Survival Topics

As you might imagine I've read one or two books about surviving in the wilderness and to be fair most of them are much of a muchness. Just because you can survive doesn't mean you can write.

There is one notable exception - Ron Fontaine who writes Survival Topics; the BEST survival site on the web and far far better than most of the books.

The most common ways to die outdoors may not be what usually comes to mind. Many people worry about bears and other mean creatures. Fact is, the most common outdoor deaths are attributable to one and only one living thing: YOU. By far, hands down, what bumps you off in the wilderness are the decisions you make. Getting just a little to close to the edge. Taking on the next higher class of whitewater. Climbing a mountain when you are out of shape. Refusing to turn back when the weather turns bad.

Many people think food will be the priority when lost in the woods - survival topics puts that myth to bed.

STOP: Sit Think Observe Plan

If there is one piece of advice that will carry you through life this is it, it works in the woods, it works in meetings, and it works in that most fraught of suburban survival situations - the children's party! When you've survived being over-run by wild eyed tykes, high on sugar and adrenalin you can tell yourself you'd survive anything.

The Dakota Fire (pictured above)
This wasn't the first time I'd seen this, but it's easily the best explanation of its benefits.
I've been to South Dakota and if there is one environment where the wind will increase fuel consumption it's the plains. So it's not surprising that a technique for using less fuel would develop there. Works well in Yorkshire too!
[For readers from other parts of the world, Yorkshire is the Texas of England (the biggest and most opinionated ;-) ) and home to my pal The Northern Monkey]

Survival Topics is also a web shop where Ron sells that outdoor essential the Swedish firesteel.
I still have a stash of firesteels so I haven't ordered any of his myself, but he's got the widest choice of sizes, and his pricing is way cheaper than a lot of sites. Including the one I bought mine from. grrr.

As with the best teachers Ron has peppered his writing with moments of comedy

Although the odds are certainly against it, personally I think predation is the manliest way to go. There is something to be said for going down fighting as opposed to in an old folks home.

Thanks for reading - be sure to check out more of Ron's site.
your pal
The bushwacker

Forks and Roasting - Online!

I've been a fan of, and occasional poster on, the bushcraftuk.com site for a couple of years now, and while it's full of really useful information, it's much like human nature itself; a mix of the good the bad and the ugly. It's also not short of moments of high comedy

There are some people who can't seem to think about bushcraft without buying yet more tat to drag around with them.

(sound of glass house resident throwing stones)

As a wise man once said 'there's a seeker born every minute, two to teach him, and another two to sell him 'must have' accessories on the internet'

The Swedish company Light My Fire sells some really cool stuff, but sometimes people get a bit carried way and 'it's a really cool idea' gets confused with 'it's going to be a really cool product'. You know what sales and marketing people are like.

(another stone flies past)

This toasting fork is a case in point. You get some wire and you bend it, it becomes a really sweet way of keeping the bread, sausage, or marshmallow stable on the end of your stick while you're toasting it over the fire. It's not rocket science - but it is the kind of cool idea that the internet is so good for sharing. Barry Crump would be proud of you.

A chap whose forum name on bushcraftuk is Cobweb has gone to the trouble of posting a straightforward tutorial showing exactly how to make one in 12 photos. Nice one mate.

Then follow 3 pages of sad, angry men telling each other how each of them believes they know best. After a while the guy who started the site asks them to play nice, they don't listen!
It's hilarious! Boys and their toys! What can you say?

thanks for reading
SBW

PS the toasting forks absolutely rock - and are very very easy to make
PPS have a look at the silly poll I posted about an English TV show and the responses it got!

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

Wood That I Could

I cant remember where I saw this, but I liked it and thought you might too.

Beechwood fires are bright and clear
If the logs are kept a year.
Chestnut's only good, they say
If for long it's laid away.
But Ash wood new or Ash wood old
Is fit for a queen with a crown of gold.

Birch and Fir logs burn too fast,
Blaze up bright and do not last.
It is by the Irish said.
That Hawthorn bakes the sweetest bread
Elm wood burns like churchyard mold;
Even the very flames are cold.
But Ash wood green or Ash wood brown,
Is fit for a queen with a golden crown.

Poplar gives a bitter smoke,
Fills your eyes and makes you choke.
Applewood will scent your room
With an incense-like perfume.
Oak and Maple, if dry and old,
Keep away the winter cold.
But Ash wood wet and Ash wood dry,
A king shall warm his slippers by.
- Anonymous

Go on! Light one, you know you want to!!
SBW

Swedish Survival Skills

I’ve been meaning to recommend Michel Blomgren and his site Bushcraft.se for a while. Not only is he very knowledgeable about the skills that will keep you comfortably alive should you get lost while in the forest, but he’s also a talented TV presenter who is not afraid to suffer, if it means imparting some knowledge.

If you do nothing else make sure you watch Episode 1 - Five points survival.
It could save you life, it will make an overnight stay in the woods more comfortable, and if you are trying to get your kids into the outdoors the skills he demonstrates are so simple you could be teaching them to your kids by this weekend. Genius!

Enjoy
Bushwacker

Prometheus In My Pocket

“ ‘I'm a firestarter, a twisted firestarter’, (sigh) well that’s nothing to be proud of is it” DJ Alan Partridge (Steve Coogan) reviews The Prodigy.

Due to our damp northern climate I tend to favor the firesteel as a means of ignition. As well as being waterproof: they are cheap and making handles for them is easy, satisfying, and gives you the kind of ‘bushcrafty’ vibe that makes you seem like you have a life outside of work.
The sparks they produce are way hot, and so bright you could signal with if you didn’t have a torch or signal fire lit yet. In the damp weather, and as good practice, I’ve been carrying kindling to give myself a head start when lighting a brew fire. So I thought I’d do a post about some of the gatherable options. But you know how it is; your pal the bushwacker has always had an inquiring mind (also known as a short attention span). So while I was thinking a about a fire, I started to think about something to cook on it (blogging often gives me an appetite) and something to keep fiddling fingers occupied while sitting by it.The Sammi people of Finland have carried the dried hollow stalks of Angelica, and I’ve used Hemlock stems gathered from the roadside. Being hollow the stems draw air as they burn giving a very hot flame, handy when you need to dry out the rest of your firewood. There are plenty of alternatives you can easily gather and then carry with you. Here’s one I made earlier.

Birch bark is the classic all year round kindling, it’s cigarette paper thin and lights even more easily. It’s totally sustainable, and convenient as the tree is shedding it all year round!

Cattail fluff makes an ideal ‘spark catcher’ it burns very quickly, a little too quickly for use on it’s own but as a natural catalyst its fantastic.

Mixed with some of the Birch bark and wrapped in some bigger bits of birch bark it’s portable,

and ignitable!

While your gathering the dried out Cattails for kindling you can get a lot of other uses from the rest of the plant. The stems could be an ideal thatching material for a longer-term shelter. But lets head to the kitchen!
At their base Cattails have rhizomes (the root-like stem that grows horizontally sending roots down and leaves and stems up) that are ripe for eating at the moment. All you have to do is peel ‘em and cook them like spuds. In some culinary traditions the rhizomes are pounded into flour. I’ll let you know. The first time I ate them was in the spring, we plucked out the soft white core of the young stems, (known as Cossack’s asparagus) and they were pretty good raw as a salad vegetable eaten in situ and for our tea cooked in a stir-fry.

Thanks for reading
Bushwacker

Cut To The Chase

There are only two things you need for great food, really fresh ingredients and really, really, sharp knives.

As regular readers will know I pendulum between the futurist and atavist positions on most things and knives are no exception. Over the last few months I’ve been fetishising Tom Brown Jnr’s $260 T2 Tracker knife – but I didn’t buy one..............

CHOOSING:
A word as to knife, or knives. These are of prime necessity, and should be of the best, both as to shape and temper. The "bowies" and "hunting knives" usually kept on sale, are thick, clumsy affairs, with a sort of ridge along the middle of the blade, murderous looking, but of little use; rather fitted to adorn a dime novel or the belt of "Billy the Kid," than the outfit of the hunter.
George Washington Sears AKA ‘Nessmuk’ writing in the1880’s

For ‘murderous’ read ‘tactical’ and Nessmuk, Field and Streams venerable canoe camping correspondent, could be blogging today. I reckon he would have pissed himself laughing at the camo coatings offered on so many of today’s outdoor and hunting tools. I love my camo as much as the next redneck, but in the field ‘camo’ is often a pseudonym for ‘never seen again’.

Another trend in knife design is wooden handle and steel blade, held together with brass pins. Nowadays known as the ‘Woodlore’ style, popularised by Ray Mears. While these knives do have an attractive handmade-ness, they can be silly money. Perhaps I’m a bit of a pikey but at up to $440 I wouldn’t want to use a blade for duties any more demanding than letter opening!

Between the extremes of ‘weapon’ and ‘handicraft’ I did find a style that suited me. The ‘pry-bar with an edge’ AKA the ‘survival knife’.

After a scouting around on the web for a while. And choosing to impose a limit of $100, (I say ‘choosing’ it was actually fear of Mrs Bushwacker that made me impose it). I came to a choice of design philosophy between- America* and Sweden, the Gerber LMF II for serious mass production and Fallkniven F1 for serious seriousness.

*I know Gerber’s parent company is Finish – if I’m not pedantic enough for you write your own blog

Both designs pride themselves on being strong enough to stab straight into the side of an oil drum. I don’t know what the manufactures had in mind, but I know a barbequing opportunity when I see one!

Fallkniven, which means folding knife in Swedish, designed their knife for pilots who have made an unplanned change from flying, to shanks pony (walking) in sub-arctic conditions. The handle grips against skin or gloves whatever the temperature. The blade is in the 'drop-point' style and a practical 3.5inches long. Made from a stainless steel called VG 10 with a full tang, (the blade goes all the way through the handle), and has a pommel or sticky-out-bit at the end of the handle so you can give it a proper whack when handcrafting your new oil barrel barbeque, splitting logs or boar’s skulls.

Gerber, which means baby food in my house, designed their knife for infantry folk or at least for infantry wannabes. They gave their knife a more substantial pommel, nice, but chose to separate it from the blade, purportedly so as to reduce the shock felt when using it as a hammer. Unfortunately this ‘innovation’ means the handle has to be stronger rather than grippyer. Gerber Hmmmm.
In fairness I did like the idea of a sharpener built into the sheath, but that annoying serrated bit by the finger guard is in exactly the wrong place on the knife. It’s positioned just where a sharp plain edge is most useful for fine work like making tinder sticks. Still it does help give it that ‘tactical’ look. For me the tinder sticks would be more useful than looking ‘murderous’ when in the field.

OPTIONS:
Fallkniven give you three options for the knife and three for the sheath.

Knives
1. Plain blade with a Thermorun handle. Simple: utilitarian, grippy, and sterilize-able in a saucepan of water. Just the thing for my Elk hunt.
2. As above: but with a black blade. A bit too ‘tactical’ for me.
3. Plain blade with a Micarta handle and a nickel silver finger guard.
A very nice mix of useable and hand finished, nearly got my vote.

Sheaths
1.Drop in Scandinavian style sheath – now discontinued but available on Eay.
2.Flap closure style. The standard version, you wont lose it or have to pay any extra.
3.Moulded Zytel with a popper fastener. I like synthetic sheaths, but I’ve seen them done better.

BUYING:
Even though I’m in London, only 1762.65 miles from the Fallkniven factory.
The ‘sharpest’ price I found was from BestKnives.com in the USA. $98.95 or about £50 (they have the Gerber LMF II for $76.95 i.e £36 – pretty good as I’ve seen it in rip-off Brittan for £100+). These guys are cheapest or second cheapest for most knives, they ship promptly, and give you a UPS number to track your shipment with.

POST PURCHASE:
I’m lovin’ it!
I’ve used the knife for a few rough jobs; opening gummed up tins of paint, scratching out putty and broken glass. I’ve beaten it into some logs, cut some fire wood and shaved some tinder sticks. It would never be my first choice in the kitchen or for butchery, but its not designed to be, so fair play.
It takes a reasonable edge pretty easily and holds it well. Due to a lack of skill on my part I’m yet to get it sharp enough to pass the wet cigarette paper test.
Some people have re-ground theirs from the convex edge to a flatter blade profile, which will undoubtedly make for a much finer but more delicate edge. I’m not sure that I’ll bother. While I like the idea of it being a bit sharper. I kinda feel that it would miss the point, you can get all the knife you’ll ever need for fine work for $10 (Frosts – also of Sweden). The F1 is for making shelters, splittin’ firewood, and making showers of sparks. All things it does flawlessly. I have never seen any edge that makes more or bigger sparks from a firesteel. Really this you have to see!
The only modification I’ve made so far is to rub the handle down with fine cabinet paper. My guess is that like with new bike tyres, there is still some of the release agent left from the mould and a light sanding made the handle much more grippy.

PS after a while I'd blunted the blade and sent it back for a refurb there's what happened

Full Description http://www.fallkniven.com/a1f1/f1_en.htm

How Strong? http://www.fallkniven.com/test.htm

Best Price http://bestknives.stores.yahoo.net/faf1misukn.html

If You Must http://www.gerbergear.com/product.php?model=1400

Keep ‘em peeled. Bushwacker.