Important Piece of Kit? Tutorial

[PatrickM]

Many of us should have this item in our first aid kit, but it is not usually thought about until it's needed !

Consider when we are are out and about practicing our wilderness living skills, working with wood or rummaging about in a thicket - there is a high risk of splinters, or we may encounter the dreaded tick...

We can produce this valuable asset from materials we may come across on the trail.

Using a flake of flint score across and along a section of antler

Score out two sections deep enough to be cutting into the middle softer core

Using the tine of the antler and a baton, punch down into the core

The scored slab will be pushed out

Using flint flake and baton, push out the other section

Abrade down on sandstone and shape

You can use the edge of a stone to add in decorative curves

Use the flint to scrape away the surface layer down to the white layer beneath, for decoration

Cut a small wedge of wood and fit in at the end between the two sections of antler, glue in using pine resin.

Lash the two finished sections together with a strand of willow bark

They might come in handy when working with this stuff !

 

[bloodline]

That is a very inventive but above all useful bit of kit I think other materials could be used if antler is not available I can see those becoming a very useful survival tool especially for extended wilderness stays

 

[led]

Patrick - wonderful tutorial and something extremely practical too. I might have a go at making something similar in wood rather than antler to see how effective that would be.

 

[Kane]

Fantastic photo tutorial

Kane

 

[~Dan~]

fantastic tutorial but id really find it hard to come across antler in the north east will try with wood thow see if that works

 

[mojofilter]

Lovely stuff!

 

[philaw]

Just yesterday I went out for a walk in some bamboo groves and brought back a couple of pieces to play with. I tried bending it after boiling it (steaming seemed too awkward), but it just broke. My wife (who's chinese) then stepped in and told me that you're supposed to hold it in a naked flame, and that her dad used to do it all the time. Sure enough, it worked, and very quickly, too!

A simple strip of bamboo held in a fire and bent in half would make a good pair of tongs or tweezers, depending simply on how big they are and how much you sharpen them. I don't think you'd get results as beautiful as Patrick's stuff, though.

 

[BorderReiver]

I'm running out of superlatives.

Wonderful stuff,keep it coming....please.

 

[Hoodoo]

Wonderful! I'm thoroughly enjoying these excellent tutorials! Much appreciated!

 

[JoshG]

fantastic tutorial but id really find it hard to come across antler in the north east will try with wood thow see if that works

Same problems for me, antler isn't easy to come across in the north east. But if I ever do find some i'll have some fantastic ideas of what to do with them thanks to Patrick.