Creating fire by different techniques is fundemental to bushcraft. For years I have been intrigued by the fire piston, but considered the skill to make one was beyond me.

 

I then watched the video on this bushcraft site of a piston being carved out of wood with a…

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Well we went all out for this one, using my knowledge of wood and tools, some ideas that I had and Jessie's boundless enthusiasm.



A piece of Kanuka was set up in the lathe and rounded before we marked out the measurements:

Next was just a case of cutting it down to the marks and then sanding it smooth:

Once the compartment was bored out a lid made of Rimu was screwed on… Continue

Well, I was having trouble figuring out how to make sure the Paracord stays on the handle without coming loose.



I found this instructional and thought I'd pass this on:



First you need to do two things,

a.) Burn/melt the two ends of the 550 parachute cord so the outer sleeve and inner threads/strings won't come unravel.



b.) Soak it in water for about 20 minutes so it will "stretch" when it's

being wrapped around the handle and "shrink" around it tightly when… Continue

Now I have always liked compact pack saws, and recently I saw a video of Ray Mears using a very useful looking bow saw.

A quick look showed the nice wooden ones to be beyond my price range while the metal ones felt too flimsy.

While browsing the second hand shop I came across two brand new Sandvik saw blades, one dead wood blade and one greenwood blade, both for only $5.



So once home, a suitable piece of seasoned Kanuka (Tea Tree) was found in my stack.…

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A series of 16 tutorials on flintknapping by John Olsen.

Bio: Through scratching and grinding rocks, John Olsen has made many authentic replica artifacts. He majored in ceramics in college and began making primitive items with native clays.

Filmmaker: Mike Phillips…



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Ok,



Anyone can rough it in the bush and TBH a lot of us will have tried Backcountry freezedry meals ( Roast lamb + Veggies is my favourite)..



But a trip out with some real food is nice once in a while so here is how to prepare a Steak and Kumara dinner.



Ok find a good site for your fire...

I tend to use the similar technique each time for my fire lay..



I start by clearing where I'm going to… Continue

This stove is based on the plans for the "EverythingNice" stove which can be downloaded freely from the World Stove site: http://worldstove.com/album/your-versions-of-the-everythingnice-stove/ Continue

The most available and ready source of meat in the bush, that I know of in New Zealand, is Opossum.

There is a couple of weaknesses that they have, that makes them easier to catch than Rabbits or Hare.

For one, they are not afraid of Human scent. This means you do not have to be so careful about not wearing antiperspirants etc.

Secondly, They say ‘curiosity killed the Cat’. Well, Possums are very curious. Just about any thing different, that will stand out at night, will…

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I was interested in finding a good ready source of tinder in the forestry I trap in. When wet most of the usual suspects really did not work at all well. I then came across a tinder called Fat wood on the internet.

This works when wet or dry and is extremely easy to light. The basics of finding fatwood are

1- look for old fallen or cut down Pine Trees ( have not tried any other types of trees yet, as this is the forestry I have to work with )

2- forget the tree…

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It struck me that sometimes the little things might be useful to my fellow outdoor enhusiasts that are just starting out in the world bushcraft. So I thought I would add, from time-to-time, the odd quick post focusing on an item of kit or technique that may be second nature to o'timers. In this post I introduce the light-weight travelling sharpening stone kit (photo below). Full-weight sharpening stones are quite heavy and cumbersome, so whilst you'll take them with you for a…

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I started learning the craft of knife smithing a few years ago on the South Island with a visit to Ross Johnston, a craftsman knife maker near Nelson. He runs Blackbird Valley forge and makes knives in the traditional way using many good grades of carbon steel from reused car parts and saw blades amongst other things. What he can turn an old metal file into is something to behold, the care and skill in his work is wonderful. I had had a go at reconditioning a couple of…

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This is a tutorial on making a bow saw in the field. The advantages of this method if that you only have to take the blade with you, which is easily coiled inside a billy pot. When you get to your site you can construct a sturdy saw in about 20mins (with practice). If you decide to keep the pieces, next time it will only take you 2mins to put together. The benefits of a saw over an axe or machete are:

• Safer -…

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