My first two bows

First and second attempts at bow making with green wood !!!

After watching many videos on You tube, i watched several really informative videos by a guy called Malc (johnjayrambo11111) and really learned from them (cheers mate) :) and i knew that i had to try and make a bow using Hazel i used green wood to start just so i could get shaping the wood and finding out how the mechanics of bow making works. Choosing the stave was really easy as the woodland i use is surrounded by Hazel coppice's (a real bonus!!) but i have yet to learn what makes a good stave from a bad stave.

I started by looking for a bow stave about the right size for a long bow and started to carve the rough shape with my axe this wasn't as easy as i thought and after i finished both ends i realised that the bow was quite twisted bit not too much but this was ok i tested the bow with a simple hazel arrow fleched with wood pigeon feathers the arrow flew about 50 yards WOW i was really chuffed but after further inspection i had taken more wood off a small part of one of the limbs causing an uneven bend......(this first bow had a draw weight of 36 pounds at 24")

Second try......

I wanted to try and make a flat bow (not sure what the correct name for this type of bow is) with a much thicker stave again carved a rough shape of the bow and carved the finer parts with my knife and started to string up to see if there were any stiff or bendy part i had learnt from my first go and left this bow much thicker and it was too stiff to even pull but after much careful carving i had achieved a reasonable draw weight of 67 pounds at 24" (i checked when i got home) this bow shot the same arrow 60 to 70 yards....

I finished this bow at home with a rasp and sandpaper and a light coat of linseed oil.

i really enjoyed making these two bows and will continue to make more and more differing each one until i run out of ideas.

(in piccys the bow on the left is the second and first on the right)

cheers Malc for the videos !!!!

see you out there Paul.......

Hand drill fire by friction

Hand drill, the hardest fire by friction i have ever tried..

Hand drill is in my opinion the hardest way to light fire by friction but i had to try as i could not comment on its use and application as a method to light fire, its very hard.. Start the same way except on a smaller scale as bow drill the only parts you need is a long pencil thickness drill about 40 cm long and a board 10cm thick made from any of the prime friction fire lighting woods. Drilling the board in is as hard as getting a coal. i only tried to get a coal as its the same to blow any coal to a flame!!! i will let you know that it is very hard on your hands and i would not use this method in the field and would plump for bow drill. If you fancy a go at this give it some time as it is not a method that is easy to get the hand of but do not give up keep it up and hey presto you will succeed....

give it a go !!!!!!!!

see you out there Paul.........

i was chuffed to bits when i got a coal as you can see in the above photos

Birch bark containers& another willowbark basket

Birch bark containers and another willow bark basket

I have been trying to make several useful items this week using what i can find in and about the woodland i use i started by making a match box out of Birch bark as seen in many bushcraft books and the container i double walled the larger container so i can put soft fruit in it and not get too sloppy. they are simple to make just roll into a size you require and use a tab and groove method and plenty of glue and leave to dry i stitched the Base and the lip of the container for added strength using split spruce roots simple just give it a try but practice first on some cardboard as birch bark is a valuable material..... the willow basket is made just the same as my earlier ones .......

give them a try

see you out there Paul....

Another try at glass knapping

Knapping more glass arrow heads.

I looked at the arrow heads i made earlier in the week and decided i could do better, i looked on several primitive skills web-sites and used the designs to come up with better arrow heads and started to be bolder with my work. The piccy on the right shows my latest work. This is just an up-date on glass knapping and if you have any ideas and want me to try them out for you give me an e-mail and i will gladly try....

See you out there

Paul

Knapping arrow heads from glass

Making glass fly.

Making arrow heads from glass is an easy alternative to flint and is a good use of broken bottles left by irresponsible people. Glass is much easier to knap than flint but BE CAREFUL!!! glass and flint are extremely sharp.

The best part of bottles to make arrow heads is the base its a tad thicker and has a uniform shape so its easier to plan your work, or another good source of material is broken window glass as its flat and much easier to knap than bottle glass!!!

The technique for making arrow heads from glass is exactly the same as with flint, start with a shard of glass about the size of the arrow head you want and begin by flaking the edges so you can drive larger flakes off to shape into the rough shape required then carefully pressure flake the final shape and sharpen to a nice piercing point.

This is my first attempt at knapping glass and i must say it,s very easy compared to flint and it,s a great way to learn as glass knaps in the same way as flint. It is a good way to learn the nature of flint and is good practice to make arrow heads and spear tips but these glass points are not as resilient as flint but are a good survival tip and good to look at too!!

Any questions or demonstrations with knapping let me know and i will show you how too!!

See you out there!!!

Paul

A few wild edibles

Wild edibles just a nibble.

I thought i would share some wild edibles i have found in the woods near where i live and tell you about them i have chosen some of the easiest British greens to identify first and will add more and more as i am going to make this a regular blog .

(NEVER PICK ANY WILD PLANTS YOU CANNOT %100 IDENTIFY)

I will start with the picture on the top which is the commonest dock called the broad-leaved dock (Rumex obtusifolius) a widespread dock, happy to be found in shingle beaches to suburban field edges and has leaves that can be in excess of 30cm long but get incredibly bitter but it has been used as a vegetable in the US.the leaves are best gathered when they are young and cooked with bacon and onions.

The next plant (center) is called Goose grass (Galium aparine) a children's favorite which clings to clothing and any rough surface that touches it. Found in wooded areas often with dock and nettles as neighbours it is best boiled like spinach before the hard round seeds appear it make an edible but not fantastic tasting green but is good to know as it can be picked through snow and frost when few other greens are to be found.

Last but by no means least is the Stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) bottom picture, is abundant in almost every sort of environment and flowers June to September, a coarse upright plant,growing to four feet high and covered with stinging hairs (ouch!!). the leaves are toothed and heart shaped.

The formic acid found in the stings is destroyed by cooking, and should not be picked after late June a the leaves become coarse and unpleasantly bitter and are a strong laxative. Nettles are best gathered when they are young and no bigger than a few inches or the very young leaves of older plants (is is wise to use gloves when picking as the treat it mean rule doesn't always work). Cooking nettles is easy, as you need no more water than clings to the leaves after washing. And are boiled for 15 mins straining after cooking and the addition of a knob of butter and plenty of seasoning and simmer for a couple of mins more mashing the greens while simmering, the result is a fluffy puree rather insipid to taste but in my opinion is better used as an addition to other dishes rather than a vegetable in it own right.

See you out there, Paul

One for the pot.....

Cooking pots are a very personal part of your kit and also one of the most important as it is very hard to replicate in the field.

As you can see i have a large selection of pots, pans and kettles all i have used for some time or another but now i have a choice i tend to use specific pots for special purposes like light weight and large camps to simple one pot trips. my personal favorite cooking pot is the 10cm zebra billy made from stainless steel as this is just big enough for one person meals and all my simple cooking needs.

I tend to use kettles lots as i like to keep hot drinks flowing especially in winter and i can cook and make a hot drink at the same time and it is good to offer a hot brew to my fellow bushcrafters as they return from a days foraging.

I'm going to keep this blog short as there is nothing as boring as a kit bore so if you have any questions regarding cooking pot choice e-mail me and i,l be glad to help you out........

See you out there

Paul

Baskets made from Willow

Making simple baskets is a really good thing to do on a quiet summers afternoon i went to a wood / scrub area near where i live and collected some pencil thick willow shoots and some willow bark as my materials to make this my first all willow basket. you start by taking 8 of the shoots and make a cross 4 on each then lash them together by looping the bark around the sticks and continuing until you have the size you want for the circumference. you then take a strip of the bark and twist both ends of the bark around each stick continuing to twist an ad more bark as needed until you have made a basket of any size you want. finish off by wrapping a strip of bark around to tighten up and trim off the sticks to look neat and that's it SIMPLE ........

As you can see by my piccys that its easy the hardest part is collecting the raw materials.

let me know if you have any success....

See you out there Paul

A few tips

I'm just going to give you a few tips today simple ideas and tricks to help you along in bushcraft.

as we all know carrying a small selection of "bits & bobs" is a good idea but what are those bits & bobs?? Well i,ll let you know what i carry every time I'm in the woods for longer than a couple of hours.

Firstly i ALWAYS carry a small first aid kit.

A small good quality fixed blade knife.

A ferro rod (fire steel), a small amount of tinder card, for lighting my fires.

550 para cord.

Folding saw.

Compass, map of the area.

waterbottle, steel mug.

tinder pouch (for collecting tinders)

and a handful of mints in my pocket.

Natural tinders

The collection of natural tinders should be always on your mind and when you are out in the field take advantage of them as you pass by. I use a small waterproof pouch to collect my natural tinders and always take advantage of silver birch shedding its bark (in my opinion the best natural tinder) and rose bay willow herb seed pods as these are really good.

Take note!!

I always take notes of the areas i walk and scout out for potential useful wildings as you might need to improvise food, shelter, medicine and tools all of which you might need in the future and may want to use. but remember to use all wild foods and resources sparingly and NEVER use all of one resource give it a chance to spread and grow.

Take only what you need not what you want!!!