Blundering Bushcraft

Like any important element I like to have a secondary knife with me should something happen to my Primary knife. Yet to avoid total redundancy I want a secondary knife that is different than my Primary and has different strengths and weaknesses. The knife that caught my eye was a Mastercraft chisel knife. Mastercraft is not a well known knife manufacturer and generally make other tools like wrenches but so far mine has held up well. The knife is stainless steel, has a Mora style clip on plastic sheath.  The handle is a rubbery plastic material and seems to fit well in the hand and takes a bit of abuse from hammering it when using the chisel.  It is a fairly heavy knife (4 mm thick) and has handled all the batoning and prying that I have done with it and I have been using it for about 2 years now. It seems to handle most basic carving tasks and I even managed to whittle a spoon with it. The spine of the knife works well for striking a ferrocerium rod and has nice 90 deg...

I hate having to use a dull knife. It takes longer to do things and more effort to do things. Whereas a sharp knife is a joy to use and makes me look for new tasks to take on. In short I like to keep my knives that I use sharp. This of course requires the occasional sharpening and although I like to do so with my full home kit sometimes it is just too big to take with me so I have put together a smaller field kit. The first part of this kit that I purchased was the DMT Diafold Double Sided Sharpener. Mine came with a blue coarse side and a red fine side. I like the size, durability and the fact that you can use it wet or dry. However the handle does get in the way sometimes, it takes a steady hand to get good results and the fine side still leaves a fairly rough finish. I have marked mine with a C and an F so I can see at a glance what side to start with as I can never remember what red and blue stand for. Also if I have a flat surface to use it on I find it works well wit...

My wife has gotten hooked on Norwex products and has slowly been filling our place with them.  After seeing them at work around the house I started thinking about how they would work out for camping. After a bit of experimenting I am going with their toothbrush and there face cloth. The Norwex Toothbrush as it came The toothbrush works without toothpaste. So no need for mini travel toothpaste or tooth powder or dried toothpaste dots just water. That basically sold me on it being my camp toothbrush. It also comes ready to go with at travel head cover. I have been using one for a month now and it seems good and I have not heard complaints from people I know who have used it longer. The Toothbrush has antibacterial properties that allow it to self clean making it more sanitary then an ordinary toothbrush. It is a full sized toothbrush so if you are into counting grams you can always cut off the handle or use one off the kid versions but at least you only have to worry about...

Gear is only good if you have it with you when you need it so the gear that you carry with you every day is essential.  My EDC has changed several times but this is how it stands currently. Leatherman Squirt E4: Knife, File, flat screwdriver/bottle opener, awl/mini flat screwdriver, tweezers, pliers, wire strippers Keys: car, house, etc Fire Steel: Light my fire first Generation, with the File from the Leatherman for a striker RFID Proof Wallet: cash, cards, etc Duct Tape: wrapped around waxed paper to the size of a business card Pocket Survival Tool: Can opener, knife edge, Flat screwdriver, Ruler, Bottle opener, wrench, Butterfly wrench and saw. Cell Phone: organization in a box Solitaire LED mag: modified with a pen clip so that it can clip onto my hat for a head lamp, if the head is removed it can also make a mini lamp, extra battery and case Paracord Bracelet: Never know when you need some paracord Handkerchief: A...

When it comes to campfire cooking the Dutch oven is generally considered the gold standard. It is almost indestructible, it is versatile, cooks evenly and it seems to just make good tasting food.  Yet the Dutch oven is just too heavy for me to justify in anything beyond car camping. So I set out to find something that would have many of the same traits as the Dutch oven but be a little more packable. After some looking around it struck me that in some regards the Wok is the Dutch oven of the East. It can: fry, stir fry, deep fry, steam, smoke, etc. Traditionally they have the same burn oil finish that gives cast iron cooking its wonderful flavor, and depending on material they are fairly durable. Being a fan of Asian food anyway it seemed like a great excuse to try out a Wok but first I had to find one. The finished Wok Like frying pans Woks seem to come in all sorts of materials and coatings so finding a plain carbon steel  wok (I wanted carbon steel instead of c...

Being fairly new to bushcraft I found myself in need of a good knife. When looking for basic and budget friendly bushcraft knifes two names seem to always come up: Old Hickory and Mora. After reading many reviews I let my preference for full tang knives win and I went with the Old Hickory. The Old Hickory 7" Butcher Knife by the Ontario Knife Company is a plain but functional knife. It is cheap ($12.50 on the makers site ), full tang, carbon steel and has a wooden handle. It works well in the kitchen and in the woods for slicing, chopping and batoning. I have had mine for a year now and it seems to hold an edge well. Although it is carbon steel I have not had any trouble with it rusting on me, with minimal care and maintenance. However there are some drawbacks with this knife: at 7 inches it is a bit long for fine woodworking, the handle is square and not very comfortable, the rivets that hold the wooden scales on are not very strong, there is no lanyar...