Sum up what we do.

[Paul_Davies]

Hey folks!
I often mention to people I like Bushcraft to which surprisingly people sometimes say.. Whats That?!?!
I'm curious to know when people ask you what you like to do, or what's your hobby and you reply Bushcraft
How do you sum up what exactly It is we do in a a short sentence or 2 without the other person thinking you're a Camper that lights fires.

 

[Man of Tanith]

I usually say you know Ray Mears.... That sorta thing
Or it's like scouts but for grown ups

 

[Broch]

I don't tell anybody 'I do bushcraft' - I do canoeing, camping, trekking (vehicle and foot), wilderness living, fishing, hunting and woodland management - I apply a wide range of 'wilderness skills' (popularly called bushcraft skills) to all of those activities.

But, I don't 'Bushcraft' - I do not recognise bushcraft as a verb or as an activity I do by itself

 

[Paul_Davies]

I usually say you know Ray Mears.... That sorta thing
Or it's like scouts but for grown ups

Haha nice one although said the exact same thing to someone! Do you know Ray Mears and this was to a chap that was clearly in his 40s so he should remember Ray on TV. But he gave me a blank face.

I don't tell anybody 'I do bushcraft' - I do canoeing, camping, trekking (vehicle and foot), wilderness living, fishing, hunting and woodland management - I apply a wide range of 'wilderness skills' (popularly called bushcraft skills) to all of those activities.

But, I don't 'Bushcraft' - I do not recognise bushcraft as a verb or as an activity I do by itself

Nice explanation Broch. I like that

 

[British Red]

Much like Broch really, we do a whole range of activities - smallholders, gardeners, people who cook and heat with wood, campers, wood workers, soap makers, off road drivers, shooters and more. These days it's more self sufficiency than Bushcraft as, to be honest, the UK doesn't have enough public access wilderness with camping rights to make true Bushcraft feasible for most people without a real effort at 'lets pretend '. It makes more sense to enjoy activities individually for us than feel we have to follow a script

 

[saxonaxe]

None of the locals ask me, I'm just the strange old bloke who disappears into the woods periodically. A couple of tourists followed me once, but they turned back when they came to the Badger skull and Sheep's bones hanging from a tree along the trail. ..

 

[demographic]

I just try to keep myself interested while I walk the dog.

 

[Kadushu]

I live on a smallholding with an orchard and small piece of woodland, so I'm under the homesteader rather than bushcrafter category. The difference seems to be an evolutionary one: settled agriculture vs nomadic hunter gathering, with a significant overlap in activities because, ultimately, the goal is to heat and feed oneself.

 

[C_Claycomb]

Hey folks!
I often mention to people I like Bushcraft to which surprisingly people sometimes say.. Whats That?!?!
I'm curious to know when people ask you what you like to do, or what's your hobby and you reply Bushcraft
How do you sum up what exactly It is we do in a a short sentence or 2 without the other person thinking you're a Camper that lights fires.

I am with Broch. I am interested in "bushcraft", as in I am interested in the collection and application of knowledge and skills related to travelling or living in wilder places, but I do not "bushcraft". Not only do I not consider it a verb, but it is abundantly clear that a lot of people think it right to say "for me, bushcraft is xxxx...." which really means that saying that you do bushcraft conveys little precise meaning even to people with some ideas about it.

If someone asks me about "bushcraft" I will use Ray Mears as a reference (if they mention Grylls I put them straight ). If the conversation goes on, I might use examples of what I do or am interested in, but I try to explain that these things fall under the vague definition of bushcraft skills, but do not themselves define bushcraft.

 

[billycoen]

When i'm out and about,my dog is always with me,i usually have a rucksack with my bits and bobs in,trangia,brew kit,etc,i don't know if it's because i'm "just walking the dog",but as yet, no-one has ever bothered to ask me what i'm doing.

 

[Yorkshire Viking]

When i'm out and about,my dog is always with me,i usually have a rucksack with my bits and bobs in,trangia,brew kit,etc,i don't know if it's because i'm "just walking the dog",but as yet, no-one has ever bothered to ask me what i'm doing.

I'm the exactly the same and I do like to keep myself, it's my time when I'm out just me and the dog

 

[Minotaur]

I don't tell anybody 'I do bushcraft' - I do canoeing, camping, trekking (vehicle and foot), wilderness living, fishing, hunting and woodland management - I apply a wide range of 'wilderness skills' (popularly called bushcraft skills) to all of those activities.

But, I don't 'Bushcraft' - I do not recognise bushcraft as a verb or as an activity I do by itself

Yeah, I agree as I tend to think of myself as hiking/camping.
Bushcraft is more a philosophy than the activity.

 

[punkrockcaveman]

'Being opportunistic and working with the natural world'

I know thats vague but that sums up what I do. I try and let the seasons/weather dictate what I need to learn and focus on next, even then, I never go out with a strict plan because there's always something interesting to take opportunity from

 

[demographic]

Mind, one thing I maybe should have mentioned and not doing so could seem a bit ungrateful to the site owners is that itBushcraft is a handy title to cover what I'm interested in.
I'm not entirely sure that "KeepingmyselfinterestedwhileIwalkthedogcraftuk" would attract as varied or as numerous a membership so I'm glad its named the way it is.

 

[Greg]

I don't tell people I'm a Bushcrafter..in my opinion 'Bushcraft' is just a modern buzz word...instead I tell people that ask me, that I teach various wilderness skills and remote survival techniques to effect self rescue.

 

[C_Claycomb]

I don't tell people I'm a Bushcrafter..in my opinion 'Bushcraft' is just a modern buzz word...instead I tell people that ask me, that I teach various wilderness skills and remote survival techniques to effect self rescue.

I was going to disagree, seeing as Richard Graves used the term around 1940, and later wrote an explanation of its use;
”The term "Bushcraft" is used because woodcraft commonly means either knowledge of local fauna and flora or else is associated with the blood-sports of hunting and shooting.
…..
"Bushcraft" describes the activity of how to make use of natural materials found locally in any area. It includes many of the skills used by primitive man, and to these are added "white man" skills necessary for survival, such as time and direction, and the provision of modern "white man" comforts.”

However, while checking dates, I saw how many books there are now with “Bushcraft” in their title….

 

[Greg]

I was going to disagree, seeing as Richard Graves used the term around 1940, and later wrote an explanation of its use;
”The term "Bushcraft" is used because woodcraft commonly means either knowledge of local fauna and flora or else is associated with the blood-sports of hunting and shooting.
…..
"Bushcraft" describes the activity of how to make use of natural materials found locally in any area. It includes many of the skills used by primitive man, and to these are added "white man" skills necessary for survival, such as time and direction, and the provision of modern "white man" comforts.”

However, while checking dates, I saw how many books there are now with “Bushcraft” in their title….

Exactly...

 

[Minotaur]

It looks like it comes from the Dutch settlers in various places and has been around since at least 1800.

 

[dwardo]

Outdoors`y stuff and making things.

 

[Erbswurst]

As the German boy scouts are a bit different to most other ones I just explain that it's not Scouting for Boys but for adults. Regarding German circumstances there is actually no difference apart from the age and that adult people rather do it alone or in couples than in groups.