I have been trying out some new gear in preparation for my annual canoe trip in the US.
Was lucky enough to spend a weekend in the woods near the Pennsylvania border.
Quite lush vegetation and pleasant temperatures did not make this a difficult thing to do!
With zero chance of rain and night temperatures well into the comfort zone, I picked this spot at
the base of a fallen tree. I only needed to provide the mattress and the root wall created a decent heat reflector
for my fire. I covered the bed with spagnum moss and fern leaves and it was well comfortable.
I got a new toy from Stuart Mitchell and was curious to try out the RWL34 blade.
Seen here on a rather large tree stump which became my study and dining table for the weekend.
There were plenty of critters about to keep me company. I cheated and brought some steaks in a vacuum pack so the wildlife
went largely untouched and uneaten.
The knife's first task became the splitting of some firewood. The full flat grind made this easy and I could hammer it through
good sized chunks of wood. I brought a small folding saw to cut up some of the large dead beech branches that lay about everywhere.
After about an hour of sawing, the pivot started to come undone, so I better invest in one of those Laplanders I think.
I tried my hand at a fire drill, first cutting up a board and using the point of the knife to start the indentation and the notch.
I was wondering if I'd find the point of this knife pointy enough for this kind of work, and the blade made this easy enough.
So easy in fact that I managed to drill right through the board and had to start a new one.
Then roughly carved out a spindle and a pressure block. Bootlace for the string.
Then after some time (ok, a long time!) of swearing, spindles flying about and more swearing, I managed to "seat" the drill and create some smoke.
I am embarrassed to tell you how long it took me, but in the end I did get an ember which I managed to transfer to my tinder bundle
and blow into flame. In my haste to get proof and show the world, I almost dumped the ember fiddling with my camera.
I was also sore for about three days afterwards, but then again I am an old man... :C
Didn't bother to try my hand at feather sticks as I know my limitations. Plenty of kindling around anyway, no need to torture
myself any further. I have no doubt that this knife would have afforded me a head start, but I am just hopeless at them.
It felt really good to get a fire going with the bow and drill and I had a private Ray Mears moment. After I recovered I dug out
the steaks and made some nettle tea.
Tried to make some rope ("cordage" according to the manuals I studied) from the nettle stalks. Point your knife away from you and draw
the stalks towards you to create thin strands. Scrape them first, so your hands don't hurt as much as mine did.
Then reverse your knife and use the spine as a holder while you twist the strands together.
After further swearing and lots of time, you get this:
Well, sort of.
Thanks for looking, I had a really nice time away from it all...
Was lucky enough to spend a weekend in the woods near the Pennsylvania border.
Quite lush vegetation and pleasant temperatures did not make this a difficult thing to do!
With zero chance of rain and night temperatures well into the comfort zone, I picked this spot at
the base of a fallen tree. I only needed to provide the mattress and the root wall created a decent heat reflector
for my fire. I covered the bed with spagnum moss and fern leaves and it was well comfortable.
I got a new toy from Stuart Mitchell and was curious to try out the RWL34 blade.
Seen here on a rather large tree stump which became my study and dining table for the weekend.
There were plenty of critters about to keep me company. I cheated and brought some steaks in a vacuum pack so the wildlife
went largely untouched and uneaten.
The knife's first task became the splitting of some firewood. The full flat grind made this easy and I could hammer it through
good sized chunks of wood. I brought a small folding saw to cut up some of the large dead beech branches that lay about everywhere.
After about an hour of sawing, the pivot started to come undone, so I better invest in one of those Laplanders I think.
I tried my hand at a fire drill, first cutting up a board and using the point of the knife to start the indentation and the notch.
I was wondering if I'd find the point of this knife pointy enough for this kind of work, and the blade made this easy enough.
So easy in fact that I managed to drill right through the board and had to start a new one.
Then roughly carved out a spindle and a pressure block. Bootlace for the string.
Then after some time (ok, a long time!) of swearing, spindles flying about and more swearing, I managed to "seat" the drill and create some smoke.
I am embarrassed to tell you how long it took me, but in the end I did get an ember which I managed to transfer to my tinder bundle
and blow into flame. In my haste to get proof and show the world, I almost dumped the ember fiddling with my camera.
I was also sore for about three days afterwards, but then again I am an old man... :C
Didn't bother to try my hand at feather sticks as I know my limitations. Plenty of kindling around anyway, no need to torture
myself any further. I have no doubt that this knife would have afforded me a head start, but I am just hopeless at them.
It felt really good to get a fire going with the bow and drill and I had a private Ray Mears moment. After I recovered I dug out
the steaks and made some nettle tea.
Tried to make some rope ("cordage" according to the manuals I studied) from the nettle stalks. Point your knife away from you and draw
the stalks towards you to create thin strands. Scrape them first, so your hands don't hurt as much as mine did.
Then reverse your knife and use the spine as a holder while you twist the strands together.
After further swearing and lots of time, you get this:
Well, sort of.
Thanks for looking, I had a really nice time away from it all...
