Whoa, ho, ho, ho - sinister Peter Cushing-type laugh. Time for a little experiment. Enough of this nonsense.
I had some bits and pieces of wood lying around drying out that were just begging to be abused. So I dug out a pine hearth, a hazel drill, a holly drill and my trusty teak bearing block (salvaged from an old table leg). I decided to go against the grain and have a little experiment with drill shape. I fly in the face of convention, ha!
In one of Ray Mears' books he says that the rounded end of the drill should go in the hearth because of greater friction and the pointy end should go in the block because of less friction. Seems logical but I was bit bored and decided to have a go with my rather eclectic mix of kit. My thinking was this, if the pointy end was in the hearth then due to its smaller circumference you would achieve faster rotations relative to the amount of effort put in. You would also be able to apply proportionately greater pressure for the same amount of force due to its smaller surface area. Elementary physics something to do with woman in high heels, elephants and who you would prefer to be stood on by! I believe that there are specialist websites for that sort of thing. I'm not sure what happens if the elephant is wearing heels though?
By contrast having the rounded end in the block means that it generates less heat due to slower rotation speeds even though it is presenting a larger surface area. Of course my physics could be completely cr*p!
Either way I went for it. I managed smoke very easily and after a couple of passable attempts at recreating the bouncing bomb effect with flying drills I got a really good ember. This worked for both the hazel and holly drills and didn't take much effort. The reverse configuration seemed to work well though the penalty was greater wear on the pointy end.
An interesting way to spend an hour on a sunny Saturday afternoon. The question is - has anyone else flown in the face of wisdom and tried doing it differently (the bowdrill that is)?
bowdrill,fire by friction, bushcraft
Showing posts with label bushcraft. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bushcraft. Show all posts
Sunday, 28 June 2009
Monday, 10 March 2008
The Ordnance Survey Outdoor Show
Due to circumstances beyond my control (only kidding), I am going to be attending the The Outdoor Show this week.
Myself and a couple of other guys are going to be covering the Shadowhawk part of the show because Max is off filming again. We are going to be attached to the Bushcraft and Survival Magazine stand.
I'm going to be there for the duration and will be giving a couple of short talks on each day. The rest of the time will be spent, either at the stand, or having a little wander around the show looking for goodies to buy!
Drop by and say hi if you are passing. Hope to see you there!
Myself and a couple of other guys are going to be covering the Shadowhawk part of the show because Max is off filming again. We are going to be attached to the Bushcraft and Survival Magazine stand.
I'm going to be there for the duration and will be giving a couple of short talks on each day. The rest of the time will be spent, either at the stand, or having a little wander around the show looking for goodies to buy!
Drop by and say hi if you are passing. Hope to see you there!
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Wednesday, 10 October 2007
Polish Bushcraft
A big thank you to Sam for linking back to my blog from his site - Woodcraft in Poland.
Cheers mate!
Cheers mate!
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Wednesday, 19 September 2007
Tracking v Bushcraft
Take a look at Pablo's view of the difference between trackers and bushcrafters. It's pretty much on the money!
Tracking v Bushcraft
Tracking v Bushcraft
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Monday, 3 September 2007
The Wilderness Gathering
I have just come back from 3 days at the Wilderness Gathering. For those of you who don't know what the Gathering is, it is a 'festival' of bushcraft. It is very family orientated and has lots of stalls and a fair bit for the kids to do as well. The overall theme of the show is bushcraft and has lots of people wandering around with knives and axes but it is all very good natured. For more information on the venue and the show in general follow this link The Wilderness Gathering.
Anyway, I was there mainly to work on the Shadowhawk stand but also to promote myself and Tracks4life. On both counts we did well. I sold a bit of kit, Max (Ian 'Max' Maxwell who owns Shadowhawk) sold a fair bit of kit and generated a good interest in his courses. We also promoted some joint ventures such as Family Tracking courses next year hear on Exmoor.
Ros spent a fair bit of time tweaking Max's literature aiming for consistency throughout his promotional material as well as planning out the stall and its general look. Max was well chiuffed with the results and he is now more than happy for us and the other instructors (Nick, Duncan, Jamie and Rod) to take more responsibility in helping Max run courses. This is an important step as Max is doing more television work and is not always available.
We had great fun setting a competition based on scenarios we created in a spoor pit and the Junior tracker competition went down well also. Nick and I ran the tracking masterclass in the same way we did last year and that seemd to go down well too. Max was happy. The weather was very kind to us and stayed dry for the whole time we were there.
All in all a good few days and great for the family too!
Anyway, I was there mainly to work on the Shadowhawk stand but also to promote myself and Tracks4life. On both counts we did well. I sold a bit of kit, Max (Ian 'Max' Maxwell who owns Shadowhawk) sold a fair bit of kit and generated a good interest in his courses. We also promoted some joint ventures such as Family Tracking courses next year hear on Exmoor.
Ros spent a fair bit of time tweaking Max's literature aiming for consistency throughout his promotional material as well as planning out the stall and its general look. Max was well chiuffed with the results and he is now more than happy for us and the other instructors (Nick, Duncan, Jamie and Rod) to take more responsibility in helping Max run courses. This is an important step as Max is doing more television work and is not always available.
We had great fun setting a competition based on scenarios we created in a spoor pit and the Junior tracker competition went down well also. Nick and I ran the tracking masterclass in the same way we did last year and that seemd to go down well too. Max was happy. The weather was very kind to us and stayed dry for the whole time we were there.
All in all a good few days and great for the family too!
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Sunday, 26 August 2007
Kids and Bushcraft
It takes a lot to scare me but what I had agreed to do quite terrified me! Could this be bungee jumping over a crocodile infested river with only a single thread of elastic? No. Could it be stalking a lion and slapping it on the rump, blowing a raspberry before running away? No. Or could it be teaching kids some bushcraft skills. Ooh yes!
I was persuaded by a local play group (CLOWNS)to run some bushcraft things for some of their summer activities. Naturally I agreed. As it got closer I got more worried. What a wimp, eh! Anyway, I was nervous on my first day but luckily only had about 20 kids to teach. I basically showed them how to use a firesteel to light a piece of cotton wool. Well, kids and fire do mix.
I'm not sure how many kids I taught over the 5 days but I think it was a little over 150. They aged between 5 and 13 and every single one managed to light the cotton wool at least once. I had very positive feedback from all the sessions (including the day I had over 60 kids to teach) which has pleased me greatly.
Now that I have done this and survived I can look back on it and safely say that I would do it again. I enjoyed it, even though it was hard work, and it was fantastic to see some of the reactions when they achieved fire for the first time. Bless 'em!
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Thursday, 16 August 2007
Summer Bushmoot and other stuff
Well it has been a while since I have posted anything which is mainly due to be being very busy this last month or so.
In the middle of July I helped out for a week at Canonteign for Shadowhawk Tracking School. We started off with an advanced course followed by a basic and intermediate. It was a bit difficult to swap your thinking around from running and advanced course to then running a basic but we managed. All the students did a fantastic job and everyone came away having had a great experience (life changing for some)! If you want to see a students eye view of the courses then take a look at Pablo's blog Woodlife: Nature, Wildlife and Bushcraft.
I then had a few days at home and then headed off with the family to the Summer Bushmoot for 5 days. This is an event organised by BushcraftUK. A big thanks must go to Tony and his crew for organising such a great event.
It was a fantastic few days. It was amazing how many people gave up their time to teach others their skills - all for the pleasure of it. I helped and ran a number of tracking seminars and was pleased with the responses I got. Again, thanks to everyone who attended. All in all I had a great time and so did the family and I'm looking forward to going again next year.
A few days after getting back from that I started my stint of teaching kids bushcraft but I shall leave that for another post.
In the middle of July I helped out for a week at Canonteign for Shadowhawk Tracking School. We started off with an advanced course followed by a basic and intermediate. It was a bit difficult to swap your thinking around from running and advanced course to then running a basic but we managed. All the students did a fantastic job and everyone came away having had a great experience (life changing for some)! If you want to see a students eye view of the courses then take a look at Pablo's blog Woodlife: Nature, Wildlife and Bushcraft.
I then had a few days at home and then headed off with the family to the Summer Bushmoot for 5 days. This is an event organised by BushcraftUK. A big thanks must go to Tony and his crew for organising such a great event.
It was a fantastic few days. It was amazing how many people gave up their time to teach others their skills - all for the pleasure of it. I helped and ran a number of tracking seminars and was pleased with the responses I got. Again, thanks to everyone who attended. All in all I had a great time and so did the family and I'm looking forward to going again next year.
A few days after getting back from that I started my stint of teaching kids bushcraft but I shall leave that for another post.
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Monday, 11 June 2007
Knife safety
Safe use of the Knife - a by no means comprehensive safety list for using a knife!
Before use, make sure the knife is fit for the purpose. Check for any damage and repair, if necessary, or just go out and buy a new one.
Alcohol and knives don’t mix! Ice and alcohol do, though.
Look after your knife – keep it clean and sharp. Just like yourself on a Saturday night.
A sharp knife is an efficient knife and a bit more useful than a blunt one.
Resheath the knife when not in use – don’t leave it lying around. Like a lot of things in life, it is safer when it’s wearing protection.
If you need to ‘safe’ your knife for a few moments then it can be stowed under the armpit, edge facing down. Take care when withdrawing the knife though. There are better ways to shave your ‘pits.
Never lend your knife to anyone. It can be a sure-fired recipe to see a grown man cry.
Before using your knife have your First Aid kit to hand as accidents do happen. Have a practice opening it one handed just to see how awkward it is.
Plan ahead. Work out where all the bits are going to go like the blade, cut bits of wood, fingers…
Make sure your ‘blood zone’ is clear of obstructions and other people. Using your sheathed knife describe an arc all around you with your arm fully extended. This is to ensure any ‘travel through’ from a slipped blade will not hit anything or anyone causing an unexpected trip to the nice doctors and nurses at the local A&E.
Always cut away from yourself. Avoid working between your legs as a slip could result in cutting the femoral artery which can really ruin your day. Also make sure no other bits of your body are in the path of the blade should it do something unexpected.
Passing a knife safely – hold the knife in a forehand grip, allow it to rotate between thumb and forefinger until the spine of the blade is resting on the web of skin between thumb and fingers, thus offering the handle to the lucky person who is going to look at your knife (see above) but not use it.
Stop using the knife if the light is really poor or it is dark – it’s pretty important to see what you are doing clearly.
Never attempt to catch a falling blade (unless you are a ninja) because if you have kept it sharp then your fingers may have extra ventilation.
Don’t throw your knife at anything or at/to anyone! Bad karma, dudes!
Stabbing your knife into the ground or into wood is a great way to damage the knife, yourself or someone else. All of which are considered bad form.
Before use, make sure the knife is fit for the purpose. Check for any damage and repair, if necessary, or just go out and buy a new one.
Alcohol and knives don’t mix! Ice and alcohol do, though.
Look after your knife – keep it clean and sharp. Just like yourself on a Saturday night.
A sharp knife is an efficient knife and a bit more useful than a blunt one.
Resheath the knife when not in use – don’t leave it lying around. Like a lot of things in life, it is safer when it’s wearing protection.
If you need to ‘safe’ your knife for a few moments then it can be stowed under the armpit, edge facing down. Take care when withdrawing the knife though. There are better ways to shave your ‘pits.
Never lend your knife to anyone. It can be a sure-fired recipe to see a grown man cry.
Before using your knife have your First Aid kit to hand as accidents do happen. Have a practice opening it one handed just to see how awkward it is.
Plan ahead. Work out where all the bits are going to go like the blade, cut bits of wood, fingers…
Make sure your ‘blood zone’ is clear of obstructions and other people. Using your sheathed knife describe an arc all around you with your arm fully extended. This is to ensure any ‘travel through’ from a slipped blade will not hit anything or anyone causing an unexpected trip to the nice doctors and nurses at the local A&E.
Always cut away from yourself. Avoid working between your legs as a slip could result in cutting the femoral artery which can really ruin your day. Also make sure no other bits of your body are in the path of the blade should it do something unexpected.
Passing a knife safely – hold the knife in a forehand grip, allow it to rotate between thumb and forefinger until the spine of the blade is resting on the web of skin between thumb and fingers, thus offering the handle to the lucky person who is going to look at your knife (see above) but not use it.
Stop using the knife if the light is really poor or it is dark – it’s pretty important to see what you are doing clearly.
Never attempt to catch a falling blade (unless you are a ninja) because if you have kept it sharp then your fingers may have extra ventilation.
Don’t throw your knife at anything or at/to anyone! Bad karma, dudes!
Stabbing your knife into the ground or into wood is a great way to damage the knife, yourself or someone else. All of which are considered bad form.
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Thursday, 24 May 2007
Knife show revisited
Well as promised I have got round to taking some pictures of the 2 knives that I bought at the Bristol Knife Show. They make an interesting contrast - some might say from the sublime to the ridiculous! See what you think.The top one is a khukri and the bottom one is a Special Edition Mini North Star made by Bark River Knife and Tool Company.
Both are very nice pieces of equipment and both have come with razor sharp cutting edges. I decided to get the khukri partly out of curiosity and partly to use as a machete-type of tool for some heavy cutting where an axe is not particularly suitable. I have not had chance to use it in anger yet but that will be for another post later on. I already have a North Star so it was hard to resist this little sister. It has a black and green linen micarta handle with some nice mosaic pins. Lovely!
Saturday, 19 May 2007
Bushcraft on Exmoor
Yesterday I ran a One Day Bushcraft taster course at my site in the Exmoor National Park. We had a great day and covered an awful lot of material. However, just as we were about to pack up and leave, we had some visitors!The ponies were not at all concerned by our presence and did not get phased when we were moving around and taking photos. Exmoor ponies are not the tamest of horses so it was a great testament to my students that the ponies were happy to stay with us for almost an hour before moving on.
Bristol Knife Show
Well it's been quite a while since I last posted anything. I have been very busy with work recently doing all my other jobs (media and IT). However I did manage to go to the Bristol Knife show last week!
It was a nice little show - all contained in one room at the Aztec Hotel. There were plenty of sharp and shiny things on display and I nearly managed to get away without spending money but I failed miserably. I ended buying a couple of knives of which I will post pictures later.
Overall, I'm glad I had a look at the show but I did fee that it was a bit expensive for what it was. There were not a huge number of exhibitors there but it was a great atmosphere and it was fantastic to have such a show in this day and age of paranoid press hysteria about knives.
It was a nice little show - all contained in one room at the Aztec Hotel. There were plenty of sharp and shiny things on display and I nearly managed to get away without spending money but I failed miserably. I ended buying a couple of knives of which I will post pictures later.
Overall, I'm glad I had a look at the show but I did fee that it was a bit expensive for what it was. There were not a huge number of exhibitors there but it was a great atmosphere and it was fantastic to have such a show in this day and age of paranoid press hysteria about knives.
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