Bushcraft and Camping
Bushcraft is something that I enjoy reading about, researching, and occasionally I have the time to actually do it. It seems the more hectic life gets the more I lean towards simple living.
Since spare money for fun stuff is hard to come by, most of my projects are done with free or very cheap materials.
DIY - Tarp Tent
This is a simple Wedge Tent I made from some 4mil plastic sheeting for my first solo overnight.
I built this to fit my Hammock which you can see the blue tree straps poking out of each side of the picture below.
Rocket Stove Camping Pot
Here is a camping Pot with a Rocket Stove insert, made from a $25 Asparagus pot, 5 soup cans, small sheet of metal from the HVAC dept, and the left over insulwool from my Paint Can Forge.
I have discovered that the Insulwool itself doesn't really offer much insulation to keep the heat in the burn chamber. I'm going to try and take it apart at a later time and add some Satanite. That should greatly increase the heat in the chamber.
My Broad Ax. A $5.00 flea Market find that I re-handled. Took hours to clean up the mushroomed end, re-flatten the one side, and remove the back bevel one of the previous owners put on there. I also made a leather sheath for the ax so i could carry it without it slicing through stuff as it's very sharp.
My Bushcraft knife set "$13 Paula Deen set" from Walmart. I cut down the Chef's knife with a Dremel and bent one of the paring knifes into a spoon knife by heating with a torch until just red then bending with a pair of pliers. This set of knifes takes and holds a surprisingly good edge. I also made a custom sheath for each knife. The wide topped sheath is actually to hang around your neck. Each corner is to tie a lanyard to, it gets in the way far less than the sheath that straps to my belt and i find the size is very useful.
My Personal Survival Kit: These are one of those things that you probably will never need but it's a good idea to have with you whenever you go out. Even if your camping somewhere familiar you should always have a PSK strapped to your belt or tucked in your pocket because you never know what may happen.
Fire Starters in a resealable straw:
This is something I picked up somewhere on the internet. Basically pick up a few extra big straws from McD's. Pinch one end in a pair of long nose pliers with about 1/8" sticking out. Heat that little end with a lighter until it shrivels up against the pliers. Let cool for a few seconds. Stuff a single cotton ball that has had petroleum jelly smeared into it as tightly in as you can. Cut the straw off flush with the top of the cotton ball wad "important to be able to get it out later". Now, cut a slit about 1/4" in on the end of the straw to allow you to compress the end. Now to make the cap. Seal the end of the left over straw in the same manner as the last time. Now cut the left over straw so you have a 1/2" - 3/4" short straw with one sealed end. Now just pinch the end of your cotton ball straw and stuff it into your Cap so the 1/4" cut is completely covered. You now have a waterproof and resealable fire starter tube. Next time I make them I'll try to take some more pictures. You can see some pictures of the assembled straws in my Personal Survival Kit.
