need help with ideas for a primitive buscraft kit

  • 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.

Rob Tangtent

Tenderfoot
Feb 20, 2009
81
0
29
Warwickshire
Hello!
An idea i am working on is to build myself a completely handmade bushcraft kit.
i have made a knife, drawstring bags and clay pots so far.
the things i need now are

flints - how can i find them easily in Warwickshire?

a shelter idea - cant think of any primitive idea for this appart from making a shelter when im actually in the woods.

a blankey - im probably going to buy something at the reenactement market tomorow like a deer hide if they have one. if not there online.

then a means of securing meat/fish - ill make myself a fishing kit easily enough. i cant hunt legally obviouselly but fishing is ok.

basically i was wondering if anyone had any ideas on making this kit. also if there is anything useful i have missed out.
also this will be more of a camping scenario so it isnt important about weight/size.
any thoughts would be greatly appreaciated,
thanks alot!
Robin
 

Ogri the trog

Mod
Mod
Apr 29, 2005
7,182
71
60
Mid Wales UK
Perhaps a little research into Oetzi the Iceman,
The 5300 year old mumified body found on the Austrian. Italian border some years ago - is called for. There was some research done into the kit he was carrying.

ATB

Ogri the trog
 

forestwalker

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
a shelter idea - cant think of any primitive idea for this appart from making a shelter when im actually in the woods.

a blankey - im probably going to buy something at the reenactement market tomorow like a deer hide if they have one. if not there online.

Build a shelter on site. Your alternatives are thinks like lugging rolls of birch bark or hides for a tipi (etc).

For blanket you can either felt your own from wool, sew up hides, or get hold of a gross or so of rabbit skins, cut them intro strips and weave a blanket (as done by some groups in Amerika) Supposedly very warm, but also supposed to shed hairs everywhere. Reed or grass mats work too (look at Ötzis cloak).

basically i was wondering if anyone had any ideas on making this kit. also if there is anything useful i have missed out.
also this will be more of a camping scenario so it isn't important about weight/size.
any thoughts would be greatly appreciated,
thanks a lot!

Clothes? Footwear? Other tools? Find Lynx Vildens account of the Kootenai River project. The improvised everything from mentrual pads to splinter removal tools an combs, apart from the more obvious things.
 
Last edited:

Shewie

Mod
Mod
Dec 15, 2005
24,259
24
48
Yorkshire
Sounds like a fun project Rob

Maybe you can blag your parents into a trip to the coast and pick up some flint from a pebbley beach somewhere.
The bases of uprooted trees are a good place to look for nodules aswell, I always tend to have a look whenever I see one.

There's loads of primitive living resources on the web like the guys have said already, but there's some really good stuff on here aswell. Maybe give Toddy, Eric Methven and Wayland a shout, they should be able to point you in the right direction.

Have fun
 

Rob Tangtent

Tenderfoot
Feb 20, 2009
81
0
29
Warwickshire
thank you everyone, lots of help.
at the reenactement show i just bought a wild boar hide!
its pretty cool ill use that as a sleeping mat with a woolen blanket aswell.
thanks again
 

dogwood

Settler
Oct 16, 2008
501
0
San Francisco
Rob,

If you're beginning to learn about knapping, don't ignore the bottoms of glass bottles. You can make fantastic points from the thick bottom of any kind of glass bottles (the Native Americans used colonist's broken glass to make hunting points for nearly 150 years. And because of this the native points from about 1600-1750 come in all these beautiful colors...)

Knapping glass isn't too different than knapping the obsidian I can pick up here in Northern California.

More importantly, knapping glass is super cheap and you can learn a TON about the angles you need to use for knapping. All of this knowledge is directly transferable to knapping flint and obsidian and jasper later, although flint and dacite are a LOT harder than glass and require more strength. The angles though, are identical.

(Other knapping skills, like spalling, you won't learn from glass, but it's a great head start for pressure flaking.)

All you need to knap glass is pair of decent leather gloves (garden gloves are fine), a bit of antler tine or a stick with a copper nail embedded in it and a little round stone for rough shaping. And for heaven's sake please wear cheap plastic goggles whenever you knap. I'll spare you my goggles rant, but spend a quid or two and get some -- it'll save your eyesight because chips do fly everywhere.

Find a bottle with a nice thick bottom, wrap it in a bit of cloth, smash the top safely, discard everything but the bottom. The bottom is now a fine thing to knap. You'll soon never be able to walk by a bottle again without thinking: "arrow points, cool!"

Also don't forget to check out

http://www.primitiveways.com/

The site is run by the Society of Primitive Technology, which also publishes the books "Primitive Technology" and "Primitive Technology II" -- I highly recommend both books because they're broken out into sections on shelter, travel, water, tools, hunting, weapons. Great resources.

Lastly don't forget Youtube -- it's a terrific resource for learning about things like knapping, etc. I wish it existed when I was first learning!

I'll warn you, though, getting into primitive technology is a completely addicting hobby. And super fun. You'll learn things about yourself and the world around out and our ancestors that will blow your mind.
 

Rob Tangtent

Tenderfoot
Feb 20, 2009
81
0
29
Warwickshire
Rob,

If you're beginning to learn about knapping, don't ignore the bottoms of glass bottles. You can make fantastic points from the thick bottom of any kind of glass bottles (the Native Americans used colonist's broken glass to make hunting points for nearly 150 years. And because of this the native points from about 1600-1750 come in all these beautiful colors...)

Knapping glass isn't too different than knapping the obsidian I can pick up here in Northern California.

More importantly, knapping glass is super cheap and you can learn a TON about the angles you need to use for knapping. All of this knowledge is directly transferable to knapping flint and obsidian and jasper later, although flint and dacite are a LOT harder than glass and require more strength. The angles though, are identical.

(Other knapping skills, like spalling, you won't learn from glass, but it's a great head start for pressure flaking.)

All you need to knap glass is pair of decent leather gloves (garden gloves are fine), a bit of antler tine or a stick with a copper nail embedded in it and a little round stone for rough shaping. And for heaven's sake please wear cheap plastic goggles whenever you knap. I'll spare you my goggles rant, but spend a quid or two and get some -- it'll save your eyesight because chips do fly everywhere.

Find a bottle with a nice thick bottom, wrap it in a bit of cloth, smash the top safely, discard everything but the bottom. The bottom is now a fine thing to knap. You'll soon never be able to walk by a bottle again without thinking: "arrow points, cool!"

Also don't forget to check out

http://www.primitiveways.com/

The site is run by the Society of Primitive Technology, which also publishes the books "Primitive Technology" and "Primitive Technology II" -- I highly recommend both books because they're broken out into sections on shelter, travel, water, tools, hunting, weapons. Great resources.

Lastly don't forget Youtube -- it's a terrific resource for learning about things like knapping, etc. I wish it existed when I was first learning!

I'll warn you, though, getting into primitive technology is a completely addicting hobby. And super fun. You'll learn things about yourself and the world around out and our ancestors that will blow your mind.

thanks so much, i will start with the bottles tonight. what a fantastic idea!
again thanks for all this info, ill purchase one of those books ASAP
 

dogwood

Settler
Oct 16, 2008
501
0
San Francisco
thanks so much, i will start with the bottles tonight. what a fantastic idea!
again thanks for all this info, ill purchase one of those books ASAP

Happy to help. Knapping is a huge amount of fun.

Make sure to be careful the first few times out as you're learning because you *will* cut yourself a little. A bit of blood is a right of passage, though. Just make sure it's a little blood :)

I just did a quick search on YouTube to see if I could find a good glass knapping video for you, and this one is the best, I think:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BEWYzyz1qY

It will help you get started -- the guy's technique is pretty good.

There's one there with a guy name grimbo that I would ignore if I were you. He uses the side of the bottle and bottle sides aren't so great and won't teach you enough about knapping angles.

Have fun! And make sure to be careful at first.
 

Rob Tangtent

Tenderfoot
Feb 20, 2009
81
0
29
Warwickshire
Happy to help. Knapping is a huge amount of fun.

Make sure to be careful the first few times out as you're learning because you *will* cut yourself a little. A bit of blood is a right of passage, though. Just make sure it's a little blood :)

I just did a quick search on YouTube to see if I could find a good glass knapping video for you, and this one is the best, I think:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BEWYzyz1qY

It will help you get started -- the guy's technique is pretty good.

There's one there with a guy name grimbo that I would ignore if I were you. He uses the side of the bottle and bottle sides aren't so great and won't teach you enough about knapping angles.

Have fun! And make sure to be careful at first.

thanks very much,
your the best dogwood!
 
Happy to help. Knapping is a huge amount of fun.

Make sure to be careful the first few times out as you're learning because you *will* cut yourself a little. A bit of blood is a right of passage, though. Just make sure it's a little blood :)

I just did a quick search on YouTube to see if I could find a good glass knapping video for you, and this one is the best, I think:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BEWYzyz1qY

It will help you get started -- the guy's technique is pretty good.

There's one there with a guy name grimbo that I would ignore if I were you. He uses the side of the bottle and bottle sides aren't so great and won't teach you enough about knapping angles.

Have fun! And make sure to be careful at first.

There's one there with a guy name grimbo that I would ignore if I were you. He uses the side of the bottle and bottle sides aren't so great and won't teach you enough about knapping angles...................................................................
my method i demonstrated was a quick and easy and effective way of producing an effective arrow head in a survival situation..i wasnt and i stress intending to teach the art of knapping,just a common mans arrow head..wolfbushcraft is all about the common man and what can be found and utilised and what doesnt cost an arm and a leg and doesnt involve an expensive course fee to learn it..:bye:
 

MrEd

Life Member
Feb 18, 2010
2,148
1,053
Surrey/Sussex
www.thetimechamber.co.uk
Perhaps a little research into Oetzi the Iceman,
The 5300 year old mumified body found on the Austrian. Italian border some years ago - is called for. There was some research done into the kit he was carrying.

ATB

Ogri the trog

thats a really interesting read anyway about how he was in a fight before he died etc, fascinating!
 
Last edited:

BCUK Shop

We have a a number of knives, T-Shirts and other items for sale.

SHOP HERE