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Hi, my name is Colin

Started this discussion. Last reply by Ryan Hunt May 25, 2010. 1 Reply

I stumbled upon the website recently and joined. I have been in NZ for 2 years. I am a Kiwi but have lived in the UK for 39 years. I have been keen on bushcraft for a long time and in th UK would go…Continue

 

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Colin Wheeler is now friends with Jeff Cameron and LewisMattTramping
Jan 29
John Swarbrick and Colin Wheeler are now friends
Jul 25, 2010
Colin Wheeler and I M are now friends
Jul 19, 2010
Colin Wheeler commented on Colin Wheeler's blog post The Parang knife as a bush tool
"Hi Mambazo Yep got that one in my favourites, good site"
Jun 18, 2010
Ryan Hunt left a comment for Colin Wheeler
"Small world huh?! That made my day, its exactly why I set this up. Connecting people who are into bushcraft! Cheers Colin"
Jun 15, 2010
Colin Wheeler left a comment for Ryan Hunt
"Hi Ryan Will do, been away on school camps etc. Good to see a new local member, Howie Brown, have left a message for him only few Ks up the road from me. Colin"
Jun 15, 2010
Colin Wheeler left a comment for Howie Brown
"Hi Howie I am local to you, first member nearby, Te Kowhai. Good to catch up. Colin"
Jun 15, 2010
Colin Wheeler and Scott Hamilton are now friends
Jun 15, 2010
Colin Wheeler and Ryan Hunt are now friends
Jun 14, 2010
Colin Wheeler updated their profile photo
May 26, 2010
Ryan Hunt replied to Colin Wheeler's discussion Hi, my name is Colin
"Nice to meet you, sounds like you have a lot to bring to the community. Look forward to getting to know you better. Cheers"
May 25, 2010
Colin Wheeler posted a discussion

Hi, my name is Colin

I stumbled upon the website recently and joined. I have been in NZ for 2 years. I am a Kiwi but have lived in the UK for 39 years. I have been keen on bushcraft for a long time and in th UK would go on trips with mates. Also attended some training with a company called Trueways, which seems to have got really commercial now. I have only gone on day tramps, no overnight trips here, as we have been really busy settling. Want to learn about Kiwi bush, had good knowledge of plants, timbers etc in…See More
May 25, 2010
Ryan Hunt left a comment for Colin Wheeler
"Hi Colin Nice to have you as a member! We are about to officially launch the network and so please let us know if you have any ideas or feedback via the Suggestion Box In the mean time why don't you introduce yourself? Cheers!"
May 25, 2010
Colin Wheeler is now a member of BushcraftNZ
May 25, 2010

Profile Information

What part of the country are you based?
Waikato
Town/City where you are based
Hamilton
What are your interests?
Firecraft, Tracking, Primitive skills, Tramping, Navigation skills, Crafts, Survival skills, Plant identification, Hunting/trapping, Shelter building

Colin Wheeler's Blog

The Parang knife as a bush tool

Posted on June 18, 2010 at 9:00 1 Comment

The Parang

The Parang is a Malaysian bush knife; it has…

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Comment Wall (12 comments)

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At 18:24 on June 30, 2010, Martin Hunter said…
Hi Colin, just bumped into your post on bows etc. left to Ryan. Not sure that the Maori had bows as such, not on the South Island anyway? There were short spears (throwing), long spears (thrusting), axes and adzes etc. I can't find any reference in my books to bows, but if you do find out anything let me know, would be interested as I too have wondered what would make the best cordage for such things...
At 19:01 on June 23, 2010, Liam said…
Any chance of seeing some photos of the bows that you have made?
At 18:58 on June 23, 2010, Liam said…
Draw horse does indeed look like a useful bit of kit- the black and decker bench of the medieval era! I have seen them before but have gotten used to working without. Might give one a shot though.
I have seen quite a few ash and elm (the golden variety seems popular) trees here in Auckland.
Quick tip- look at weedbusters site, they list a lot of invasive pest plants suitable for bowmaking.
Ash is listed, so is spindlewood, black locust, yellow locust, hawthorn (meant to be excellent if you can find a straight bit) strawberry dogwood and my favourite tree privet... I'm sure we will find someone willing to let us loose with a saw!
Coppicing is a great way to yield bow staves. Quite a few coppiced trees in Epping forest when I lived in the u.k.- neglected art nowadays.
At 13:15 on June 23, 2010, Liam said…
Colin,
For making my set up is pretty basic-
I rough out with a small hand axe,
Tidy up with a combination of stanley surform, drawknife and machete,
Fine adjustments with a spokeshave and cabinet scrapers.
Nocks are started with a small triangular file and rounded out with a chainsaw file.
Then sandpapers down to a fine grit- finish with danish oil.
No powertools, no bench etc.
I need to figure out recurving the tips slightly with dry heat- thats next!
Did you bring the ash with you or stumble on it here?
At 20:01 on June 22, 2010, jj said…
great tool,i use a british army machete,nice and compact,good weight,but i like the look of that one,where can you buy them,cheers.
At 13:49 on June 22, 2010, Liam said…
Thanks for the welcome Colin.
Good idea with the bow making group.
I don't have any photos here at work but will upload some later.
In the mean time please check out http://paleoplanet69529.yuku.com/topic/34061
which shows the bows I have made... work has begun on the next already.
I read somewhere that there are some osage orange (maclura pomifera) trees in the waikato.... would love to get my hands on some!
I don't know about cutting down native wood (legaly etc) and so stick to invasive imports. What woods are you using?
Liam
At 16:33 on June 21, 2010, Ryan Hunt said…
Not sure about ethnicity of members, but native cordage would be interesting to learn about. You could use your pages status update to broadcast the question (like I did with the flintknapping question) you never know what you'll find out.

Once the network is fully up and running, say august, contacting some local iwi to get their perspective would be a great idea. I'll remember that, really good suggestion.

Had a chance to check out the Bow making group yet? I just want to double check that you have access.
At 11:49 on June 18, 2010, Ryan Hunt said…
Hi
Check out the "How to add a video" instructions under the Multimedia tab. Should help with the video question.
Cheers
At 10:42 on June 18, 2010, Ryan Hunt said…
Hi Colin
Anyone on this network can create a post on anything bushcraft you definitely don't need to go through me, this is a community after all =)
So go ahead and publish a post on the Parang (check out this tutorial if you are lost: How to use your blog you can insert the image into your post)
As far as the video goes I'll write up a quick tutorial and send you the link soon.
let me know if you have any questions
Cheers!
At 11:35 on June 15, 2010, Ryan Hunt said…
Small world huh?!
That made my day, its exactly why I set this up. Connecting people who are into bushcraft!
Cheers Colin
 
 
 

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