Recommended Reading: Nessmuk

Recommended Reading: 

Woodcraft and Camping by George Washington Sears

This post is for a bushcraft/camping book that every outdoors-men should read atleast once. The book is a condensed book of the books and volumes written by Nessmuk.. This man pretty much pioneered 'ultra light weight backpacking'. It has some fantastic information in it and a good place to start if your looking to build a bushcraft kit. There are 2 groups of people with Nessmuk, some have become quite idolized by the man and the other questions his methods somewhat. I am still undecided which camp Im in at the moment.

The book can be downloaded for free "here".

Bushtucker resource: Bi-carb

Todays resource again, isnt particular bushtucker but like honey has many multi-uses that just need to be discussed, the resource is Bi Carb, you might also hear it called baking soda by Americans. The chemical name is Sodium bicarbonate.

Because Bicarb has so many uses, I will only cover ones applying to bushcraft and camping. A simple google search you can find a website that states 60 uses for bicarb (some of which I borrowed from her) ! and some of the ones Im going to share arent covered in that list either. There is no reason not to carry even a small 100gram bag of this into the bush.

 Because it has so many uses ill just jump into it and talk about them in no particular order. Firstly it can used a leaving agent in bread as a replacement as yeast, this is great because I carry flour into the bush to make damper and other foods and the bicarb helps make it raise, once ive baked my damper I can use the honey I carry to make a sweet hardy food. Since we are on the topic of food, because Australia's flora has many poisonous plants and if your plant identification isnt great and happen to get some poisoning, because of Bicarbs alkali structure, ingesting some can help to counteract that poison. A helpful tip is swallowing a small amount of charcoal aswell to help remove the poison. If you need to wash or clean any greens or fruits you gather, placing them in some Bicarb with water and soaking them then rinsing cleans the produce of any contaminants.

 Damper being cooking in the coals of a fire

 If using a skillet or pan to cook your food, you will properly be using oil or fat to cook with. If it happened to burst into flames... Well as we know water should NEVER been put onto a oil fire to put it out, Mythbusters did a great episode on this. Well how do we control it ? a wool blanket if carried could be used to smother it but you can also use Bicarb, it works similar to the C02 fire extinguishers, So use as much as possible to extinguish the flames.

One thing we all know Bicarb does well is remove odors, since youll be chopping wood, building shelters. your going to sweat, sprinkle some on your clothes, rub under your arms and in your shoes to remove those smells! To remove burned-on food from your skillet or pan, let them soak in Bicarb and water for 10 minutes before washing, you can also scrub the pot with dry Bicarb and a moist scouring pad.

If you happen to get a bee sting or similair sting, Making a poultice (thick paste wrapped in cloth) and placing that on the sting can help alleviate it, a similair concept can be used for rashes and sunburn by making a thick paste of Bicarb and water then placed over the affected area. It can also be used to clean your teeth, which is important out bush, certainly dont want to get a tooth ache in the middle of no where, you can use a toothbrush if you got it, or could make a strong Bicarb water solution and use your finger or clean material and scrub your teeth.

Finally because here in Australia alot of people use Swags, which are generally made from canvas. If they get dirty, use some dry Bicarb and a brush to clean the canvas.

I have given quite a large number of uses for such a simple product, there are so many more but for camping purposes I believe Ive covered the most common uses. I carry bag of Bicarb from 250g-1kg (depending on how many days ill be out) only because its just too damn useful not to bring along.. 250 gram weight for that many uses.. truly cannot be beat !

Thanks for reading :) hope you learnt something

Bushtucker resource: Honey

Bushtucker resource: Honey

Todays resource is honey. Although honey isnt technically bushtucker, it is a food that you can take with you that has many uses.

The most obvious of these is to sweeten food and drink. If you are going camping for an extended period and bringing along either drink such as tea/coffee or flour to make breads and dampers, honey can help to sweeten these, but honey has much more use then that. If you obtain honey that is produced locally (such as the honey in the photo which I use at home) it will help with hayfever since the bees will collect pollen from the flowers and trees growing in your area it helps you to build up an immunity towards those types of pollen, very helpful if you suffer alot of hayfever in the summer.


The great thing about bringing a small jar of honey with you is that it will never go off, being mostly sugar. Just make sure to keep it in a sealed container and wipe up any spilt mess, Ants love honey and will quickly overrun your camp looking for this sweet nectar. Because the pollen of Australian flora and the dry conditions, Australian honey is the clearest most pure you can obtain.

Now onto some bushcraft uses for it. It helps with the immune system giving it a boost which is good for out in the field as you will need a good immune system to fight off colds, infections or aliments from being out bush. Being mostly sugar is also gives a boost of energy and helps with moral, when your sad you always go for the sweet stuff (ice cream, chocolate, candy) so this will help if you get lonely or depressed during a harsh time.

It also is a great antiseptic, if you have a cut and worried about infection place some honey on it. When honey reacts with bodily fluids it releases hydrogen peroxide which is a great antimicrobial agent. Since honey does this if you get a burn or scald, placing honey over the burn helps to seal the burn, keeping off infections. Mixing honey with warm water also gives a slight laxative effect so if you become constipated, it can help relieve that.

So for a small container of honey if you brought it in your pack... It has alot of uses for such a small package... being from nature.. ofcourse its so useful. There is no reason not to pack it with you in your food kit

Update & a few reviews

Firstly an update

G'day everyone, today I am doing a review on a 2 more items, The German Esbit stove and the Buck Alpha Hunter. I think these are two good products that I wanted to show everyone while I am still waiting for fireban season to finish in my area (April 31st). Once the ban is finished I will begin posting more bushcraft posts such as starting a fire using different methods from primitive methods such as bow drill and fire saw to percussion methods such as flint and steel and something I dont think has been shown before but it was how the aboriginal tribes Dieri and Narrinyeri of South Australia used the percussion method to start fires, instead of flint and steel they used flint/quartz and Ironstone or iron pyrites in place of the steel. I am lucky enough to have found some natural iron pyrite rocks on a property I shoot on so will certainly show fire starting using this method, it may be a first on the internet to have shown this ancient method! . Ill also be able to do some camping to show some gear in use in the field so exciting times ahead!

Product Review: Esbit Stove

My first review is of the German made Esbit stove, these have been very popular for decades in the military and with campers, they are small folding stoves that use Hexamine as fuel, they are made from galvanized steel. They are cheap, reliable, work fairly well and very light weight. The price point is anywhere from $6 - $18. since mine was an genuine esbit it was $14 but you can get generic no name brands for much less especially if you buy surplus.

As you can see Ive used mine quite a bit due to the brown residue on the stove. When I first got it, it came with its own esbit hexamine tablets but they did not burn very hot or for very long. They were small thin ones unlike the large ones you generally see people use so I bought another brand of hexamine tablets as a replacement, sorry I didnt get a photo of the small ones before I used them up. I bought some Kookaburra tablets (24 pack). These were quite a bit larger then the esbit tablets and stated on the package 4 tablets would boil 2.5 cups of water in 5 minutes so that was promising, considering I had 24 tablets that was quite a bit of water I could boil ! and at $4 for the packet from Rays Outdoors, they were super cheap.

These tablets work well and seem to put off alot of heat but need to be lit with matches or a lighter, you cannot lit these with a ferro rod, seems you need a constant flame to get them to ignite but once lit stay lit quite well. Ive heard they dont fair too well in damp or windy conditions but mine have stayed lit in windy conditions, so they could be used as a fire starter aswell. These tablets caused some case hardened colorization on the metal cup I use so it must be putting off some good heat! having tried a few combos on how many tablets to add to boil the water. I found starting off with 2 tablets, when they get close to half their size I add a 3rd tablet and when that gets to just before half size I add a 4th. This gets the water very close to a roaring boil but if you just want to heat water for a cup of tea I found just the 3 tablets works good and heats close to about ~70'C

 I would not recommend these for disinfecting water as you want a roaring boil for that, I would use one of these tablets for getting a fire started, they burn for a few mins so would be great for getting a fire started in even damp conditions even though they say these dont work well in those conditions. These are best used for heating already safe drinking water. I carry one when hiking or hunting since they are quick to set up, odourless and dont need to start a fire to heat up water for a quick cuppa, since you fit the fuel inside of the stove so its a lightweight compact option for those not wanting to carry a heavy gas stove or the added bulk of an alcohol stove with extra fuel. This stove has its ups and downs but when used within its limits... Its a great lil tool !

Product Review: BUCK Alpha Hunter

For the second review I am reviewing a hunting knife, the BUCK Alpha Hunter. I know its not a bushcraft knife but in the field you will need a knife for skinning and processing animals and fish you catch. You could use your bushcraft knife but working in a food environment Im a little sceptic about using a knife that you chop and baton through wood and all sorts of other tasks and then the blade touching your meat. Ive had food poisoning before so the added weight of this knife im more then happy to carry. If you get sick in the wild you chances of survival get very slim especially if you start vomiting ! so the weight of this blade as I said, Im more then happy to carry. Having explained all that now onto the knife. Here are the specs from the BUCK website:

• Blade Length:   3 3/4" (9.5 cm)
• Blade Material:   420HC Stainless Steel
• Carry System:   Black, heavy duty nylon sheath
• Fixed Blade:   Yes
• Handle Material:   Rubber
• Weight:   7.2 oz. (205 g) 

The knife feels very good and sturdy in the hand. I was worried how the exposed tang would feel but you do not feel it, the rubberized handle has a great grip even when the handle is wet or covered in blood and the finger groove gives good control on the knife and it wont let your hand slip forward cutting it. It also has has thumb serrations on the spine of the knife for a good thumb grip if choking up on the knife, so I find the ergonomics fantastic of this knife.  The blade itself has a double bevel that I found slightly prone to chipping but after a few sharpening s its not too bad now, perhaps it was just the initial bevel profile so I'm slowly making it into a convex edge. It is made from 420hc steel which some say is very soft but Buck has a very expert heat treating system which makes the steel far harder then 420. The gut hook is a good addition as it stops possible piercing of the internal organs.

I received this knife as a gift for my 21st birthday so I properly wouldnt of got the a model without the gut hook, its useful no doubt but not my flavour. You can see the engraving on the side of the blade and I was very happy to get this as a present as you would imagine! 

The sheath is nylon with a plastic insert. It is a very sturdy sheath with the buck logo sewn onto it. There is no retention clip instead a flap goes over the knife holding it in place, which can be seen in the first 2 photos. it also has a loop for a belt and sits snug on your hip, it doesn't flap around like some sheaths can.

Overall ive been using this knife for nearly 2 years now and processed many rabbits, hares, ducks and even the odd kangeroo with it. It always excels at skinning and I highly recommend this knife or any buck knife for that matter. They are a great company which produce high quality hunting knives. I know the Buck 110 is a quite popular folder here in Australia.

I hope you enjoyed the 2 reviews and that my blog so far has been enjoyable to read. 

Thankyou for reading

Knife Review: Svord Pheasant Knife

Svord Pheasant Knife

Today I am doing a review on my first bushcraft knife, the Svord Pheasant knife. This is quite an interesting design because although it is a folder when opened the tail sticking out becomes a rat-tail tang being held in by friction and your hand.. It almost makes it a fixed blade knife, so it has the benefits of folders portability and small size with strength of a fixed blade knife. In Australia the price point of this blade is around $30. so maybe not as cheap as a Mora but buying from online will give you a cheaper price. 

 

Now some specs. The blade is carbon steel with a blade length of 8cm which was hair shaving sharp when I first received it but I know alot of people do not have a sharp blade when they first receive it. When open the knife is 20.5cm(8") long and when closed is 17cm (6.7") long. the blade is 16mm(0.6") wide and weighs a mere 71grams(2.5oz). So it is a good little knife, but the proof is in the pudding so I put it to a few basic woodcarving tasks which I shall put all knives through.. Making a tent peg, feather sticking and batoning. With these test you get a good idea of its performance, I was also going to add caring a spoon but was time restricted by day light.

Due to the thin blade it sliced through the wood quite easy. Being this is the first bushcraft knife Ive owned, this was the first time Ive batoned a knife through wood. Some say this knife struggles since its unable to split the fibers easy like a thick knife, I found this knife to be very easy and a few mere hits on the tip went through a 6"+ long piece of wood with ease.

Next was making a tent peg. The knife performed well at removing wood for the stake part, took off chunks of wood with ease and the curved handle made it comfortable to get a good grip for carving. Making the small notch for the rope was quite easy, the knife Truncated thru the wood well due to its thin size and took less then 10 minutes to make this peg. I hammered this peg into the ground to test how well it will stick in the ground. Boy did it stick in! Ive used plenty of commercial metal and plastic tent pegs before, they are just as good as this peg. But these are free, readily available if theres sticks around and the shape can be customized to any specs you need.

Finally was making feather sticks.. I am not yet very skilled at this so in skilled hands I'm sure the feathering would be better, the blade sliced thru the wood very easily and controllable. You can choke up very close on the knife giving great blade control so even with my low skill level with this task the knife performed well.

Overall I am very pleased with the blade for the price, the only downside I thought is that it doesnt not come with a sheath. It preformed quite well and I'm sure with more practice of my skills the knife will preform even better. 

Big thanks to my bro for the great photos!

Bushtucker Resource: Pigweed

Bushtucker Resource: Pigweed

Todays bushtucker resource is quite a common plant around the globe with many uses. Pigweed as it is usually called here in Australia.

(botanical name: Portulaca oleracea)

This plant is classed as a weed and can grow in harsh climates with poor soil also generally found in farms and home gardens, I regularly see it growing on dirt patches besides the road. But for bushtucker purposes I would not recommend using those plants due to the plant being polluted by toxins of passing cars.

^ The above photo is not mine, I dont not take credit for it.

The plant can grow upto 1 meter in length and grows like a mat, hugging the ground. When it blooms it has small yellow flowers and blooming is around june-oct. It starts off with green stems and the stems turn pink for seed harvesting as described below.

This plant has a number of uses, firstly the leaves/stems and roots can be eaten raw or boiled or the leaves and stems ground into a paste and eaten like that, field guides say it tastes similar to spinach along with a slightly pepper sour taste. Having this plant growing in my own personal garden I tried some, I found the taste more akin to cucumber with the texture of lettuce and a slight zest when first biting into it. Another use for the plant is its seeds, when the stem turns from green to a bright pink it indicates the plant is ready for extracting seeds, the photo above shows that plant is nearly ready but still a slight green in the stems, they are best harvested around morning. You uproot the plant and place it on a hard surface, aboriginals would use bark or kangaroo skins but a plate or bowl would suffice. A single plant can produce upto 10,000 seeds depending on the size of it, when the seeds are gathered they can be parched and eaten like that or ground into a flour consistency and with water added baked into a seed cake, the seeds contain fats and proteins so can be a good stable food, the leaves also contain a small amount of omega 3 fatty acids, but only around 0.01-0.02mg per gram.

All in all, it is a very useful plant. with every part being able to be eaten even raw unlike many Australian bushtucker that needs to be leeched or boiled to remove the toxins, also being able to make a small cake from it is great for adding to your food stuffs bag for on the trail.

WARNING:

Because this plant is so common, youll likely find it around your town. DO NOT EAT IT unless you can positively identify this plant. I will take no responsibility for any illness caused by someone eating the wrong plant!

The foundations of this blog

I thought I might start by saying a little about myself, I have always loved the outdoors. 

When as a kid I would always go with the family out to the Flinders Ranges or similair remote areas and do camping and 4wd'ing over all sorts of terrain in the reliable pajero! I always enjoyed feeling close to nature and being away from the bullsh*t of society. Time almost is non exsistant out there, there are no worries and it is really relaxing.

The Australian outback is a truely unqiue place. the local fauna and flora is unique to only this part of the world. The conditions here are different then most places on earth, we can have a barren desert then 500kms away a lush rainforest to steep mountains and snow, steamy jungles to long lying flat plains. It is truely a world of contrast.

I intend to update my blog with product reviews of which I use or have used in harsh aussie conditions, but I am in no way an expert. Also I will post up camping trips, any hints and tips I have found along the way such as skinning game, different uses for seemily unuseful items EG: fencing wire! and particularly about bush tucker and the ways of the Australian Aboriginals and thier methods of living, Since they have lived in this land for 60,000 years. What better mentors to get my learning from, luckily for us in Australia the hunter/gatherer way of life is still happening here unlike the rest of the world where it has well and truely died off due to cultivation and farmer or the loss of archeological evidence.

Sadly alot of even the Aboriginal way of life has been threatened, after colonisation we lost quite a bit of knowledge as it was never written down only passed on by word of mouth. As which I am doing through this blog, the natural resources of Oz have been reduced aswell to create pastoral lands so a number of bushtucker have become more elusive and our native wild life endangered by in the introduction of pests such as foxes, rabbits, cats, horses, goats, cane toads.

I will no doubt make posts already covered by other bloggers but since there arent too many Australians into bushcraft I hope my posts will atleast get more of them into the outback and put a unique Australian twist on typical bushcraft trains of thought.

G'day Everyone!

Starting off my own bushcraft blog

Well after reading many blogs on bushcraft and wilderness self reliance.  I thought I would join the bandwagon and start up my own one. Hope this blog will also inspire me to get plently of 'dirt time' aswell and serve as an electronic notebook/journal for my own learning