Tricks of the Trade

[Damascus]

Hi All

I thought I'd start a thread with some tricks of the trade, we all have a few of them, the things that can make life interesting and dare say easier,

To set the ball rolling;

if you haven't a strop for your knife to put the finnishing edge on or not at home, use a rolled up News paper, it works just as good in fact most paper will do if it is made firm enough!

Its over to you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :You_Rock_

 

[Seagull]

When messing about with blanks cut from lawnmower blades, you should spend lots and lots of hours hand shaping with files.

Have lots of fun, reading up on how to heat treat.
Harden and temper and have a great time
But dont lose track of what you're doing.......this is what happens when you decide to give a little straightening "tap" ,having forgotten to ,first normalise it again.

Ah well, it was good fun and I still have the other bit of mowerblade, if ever I decide to try again.

Ceeg

 

[chrisanson]

When messing about with blanks cut from lawnmower blades, you should spend lots and lots of hours hand shaping with files.

Have lots of fun, reading up on how to heat treat.
Harden and temper and have a great time
But dont lose track of what you're doing.......this is what happens when you decide to give a little straightening "tap" ,having forgotten to ,first normalise it again.

Ah well, it was good fun and I still have the other bit of mowerblade, if ever I decide to try again.

Ceeg

PM me if you need a bit more

 

[weaver]

You can sharpen a knife on the bottom of a teacup, or any ceramic ware, on the part that is not glazed. It's basically the same as a ceramic sharpening stick.

If you are in your automobile you can lower the side window and use the top edge for a hone.

A strip of bark with fine clay rubbed in will make a useable strop.

 

[John Fenna]

Aglass bottle can be used like a ceramic sharpener too....

 

[spamel]

And so can a ceramic sharpener!

 

[Philbert]

Add about 10% water to your meths to stop your pots going black.

Paint a slurry of washing up powder to the bottom of our billycans and let it dry. Use as normal over an open fire, makes them easier to wash at the end of your trip.

Can you tell I dont like washing up.

 

[gorilla]

a cheap £5 bbq - the dish maks a good firebowl - i've been usung one for a couple of years

 

[dwardo]

Keep a bit of wire in your pack, a wire coat hanger is perfect. This can be used for many things including a pot hanger for your fire, heated to make crafts n things and it weighs nawt !

Tinder pouch,, it doesnt need to be a fancy leather one but my point is have your tinder ready before you go out. I have spent years trying to find tinder in the rain and in places void of any suitable material, then whenever your out wandering and come across a big downey birch you can stock up

Shaping wood,, i use this especially for knife handles get a small bit of leather say about 3 inch by 6 inch and roll it up together with sand paper and use it as a shaping tool. Works much better than a file as it does not scar the wood as much so requiring less finishing work.

Nice idea damascus

 

[SOAR]

Always carry a few different ways of making fire, firesteel, flint and steel, lighter (bright yellow one, so it can be seen if dropped on the forest floor)

Simon.

 

[pothunter]

I'm always in fear of loosing car keys so out in the wood or on the estuary I thread a white handkerchief threw the keyring and knot it so that they will be visible from a distance if the worst happens.

 

[ol smokey]

If you don't like the smell or taste of smoke in your campfire tea. Take the live head off of a wooden matchstick and drop the headless matchstick into the boiling water, this produces enough of a parafin film on the water to stop it taking up the smokey taste.
If you don't like the taste of parafin Tough, (only kidding) It does notdeposit enough parafin to taste the tea. This was a tip from an old fisherman. I personally don't mind the smokey taste in my tea or whisky but do not like ther things smoked, Fish,Bacon etc.,

 

[Tadpole]

If your hands are particularly cruddy, add a spoonful of white sugar to a spoonful of liquid soap, this works on most things, oil, paint, other types of goo,
Course sawdust works just as well. Wood shaving (from, say, making a spoon) can be use as cook pot cleaner, just grab a hand full, and scrub at the tough bits, with or without soap.
A slice of soap from a bar of hand soap, mixed well with some brown sugar works well to ‘draw out’ the thorns from a bramble attack, I’m told it works on boils, but never had a need to try it.

 

[Cobweb]

To get really tough dried on food out of your billy, tip the dregs of tea and fill up with water. Add a handful or two of ash from the fire and bring to the boil. Let it cool down, add your soap of choice and then clean as normal. It works wonders.

If you have billies or cups with that white crusty stuff that you can get from boiling water clean them with white vinegar, it attacks and removes the white crusty stuff really well. I think that its some form of alkaline as the acid in the vinegar fizzes it away.

Another one: Save the shavings and chips from whittling to help start the fire going. They are dry and thin so are great as kindling.

 

[decorum]

Having been bitten to bits this year I've found that nail varnish applied directly onto the inflamation brings almost instant relief from itching;... use the clear stuff to avoid excessive funny looks - unless you're actually trying to accessorise! AND remember to let it dry if you intend to cover the area with clothing.

 

[SOAR]

Another good way of washing your hands when out in the woods is to get a couple of Horse chestnut leaves and a small drop of water and rub between the hands this produces a soap lather.

Simon.

 

[Tourist]

A couple of tricks told me by a chappie who I worked with for a couple of years who did actually serve in Vietnam............and not as Special Forces but as an Air Force photographer.

Elastic band around a Zippo, it'll never fall out of your pocket. I started to put elastic bands around everything after the tip.......it seemed to work.

In the jungle wear silk knick's / boxer's and a silk lined beret / hat. Apparently bugs do not like to live in the home of another bug. Silk is the home of the silk worm. By keeping out bugs you reduce the chance of head and crotch eating bugs, which for your head could mean baldness.

To underline this, it was fashionable for US Special Forces to have silk panties sewn into their berets to keep bugs at bay. In the British Army I wore an Officers silk lined beret and still have all my own [grey] hair. A mate who was in the Legion did the Legion jungle warfare course in Guyane Francaise, wore a cotton hat and came back with a worm that had eaten into his forehead during an overnight bivvy.

My mums tips:

If you are going to kill a chicken, knock it out first that way you will not have a headless chicken running around.

If you have ingrained grub in a glass bottle, break and cook an egg - take the shell and drop it into the bottle and then swoosh it around with some detergent, it cleans bottles a treat.

Is an egg hard boiled, spin it on a flat surface - if it spins like its had one beer too many its still soft boiled, if it spins like a spinning top its hard boiled.

 

[RobertRogers]

I enjoyed the knock-out-the-chicken trick.

 

[Tourist]

I enjoyed the knock-out-the-chicken trick.

Robert, I first saw Mother demonstrate this back in 1968 at the Hameln Military Training Area. We were visiting the exercise for the day when a headless chicken came running from a mess tent chased by a cook. Eventually the hapless cook caught the hen which had finally dropped from terminal decapitation.

My mother saw the baskets of live chickens all awaiting the same treatment. As she had spent some of her formative years working on a farm and then as head cook in a Sergeants Mess [where she met dad] she offered to show the cooks how to kill and prepare fresh chicken properly. The offer was gratefully accepted.

You basically just whack the chicken on the head with a blunt instruement and then decapitate it..........unconscious chickens don't run. Dunking the chicken in hot water quickly makes it easier to pluck.

 

[Barn Owl]

I dress my mars bar trousers (craghopper kiwis..work,rest and play), with barbour thorn dressing on the knees for (kneeling) on damp ground, seems to work ok.
Don't use it on the seat as it can wear off onto car/home upholstery.
Tom.