Bushcraft Icons: Kuksa

Traditionally carved from the burl growth of a Birch tree, these wooden cups known as Kuksa or Guksi are as Scandaweegen as anything. In the cold of the Sammi peoples arctic homeland a metal cup would be a one way ticket to a stuck lip. So the insulating properties, and light weight of wood make this a perfectly adapted tool for the region. They also look totally cool in the suburbs, and clearly designate their owner as 'more bushcraft than thou' around any campfire. So there.

More soon
Your Pal
SBW

British Blades

There is a resource
It's on the web of course

About the gathering of blades
And the ways that they are made

Guys who'll sell you a blade on its own
Folk who have devised a new hone

Handles in Wood, G10 and Micarta
It's extensive, they'll have what your after

Steel matrix seen under a 'scope
Neck knives, handled with some rope

Sheaths in vegetable dyed leather
Finishes to withstand the weather

Rigid camp choppers, fish knives with some flex
Tutorials, make Damascus, sheath in Kydex

The merits of each kind of temper and quench
Exclusive output from a master makers bench

Thorough, long standing user review
Granddads folder to draw queens brand new

Edges; convex, scandi, and full flat
It's all there, from superb! To what is that?

A great resource, maybe I'm showing my ignorance here, but I've never had a question about blade making that I've not seen already answered somewhere on British Blades.

If you're in the market for a new knife this thread is an amazing list of makers from all over the world.

If you're looking for something usable but affordable, I've seen some shocking bargains on the site too.

Cheers
SBW

A Tale Of Two Bushmen AKA Bargain Alert

I've been reading the blog written by the American Bushman for ages and marvelling at his knife collection - he doesn't just think 'that looks cool I wonder what it's like to use' he buys one and finds out just exactly how cool each design is. As you probably know after a while it's easy to end up with more stuff than one bushman can practically carry so he's decided to lighten his load by having a bit of a clear out.

Good news for us!

Inspired by the Backyard Bushman's posts about his EDC I've snaffled the Mikro Canadian II by the Bark River Knife and Tool Co. and a few other bits which I'll review as usage allows.
There are still loads of handsome blades for sale - take a look.
Happy Hunting
SBW

Saw Feelings

Axes may give you more of a ‘woody woodsman’ feeling, but in most situations saws are a lot more practical. Especially if your trying to introduce the little people to the big outdoors. Saws let kids make a sizable contribution to the woodpile without scaring the living crap out of adult observers.

It’s been a while since I’ve prattled on about the horrific cost of living in ‘Rip Off Britain’… and its also time for your pal the bushwacker to help himself to a nice fat slice of humble pie.

A while ago I sang the praises of the BCB commando saw. Well I’ve had a change of heart. I couldn’t tell you why, but when outdoors I’d always preferred saws where both ends of the blade are secured. I don’t know why but I’ve taken it as an article of faith.

In support of this belief I have painstakingly filed the teeth of a cumbersome bow saw to vicious sharp (took ages) and wrapped the blade in cardboard for transportation. Then I moved over to the BCB saw, dumping its brittle blades for a wire saw that either stretched or clogged and most of the time did both. It was light enough, but frustrating.

When I was given that well loved staple of British bushcraft the Bahco Laplander saw for crimbo (it arrived a little after) I got to put my own BS (belief systems!) to the test. The scales fell from my eyes. This is one design classic that is actually worth its reputation. Really, it rocks!

Here in northern europe many of us have a built in preference for Swedish kit, it’s the land of top notch outdoor tools and clothing. Its tools like the Trangia, Laplander and fallkniven’s F1 that reinforce the prejudice.

First impressions of the Laplander:
The design is beautifully obvious, the Laplander convincingly locks shut as well as open. No more cardboard to protect the contents of my bag.
It weighs the sum total of ‘nack all’ (I couldn’t find the kitchen scales but it really is light).
Very, very sharp teeth, cleverly set to avoid clogging and binding. I once read a review that claimed the blade was made of two different thickness of steel wielded together, with the teeth cut from the thicker piece. I’ve not been able to verify this, but the teeth certainly leave a wide cut. I’ve not tried it on bone yet but I’m expecting great things.
The teeth nearest the handle are redundant, and if it were my design I might have chosen to put a choi there instead. The handle has a bit of flex to it but two things reassured me; its cold enough in Sweden to mean that plastics have to be chosen for their resilience in the cold, if a little flex is the price of not becoming brittle it’s a fair exchange. The other thing that gave me confidence is they sell replacement blades! When a tools is this cheap it usually just means disposable, I’m starting to suspect that in this case it mean that users have found that the handle lasts.

In the UK the best price I’ve seen is £20 inc delivery from Camelot Outdoor with the average being about £23 plus delivery. As usual being ‘just down the road’ from Sweden has no bearing on the prices we pay.
The good news if you’re in north America (or you’ve sorted out a means of shipping) is Bushcraft North West have the same saw made in the same factory just with a red Kershaw logo. It comes in at a measly $25 (£12.50p)! At that price you don’t have to take my word for it.

EDIT NEW BEST PRICE IS ONLY £13.49

Thanks for reading
Bushwacker

PS for a side by side comparison
PPS my cameras out of batteries, picture from camelots website

Can You Tell What It is Yet?

Of Course it’s a root burl. Or to be more precise a burl that has separated from its parent tree and then rooted. Before it could put up any shoots along came your pal the bushwacker and snaffled it.

Burls are a great example of the adage ‘it’s the exception that proves the rule’ if you took any woodwork classes at school you may remember being told that wood ‘always’ grows in strait fibers that form the woods grain, then along came a burl to disprove that generalisation. Burls do have grain but it’s not straight, in fact its usually in interconnecting spirals. If you get the first stages of curing right they form an incredibly hard and stable piece of timber. They are dense, hard to carve, but very beautiful. Because of the random super tight grain they are far less likely to split, even if they get wet. I’ve been an avid Burl collector for a few years but most of my collection are pretty small. They become handles for fire steels and brushes. Occasionally I find some larger specimens and this one came along just as I was thinking about Mungo’s request for a Kuksa.

Most european bushcrafters have a fascination for the Sammi or Laplanders of Finland.They live in some of the most beautiful and challenging terrain europe has to offer, and are masters of cold weather living. They have developed some equipment that has been ‘field tested’ over generations. The Puukko knife and the Kuksa (or wooden cup) are icons of european bushcraft. Both use burls from the birch tree in their construction.The clever thing about a wooden cup is that however cold the weather it wont stick to your lips, and is a fair insulator, keeping hot drinks and soups warmer for longer.

For a really good kuksa tutorial see Jon’s Bushcraft.

American Finn’s blog has some very good pictures of Puukkos and kuksas
Kellam Knives have kuksas and Puukkos
Bearclaws are the only people I’ve seen selling proper hand carved Burl Kuksas, not cheap but look totally authentic.
Thanks for reading
Bushwacker

Rooting Around I Found This