for outerwear, or hats and gloves, I'd be grateful for links
cheers,
Toddy
and surprisingly even the thin bark from our trees works well for it. We often have to add in lengths, but it's do-able.The log cabin information would be of interest to more than a few folks I reckon
If you come across clothing patterns, especially for outerwear, or hats and gloves, I'd be grateful for links
cheers,
Toddy
If you come across clothing patterns, especially for outerwear, or hats and gloves, I'd be grateful for links
I have dozens of patterns for various Finnish and Sami clothing items; including Sami/Finnish/Karelian luhkka (or kukkeli in Karelian) "hoody", undershirt patterns, pattern for Sami/Karelian trousers, patterns for Finnish shoe made out of leg skins and so on.
Can you please be a bit specific and I'll see what I can do to help you.
P.S. Actually according to findings from the city of Turku, the Medieval Finnish mitten seems to have been cut with same kind of patterns as the modern Inuit one.
The log cabin information would be of interest to more than a few folks I reckon
All right, here it goes. The basic unit of Finnish accommodation from c. 2000 BC to 1950 AD was a log cabin. The oldest form had the same basic structure as the modern ones but with fewer log layers and different roof construction. The National Board of Antiquities has published restoration guides for different kind of log buildings but they can be also used to actually built a new one. Unfortunately they are only available in Finnish and Russian.
During the Continuation War (1941-1944) there existed a kind of architectural design style called "korsuarkkitehtuuri" or dugout architecture. The style was created by the limitations of the trench warfare and most of the buildings in that style was created only with an axe and puukko. You can find more photographs here.
I am fortunate enough to be able to visit one of the best open-air museums in Finland, Seurasaari. One of my favourite buildings there are the Pertinoksa house moved there from Ladoga Karelia. This house follows the Karelian tradition to have all the functions of a farm on the same building: animals, humans and supplies.
Niemelä tenant farm is a more truthful example how Finnish families lived during the 18th and 19th centuries.
Martti,
May I ask if you feel that 'bushcraft' (as we term it in the UK) is still a significant part of daily life for the Finns that live in the countryside?
I think we sometimes romanticise Norway, Sweden and Finland as being countries where everyone is born with the ability to live off the land. I would imagine that there are more people with outdoor skills than there are in the UK as the law and society is more permissive but I suspect that the truth is somewhere in the middle.
May I ask if you feel that 'bushcraft' (as we term it in the UK) is still a significant part of daily life for the Finns that live in the countryside?
I think we sometimes romanticise Norway, Sweden and Finland as being countries where everyone is born with the ability to live off the land. I would imagine that there are more people with outdoor skills than there are in the UK as the law and society is more permissive but I suspect that the truth is somewhere in the middle.
There is some that have lived their whole live at Greater Helsinki and may feel that the "wolf boundary" starts where Helsinki ends. In fact I feel there is a such line as that is where the sidewalk ends and you are forced to walk on the side of the highway.
Can all modern Finns live off the land? Definitely not as every year we can learn of people that wandered to Nuuksio National Park some 30 kilometers NW of the most densely area in whole of Finland and they have to rescued from the forest by a helicopter. I agree that Finns generally have better outdoor skills than an average European and they might survive easily in the forest for couple of days without any food if the berry- and mushroom season is around the corner. An average man should have even better skills to survive as he is most often done his national service for six to twelve months during his early 20s.
Although some regions are more harsher for bushcrafting than the others. The Finnish Defence Forces together with the Border Guard executed series of experiments in years 1978 and 1979 at Kainuu, Lapland and North Karelia (they lie around ±64°N) to find out if it was possibly to live off the waters. During the winter they managed to catch around a kilogram or two pounds of fish per day with a net and some bait hooks and that is not much. However the fact that the most succesfull and easiest fishing methods were not probably used due of the law might have contributed to the amount of catch.
Fig. 13. Bushcrafting with modern tools but with old technique in 1943.
Fig. 14. Another type of bag used in Southern and Central Finland during the earlier times. Made from a badger. Photographed by me at the National Museum of Finland.
Last edited:
Don't know how bushcrafty this is, but here's a map of varying granary-styles and designs in 19th century Finland.
Sadly, I don't know the source (part of a course material on Finnish arts and crafts movement from somewhere during the last millennia when I was training carpentry).
-jh
Sadly, I don't know the source (part of a course material on Finnish arts and crafts movement from somewhere during the last millennia when I was training carpentry).
-jh
I bought grey Finnish Defence Forces wool fabric (sarka, also known as vadmal in Swedish) from sales with a price of 2,8€ per meter. It is approximately two millimeters thick and weights around 500-600 grams per a square meter. Let's see what I can do with that.
Generally all Finnish clothing patterns are very simple; they seldom contain more than two or three different pieces. For example here is one of the more complicated pattern for linen shirt. The same pattern was used by almost all of Finno-Ugrian people. A simpler pattern consist only of three pieces (two sleeves and the body).
What goes for the shirts goes also for the hats and trousers. What I love with this illustration is that is shows the different hat configuration. From Sever Falkman's book I Östra Finland (1882).
Generally all Finnish clothing patterns are very simple; they seldom contain more than two or three different pieces. For example here is one of the more complicated pattern for linen shirt. The same pattern was used by almost all of Finno-Ugrian people. A simpler pattern consist only of three pieces (two sleeves and the body).
What goes for the shirts goes also for the hats and trousers. What I love with this illustration is that is shows the different hat configuration. From Sever Falkman's book I Östra Finland (1882).
Paganwolf
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
I heard a story about two fellas going to see an old swedish survival instructor they wanted to run courses with, they stood for half hour explaining bushcraft and he just looked at them and said "you mean you want to teach people living?! people from england pay you for that!!" theres more of a survival bushcraft divide there bushcrafts day to day survival is when your in deep Sh1t... sadly Bushcraft is going down the lines of fishing now imo where folks have a trolly to get their gear in!! or pack a 100 ltre bag with 70kgs of light weight gear..
Great thread sir very interesting and very refreshing...
Just to get an impression what was it like to earn the living in Finland before the Wars I have gathered here some photographs from different fields.
1. A lumberjack from Maaninka during 1930s.
2. A Karelian man from Aunus during 1890s.
3. Skiers from Pudasjärvi (1st) and a Karelian from Viena (2nd) during 1910s. People used to ski with only one pole (usually equipted with a spear on the other end for hunting) before the Norwegian style with two poles was introduced in the end of the 1800s. Also the left ski was made longer than the right one.
1. A lumberjack from Maaninka during 1930s.
2. A Karelian man from Aunus during 1890s.
3. Skiers from Pudasjärvi (1st) and a Karelian from Viena (2nd) during 1910s. People used to ski with only one pole (usually equipted with a spear on the other end for hunting) before the Norwegian style with two poles was introduced in the end of the 1800s. Also the left ski was made longer than the right one.
Here are some additional photographs for additional inspiration.
I. Huusko, V. Arffman and S. Arffman fetching sand at Sotkamo in 1922.
P. Oskari and his wife are ready to embark on a journey. Photograph was taken at Kittilä in 1920.
P. Rissanen pulling bark from a birch at Maaninka in 1927.
A hunter warming up near a rakovalkea at Kontiolahti in 1911. Rakovalkea is a fire built between two logs and it will burn all night without any supervising.
I. Huusko, V. Arffman and S. Arffman fetching sand at Sotkamo in 1922.
P. Oskari and his wife are ready to embark on a journey. Photograph was taken at Kittilä in 1920.
P. Rissanen pulling bark from a birch at Maaninka in 1927.
A hunter warming up near a rakovalkea at Kontiolahti in 1911. Rakovalkea is a fire built between two logs and it will burn all night without any supervising.
Forget to mention that if you want to gain access to some Saami clothing patterns for comparison or other use, you should look into this book called "Le vêtement lapon".
http://books.google.com/books?id=LqCfiugyCU0C
See also this book for kuksas, spoons etc. from Lapland (starting from pg. 170).
http://www.archive.org/details/peasantartinswed00holm
http://books.google.com/books?id=LqCfiugyCU0C
See also this book for kuksas, spoons etc. from Lapland (starting from pg. 170).
http://www.archive.org/details/peasantartinswed00holm
Great stuff, Martti!
If you, or anyone else, should come across any Scandinavian patterns for shoes or boots, please share them with us.
Since my project of making my own mocassins, I've become very interested in seeing and trying some others.
If you, or anyone else, should come across any Scandinavian patterns for shoes or boots, please share them with us.
Since my project of making my own mocassins, I've become very interested in seeing and trying some others.
Very well, here we go! Patterns for Saami shoes can be found from the book I linked to in my previous post.
1. How to make the tip of a löttö/tanokas from birch bark. Drawing from N. Valonen's article "Tammelan seudun tuohikulttuurista".
2. Koipikenka made from a leg skin. Drawing from Margrethe Hald's book "Primitive shoes".
3. Tallukka is made by quilting pieces of fabric, usually linen, together to form the bottom of the shoe. It is traditional winter footwear from Satakunta region and was probably first invented during the 17th century. The patterns for this shoe are a bit too large to be posted here, but I'm happy to sent them through PM if anyone is interested.
:Similar threads
