Tools or techniques commonly frowned upon, but you do it anyway

[Chris]

What sort of tools and techniques do you utilise, which seem to be frowned upon by everyone else?

I’ll start: I still sometimes baton wood with my expensive knives. I find it to be an effective and easy way of breaking down kindling and I don’t always carry an axe. Yes, it dulls the blade. That’s what knife sharpening was invented for.

So what’s your dirty secret? How do you stick it to The (bushcraft) Man?

 

[MrEd]

What sort of tools and techniques do you utilise, which seem to be frowned upon by everyone else?

I’ll start: I still sometimes baton wood with my expensive knives. I find it to be an effective and easy way of breaking down kindling and I don’t always carry an axe. Yes, it dulls the blade. That’s what knife sharpening was invented for.

So what’s your dirty secret? How do you stick it to The (bushcraft) Man?

I do the same. Except I do t have expensive knives (Brisa trapper is my most expensive but I keep mine for ‘best’ and have a cheaper but bigger model I keep ‘work-a-day’ sharp for battening. But I will use my trapper when I forget the other one.

Also when it’s raining or I am cold I use a lighter!

 

[Stew]

What sort of tools and techniques do you utilise, which seem to be frowned upon by everyone else?

I’ll start: I still sometimes baton wood with my expensive knives. I find it to be an effective and easy way of breaking down kindling and I don’t always carry an axe. Yes, it dulls the blade. That’s what knife sharpening was invented for.

So what’s your dirty secret? How do you stick it to The (bushcraft) Man?

Does batoning really dull the blade more than just using it? I’ve never noticed but it may be I just hadn’t thought about it.

I’ll go a step further - I’ll baton with a folder if needed. There’s a good technique for it. Realistically, I don’t worry about what others like me doing. My stuff and I’ll use it as I like.

 

[Pattree]

I don’t know the rules of bushcraft so I have no idea whether I have transgressed.
.

 

[Broch]

They're not rules, more like guidelines

If it's cold, damp, and the team need a cup of hot brew, I use firelighters to get the fire going - does that count?

Edit: and yes, I have battoned (?) since I was a kid, I've never broken a knife, and I don't believe it dulls the blade particularly, well, less so than cutting across the grain.

 

[Pattree]

I was once told by a member here that if I used my Bialetti to purify water that was OK but if I use it for coffee it’s glamping so I guess I’m a glamper!

I wonder if it’s OK to purify water just before I use it to make coffee.

 

[FerlasDave]

I sometimes use a drill as a hammer… or a wrench, pliers, screwdriver, block of wood, bandsaw… Basically anything as a hammer!

 

[Nice65]

 

[Pattree]

Did the Individual survive?

 

[Nice65]

Did the Individual survive?

I’ve no idea, but Darwin’s theory suggests it’s only a matter of time

 

[Moondog55]

Yep He should have used diesel or napalm

 

[Toddy]

I use wee knives....for pretty much everything. Lot of people have told me to, "Get a real knife", like thon Australian fellow who killed crocodiles.....we have a surprising dearth of crocodiles in Scotland though


I use a tattie peeler to strip bark...got roundly told off by a FOREST SCHOOL TUTOR (no offence intended to those who are geuinely enthusiastic and encouraging) for doing so because I ought to be teaching using a knife....yeah, right, y'see round here the local MP literally got voted in on his catchphrase of, "Carry a knife, go to jail !"....local town was the 'knife murder capital of Europe' for a while.
So, tool use is always a contentious issue, and one has to be aware of the local culture. Tattie peeler it is, and it works fine.

I use an old worn down to a stub chisel to sharpen my pencils

 

[Pattree]

I wonder if anyone will admit to using their knife to lever off a tin lid!!!

I’ll hold my hand up. It was in the far off days when I carried a bowie. I use folders now so I have to use a chisel

 

[MrEd]

I use wee knives....for pretty much everything. Lot of people have told me to, "Get a real knife", like thon Australian fellow who killed crocodiles.....we have a surprising dearth of crocodiles in Scotland though


I use a tattie peeler to strip bark...got roundly told off by a FOREST SCHOOL TUTOR (no offence intended to those who are geuinely enthusiastic and encouraging) for doing so because I ought to be teaching using a knife....yeah, right, y'see round here the local MP literally got voted in on his catchphrase of, "Carry a knife, go to jail !"....local town was the 'knife murder capital of Europe' for a while.
So, tool use is always a contentious issue, and one has to be aware of the local culture. Tattie peeler it is, and it works fine.

I use an old worn down to a stub chisel to sharpen my pencils

This is acceptable in my book as long as the peeler is one of those ones where the handle is held to the blade with orange string!

 

[Pattree]

I wonder if anyone will admit to using their knife to lever off a tin lid!!!

I’ll hold my hand up. It was in the far off days when I carried a bowie. I use folders now so I have to use a chisel

 

[Pattree]

This is acceptable in my book as long as the peeler is one of those ones where the handle is held to the blade with orange string!

yes Yes YES!
This is absolutely the only legal veg peeler in the universe. All others should be banned!*

It can be misused very effectively for so many things. You can field strip it and even make your own handle!!!!!

(*unless you peel potatoes with a zombie knife.)

 

[Big Si]

I use a chainsaw as my arthritis prevents me from using a bow saw or an axe. I even had to buy an electric chainsaw because I couldn't pull the petrol one. I use a small pair of gardening snips for virtually every cutting task when it gets cold as knives are sometimes overrated!

Si

 

[Toddy]

For bark, it is indeed an orange string wooden handled Lancashire peeler.

In the kitchen though, I use a Victorinox one

 

[Toddy]

I use a chainsaw as my arthritis prevents me from using a bow saw or an axe. I even had to buy an electric chainsaw because I couldn't pull the petrol one. I use a small pair of gardening snips for virtually every cutting task when it gets cold as knives are sometimes overrated!

Si

Much under considered tools are good pruners and snips, but they're not only 'safe' in public, they're really good and useful too.

 

[Pattree]

I always have secateurs in my camp kit. Invaluable if you use a twig burner to cook.