Moved!

I’ve moved the blog to…

Dad of All Trades

What’s the best way to camp with a 3-1/2 year old? Well, I’m gonna find out here real soon. Found an incredible deal on a Eureka! Sunrise 9 tent and I’m adding items to the gear list that I never thought I would need.

We will do our first camping trips at planned campgrounds. Not my favorite location but I must sacrifice in order to get them comfortable. My daughter wakes up almost every night needing to “go”.  I’m not about to go traipsing through the campground to get her to the bath house. So I now have a Hassock Toilet for the tent. Never used one so it’s a new experience all around. I’ll let you know how it goes… no pun intended.

One Question

What’s it gonna take to get Cabela’s to build a store a reasonable distance from my home?

Sprung has the Spring

Spring is definitely here. There are several dead giveaways that indicate it to me. The Arrowhead Plants in the wetland have broken above the waters surface. The marsh grasses are green instead of the winter brown. The 3 new baby hawks are learning to hunt and the fish are starting to hit top water flies. If this was not enough tell me so then the yellow pollen coating an eighth inch thick on every surface and the constant headache from it will do the trick.

It’s time to plant the garden, clean up the yard and most importantly; head for the woods. Happy Trails.

Bushcraft Kit: Axes

    In the UK and most of Europe the art of being an "outdoorsman" is generally referred to as Bushcraft. It’s all about surviving and thriving in the natural environment, and the acquisition of skills and knowledge to do so. Bushcraft skills include; firecraft, tracking, hunting, shelter building, the use of tools such as knives and axes, foraging, hand-carving wood, container construction from natural materials, rope and twine-making, and many others.

    I’m have been very interested in and practiced these skills since I was small. Maybe not under the guise of Bushcraft but certainly while spending time in the woods and outdoors. I generally know how to survive in the wilderness and have even taken courses, though many years ago. Now I am working to refresh these skills and my interest in them which I will now refer to as… Bushcraft. Just so it’s in a nice, neat little box for discussion.

    I’m starting a periodic blog entry titled "Bushcraft Kit: " that will focus on the items I have chosen and the process I have gone through to choose them for my kit. Here I am going to kick it off with Axes…

Bushcraft Kit: Axes

    There are many choices out there for the basic Bushcraft axe.  The primary Bushcraft axe is roughly 24oz in weight and 13"-15" in length. The holy grail of them all are the Gränsfors Bruks hand forged axes out of Sweden. Specifically the Wildlife Hatchet. These hatchets are exceptionally beautiful and functional. Very well made and hold an amazing edge when sharpened properly. The problem… price. Due the the demand for and popularity the Gränsfors Bruks axes, partially because of Ray Mears, they are very expensive. Here in the US, directly from the US distributor in South Carolina they cost $100 plus shipping. In a local store they go for $139.95. For that price I’ll go without.

    Thankfully there are quite a few options out there. Moving down the popularity list, the next in line is the Iltis Ox-Head Forestry Hatchet. These axes are priced much more reasonably ($45 - $60) and it’s big brother is highly treasured by US forest workers for its durability. The big draw back I see with the Ox-Head hatchets is that they are basically a modern, simple camp hatchet that has gotten attention because Iltis Ox-Head is one of the oldest tool makers in the world and is the oldest in Germany. You do pay for experience.

    Third comes the Wetterlings Wildlife Axe out of Sweden. An excellent axe with a reasonable price of $30 or so. The fit and finish of the Wetterlings’ is rougher which makes these more of a utilitarian use product. But then again, what is Bushcraft if it is not utilitarian?

    If you decide on any of the above axes or hatchets you can’t really go wrong. While they are all highly touted by Bushcrafter’s and Survival Schools throughout the world they are not the only choices out there. Below are a few others that I have looked into…

    1) Old / Antique Hatchets are often of the same or better quality as those above with much lower cost associated with them. They may need a bit more TLC than the newer ones but are often well worth it. Check the local flea markets or eBay to find them.

    2) Local Blacksmiths or Farriers often make hatchets for practice or fun. If they don’t ask them if they will (then hand them a picture of the Gränsfors Bruks Wildlife Axe) They may not always temper the ones they do make but can usually be convinced to do so for a moderate price. Heck, build your own forge and temper it yourself, add the primitive skill to you repertoire of skills. You can often get yours personalized with your name stamped in it or have other features added. Good quality handles are available at almost every hardware store and online.

    3) An excellent utility hatchet can be found at Northern Tools for less than $10. It holds an excellent edge with a bit of belt sander work and is well made although a bit modern in appearance.

Also to be considered is the carrying of one of the new breed of smaller, sub-one pound hatchets as a backup. Most of these can do the job of the primary axe and a large portion of what a good knife can do too.

    Again the leader here is a Gränsfors Bruks. It’s the Mini Hatchet and runs a mere 12oz. Easily fits in the pack with it’s 10in length and can take down mid-sized trees with it’s 2-1/2" cutting edge. All around an excellent hatchet with only one drawback I can see… It’s whopping price! It’s over $140 in the US.

    The better option here is the Tree Sounding/Sportman’s Axe from Forestry Suppliers of Jackson, MS. This little devil is very well made and takes an amazing edge right out of the shipping box. With a tiny bit of work to the profile on the belt sander it is phenomenal especially considering it’s also tiny cost of $21. All I can say is "Get One Now" and add it to the kit.

That’s it for this round… look for the next "Bushcraft Kit" entry very soon. Thanks for reading.

Wind Over Powered?

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!

EDC List

EDC - Every Day Carry

    This popular acronym refers to things that are carried on your person every day or all the time you are away from home. Usually above and beyond your house keys it often applies to knives, tools, gadgets (in the case of geeks), etc.

This is what I carry, what do you carry?

in no particular order of importance…

1) Motorola V325 Phone - I like a simple, reliable phone. This one is perfect.

2) Fenix L0D-CE Flashlight - Simply awesome. Same size as the Mag Solitaire but 10x more powerful.

3) Kingston 8GB DataTraveler II plus MiGO - Gotta carry my data on something. MiGO is as useless as U3.

4) Victorinox Explorer Plus Swiss Army Knife - A versatile is a must have.

5) Asus A696 PDA - GPS, ebooks, email, expenses, etc, etc, etc… Someday I’ll post my complete app list for you.

6) PaperMate PhD Multi Pen - Ball Point, Stylus and Pencil. Inexpensive, sturdy and comfortable. Need I say more?

Most recently I’ve added the following item. I don’t always have it on me but it is easily gotten to. If not in my jacket then certainly in the car….

7) Polaroid i634 Digital Camera - Not the best camera out there but it does the job of a second camera and was cheap.

First Aid

For years I have put together my own first aid kits for the car and camping. I’m looking at updating my existing pocket kit to be more comprehensive. I’ve been looking at those out there on the market to use as starters for my personalized one.

My question has always been "what are the minimum"  requirements? Now that I have kids and we are taking them into the woods and they are under their own power is opens a whole new spectrum of injuries that need to be covered. So where to start. If it were just me, no problem. My wife and I, not a problem either. Kids, argh, problem.

After hunting around I’ve decided to start with the Equipped To Survive Basic kit list and customize from there. Gotta add those Backyardigan’s and Hello Kitty band-aids to start….

Heres the basic list for those interested…

Top Ten Lists…

So I have been bouncing around the idea of doing a few top ten lists for my blog since I started thinking about starting it up. I even have several that I have been working on since day one. To get things started here’s the first…

Top 10 Favorite Albums - Daily Playlist   

    10) Björk- Debut

    9) Modest Mouse - Good News for People Who Love Bad News

    8) Abney Park - The Death of Tragedy

    7)  Flogging Molly - Drunken Lullabies

    6)  Lacuna Coil - Karmacode

    5)  Jimmy Buffett - Changes in Lattitudes Changes in Attitudes

    4)  Psychedelic Furs - Mirror Moves

    3)  Public Image Limited - Album (aka Compact Disc or Cassette)

    2)  The Pogues - If I Should Fall From Grace With God

    1)  Dropkick Murphy’s - Blackout

I have found over the years that my taste is very ecletic. I guess it comes from being a skater punk from the ’80’s that worked in a celtic music store for a number of years. I like almost all types of music except death/heavy metal & Hip-Hop. I do like a good bit of the Goth metal that is out there…