The bushcraft ideal

What is the bushcraft ideal?

Or I'm going on the bearclaw Tenderfoot course HELP!

In Military survival for example the ideal is that you learn to survive and avoid capture with the minimum of kit - the survival tin and all the Rambo type gear of recent years are just gimmicks to catch the stupid out as most soldiers know that unless you escape within the first 24 hours or less of capture you will be processed and in being processed not only can you expect to be beaten senseless you will also be stripped of everything useful - Geneva convention stated IPK to be left ect but I doubt some of those we fight these days can read or have even heard of the Geneva convention.

But Bushcraft - woodcraft - wildernes sliving is different ................isnt it?

So what are our ideals?

Personally speaking I think of 'the craft' as being something that gives me the ability to go into the wilderness kitted out with a knife, a blanket and cook pot and being able to live comfortably.
Of course I have trained myself to be able to do without each of these items but then I would consider that a survival situation as the priorities are different.

And being able to to live happily with just a knife - blanket - cook pot doesnt mean I want to do it all the time. Although I do like to keep my kit down to a minimum at all times especially as we see so many people burdened with all sorts of unnessacary junk but I digress.

So if the ideal of bushcraft is to be able to go out equipped as above (forget the moden trend of carrying a axe, saw kitchen sink ect) and live with nature comfortably surely the three key items we carry are important - so lets consider these.

Knife - your knife is your life and in this case never has it been closer to the truth, so whats the best knife? The best knife is the knife you feel confident in using and can use to the best of your ability. But a knife should be able cover a variety of needs (forget the modern bushcraft knife with its 4" blade and spear point tip - much copied and never seen used outside the bushcraft clique circle - unless you have mastered it in all its fine detail ALL native people and those with experience generally go for something a little bigger) and more importantly should enable us to make a tool to meet our needs if we done carry it.

For example a knife at a minimum should be good for,

• Chopping - wood for shelter - fire - bone
• Carving - we need to fashion tools and trap triggers so fine control is important
• Splitting - either with a baton or more axe like
• Butchering game
• Food prep
• Any one of a million other tasks it might be called upon to do

Ideally our knife should do all the above with ease, in a safe manner with the minimum of effort. It should be easily maintainable in the field and strong.

EQUALLY - the sheath its carried in most be just as good - for a knife is only as good as its sheath!

Blanket - a blankets a blanket isnt it? Well no, not for our purposes. Here we need to consider warmth to weight ratios - fire safety and durablility.

The old Whitby blankets or hudsons bay point blankets were favourites among the Indians and trappers of the 1800's as they had all the above characteristics - but they are bulky and quite heavy!

A US army poncho liner is light, not as warm maybe but not effected by the damp and quick drying - its down side is care must be taken near the fire.

Fleece blankets - again are similar to the Poncho Liner.

A wool polymide blanket would be lighter but more fire friendly.

Also size matter - a single blanket is ok as a top cover or ground sheet in the right conditions but a double blanket would be bulkier but more versatile.

Lastly a space blanket will reflect back body heat - it can be incorperated into the back of the shelter as a fire reflector - but it isnt in itself warm.

Cook ware - of all the modern items the native americans covetted the most the metal cook pot was top on their list - imagine how hard life was without one!

So what should we look for in a pot -

• Size - the bigger the better as we can cook a small meal in a big pot but if we have to purify all our water a small pot isnt fuel and effort effecient.
• Bail arm - if we can hang it over a fire it means we can slow cook foods like stews without the risk of burning the food.
• Wide base - the wider the bottom the better heat is distributed and the quicker it cooks again minimising the risk of burning
• Materials - ali or steel - your choice on what ect
• Thickness - some pots (the stainless mess kit for example) have bombproof thickness - and while it could be argued once hot that stay hot longer - it could also be argued they are heavy and require more calories to carry and more fuel to heat.
• Other bits - is the lid a fry pan, a plate? Does it double as a cup?
• Plastic bits - does it have plastic handles or rim which could melt in the fire?

A pot isnt just a pot we need to think carefully about it.

So those are our key items - I hope they have been food for thought.

And as anyone who has done our Tenderfoot course will tell they maybe be simply items but with these alone the trained person can live like a king!!

Traditional Crook knife

We've all watch Ray Mears in his series Bushcraft making a beautiful Birch bark caneo and we've all heard Ray praising the crook knife for its ability to carve wood to a plain shavingly smooth finish.

Well recently my mate Frenchy made me a traditional crook knife for me to play with - and mightly impressed I am with it too.

Its my belief that the Native Americans first obtained crook knives from the early pioneers and european settles in trade - logic tells me that the natives wanted steel tools but the whites fearing giving them proper cutting tools which they could easily use as weapons traded old farrier hoof knives with them instead and this is what Paul has used for this tool too. The blade is a frost mora farriers blade so (excuse the pun) it comes from a good blade making stable!

To this paul has attached a fist sized lump of antler which fits my hand perfectly. Remember the crook knife is designed to be used in the draw method of carving so the handle needs to fit the hand backwoods (if that males sense)

Anyway slightly dull from the packet I sharpened the blade (sharpening only on the flat unbeveled side and soon had it razor sharp and ready to carve with. I carve a spoon from start to finish with this fantastic looking and aesthetically pleasing tool with no problems what so ever - all it took was a little time to accustom myself to gripping the tool in a different maner to that which Im used to.

Overall very pleased with it - I found an old sheath for it and now its my only carving tool - well after my main knife of course.

If you'd be interested in obtaining a hand made - unique - beautiful yet practical tool like this please contact Frenchy direct ..........remember to mention Bearclaw when you do and he'll ensure you get service and a tool second to none - contact piuspaul@fenech0.wanado.co.uk

Among our anglosaxon forebears no tool was as import than the SCRAMASAEX - (scramseax, scramsax ) Indeed so important was the tool that the people were eventually names after it - the SAEX or Saxons. The AE are known as ASH and are prounced AA - so SAEX reads SAAX's

Ths tool was their camp knife, butcher knife and weapon in the press of the shield wall when the warriors came to Briton and banished the Celts to its rocky fringes. Indeed it could be argued England would not exist if not for the Scramsaex.

But enough history lets look at the tool.

Pictured above is the prototype saex which I have recently had the pleasure to trial - and it has been a great pleasure indeed.

The SEAX itself comes with a 4mm thick 8" bearing steel blade which terminates in a slightly clipped point. The overal design follows the artist and practical lines of the BFK making it a real users tool witht he balance being at the termination of the scales and the cutting edge. This excellent point of balance means that though a big knife it can be used for both chopping and heavy chores while still remained agile enough for feather sticking or fine carving! The scales shown are horn a traditional material of the Saxon peoples and are good in the hand withputht e risk of slippage in use.

The sheath (pictured) is made of two leather sleeves the outer is laced together and sits snuggly in the laced belt loop - but is not attached to it - means we can wear it left or right handed and change it to suit or needs (truely ambidextros) The inner sheath is a siliconized leather which protects the blade and is removed for drying if wet ....................but this is the prototype remember and its been decided that we aregoing to folow a more traditional sheath idea which was used by our Angloseaxon ancestors, instead of the silicon leather all bushcraft Seax's will have a more traditional sheep skin liner, the sheep skin (real sheep skin not PC faux crap) will do several things most important of all imparting lanolin to the blade which will naturally protect it!!

Once ready I think this will be the Rolls Royce of bushcraft knives .......

I can see your appetite is wetted .............so watch this space for more details as the trials continue

Whats new?

Sorry I havent been updating the blog recently but we've had a busy old time at bearclaw.

So whats new?

Firstly my mate Frenchy is now producing some cracking traditional crook knives - Mora blades mounted in the materials of your choice and designed to be used in the traditional manner as a draw knife. With a little practice they can also be easily adapted for use in spoon carving - one knife for the whole job cant be a bad think!!

Also were pleased to announce that in the waning months of last year we contacted Fjallraven and suggested they make a 45 litre version of their 20 litre Vintage sack (a excellent sack which is the choice of the whole bearclaw team!!) - anyway the guys at Fjellraven took this on board and we are pleased to announce they will be arriving/released in Feb 2008 - this is excellent news as these really are the best sacks I've every come across!

I'm working on a couple of articles too - one about Knife and cutting tool care - the other is a picturial on the classic rabbit stew cooked over the fire.

Hope this brief update has wetted your appetite - see you soon.

Coming soon the new Wilderness knife

Wilderness Knife

The Wilderness traveller needs to be able to rely on their cutting tool. Simply put they need an implement which will never let them down. They need a tool large and strong enough to offer them maximum mechanical advantage for chopping while remaining light and flexible enough for fine carving. The Wilderness knife’s 3mm thick blade is perfectly balanced at the junction of the blade and scales making it agile and highly manoeuvrable in the hand for fine work while the classically shaped Leuku style 7 inch blade is differentially hardened by multiple edge-quenching (meaning it will hold its edge well while the spine still remains malleable enough to avoid breakage during heavy usage *due to this factor use with a fire steel is limited) and oil quenched to approximately 56 Rockwell C so is ideal for chopping and excellent for splitting yet also easily re-sharpened to a stunning razor edge.
In looks this fine knife captures the romance of the Mountain man era having the classical lines and sheath design of a fur trapper’s butcher knife while still maintaining the strong functionality of the Saami reindeer knife (Leuku).
Unlike its Scandinavian cousins this knife has a full tang which is fitted with tough English Oak scales secured via peined over steel rivets (much stronger than brass) giving the tool both a home grown feel as well as superior strength in use.
A functional handmade knife which also comes with a luxurious handmade 3mm chestnut brown tanned leather sheath mounted on a brass O ring swivel and a belt loop capable of taking belts up to 2”. All in all a tough workhorse of a tool.
Being handmade their may be a slight delay of a couple of weeks on orders during busy periods.

Course photo 2007 WEISS

WEISS Temperate course

2007

Well done all who attended and Passed!!

Coming soon - Kuksa

Natural Form Kuksa.

The traditional handmade wooden Kuksa has become a bushcraft icon, a symbol of style and oneness with nature as well as being thermally efficient (drinks do not cool quickly in cold weather and there is no chill factor of skin on cold metal either!) and aesthetically pleasing. Top quality and ready to use these natural shaped Kuksa’s come all the way from Arctic Finland where the birch burls used to make these luxurious cups are hand selected and being formed by nature each one is totally unique in shape, size and colouration. Sizes available are Medium - approximately coffee cup size and Large - anything over this. (Sizes may vary as we can only supply that which nature provides.) Rare, distinctive and utterly one of a kind your hand made Kuksa can only grow better with age and usage soon becoming a trusted fireside companion. Natural form Kuksa’s make ideal gifts for the bushcrafter who has everything!!
*All Kuksa’s are hand made and made to order – as such some delays may be experienced in orders as the woodsman needs to go out and select them individually – we will of course keep a small stock when available