Musings of an Imperfect Man In Search of a Handmade Life
I’ve been researching more ethnographic data for trapping techniques to get beyond the same handful we have all seen since our Scouting days; the Paiute, Figure-4, spring snares, etc. While not looking at all I came across this interesting image from the archives of the Smithsonian from 17th century Italy. The more I research, the […]
Read More Bird TrapsI was looking up a link for someone and rediscovered the video today showing how to make tough and durable sandals from discarded tires. This style is well-known in Southeast Asia, particularly in poorer areas. If you are interested in sandal-making, you can hardly go wrong with this design if you have access to old […]
Read More Dép lốp or “Ho Chi Min” SandalsFrom one of my new favorite blogs Running With Sheep. Johan and Sanne are a couple of remarkable outdoors – bushcraft – survival enthusiasts with more than a touch of philosophy thrown in. Their most recent project shows how to convert a run-of-the-mill thrift store find into a functional pack basket. From what I can […]
Read More Making a Pack BasketI found this video over at the Scotianostra Tumblr so thought I’d add a bit to it. The Battlefield Band has been part of my life for decades. I particularly appreciated their sentiment of “Home is where the Van is…” Happy Birthday local Bairn, Brian McNeill born on April 6th 1950 in Falkirk. Brian was […]
Read More The Lads O The FairThere are quite a few images from the Golden Age of the Gypsy Caravan* floating around the web, many without appellation. Still, they have much to offer the potential traveler or yearning nomad today. I quite like seeing the nearly universal items one needs for living on the move such as the folding tables, water […]
Read More Exploring Old Caravan ImagesOriginally posted on Lost Art Press:
While researching “Ingenious Mechanicks” Chris Schwarz and I found many workbenches with face vises and some of them actually had vise nuts. In the montage above there are selections from paintings from Spain, Italy and what is now present-day Ecuador. As you can see, they range from the basic…
Finally, after stepping away from this little project for two months, I’m nearly finished with this wooden noggin cup. I set it down in despair early on when the block started to check along the radial grain. Luckily though, storing it in a moist bag seems to have saved the project and I was able […]
Read More Wooden Mug, the end is in sightOriginally posted on Lost Art Press:
The book that became “Chairmaker’s Notebook” began as a chat with chairmakers Peter Galbert and Curtis Buchanan. We made a plan to produce a video of Curtis building a chair that would be accompanied by a pamphlet from Peter illustrating the construction details. In the end, Curtis’s detailed videos…
Originally posted on Running with Sheep:
Spring is here – Hurray for lighter packs! This is what we bring on a light overnighter. Sleepsystem Thermarest Neoair Sleeping matt Sea to Summit Aeros Pillow Not pictured: Nomad Sleepingbag, wool blankets and shelter Around the camp The Bushcraft Journal Candle Bankline Firekit Firesteel Fatwood Tobacco tin, containing:…
I was lucky to learn this method as a young Scout and have stayed proficient over the many years since. To become truly skilled at this, I went through a period of making a coal every day with either this method or by hand drill. I spent a couple days and nights out in the […]
Read More Making a bow-drill fire