Crook Knife Case

Update - 1st January

I decided to go ahead and oil the crook knife holder/case with linseed oil and try my hand at kolrosing for a second time.

I've finished my fifth wood carving project, not a utensil but a case for my crook knife, a tool which is used for carving bowls in spoons.

Here are a few work in progress photos and the final shot.

I took an off cut of wood and sized it down with a saw and knife. I purchased a dowel rod, which was cut in half, and a metal skewer. I then took said metal skewer and heated it over a log fire in the house until red hot. I then shaped the metal by eye to fit the profile of the crook blade. That was tricky. I eventually went to the gas cooker and used that as it was faster at heating the metal. With the help of my brother and after two hours or so the metal had made its way through the wood. The problem was that it wasn't a strong metal and it was very susceptible to bending so we had to be careful. It eventually got down to where it needed to be. I then shaped the wood case and lid to a sort of hexagonal or angular design. The lid was made by tracing the shape of the case, then hexagonal, to a bit of mdf board and cutting it out. The lid was a bit thick so I split it down the middle. I then drilled a hole in the main case block. When sanding I decided to just make the case and lid round as it was more aesthetically pleasing. I then super glued the dowel rod to the lid and it all came together.

Although this was another wood carving project and it was on a smaller scale than the utensils, this was an interesting experience because it was the first time I've ever heated and shaped metal. It's really nice to have created my first craft project with multiple components.

I now have to decide what I'm going to make next. I think I might try creating a birch bark tray, give wood working a rest, perhaps.

Thanks for reading.

The Land Itself

Me and my brother in Glencoe in May

Me and a lifelong friend in Glencoe on a sunny day in August

At the top of Meall a' bhuachaille in the Cairngorms

Perhaps my favourite photo - Pass of Ryvoan, Cairngorms

I recently recorded another video log. This one, the last part in the Appreciation of Nature series, entitled The Land Itself, covers my appreciation of the land, my growing interests in conservation, geography, cartography and prehistory. I also speak to some extent on my travel goals. Once again, like the other two videos, this is unedited footage. One thing I forgot to do was actually show my face, but I think the camera's staying on Google Earth isn't too bad as it's relevant to the video anyway. Just on a personal note I'd say the video gets better after the half way mark.

Thanks for watching.

Exploring Hampshire's Forests

I've been living in Hampshire for a month or so, and I've been spending quite a lot of time in the surrounding woodlands.

I just thought I'd make a list to keep track of all the places I've been and the places to which I've not yet traveled. I've visited the following woods:

Stansted Forest

Havant Thicket

Stein Wood

Hollybank Woods

Southleigh Forest

Queen Elizabeth Country Park

New Forest

What's left:  Kingley Vale NNR, Alice Holt Forest,  and Ashdown Forest are forests I'd like to explore next.

Video Logs

I thought I should link to my most recent video logs. In them I discuss appreciation of nature and how I got into Bushcraft. I've only made two so far, but there are more planned for the future. I'll post my next video in a separate blog post.

APPRECIATION OF NATURE

Part 1

Part 2

Thanks for watching.

Crafting over the Winter

I've only been practicing Bushcraft for about two years. Yes, it's only my second year of Bushcraft, and I'm still very much a novice. This means I haven't had a lot of camping experience.  I've camped in the Highlands with the family, but it wasn't my idea of camping. I had a lot of trouble with fire lighting earlier this year because for some reason I was fixated with firesteels instead of just using the humble and easy-to-use match. So I didn't end up going out to do my first solo camp until September. It's the sparks I had trouble producing for a long time. However, the days of troublesome firelighting are gone as I'm confident with the modern firesteel now and also have no problem using matches, of course. They're just modern methods and I view them equally now. This means I don't care whether I'll use matches or the firesteel when I'm next out. Anyway, I successfully camped solo in September and was in the tent  for two nights again in October at the Wooplaw Scottish Bushcraft skill share. Those were the last occasions I had the pleasure of sleeping out in the wild. Now that I've moved down to England and the cold months are here, I've resigned to wait for Spring to do any more camping. Even then I'll have to negotiate with some landowners to be allowed to camp. You Englanders and your crazy ways. It's a shame, really... Just as I finally began to feel confident in my novice Bushcraft skills I'm whisked down to England of all places!

I haven't camped nearly as much as I ought to, but I'd say I've done a fair bit this year, this second year of my being deeply interested in woodland skills, to warrant a "don't worry, it's okay, you're not that bad," thought to myself.

Camping solo for the first time this year and lighting fire by means of birch bark and a firesteel. 

I had always neglected the "craft" aspect of Bushcraft, but since I've moved down here I've made up my mind, or rather fixed the curious notion I had in my head that all there was to Bushcraft was firelighting and camping. I get strangely fixated on things and tend to focus squarely on that one aspect. However, this isn't so, and there's plenty one can do when one's not able to camp out for whatever reason. In between finding my way around Hampshire and volunteering at Butser Ancient Farm I've taken up woodcarving. I've always wanted to be a craftsman of some sort, and I've taken my first steps, or four, towards becoming one. I had earlier in the year modified my Mora knife for use with my firesteel by flattening the spine, but that was about the biggest project I ever undertook at the time. At the Wooplaw Scottish Border meet I had the opportunity to try my hand at leather working. I made a pouch for my glasses. Well, it was mostly the work of a generous fellow who knew what he was doing. I just done some stitching and was pretty clumsy at it. He done the rest. I then decided to spend some time making a miniature prototype pot hanger in the garden, learning the pot hook notch for the next time I went out camping. That never did happen as it was just before I moved. So, it's clear that in all things Bushcraft I'm still very much a beginner. Most of these two years have been spent mostly on theory rather than the practical, especially year one, I'll admit, but I'd say I've learnt a lot and tried my hand at many new things in 2013. So I decided to take up a craft a few weeks ago and I choose woodcarving. Here is what I've done so far. I've learnt a lot about wood selection, grain, knife use, sanding and many more things about wood carving. 

2 Birch utensils, a spoon and spatula (left) and 2 Hazel spoons (right)

I've decided to take a break from carving utensils to work on some smaller projects. But first I need to work on my tool maintenance. That's why I've decided to order myself some Japanese sharpening/"waterstones", which I hear are excellent. My Gransfors hatchet and Mora 120 carving knife are quite new, but I figured with all the carving I've been doing recently, and perhaps a couple of damaging novice swings, I might as well start learning to take care of my tools. If you're wondering why I haven't learnt this essential skill already, it's because I didn't use my tools enough to bother with it. That's changed now as I've been putting my axe and carving knife to good use and I'm proud of what I've made so far.

So I've decided on this "break" to carve and construct several small side projects. A crook knife case, an Elder whistle, a Birch bark tray and a comb are all in the pipeline. Just some small miscellaneous side projects that I've decided to make because I happen to have found a great set of tutorials online. Then it's on to utensils again.

I never thought I could be a craftsman, but I do enjoy working with my hands and I feel like making these little projects will be a fun but valuable way to learn more about natural materials. Each project is relevant. It's all about learning how to make use of natural materials. For example, I've used birch bark with fire lighting, but I haven't used it for any other utilitarian purpose. Making a simple but practical tray from birch bark will teach me more about this natural material. I've used a crook knife several times now in spoon carving, so why not carve myself a case for this tool? I can carve a comb as a fun little side project and this will hopefully strengthen my ability to work on small details. I can make a whistle out of Elder, which will tell me a lot about the tree itself and also produce a fun instrument.

These projects will tide me over till Spring and then hopefully I'll be out in the woods somewhere lighting a fire once more.

Thanks for reading. 

 

THWoodsman Blog

Hello, you've reached my blog. Here I'll attempt to document my progress in Bushcraft/camping skills, keep a log of my travels and share my thoughts on the natural world in general.

I occasionally post video logs and also maintain an Imgur account of my voluntary work at Butser Ancient Farm.

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjUM4bQ-yWYy50PN0hqmO3Q/videos

http://dorthonion.imgur.com/all/

I also have a Twitter account: https://twitter.com/Oakenwise

This year began by my producing a website in tribute to the ancient past and primitive living. I decided to take said website down as I felt I didn't know enough about the subject to be writing articles for it. Twelve months later here I am writing for a new blog, "THWoodsman".

2013 has been a long year...

In Scotland I started volunteering at Yellowcraig Park on the East coast of Scotland and learnt a lot, covered a fair amount of the Highlands in several trips when I still lived in that land, met Ray Mears in Edinburgh, and attended my first Bushcraft meet at the Scottish borders. Then I moved down here to Hamsphire and started volunteering at Butser Ancient Farm and I continue to gain new experiences every week. That's not even including the actual progress I've made in Bushcraft firelighting, woodcraft and knowledge of trees... I'm not going to attempt to write a chronologically accurate list of all the things I've done this year as it'd be too much work. So let's hope 2014 is as eventful.

Thanks,

Taylor Hood.