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