Primitive arrow making

This is another post in my ongoing theme of minimal kit crafts for extended trips to the woods. I'm hoping to put some of these skills into practice during the Hunter Gather week at Wilderness Survival Skills in September this year.

Firstly, I hadn't gotten around to posting up the making of the bush/survival bow that I made around a year ago during a day trip to a nice mixed deciduous wood. I bought some wooden shafted arrows to get me going and it really packs a punch. It seems good and strong, with just the right amount of flex, so I'll post up about it next time, followed by another of primitive hunting weapons practice.

The Arrow was a project that's been on and off for a while. Firstly a couple of years ago, I started to knap arrow heads out of glass bottle bottoms and a couple of flint ones. There ok, but I've recently been given some nicer pieces of flint to play with and improve on. The Hazel for the shafts came from the coppice next to where I made the bow, which was gathered at the time and has been seasoning since.

The feathers for the fletchings, were from wood pigeon tail feathers that I shot a few months ago. Hopefully they will be ok, and to fix I used some artificial sinew that was kindly gifted to me at the food fair.

Having all these bits hanging around, it was time to get going

Hazel debarked, scraped and smoothed down. Notch cut ready for the head fitting. 

I used Pine pitch (pine resin, ground charcoal and beeswax) 

First fixing with a little pitch followed by a lashing of Elm bark.

Rest of the pitch goes on

Pulling off the thin side of the feathers

Three feathers lashed in place with the sinew, and trimmed.

Ready to rock!

Next time I'll make some better flint arrow heads, and make a couple more complete arrows. I really enjoyed this project, and the skills are transferable to making a spear for the Atlatl which I also plan to do soon. Looking forward to practice day in the woods : )

Tracking and Nature Awareness Course at Frontier Bushcraft.

I've just returned from a wonderful week learning more about tracking from Paul Kirtley and the guys at Frontier Bushcraft. It was a very realistic course, breaking down all the mystery surrounding the subject, and giving lots of practical time to go tracking and the opportunity to absorb the information given.

I wont go into too much detail as I wouldn't want to spoil the experience for anyone thinking of attending in the future, but I'll post a few of the pictures I took though the week. It was a very busy first few days and I simply left the camera back at base and cracked on with all the exercices, but I grabbed a few.

After first setting up my camp we started learning more about our senses, and stalking techniques using lots of fun exercises, which helped us to tune into the area, before looking for spore.

My little home from home for a week. No roughing it here, and lots of handy firewood.

When in a rush, the wildstove worked a treat, twigs were a plenty and saved on the meths.

Staffordshire Oatcakes filled with bacon and cheese, washed down with a freshly brewed coffee. 

The bushcrafters breakfast of champions! (several days running)

The site was a stunning very old Sweet Chestnut Coppice woodland full of bluebells and fresh new leaves. The weather was very nice too, which made life a little easier. A spot of Birch here and there provided excellent tinder and kindling.

The course was not just about tracking. Plenty of long opportunities to watch wildlife were provided with some very special moments, and very many midge bites. Badgers, Fallow Deer, Woodpeckers, Skylarks all came out for the Binoculars to pick up, some very close.

Back on the trail with some pace tracking.

Can you see the boot print?

After stove comes fire, and making things more comfortable.

We spent some time collecting other signs of wildlife and death! 

Badger tracks

Signs of bushcrafters at work

Search and rescue party

Methodical work on the crossroads

Just off home for tea and medals, when we saw something on the track ahead...

its a poor shot on the camera, but this fallow deer looked great in the Binos.

Wizarding tracking wand of power, with little of the local sweet Chestnut bark as cordage.

If you have had your fill of fires, sharp shiny things and camping then I urge you to take opportunities to observe the natural world around you by implementing some basic tracking skills, or simply going to a place where you can sit quietly and watch known wildlife areas. Combined with a good walk, some foraging and some navigation work, it is a great way to relax, keep active and alert. 

Derbyshire Food and Drink Fair 2013

Slowly recovering from the weekend working at the Derbyshire food fair event at Elvaston Castle Country Park, I thought I'd put up a few pictures.

We had 3 fire pits, two stoves and a portable home-made oven all fired by wonderful wood, to provide outdoor cooking demonstrations and food samples. Just about everything was on a the menu, and it all got eaten up by the hungry crowds.

Chucked a few last minute spoons out and a few spoon carving sessions whilst I cooked a total of 36 litres of chilli, curry and stew on my fire pit, in the dutch oven.

The DCC tent city

One of many dishes, the start of Hungarian mushroom creamy stew.

The oven in action firing out all manner of baked goodness. The pizzas were excellent! There was also soups, puddings, paella, cakes and rather a lot of boiled water produced over the two days.

I must say that the Sweet Potato Chilli went down rather well and will be a firm favourite in the future at home and in camp.

John and Val Lord turned up, and shared a gazebo with us, which was an excellent surprise! I managed to have a few chats with them over the weekend. I've met them several times and they have always been very friendly, and I managed to get a nice supply of flint to bash up too. Cheers John!

Drool....one day I'll get the time to get some practice in. There was some serious skills on Johns table.

Stag do

Weekend before last I had the pleasure of entertaining a great bunch of lads for a Stag event. Many of the participants worked in the outdoors, and wanted to do a bushcraft style day.

I rigged the chute, and set up all the other camp areas ready for a busy day in the woods. We started with knife skills, with a little carving, a spot of lunch prepared over the fire with a freshly made loaf, soup and sausages. Fire lighting was next, with many of the various methods and tinders used.

A fresh piece of flint and I was getting some great spark action.

The stag having his first go and successful fire on the bowdrill.

Not the easiest thing in the rain even under a parachute shelter. Well done sir!

And some boys own fun in the afternoon with a prize for the winner.

A great couple of days, were spent in this lovely piece of woodland, and the group were a pleasure to teach, even if the weather was a tad stormy. Still, it tests everyone a bit more and adds to the experience as long as it all goes well on the day.

Finnish spoon design - plans

A very nice chap in Finland sent these over to me the other week.

The scans are from the wartime "Kotiteollisuus" ["Home industry"] periodical. Designed by the The Finnish Defence Forces during the Continuation War's trench warfare period started in December 1941. The soldiers had a lot of spare time, and made these and axe handles then sold them to a government monopoly and again to civilian markets. They were also made for themselves, and to be sent home, or to be traded for tobacco etc.

They are to be made out of high-quality birch wood

The "No 1" spoon in the above picture should be made either 20 or 29 cm in length and the bowl should be either 5.5 or 7.0 cm in diameter.

"No 2" is either 33 or 36 cm and 7.5 and 8.5 cm.

"No 3" is either 33 or 36.5 cm and 7.5 or 9.0 cm.

"No 4" is either 36.5 or 43 cm and 11.0 or 13.0 cm.

I think in order of spoons that they are an eating spoon, serving, cooking, and ladle but like all spoons there's a lot of cross over in duties. I think the larger of the two choices in sizes would be handy for cooking for large groups in a fixed camp, which is just what I intend to do in just under two weeks for a group of students on a course I'm running. The cooking spoon and ladle will be great for the soup I'm cooking.

This design by Private Juho Tirilä won a prize in a competition among the Finnish soldiers in 1942.  

I wonder if servicemen and women would be keen to take up spoon carving these days. I think it might help to ease the stress of what they have to go through a little.

I'll be making some copies when I get time to see how they work out, although I'm happy with my own spoons at the moment, its fun to try these things out.

Let me know if you have tried them out yourself, as I've just had permission from the Finish Army to post these up.

Happy spooning!
Paul.

Woodland skills and cookery course - Elvaston Castle Country Park

I had great fun teaching on this course I helped put together for the folks on this great site. We used an area of mixed species woodland with plenty of resources for bushcraft and woodcrafts.
The main subjects taught were knife skills, firelighting, cooking over fires, cleaving and pole lathe turning, willow weaving and coppicing with many other skills discussed and demonstrated.

We all had a wonderful day and the weather was as good as it ever gets, which really made the experience for the clients as well as the instructors.

A few pictures of the day.

With the site all ready and the sun shining it was time to light the fire and brew up

The students arrive and head over to the kitchen

Tools of the trade

Straight into the knife and fire sessions

My knees taking a pounding as ever

Not bad for a first attempt.

A spot of lunch, with freshly made soups, breads, and puddings

Shiny new kit to play with. The frontier stove and Kirtley Kettles

No wind, no rain, sun out, and neither hot nor cold..

...and tinder dry materials mixed with new spring growth.

The afternoon spent willow weaving...

...green woodworking, (Rob looking confused, but turned like a pro)

and obtaining the raw materials.

The benefits of a dry day left the parachute shelter a quiet spot.

Then it was time to say farewell, pack it all up, and head home.