Decado Bushcraft

Home Sweet Home

2009-06-22T14:56:00.002-04:00

Just got back last week from a six day canoe trip with Mungo. Had a fantastic time. Can't wait to get out there again.... uh.... well... soon ..... maybe..... ok Fall is looking good.

Decado

Tarp Configuration...

2009-04-24T00:48:00.004-04:00

Ok I know I was going to do some posts of the equipment and things I was taking this weekend but since I have been running around town and the farm all day... well... I am still not done packing. I will be leaving in the morning so......

Enjoy a couple shots of the tarp I am taking and one of the setups I will be trying:

See you after the weekend!

Thanks, Decado.

Time to get off the farm..

2009-04-21T14:34:00.007-04:00

For a little bushcraft hike in Algonquin Park that is...

Things have been a bit stressful of late. Business is still slow but it is starting to move a bit. With the warmer weather here and the threat of the imminent "Bug Invasion" scheduled a couple of weeks from now, I decided it's time to get out!

I contacted a couple of long-time hiking friends of mine and started making plans for a trip out to Algonquin Park. Turns out Pierre and I are the only ones going to be able to take off on a friday to make it a two nite trip. And this weekend is the only time he can go. (Sorry SpotTheCamper. I figured it would be a little short notice!)

As far as kit is concerned, I plan to stay as close to a "Nessmuk" list as I can with a few personal favorites. The weather is supposed to be beautiful this weekend. Even so, I will be bringing some extra warm clothes. The nights are still quite cool around here. I am also planning to make the weekend a bit of a "No Matter What" kind of a trip refered to by American Bushman. I have also made some new leather gear that I want to test. Will need to do a little water-proofing to protect the leather before the weekend gets here. Will post some pictures when I get a moment. I have decided to go with a modern s. bag and bivi instead of wool. We may do a lot of walking and I want a play around with the wool closer to home first.

Well.... need to get back to work. Will post more on kit and food for the trip before I go...

Thanks, Decado.

Bushcraft Shelter Practice

2009-04-16T09:43:00.002-04:00

"No matter how good you think you are at something, you can always practice more..."

One of my grandfather's favorite sayings....

So I decided to do a little more playing around with a couple shelter types, and since it was nice out, get something the kids could play in. Tipis have always been my favorite type of long term shelter, but they take practice to get them right. This time I tried with tarps to see if I could get it to work.

Not great, but I learned a few tricks...

Looks aside.... it would still keep the rain off!

This shelter took me 2 minutes to set up and 10 minutes to get the dog out of it so I could take the picture. Henry wants to go camping!

Thanks, Decado.

Bushcraft Poll #1

2009-04-16T09:34:00.002-04:00

Last Poll asked which would you choose? Axe or Saw.

Axe takes it with 73% of the votes over Saw.

Thanks, Decado.

Survival Kit for a friend...

2009-04-09T22:43:00.004-04:00

A month or so back I had a friend ask me to help him put a winter survival kit together. He told me it was for his Ski-Patrol during a down-hill skiing competition. Each group had to have one of these for the day... in case of emergency.

I told him I would put one together for him as long as I got it back. He agreed and I went home to tear the garage apart.... again.

Here is the kit I put together.

Now. Other than the first-aid kit that I asked him to supply and the backpack that is not in the picture...... what is missing? Remember please that I am just looking for feedback and the kit is not meant to be compact. It is for winter use and the people using it are not very experienced in survival or bushcraft.

Just looking for a little "two cents".

Decado.

After the fall.... of snow that is...

2009-04-09T22:04:00.003-04:00

So as you no doubt know from Mungo, we had a nice little snow storm that turned Sunday's beautiful day of working on the woodshed in a tee-shirt into... "Winter has come again!". Truth be told it made me a little sad. I was really starting to get into the swing of spring there for a couple of days. It did not help that I had to put the blade on the front of the ATV and plow the bloody driveway again... Did not find much enjoyment in it this time.

Anyways.

This last storm actually got me to thinking. Clothing. I am sure you have heard enough times in the past that you should always take enough clothing with you on a trip. But the last week has really got me re-thinking my setup for clothing.

Mors asks a question as to your choice of clothing. "Will the clothes you wear keep you warm for four days without a fire?"

You might answer yes to this. Had I been wearing a fleece over my tee-shirt on Sunday and went for a wander in the bush, my answer would have been a definite NO! Perhaps living here surrounded by nature tends to make me less concerned.

You are probably thinking to yourself: "Yeah but if I go for a hike in June I don't need to wear 4 layers of clothing!" No. Maybe not. But I have been out on a camping trip in the middle of June and the temperature dropped to below 0 Celsius for 3 days and it snowed. Seriously. Weather around here can change quickly and if you are a day or three from the car on a week long trip you could be in for trouble.

One of my earlier post lists off Mors five layer system. Nessmuk considers the following list to be sufficient for most trips into the bush: (most of the listed clothing is considered made of fine woolen cassimere)

Medium thickness wool coat
vest
sturdy but comfortable pants
2 thick woolen shirts
2 fine but substantial pair of drawers
2 pair of socks
hat and boots.

Whether you try either of these systems or your very own is up to individual needs. No one can tell you how to dress or what will work for you. Not a friend, spouse, or clothing manufacturer. Only through trial and error will you know for sure. When you think you have it, ask yourself this. Will putting every article of clothing on that you are carrying allow you to stay warm if the temperature drops by 20 degrees (celsius) overnite? Will you be warm for 4 days without a fire or sleeping bag?

Will post my Autumn/Spring clothing in a future post.

Thanks for being here...

Decado.

Where's Decado?

2009-03-26T10:39:00.005-04:00

Hey... Remember me?

Yes I know. I have been a bad blogger. Funny thing is I have come to realize over the past couple of months that, sadly, I am not a very good blogger. No, no. Don't deny it! I can handle the truth. Ask anyone that knows me. I can talk your ear off, but when it comes time to putting things down on paper (electric that is) I fall short.

I read a book recently and one of the characters said, "when you don't know what to do, do what you do know." I am sure there is an enire conversation on that topic, but the way I took it is this: If I feel that I am not very good at doing this blog thing like everyone else, do it the way I think I should do it. Still with me? More on that to come...

Truth be told, I have not had much time to do anything in the way of bushcrafting. One thing I realized is that when you live in the 'burbs, you find yourself longing for the woods. When you live in the woods... well...... life is busy and the woods will be there tomorrow. Sad really.

Since my wife is so much better at putting our stuggles to paper I will let you read her version of current times here.

Until things become more organized,

Decado.

What do bushcrafters do in the Winter?

2009-01-20T16:20:00.005-05:00

Is it cold enough for you?

Christmas Gift I carved for my wife.

Looks like the shelter is still standing!

Debris Shelter.... more like a snow shelter...

Hrmmm.... need more snow!

Its a snow bump!

Yes Mungo! I am wearing wool!

Serious Winter Bushcrafters!

Thanks, Decado.

Xmas Prep and Best Wishes

2008-12-20T13:30:00.005-05:00

I have a couple of post sitting in draft postion. Been wanting to finish them off but with the Snow Storms and Christmas presents still to make its been a bit like a whorl-wind around here.

Just in case I don't get a chance before the big day I wanted to wish everyone and their families:

Merry Christmas and all the Best in the coming New Year!

Hope everyone remembers what Christmas is really all about (I know... most of us think Bushcraft Toys! But.... no..... well.... mostly no.) Keep life simple, live it beyond your expectations, and remember that no one ever laid on their "Deathbed" and thought: "Gee... I wish I had spent more time in my life WORKING!"

Thanks, Decado.

Bushcrafting in the background...

2008-12-12T14:23:00.004-05:00

Have not had time to do much in the way of bushcrafting of late. Things have been busy on the farm trying to settle into a routine of feed the animals, water the animals, collect eggs, feed the animals, check the animals, keep the furnace going, try to bring in an income, water the animals again, have a serious talk with Oscar the goat about his excessive bad manners and improper use of the horns, feed the.... well, you get the idea.

The snow has been up and down for the last week or so getting cold and then warming up to melt and then freezing again, and again. Snow has stuck to the trees again and everything looks nice and white.

Decided to blow off some steam today and go for a short walk out to the shelters. Wanted to make sure everything is still standing and I knew I would need to clear out the snow that is piling up in front of the doors. Took a shovel with me and off I went.

Started looking around and noticed tracks around the shelter and down the trail into the woods. At first I thought they were my wife's tracks walking the dog. Then I got a closer look. Seems that there is a animal highway that I built my shelter right in the middle of for the local fauna. I found fox, deer, rabbit and squirrel tracks. The surprise I got was that unless I am mistaken and there are some REALLY BIG deer out there, we had a moose walking through the property. Now that might not be too surprising but to me the footprints were huge! I thought I was looking at tracks I had made from a while back until I saw the two toes. I would love to had seen it. The locals are saying that this area hasn't had any moose around until recently.

Hope I don't find one sleeping in my shelter! I just got everything the way I liked it... :)

When I get a chance I will run out and take pictures of the Super Shelter and Debris hut all covered in snow and post them for you to see.

Until then...

Thanks, Decado.

Why I moved away from the city...

2008-11-27T11:17:00.008-05:00

If you have been following my blog over the last 4 or 5 months you will probably already know about my family and I moving away from the Toronto, Ontario area out to the country. Actually about 2 and a half hours north east of the Toronto area.

Many people have asked us why we would want to move so far away from in all.... All being things like, traffic, high cost of living, traffic, no place to put snow in the winter time, winter traffic, crowds, "on the way to work" traffic, over-crowded stores during peak shopping times, "on the way home" traffic, (ok, I hate traffic!) and of course, NOISE. Well I know I am not much of a writer, so I am going to let some pictures speak a thousand words for me. Please note. If you are a bushcrafter and love the outdoors during all seasons you will understand why these pictures spoke to me so strongly.

If you are not the type of person that likes winter in any of its forms, you would probably be saying something like "Yeah but look at all that snow! Think of all the shoveling you would have to do!"

Oh. I think I have that covered!

It's a bushcraft shovel! No! Really! See the camouflage?

Thanks, Decado.

Bushcraft Bucksaw Belt

2008-11-19T20:21:00.001-05:00

During the last garage clean up, I found some belting hardware that I had been saving, hidden amongst the piles of bushcraft do-it-yourself gear.

I decided that I needed to put together the bucksaw belt and possibles pouch for cruising around the property.

What is the Bucksaw belt you ask? OK. You might not be asking but lets pretend you did!

The belt is created with 2 layers of material sewn/glued together in order to store a bucksaw blade inside. I got the idea from some of Mors Kochanski's teachings. Since I made a bushcraft bucksaw during my course with Mors and Jack Mountain Bushcraft School on an earlier post, I thought it would be a good idea to put the belt together too!

So here goes:

I had some nylon belting that fit perfectly with the plastic belt buckle. I would have liked to use leather for this project but I wanted to try it out to see if I liked it first. The leather will come later in time. So I folded the belting in half and measured it to myself making sure that I could adjust the buckle depending on the clothing I was wearing. No point in making it if I can't use it as a belt for my pants or over all my winter clothing too! Once I had it set I threw it down on the sewing maching and stitched the edges together leaving an opening at one end.

Taking a 24" saw blade I connected some cord and a couple key rings to one end. The cord is just to pull the blade out of the belt but the key rings are to hold the ends of the sawblade on the bucksaw when it is made.

I took some scrap cardboard to make it easier to slide the saw into the belt.

Put the entire thing together and here is what you have:

I had expected the blade to stick out and bother me, even with so flexible of material. Turns out once it was on I did not notice it at all. I have been wearing it for the last couple of weeks and although I would like to make it with more traditional materials and make it look nicer, it works, and that is the main thing. Right?

Should be posting my possibles pouch and belt setup in a day or so.

Thanks, Decado.

A Good Bushcraft / Survival Book

2008-11-13T13:05:00.006-05:00

I was going through my library of Outdoor Wilderness skill books the other day and found one that I purchased from a Public Library sale over a year ago. The book is called "How to stay alove in the woods" by Bradford Angier. It was originally published as "Living off the Country", Copyright 1956 by Bradford Angier. It also states that is had its nineteenth printing in 1974.

Although there are references to certain activities that are considered "in-appropriate" to modern day environmental issues, I found the book very resourceful.

One of the things that made the book interesting for me was that the author did not come right out and say, "THIS IS THE ONLY WAY TO DO .....". It was all about making suggestions that would work for you and the 'pros' and 'cons' about each idea. Many of the skills described can be found in many of today's bushcraft books, but you will be suprised at number of things that new. Old skills that have been forgotten or not used by many people today.

The focus is about survival but I found it to be more bushcraft oriented than most survival books you find published in the last decade. If Mors doesn't have this book now, I think he would like it! Take a look around and see if you can find yourself a copy. I thought it was worth the dollar it cost me.

A quote from the beginning of the book says:

" A party living off the country must know how to get full value from everything available especially in the way of food" - Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Thanks, Decado.

Moments of Bushcrafting...

2008-11-12T20:18:00.008-05:00

Fire at the shelter

Tracks in the pond. Guess who?

Decado

Mungo comes to the farm!

2008-11-12T07:44:00.006-05:00

Had a great visit from Mungo last Sunday. Was great to see him again. Gave him the 25 cent tour of the property. The kids loved having him here to sing songs and be... uh.... entertaining? Check out his post here!

I have another friend that came yesterday for a visit. I will be getting some of the pictures of our nite out in the shelters. Should be good. Will post about it soon.

Thanks, Decado.

Bushcraft Cooking done easy...

2008-11-11T10:06:00.005-05:00

Now that Autumn is in full swing, it is only natural that my thoughts turn to some of the more important aspects of Wilderness Living..... FOOD! Don't laugh! During summer months food tends to be the last thing on my mind. I grab a bunch of dried food stuffs from the last "Dehydrate Everything" Session, shovel it into zip-lock bags and go! No problem.

I guess that once the weather turns colder there is some human instinct that tells us we need to eat in order to make it through the winter. That being the case I like to rummage through my camping cookbooks and get some new or re-newed ideas. Found this recipe the other day and shared it with Mungo when he stopped off at the farm to check things out. It is a simple dish but it sure fills in all the holes when you are hungry and chilled!

Here is the recipe in its simplest form - try it and tell me what you think! You can prepare it at home and put in zip-lock bags to re-heat in water or make it right there at camp.

Cheesy Potato Ham Stew.

2 tbsp - margarine
1 - small onion, fine chopped
1 1/2 tbsp flour
1 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup diced cooked ham
2 medium potatoes, sliced thin
1/2 cup grated cheese

In a sausepan melt margarine and add onions. Saute onions for about a minute. Add flour as you stir to make a paste. Slowly add milk. Then season to your preference. Put ham and potatoes in casserole dish or Dutch oven and add the sauce. Cook for 15 minutes at a temperature of 400 degrees in oven. Open lid and throw cheese on top. Close lid and cook for about 5 more minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. The rest is up to you!

Let me know if you like it.

Decado

Hunters and a cool way to cook lunch...

2008-10-27T14:22:00.021-04:00

So my brother and his kids came to stay with us for the weekend and we gave them a grand tour of the property. They said they loved it! Had a great time driving the kids around on the ATVs and exploring. We even found a tree-stand that a hunter had set up on our property. Not impressed but it turned out to be a neighbor that was confused about the property lines. Spoke to him today and he seems real nice. Came to an agreement and things were worked out.

Anyway... onto the main topic of this post which is a neat trick to heat up a pot of water. I found it really neat. So here is how it works:

Get yourself a pot of water (Juice Can), a cotton ball with petroleum jelly, and some lighter fluid.
The lighter fluid is optional but it makes getting the fire going much faster. Then you get yourself a good sized log that is dry. Like this:

This was a piece of Poplar from our stock of wood for the furnace.
My advice is that you try to make the wood as big around as you can and as dry. Now you need to cut an 'X' in the top of it. (make sure the wood will stand up on its own)

Here is my brother starting to cut with one of my old bowsaws:

That did not work out well as children under the age of 8 standing out in the rain do not have the greatest of patience. So we had to find a way to cut the notches faster....

This works...

Notches about 4 inches deep, complete:

Now you will need to place the cotton ball in the center of the 'X' and then pour a large amount of lighter fluid (if you have it) and then strike it!

Now just let it burn! Leave it for about five minutes (or whatever you think it needs) to let it burn enough to put a pot on it.

I found that once it really started going, the wind blowing in from the side helped to keep the fire going. All told, it took a little more than 20 minutes to get a pot of water to a full rolling boil. That was not including cutting time. But it did get the water boiling and I did not have to add anything or help the fire in any way!

(opps sorry. forgot to fix this)

(and this...)

(there we go... much better. Neck was getting sore)

Sorry did not measure the amount of water. But if you are thinking you have dozens of way you could heat water faster, remember this! I lit it! And left it!

I am sure there are a few pro and cons to this but I thought it was neat! I always have a swede saw blade in my belt (between 2 layers) with my possibles pouch... but that is a post that shall have to wait.

Thanks for reading me,

Decado.

And a Farm Blog is born

2008-10-21T09:10:00.005-04:00

A while back I posted about my family and I moving to a farm (commonly referred to as Bushcraft Heaven!).

Just wanted to put out our new website called Rowangarth Farm. Please check out the website here and the blog for it here and let my wife know what an amazing job she has done!

Thanks,

Decado

Giant Heron... or is that a Crane doing bushcraft?

2008-10-17T14:40:00.008-04:00

Now that we have moved out of the city and are living in the wild... (some of our friends think so anyway..) we have not had a shortage of the wildlife. We have had a bear, raccoons (digging up the lawn), a couple skunks, deer by the dozen, some foxes, bluejays taking advantage of my wife's generosity, vast numbers of every other type of bird, squirrels by the millions, an otter (wife was the only one to see that) and one very large heron that has taken up residence in our ponds by the house.

Today I found him (or her) sitting in our chair of all places! I guess even the wildlife around here likes to make themselves comfortable!

Here are some pictures I got before it flew away. Sorry about the quality. He's the one standing on the chair.

The hungry fellow has been eating well since he moved in. The kids are always finding crayfish and frog parts on the shore of the ponds.

Maybe I should start charging him room and board?

Thanks,

Decado.

Has it been one year already?

2008-10-16T08:15:00.003-04:00

Was just making some changes to the blog last nite and I suddenly realized that Decado's Bushcraft blog is one year old!

Thanks to all you readers who have been here along the way. Looking foward to another even better year to come!

Thanks for reading,

Decado.

Leaves are changed... time to build a winter shelter - Part 3.

2008-10-15T12:36:00.011-04:00

Just wanted to post some more pictures of the Winter Shelter. I have the cover on it now and it should be pretty secure. There are always little things that still need to be done but I wanted you to see it so far.

Overall View: Front still needs clear plastic door and tarp tied down.

Back corner:

North Side:
South Side with Attactive Super Model for Display:

Inside: Blue is such a calming colour.

Inside - Nice deep cold well: Lots of room to walk.

Roof: Mylar blankets used to reflect radiant heat back on sleeper.

So I have finished the door and set up a bench to sit in front of the fire. I have also finished the cooking area and made soup from the pot hanger. I will post the rest of the pictures in a day or so. I am expecting a friend to be coming for the weekend and it will be great to sleep in it. Should be fun!

Thanks, Decado.

**Side Note: After having seen the earlier pictures, my younger brother proceeded to inform me that my new shelter would not be standing come spring! He stated that the poorly designed slope of the roof and weak construction would hold too much snow and that he was quite sure it would fall down. Then he instructed me on how to bind the structure to give it more stability (much like they do with barns). Although his advice was sound, I felt a bit defensive about his approach to all my hard work. He also insisted that if he is correct this spring, I should post something in my blog telling everyone that, and I quote, "My Brother was RIGHT!" He He. Well, little brother... I will take that challenge! We will see what spring brings! **

Leaves are still changing.... time to build a winter shelter - Part 2.

2008-10-09T20:35:00.007-04:00

Wow! Two posts in as many days! That's different! For me, anyways. Just making up for lost time, I guess.

I have some more progress to report. I took a few more pictures (with my daughter's help) so most of this post will just be on the pics.

I used the "Constrictor Knot" I learned from Mors. Works amazing and it uses a lot less string.

I took some time to find sections with branches so that I could use the "hook" part to make the binding more sound.

Here are the latest pictures with the roof mostly done.

This is my daughter's "Self portrait of a 4 year old's Bushcraft experience even though I spent most of my time asking to play with Daddy's expensive digital camera and wanting marshmallows to go with that campfire" picture.

This is also the picture she took of her foot. So we will always 'member it!

and a darn good shot of the back of my head!

I hope to get the cover on it before the end of Thanksgiving weekend (which is this weekend for us Canadians) and maybe get a chance to try it out the weekend after!

Will let you know.

Thanks,

Decado.

Leaves are changing... time to build the winter shelter.

2008-10-08T11:46:00.024-04:00

Ever since my family and I bought the farm (figuratively speaking) I have been looking forward to putting together a winter shelter that I can use anytime I want and not have to worry about it suddenly "disappearing" as others have done in the past.

So I have begun building one of Mors' "Super Shelters". One difference: I am not using any green materials. Now that I am using my property, I am not sure I like that idea. I have joined the Ontario Woodlot Association and will be cleaning stuff up in the woods soon, but for now I will be using stuff that is either dead or already cut by the previous owner.

Overall View:

So far there are 2 parts.

The Firepit:

I decided that I was going to go with rocks instead of the usual wood wall-backed fireplace since I planned to have it as a more permanent place to camp. I brought in a couple loads of sand from beside the barn and gathered the stones from all over the place. Mostly from the other side of the field where they were dropped a long time ago when they were clearing the land for agriculture. I needed to make it high and wide so that I could create a big enough fire in the winter time to heat the shelter. I will be adding the cooking apparatus and more stones for stability as time goes on.

Next is:

The Shelter

At this point I have the base and the bed mostly finished. I found last winter that getting the bed all setup before the roof when on makes things much easier. There will be more trimming and probably a few more places that will need binding. We had to trim some evergreens near the house so everything my wife threw on the brushpile that was green got hauled of to the shelter.

Some on the bed and the rest on the floor. I think that the size of the shelter is a bit big but I intend to supplement the outside fire with candles inside just like a friend of mine and I did last winter. I thought that something under your feet might be a good idea when it gets really cold. Hopefully there are still some needles on it in a month. :)

The fire is a big step away from the front of the shelter. Once pace is usually the requirement but I went a bit big since it will be harder to move the fire back if it is too close to the shelter. Will have to see how that works out.

Might want to add a foam pad to that bed!

Will be putting the posts up and then the rest of the roof as soon as I can. I want to get the waterproof roof on as soon as possible so I can keep the inside dry. Besides... I know there will be a friend or three coming in from the city over the next month or so and I wouldn't want them city boys to have no place t' sleep...... Right Jeff?

Will post more pictures and an update on the shelter soon.

Thanks for reading,

Decado.

Cold weather? Time to make a new shirt!

2008-10-03T20:17:00.004-04:00

As the title of this post states: The weather is turning cold.

The leaves are changing and the fire in the antique stove in the kitchen is helping to take the chill off the evenings. But there are things that need to be done outside and shelters to build as well. So what better time is there to make a new shirt than now

Thought I would post a picture of the new wool blanket shirt I made with a little help from a good friend (Thanks Dori!)

Note that the cuffs are quite large so that I can unfold them and use them to cover my hands when needed.

Also I made it quite large for me as I intend to wear it with many other layers.

Am in the process of making a vest of wool as well that is a bit thicker and more durable to go over everything else.

Well. Until the next chance I get to post more pictures of the next shelter and such...

Thanks,

Decado

Wood, Work, and Weekend...

2008-09-03T07:23:00.004-04:00

To say I have been a bit busy is an understatement. But I am sure we all are.

Looks like we have settled in. Been working on getting a proper wood supply for the winter. Our house has an outdoor wood boiler that keeps us toasty all winter long. That is the plan anyway. So in order to do that we need to get wood. I can tell you that getting wood together for a winter is a lot different than collecting it for a weekend camp.

Speaking of weekend camps... This weekend is my yearly backpacking trip up to Algonquin. I have decided that this years theme is Fishin' and Food! Will be out for 4 whole days so it should be fun. I have been starting fires with flint and steel and sparker during the evenings out in the woods. I have started a Mors' "Super Shelter" for my winter lodging, and been working on setting up fire circles in my off time. For this years trip I have decided to lug a little extra weight and carry a white gas stove and bring the backpacker oven for baking. The plan is to eat well, fish alot, and try out some more bushcraft projects. Should be a blast!

As for work... I got a small contract setting up a website for someone in town, but I still have a lot of marketing stuff to do to get my new company seen and known in the area. Then I still have to finish setting up the wood shop to start making and carving walking sticks again. Not to mention my plans for wood solar lights. And then of course there is the Bushcraft school I want to start getting off the ground.... he he .... ok so we are settled into the house but there is still a whack load of stuff that needs to be done! Good thing the kids go back to school today!

Thanks,

Decado.

Bought the farm..... and moved in.

2008-07-18T22:26:00.003-04:00

Just wanted to post a quick note to let everyone know we moved in...... well our stuff is now on the property anyway.

Lots of boxes unpacked and I even got a chance to cut some of the grass with the new riding mower. Yee haw! The wife and I are thrilled with the place, but the amount of stuff we need to do now and in the future can be a bit overwhelming. And it is soooooo quiet! Henry the dog is in heaven.

The kids will be coming on sunday so there is still a lot to do!

Will post pictures soon.

Thanks,

Decado

An Update... as request!

2008-07-15T14:09:00.002-04:00

Hello everyone! As it is customary at this point in the post......... SORRY! It has been a whorl-wind of activity for Decado and family these last couple of months. I have been getting ready for the move to our new farm and have not spent a lot of time on the computer. As a matter of fact I move tomorrow! But when I got SB's comments.... well.... it brought a tear to my eye. I never thought I would be missed. And I had meant to post something a few times over the last couple of weeks.

Anyway. Apologies and thanks aside.....

I have lots of stuff to do once we move to the farm (tomorrow... yikes) but I know that after things settle down a bit and I have my consulting company moving in the new area I will be bushcrafting my #@!*&%$ off! 71 acres of property and a whack load of ideas to try! Trust me! I will have plenty of pictures and stuff to share over the coming months. I am also working on a separate bushcraft site .... more on that soon.

Opps! The wife is yelling for more boxes! Gotta run! Thanks for your comments. It truly makes the guiilt I feel for not posting all the more worth while!

Be back soon.

Decado the farmer.

Decado bought the farm......

2008-05-11T22:31:00.003-04:00

Ok. Maybe I should have rethought that title.

To put it into context: I really did buy a farm! No I did not 'kick the bucket' though you would not know it from my lack of posting lately. My family and I are leaving the city! Will be hours away from Toronto and ... well.... living outside a small town on a 71 acre farm. Lots of room for the kids to grow and the vegetables too! Over half the property is mature woods: birch, poplar, many pines and hardwoods! A bushcrafters dream! Think of it! Walk 100 feet off the back porch and WHAM! you are in the bush! and beyond that? More bush! And beyond that? ... uh... a road I think.... don't know. Haven't been that far yet.

Life has been nothing if not interesting over the past couple of months. We expect to be moving in July if everything goes well. Once there I will be setting up my business and sneaking into the woods when the wife is not looking.

Will let you know how it plays out. I Plan to post some pictures and put together some shelters first chance I get. Will let you know.

Decado.

Nice bushcraft poem from another blog...

2008-03-19T10:17:00.004-04:00

Found this post this morning on Islay Birding News about a bushcraft poem that someone sent him. It's pretty good! I like it anyway. The linkto the post is here but I also copied the poem for you to read!

Thanks Jeremy!

Ninja Kit List - Dave Bliss

I'm travelling light this weekend,
The forest won't know that i'm here,
My knowledge is light as a feather,
And my Bushcraft is 'without peer'.
I'm carrying just the essentials,
I've pared it down to the bone,
I've got my waffer thin laptop,
And a Gucci pouch for me phone.
My new pants are made by Thermos,
I've a thing that makes Bushcrafty toast.
I couldn't decide which hammock to take
......So I finally settled on both !
My seating system is awesome :
A cammo recliner and stool,
It's made from tubes of titanium,
Upholstered in 'merino' wool
These binos are made by NASA,
Ranulf Ffiennes tested me socks,
And the chap that designed my combats,
Also did Princess Di's frocks.
My fare will be authentic and wholesome;
Just dried beans (for mountain man stew)
I've also got pot noodles,
and sweeties,Oh, and chokky bits too
Knives, to me, should be simple;
Function and form, hand in hand
The handle of this one is Dodo Shin :
There's only five in the land
Truthfully ? Axes bore me ;
You seen one, you seen em' all,
So I keep it down to the basics,
And just carry three..... as a rule.
You gotta know about water,
And how to make it pure.
I 'Pre-mac' and boil it 'till Sunday( and use "Volvic", Just to be sure).
I've got twelve ways to make fire
And I know that three of them work ;
I got a magnifying glass and "Swan Vestas"
( me "Zippo" is, just a perk ! )
I'm " keepin' it real " in Bushcraft,
My mates all think that I'm great,
But they had to change the venue
And didn't tell me 'till late .
So here I am , in the forest,
Just nature and nothing but dark.
That's it......I'm off home early :
Stuff that for a lark !!!!

Decado.

Sort of like bushcraft...

2008-02-27T11:32:00.003-05:00

So. Been busy of late, trying to define a new direction in my life. Looking at going back to school for a bit.... re-focusing my career direction so to speak. Getting better connected with my kids. Trying to make my wife's life more available to her to pursue things that have been on the back-burner for her since child-birth. Even went out to do a little bushcraft/winter survival practice in the woods. (it rained of course)

Then last night just before dinner it hit me! I should do something bushcrafty! But what? Then it hit me again! This time I asked it to stop so I could continue my thought.

Turns out with Mungo's post about fish.... I remembered the lake trout I had in the freezer that I caught last summer. Well what is more bushcrafty than cooking up something you caught with your bare hands? (bare hands and a fishing pole that is) But if I was to do this right I would have to do it as bushcrafty as possible!

First I went out into the backyard and started gathering fuel for a fire. Then I realized that I did not have a fire permit and my neighbors would probably be calling the fire department before I even had the fish near the fire. Well.... I could use the BBQ. That is kind of bushcrafty.... right?

Then I went to get my cook set so that I could get this fish a' cooking! Then I realized that all my cookset stuff was either sitting in storage or still out in my car packed and dirty from the trip I did a couple weekends ago! And its such a long walk out to the car in the cold.... hrmmm. Well... I could use tin-foil! That is kind of bushcrafty.... right?

Before I could begin to cook this delicious morsel, it would need garnishes and seasonings! Then I realized that I live in Canada and that there will probably still be snow on the ground until late June! Hence the lack of fresh plant life for harvesting. Well.... I could use some salt and things from my wife's well-stocked spice drawer! That is kind of bushcrafty.... right?

As the fish is cooking away in a somewhat bushcrafty way, and I work on putting together my family's supper (kids are under 6 years and won't touch the fish even if it had batter around it) . I wait in anticipation. I look forward to eating this meal with my hand-carved fork. But I have not had a chance to finish it yet. Oh! What about my hand-carved spoon! Oh wait, I have not treated it yet. It's not done either. Well maybe I could just be all tough and manly and just eat it with my fingers.... he he.... YEAH.... oh wait. If I do that the dog will not leave me or my fingers alone for the whole night. Well I suppose I could use some chop-sticks! They are made of wood, right? That is kind of bushcrafty.... right?

Well, the fish tasted great! I loved it!

*SIGH* When the hell is spring going to be here anyway?

Decado

Down but not out...

2008-02-05T09:29:00.000-05:00

Greetings all! Life in general has turned upside down over the last month or two. I have had to take a short(?) break from the blogging world for a number of reasons. They are as follows:

1 - Walked away from my job just before Christmas. It was not good. Lets just say there are some people that should never work for some other people. For me.... I just could not take it any more.

2 - I quit smoking. It has been over a month now and I swear I am still in some kind of twilight zone. Things just have not been normal.

3 - Now that I have been home more, I have had more time with the kids. My wife has decided that many of the tools I purchased over the last year for my 'walking stick' company work very well when used to renovate bathrooms and hallways. So my time has been a bit occupied with domestic activities.

There is the whole aspect of my "need to make a career change", but I will not bore you with the details..... I am sure all of you readers out there are happy and comfortable with your place in life as well...

Anyway. I have done a couple more over-niters in the bush over the last while mostly to take time to slow down and think of life stuff. Jeff and I have another trip planned for the middle of this month and I am looking forward to it. Now that I have tested a couple of things that I learned with Mors, I will be doing some equipment changes for the next trip.

Looking forward to getting back into regular posts again soon.

Hope all is well with you and yours.

Thanks for being here...

Decado

You will address me as...

2007-12-20T11:09:00.000-05:00

Saw this on Suburban Bushwacker's latest post. Thought I would do one too!

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is:
His Most Serene Highness Lord Decado Blackthorn the Indefatigable of New Scagglethorpe
Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

Things are still busy and there will be some career changes in the near future. Will be doing more posts soon.

Thanks,

Decado

Still alive.... just busy... Maybe a little too busy...

2007-12-07T16:28:00.001-05:00

Not to worry. I am still here. Posts have been a bit thin lately. Sorry. (We all say that, don't we?)

Did the Survival practice last weekend with a friend. Spent 24 hours in the bush working on my clothing system and building a "Super Shelter" based on Mors Kochanski's designs and teachings. It went well all things considered. Got some things accomplished that I wanted to try and learned a few other things, which is what the weekend was all about!

Got some good pictures and finished my log of the night's experiences. Will be posting that this weekend when I have a minute.

Here is one thing I really wanted to mention now (since the boss isn't looking over my shoulder at the moment):

This may be common knowledge to most of you and I have heard this before but getting a little more hands-on experience in the matter has really clarified it for me. Mors Kochanski made mention a few times during the Bushcraft and Wilderness Survival course I took at Jack Mountain Bushcraft School in New Hampshire. He said that one of the things you try to reserve when in a survival situation is.... well... Effort! (or your energy as the case may be). What he meant was think about what you are doing, like building a shelter, and try to use the least amount of effort to achieve the objective. An example of this is: if you are placing logs across each other to make the base of your shelter, one option is to chop a groove out of one log to make it fit nicely on top of the other. The other is to use a small amount of cordage to tie the two logs together using a "Jam" knot. Using the cordage took a lot less time and energy to make the logs stay together.

Ok sorry for the long explanation but here it is in a nut-shell: There is a direct relationship between "Effort" and "Equipment". Forgetting about the need to carry everything for a moment, the more stuff you have with you, the less effort required to do a job. I know this sounds pretty obvious, but think it through based on your own experiences in the bush. We all know you can learn the skills and practice making cordage, but if you end up out in the wilderness and the resources just aren't there or the time of the year makes it difficult, then what do you do? Isn't just easier to bring a spool of cord with you? Why build a debris hut and spend a couple of hours gathering enough materials to make your shelter water proof when all you need to do is bring a tarp or tent fly?

Ok... Ok.... you can stop shaking your head in sadness thinking that I have turned to the dark-side and will be throwing a 60 pound pack on my back the next time I am out! Sheeeesh! Been there, done that! I guess what I am trying to say is.....well.... actually what I am trying to say is just what I said!

I have done a lot of reading on the web about peoples "Bushcraft Kit". There are many similarities. Fire, Shelter, Cooking, sleeping. Last weekends camp was meant to go off into the woods without a sleeping bag, or blankets etc. and get the one thing that is most important when you are trying to live in the bush. Sleep, and sleep comfortably. Hrrmmm... Maybe my point is this: You know Mors' saying, "The more you know, the less you carry". I guess my addendum to that is:

"The more you know, the less you carry, the more effort is required!"

I have seen some amazing stuff being done by other bloggers and bushcrafters, but I never really realized how much effort it truly takes to get out there with nothing but your clothes, a knife, and a fire-steel. Our fore-fathers did it..... but can you? Can you make everything from the resources around you and still get a good nights sleep? Only you can answer that. (great! now I am preaching... sorry)

I know I could survive. Could I live? Well.... we'll see.

Decado

***Public Notice *****

Please be advised that the preceding comments were merely the observations and opinions of the writer, and were in no way meant to sound: pompous, arrogant, demeaning, or should otherwise be taken as a "Mr. Know-it-all" attitude. The writer simply wanted to share. Go on.... be nice..... give the guy a hug and some honest feedback! He would like that. No. Really! He wants you to express yourself! Share with him! Thank you.

************************

(P.S. - Ok no more attempts at posting on a friday afternoon after a week from hell at work! I promise..... Decado.)

New Arrivals... books that is....

2007-11-27T18:30:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to put up a quick post the share my excitement! I ordered the Mors Kochanski's Pocket Size Booklets from Karamat.com. They got here today, lickety-split! (thats fast in canadian...)

This will definetly give me a few things to read over before this weekend's "Practice Session".

Will let you know how it goes!

Oh... and got another fire going with my knife and piece of quartz. Man is this stuff fun or what?!?

I have conquered....

2007-11-25T09:22:00.000-05:00

Just a quick post to yell out to the world.... I have made FIRE! OK not really that big of a deal since there was probably a few humans in the world that beat me to that one.

Actually, I managed to get an ember going with just my Mora knife, and a piece of quartz. (Char cloth this time) I must confess that the feeling of elation was.... well.... elating!

Funny how you can feel on top of the world just by making something from nothing like that. No match, no lighter, not even gas! I even made the char cloth - crappy char cloth at that.

Perhaps there is a new definition for Bushcrafter.... how about:

"Weirdo dude that goes out into his backyard in below zero temperatures, at 2am, just to see if he can hit a rock with a knife and make something burn before he freezes his fingers off!"

Boy, I bet the wife wishes she never told me to go out and get a hobby!

Clothes, Clothes, and more ...getting ready...

2007-11-23T16:45:00.001-05:00

I have been doing a lot of work lately on clothing. Testing out different systems and layers, and materials. I tend to like fleece because it has some of the same characteristics as wool without the need to scratch constantly in public.

The last week or so I have been going to the local second hand clothing stores and looking for wool pants and sweaters. And anything else that looks like a good deal for that matter. The idea is to work on Mors' system of up to but not exceeding 5 layers.

1. - Wicking layer
2. - Thin layer of wool
3. - Medium layer of wool
4. - Heavy layer of wool
5. - Windproof/Waterproof Breathable layer

There is more information to this system but I will go into more detail after I have done more testing. I have worn a lot of fleece in the past and not had too many problems but I wanted to give wool another try. Did you know that some of the characteristics of wool help to keep you from smelling as bad after a couple days as you would if you were wearing fleece? Just found that out.

Henry the puppy is doing well and apparently LOVES running around in the snow. No wonder he and the kids get along!

I am also getting things and ideas ready for a Over Night Test camp the first weekend in December. A friend and I will be working on a couple of the Basic Survival topics that I will be putting together in some of the Bushcraft and Wilderness Survival training courses I am working on. (Thanks again for the advice Mors!)

We will be working on different variations of Mors Kochanski's "Super Shelter" and working out our clothing systems. The idea with the clothing is that one of the most important pieces of survival kit should be your clothes. Can you live comfortably in the wilderness for 4 days without a fire? The only thing we plan to use the fire for is for boiling water as that is all we will be ingesting for the 24 hours that we are out there. Sound a bit rough? Not really. Safe conditions, and extra supplies and equipment in the car that is only 15 minute walk away. The way I see it, there are the things you know, you know. The things you know, you don't know. And there are the things you don't know, you don't know. The only way to change the things you don't know, you don't know is to get out there and try it! You follow?

Been missing the woods ever since the trip to New Hampshire. Looking forward to getting out there again.

Will post more stuff soon.

Thanks for reading,

Decado.

Pictures say a thousand words...

2007-11-20T00:41:00.000-05:00

Here are some of the pictures from our Bushcraft & Wilderness Survival Course with Mors Kochanski at Jack Mountain Bushcraft in New Hampshire.

Me and the Mors!

I think I will let the rest of the pictures speak for themselves.

Thanks for reading (or looking, in this case...)

Decado.

Hand Made Bucksaw

2007-11-11T00:02:00.001-05:00

I have always wanted to try making my own Bucksaw. I have read articles on them and seen one that someone else made but it's not the same as making your own.

This is the one I built at the Bushcraft and Wilderness Survival course with Mors Kochanski at Jack Mountain Bushcraft school. It was one of the projects that the students worked on.

It may not look like much but it works like a dream! After borrowing a friends folding saw on one of my last trips, I really got excited about the idea of taking a saw along. It makes short work of those larger pieces of dead-fall that you can use for your fire or shelter.

This is the one I made.... OK.... Mors helped a bit.

The next thing I am going to work on for this is setting up a leather belt so I can just lay the blade inside it and wear it whenever I am out. Mors mentioned this but I think I read it somewhere else before that.

Thanks for reading,

Another spoon...

2007-11-10T23:40:00.000-05:00

While I was at the Bushcraft and Wilderness Survival Course with Mors Kochanski, I had the opportunity to spend a little time carving during one of the sessions.

And I thought to my self.... Self! Why don't you carve yourself another spoon! So that's what I did.

This is what it looked like when I got it home. Note that it was very green wood when I started carving. Green is far easier to carve that dry wood and made it a lot faster to carve. Under the circumstances I did not take the necessary precautions and wrap it in a plastic bag to let it dry slowly. As you can see there is a crack at the tip of the spoon and a larger one at the start of the handle.

I decided to finish it anyway and see if I could salvage it. I pulled out the sand paper and went to work.

Here is what it looked like after an hour or so of sanding.
The small crack is mostly gone but the larger crack is still there. It was a lot deeper than I thought it would be, but it looks better. Will probably give this to someone for a present.

I also wanted to try oiling this to see how it would turn out. Here it is drying.

Spoon #2 completed. #3 is already started.

Thanks for reading,

Thanks for the amazing time...

2007-11-08T10:44:00.000-05:00

I will be posting some information about the fantastic time I had at Jack Mountain Bushcraft in New Hampshire with Mors Kochanski over the next couple of days but I just wanted to drop a post now to say thanks to everyone.

First of all I wanted to thank Tim Smith and his family from Jack Mountain Bushcraft for being an incredibly generous host while I was there. Tim made everyone feel right at home and was always available when you needed something. Tim's particular brand of 'social humor' while coupled with his professionalism, made him one of the easiest people to work with that I have ever met. The school facilities were great and the resources that any student had access to was brilliant. A chance to test out one of Mors styled "super shelter" for a couple of nights made it all the better! Thanks Tim!

To say that Mors Kochanski is a good instructor is like saying Canada has a few people living in it! Mors 'down-to-earth' nature (no pun intended) vast wealth of knowledge was if nothing else.... inspiring! His easy manner ,and talent as a speaker, made it an incredible experience and his saying "The more you know, the less you carry" really came to life during his training. I have learned so much in the short time I was there. He is an inspiring person to be with and his stories and humor will be something I will remember for the rest of my life! Thank you Mors!

I had the pleasure of driving down to the site with Mungo on the friday. Although the drive was long and at some times mildly frustrating, Mungo was a great companion, and his enthusiasm made the trip that much easier. Thanks Mungo! Looking forward many more trips with you in the future.

To Shawn, thanks for hanging with the wierd Canadian, it was great. To Frank, thanks for all the taping you did and the conversations we had (not to mention the paracord!). And to all the other students that I had a chance to speak with, thanks to each of you and best of luck in the future!

My time over the 4 days was more than I could have expected and I will remember it for a long long time!

Thanks again to everyone!

Meet my new Bushcraft Partner...

2007-10-30T21:03:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone! Meet my new Camping Companion!

This is Henry Ronin. He is an Australian Shepherd. I wanted to call him Ronin and my talented wife wanted Henry so we made a comprimise. As you can see he is already making himself more comfortable in the bush... well... the wife's garden anyway. Now I just need to teach him to carve himself a spoon!

Thanks,

Wood Stoves and Jerky and Puppies. Oh my!

2007-10-29T09:11:00.000-04:00

You know. Since I started doing this whole blog thing about my passion that is Bushcraft, I have developed a theory.

The theory is such: The moment you decide to be a blogger you begin to feel an obligation to post relevant information to all those blog readers out there about that which is the theme of your blog (if you have one). Once you take that step, the path is clear, the horizon is infinity and your joy is boundless! And then the "Hundred little gods" in the world throw every possible distraction they can find at you. From household needs to new additions, to work related drudge, to the ever popular "Dad! Will you play cars with me PLEEEEEEAAAAASSSSEEEEE!"

*Sigh*

Don't you people know I have a blog to write!?! And not just any blog but a Bushcraft Blog!?!
This is why you will always find at least a couple of posts in the history of a blog's life where you can read the words "Sorry", and "Haven't posted in a while" and my personal favorite, "Been a bit busy lately..." Oh well. Life is like that isn't it?

Ok. Onwards and upwards as they say:

Guess who just got a puppy! Yeah. I know. Like I don't have enough on my plate with a full time job, 2 part time contracts, 2 kids, a wife (a beautiful one at that!), a morgage and the bushcraft affliction as Pablo stated... But think of the future faithful companion and cool hiking buddy! Right Mungo? Sorry. Not a Beagle but an Australian Sheppard. Wonder if my wife is trying to tell me she wants someone a bit smarter around the house she can work with... (or actually see once in a while) Pictures of the cute toe-biter to come.

Got my stove (basically) finished friday nite. Will be posting pictures and an explaination when I get back from the Mors Kochanski Course next weekend at Jack Mountain Bushcraft in New Hampshire. I had started looking at my kit last week. You know.... when it was nice a warm and sunny out? And the evenings were cool and comfortable? Yeah. Suggestion: Don't pack for a camp in November when its still nice out in October! Part of the brain kept thinking it was going to be nice and warm out.... HA! After waking up Sunday to see roofs and cars covered in frost! Time to re-think my kit and find the long underwear! I wanted to post my bushcraft kit list here but... review above theory. Will have to do that when I get back from the course. Actually might be good to post the list with comments on what I actually needed and used! You know what they say about "hindsight"?

One other thing I managed to get done this weekend was.. BEEF JERKY! Man I love my beef jerky. I have never really like the packaged stuff. Mostly because I find them over seasoned and you never really know if the flavor is because the meat is starting to go bad (which was commonly done in the medeval times) or that they don't want anyone to find out where the meat actually came from! Since I prefer to "DIY" it, and making it myself makes it alot cheaper, I decided to make up a batch of what I call "Cooking Jerky". It's lightly seasoned with garlic, lemon juice, soya sauce and garlic. (No. that is not a typo) I will be putting a post up with pictures and a couple of idea/trick that I use soon.

Well, I better get back to that "Life" thing.

Thanks for reading,

Kudos from a fellow bushcrafter...

2007-10-26T10:23:00.000-04:00

Mungo says Bah gave me the heads up (Thanks Mungo!). The Southern Woodsman found my link on Woodcraft in Poland (Thanks Samuel!) and said he liked my stuff (Thanks Michael!)

To be perfectly honest, I am honored. I hope that I can make a valuable contribution to everyone in the world of Bushcraft.

Thanks to everyone for making me feel welcome!

Thanks for reading,

Working on the stove...

2007-10-25T10:49:00.000-04:00

So I have been working on one of my components to my bushcraft kit. The stove. I have based the design on Ravenlore's Mulit-purpose cooking kit. The basis of the stove is that it can be used with multiple types of fuel. The main fuel of course is wood, since it is all around and this type of stove uses a lot less wood than a campfire. In some places where fires are banned, this type can still be used. But I wanted to work and test it out with other fuels as well since each has its own pros and cons. So other than wood, I was working on Meth-Alcohol, solid fuel, and an idea my brother gave me: charcol. (not a lot ... just a couple as a backup situation. 2 or 3 should work but will have to test)

I will have more information for everyone including pictures of the whole kit and such later. Last nights work was on creating a new alcohol stove that I could keep in my cook set. Everyone has probably heard of the pop can stove, (and I have been using them for a couple of years now) but I wanted to try something bigger that worked well when I left the stove at the bottom of the stove pot, instead of mounting it halfway up the can. Simplicity is the name of the game here people!

I tried using beer cans to start, but I found that the amount of space on the inside of the can will drastically change the efficiency of the stove. After playing around with a couple of different cans and hole punching scenarios, I ended up using 2 of those "ginseng drink" cans.

One thing that I think I learned was that the less holes punched for the gas to come out and burn, the harder it is to keep the thing lit. The more holes you punch the hotter it is but the faster you use up the fuel. It's all in finding the balance, my friend.

So after playing around in the shed (when I should have been sleeping) I think I got one that works. I will be testing it out down in New Hampshire when I make it down for the training course with Mors Kochanski in a week! *insert embarrassing dance of joy here*

Here is a couple of pictures of the stove with the alcohol stove lit.

Once I have completed the stove/cooking kit I will get some pictures up of it so you can see how it turned out.

Thanks for reading,

How to make a small container...

2007-10-23T13:35:00.001-04:00

Ever wanted a small container that won't get crushed and is basically water-proof? (ok well... water-resistant depending on what you do with it...)

I found this somewhere on the internet when I was doing a lot of searching for Survival stuff but it works for whatever you need. I am not claiming that it is an original idea of mine but I have definately run with it!

Get yourself 2 different bottle lids. You can save them from the recycle bin from pop bottles, milk bottles, water bottles, etc. You need to make sure that one is slightly bigger than the other. I think the bigger one in the picture below is from a cream container and the other from a water bottle.

Using a sharp knife, cut off the thread on the larger cap about halfway down. You don't need to remove it all. Play around with it and you will get the idea.

Once you have removed the threads, simply put the smaller cap inside the bigger cap and work them together. If you have done it right you will usually hear/feel a click.

That's it! You have yourself a light, rigid container. As you can see, I used this one for a roll of dental floss in my survival kit.

There are a lot of things that you might consider making one of these for:

pillbox or medication
cotton balls and vaseline
condom for emergency water container
backup container of char cloth
salt
baking soda - just enough for a weekend trip for brushing the teeth!
emergency fishing kit - put a couple of hooks, sinkers and line in here. My favorite.
spices
coffee filters - for emergency water filter (not purifying)
water purification tablets
string or cordage, or thread for sewing (though the needles will not fit)

Thanks for reading,

First spoon...

2007-10-22T21:33:00.001-04:00

I think I promised to post pictures of my first spoon carving.

Here it is:

This is exactly where my wife decided to display it.... Should be interesting to see where she puts the other dozen or so I will probably make too!

It was made from a piece of cedar to test out my new Carving Jack. It probably would not be good to use in the woods. Even oiled.... yes?

At some point soon I will be making one for my kit. Need to find the right piece of wood first.

More to come,

Thanks, Decado.

Teepees, Tipee, Tei... oh you know what I mean...

2007-10-22T10:03:00.000-04:00

Have a lot of stuff to post and little time to do it but I thought I would post these pictures from last January 2007 that I took on a over-nighter I did with a friend to try out the teepee.

This was our first attempt at using a parachute. The last one we built, we used 'blue tarps' and there was sooooo much smoke that we should have hung fish inside... the fish would have been done by morning.

Based on more information I got from the internet and Mors Kochanski's Bushcraft book, we created an inner wall this time and left the bottom of the parachute up off the ground. The plastic did not handle much abuse but we managed to get it to stay up and block out the wind coming from below.

The inner walls worked fantastic! The smoke stayed near the top of the teepee and the draft from the inner walls helped us to feel the heat of the fire.

As you can see by this photo, we made a bit of a mistake in sizing the space of the poles. We wanted to make sure we had enough room for both of us to sleep.

The door way was bigger than we hoped so we had to improvise.

Although it did not look very traditional, it really did the trick and made it easy to get in and out for those late nite washroom breaks.

Here are a few more pictures to give you an idea...

Wow... I can actually see the top!

Plenty of wood for the nite.

More stuff to come...

Thanks for reading,

Decado

You know you are a bushcrafter when...

2007-10-17T13:18:00.000-04:00

I was just checking out Sam's Woodcraft in Poland Blog. (yes.... I know.... work! But its break time so its ok.) I read a post that Sam titled the same as this one - You know you are a bushcrafter when... and I had to laugh!

Through the years as I researched 'Ultra-light' techniques and ideas and then on to my period of "Obsessive creator of the ultimate Survival kit" which I taught my Scout troupe, and now moving into the focus of Bushcraft, I am always on the lookout for containers that could be used for an other purpose than its original design.

I have always felt that the only true way to help the environment and compensate for manufacturers over use of our natural resourses was to go through my neighbours recylcle bins on the street (late at nite of course) and nick anything that looked useful. Then there are the uses goods stores like Sally-Ann (salvation army stores), Value Villages, and lets not forget the ever popular "Garage Sales!"

I was collecting plastic caps off of bottles (will post their use later), empty vitamin bottles, juice cans, VHS cases, used camera cases and pouches, food containers, you name it - I collected it!

It got to the point where I have so much stuff around that could be useful for one kit or another that I could probably sit down and make a dozen or two kits and still have stuff left over! (A point my lovely wife has no problem reminding me of)

I think I lost my point somewhere back there but here it is in a nutshell: I am always looking at things in stores, our house, or out on the street that I could modify and make into some new cool piece of camping/bushcraft gear!

Nice to know I am not the only one in the world doing it! Now I am just going to have to come up with some posts about stuff I can make out of other stuff! Thanks Sam!

Thanks for reading!

It's confirmed!

2007-10-17T09:08:00.000-04:00

Just got the email this morning from Tim at Jack Mountain Bushcraft! I am confirmed for the Bushcraft course with Mors Kochanski! I booked the time of work, promised myself that I would get a bunch of stuff done around the house for my wife before I go (when she is happy.... we are happy.... Gentlemen, you know what I am saying?) I made adjustments on Google maps to figure out the best route. Click here if you want to see it. Not much for liking the "Cut through Montreal" route that was first suggested. (Sorry Mungo!) The route adds a bit of time but its less kilometers. Should be an interesting drive.

Started working on my kit list. Not sure if I should treat it like a Base Camp and add a few extra comforts, or just focus on my Bushcraft kit and only take the things I want to use or test. Hrmmmm,.... decisions, decisions..... Then again, I am one of those people that could spend days on end, playing around with my kit. Trying this and that and spending hours just working it through in my head, packing and un-packing. I am probably the only person that has those tendancies huh?

Ok so on to the list. So far I know I am taking:

Shelter:

Hennessy Hammock (that's right people! I have the original Hennessy! Been a hammock camper for about 10 years now)
Still like sleeping on the ground when the time/conditions are right but with a Hennessy I can move sideways and lay darn near flat!

-7c Sleeping bag - I have been reading a couple of the bushcraft blogs out there and I have been seeing more and more comments about how wool blankets are more versitile. I couldn't agree more but I need to play around with them a bit to get myself the right bedroll. I always have a few in the back of the car just in case anyways.

Gortex Bivvy sack - always handy if I decide to ground it and the weather is wet. Plus it increase the bag rating by about 10 degrees so I have been told. (thats celsius)

Blue foam pad - actually I got myself a 'manly' green one that is a smidge thicker.

3/4 length Therma-rest - have not used this in a while... might just take it in case.

MEC Scout Tarp - its a bit heavier that the more expensive Sil-Tarp I have but I just seem to like setting this one up more.
Extra rope and cordage etc.
Army Half-tent/Poncho - I have had this since I was a teenager. I got it at a Surplus store I worked at for a short time in Kitchener. Though a bit heavy I can button it up over me and the pack when its raining or set it up with a couple of sticks to make a half tent shelter. It is handy and rugged enough to not get a hole in it from laying it on the ground. I usually end up laying this over me when I do winter camping in my teepee to keep the sparks off the nylon..... I hate sparks! It looks like half of this:

Well gotta get back to life.

Thanks for reading,

Excitement isn't the word for it!

2007-10-15T10:32:00.000-04:00

From my last post I asked anyone reading if they knew of Bushcraft courses or groups in Ontario that were available. Well no one made a comment on anything going on in 'Ontario' (kind of sad that there isn't much!)

BUT! Mongo did drop me a comment and put me on to the Jack Mountain Bushcraft School website.

They have some great courses and they are located in New Hampshire. Well yes.... its not Ontario.... and yes it's about a 10 hour drive to get there.... but.... A chance to learn Bushcraft and Outdoor Survival with Mors Kochanski? Hell Yeah!.... ehem...... sorry. Got a little carried away there.

I contacted Tim Smith, M.Ed.Founder And Owner Of Jack Mountain Bushcraft & Guide Service by email, asking if there was any places left in the "Bushcraft and Survival with Mors Kochanski" (basic and advanced). Well guess who got the last spot on both courses! (insert embarassing dance of joy!)

Look out New Hampshire! Here comes Decado! Oh wait..... that means I need to pack! Oh-oh.... better start now.... I only have 3 weeks! Gotta' go!

Thanks for reading,

Canadian Bushcraft Question

2007-10-12T09:09:00.000-04:00

Ok. I know I am a bit new to this blogging thing. And I know I have only been studying Bushcraft specifically, (backpacking, ultra-light teaching, and wilderness survival experience not included) for a short time now, so I apologize if this is a dumb question.

Are there any good schools in Ontario specifically that teach, train, or otherwise employ Bushcrafters?

I have found dozens in the UK, a few in the US, and even a couple out in Western Canada, but nothing in Ontario.

Being personally trained by Ray or Mors would be amazing but barring that, it would be nice to have a group of people (like the bushcraft bloggers I have met) that you could meet in person and do a trip or 2 with...

Is there anything out there? Am I missing something?

Your feedback would be appreciated! Seriously!

X-Mas came early!

2007-10-11T09:43:00.000-04:00

I have had it for a week but I thought I would post this to tell the tale!

From a birthday gift from my parents and an early present from my overly-generous and beautiful wife, I got a chance last weekend to go down to my favorite wood carving store in Kitchener and pick up the "Carving Jack" by Flexcut.

It is awesome! I am carrying it around where ever I go now. I had read Ferrol's post about carving a spoon being the right of passage so..... the first thing I did was look for a piece of wood. I was at my brother's place at the time so I had to make due with what I could find. In this case I thought I would play it safe and just test out the 'Jack' on a piece of cedar. I know. Its probably not the best wood for making a spoon but I thought I would give it a try. (will post a picture soon) It worked like a dream. I have found that Flexcut makes a good quality carving tool.

I will be taking a look around this weekend to see if I can find myself a nicer bit of wood to make my very own camp spoon. In the mean time I sanded the cedar one up a bit and left it for my creative wife to find. Will probably find it hanging on the wall somewhere in the house decorated with flowers by the time I get home! She is, after all, my biggest "carving" fan...

Now if I could only get all my camping equipment cleaned up out of the basement, she would probably proclaim me her shining 'Hero'! Hrmm.... maybe not!

A moral dilemma...

2007-10-11T08:39:00.000-04:00

Did a little looking around youtube.com last nite. Found the episodes for Ray Mears - Country Tracks show. In the first one I watched, Ray was demonstrating how to make a pack frame from the local resources when your pack gets lost/broken.

I found this interesting for 2 reasons.

I found an article describing how to build a packframe from this site a couple of days ago and had already starting working on it and,
Ray was using willow branches to create the frame and the cordage from the bark.

So based on point number 2, here is the moral dilemma: So many of the bushcraft techniques that I have researched require the use of living wood. Yes, I know that a lot of things can still be made with dead wood but still, many require the stripping of bark etc. I have spent years researching, developing and testing my ultra-lite gear for distance trips and effectively used little of the local foliage, if any. In these cases I have worked hard to adhere to a "Leave no trace" practice. But in the techniques used in bushcraft... well.... not so easy!

On one side, I feel that in order for me to really practice and test out the different skills that I find, the most effective materials are living. If I want to improve my skills I need to cut/hack down (though small in quantity) living wood. Obviously it does not require cutting down a huge tree just to make a pot stand or something but still there is not much of a chance of finding fresh bark or pine roots stacked in a pile on the side of the trail just waiting for me.

On the other hand, the environmentalist/treehugger in me says that even if I just take a little bit, that there is plenty of trees/shrubs growing in the forest, is still not acceptable because if I do it then others can do it and before you know it... Whoosh! no more forests. I know that some would say that I am being a bit over the top about it but I have been to some of the campsites on the trails in Algonquin park (actually pretty much all of them come to think of it!) and I have seen how people abuse the environment there. Usually in the form of "if it looks like it will burn, Burn it!" Trees stripped of branches in a 50 foot radius around every campsite, ground cover stripped of everything burnable creating what Ray Jardin calls a "Cold Camp", and garbage and broken bottles all over the place.

So what do I do? I am always looking at the side of the roads for wood that has been recently cut down for walking sticks. (pictures of my wood carving to come in future posts) When fall and spring yard work is done in my neighborhood, I take late nite strolls to find anything I can use. I would love to practice bushcraft techniques that allow me to live comfortably in the forest using the local resources, but I feel guilty everytime I look at a tree and think 'Hey, that would make a great.....'

I just want to be responsible AND skillful!

Any thoughts?

Wood Stove Project

2007-10-10T16:27:00.000-04:00

For the last couple of weeks I have been working on making good quality wood stove. I have made pop-can stoves that worked quite well but.... the idea of never having to carry fuel is appealing. During my research I found quite a few references to "Gassifiers" or "Gasification".

At first I thought that the concept was cool! But finally decided to keep this project simple for now. A lot of the inspiration came from the "Ravenlore - Bushcraft and Wilderness skills" website. Gary's Multipurpose Cooking kit was impressive. Simple, compact, versatile and effective.

I have a couple of finishing touches still left to do but I will post pictures of it soon.

Welcome to Decado's Bushcraft!

2007-10-10T15:50:00.000-04:00

Having been inspired by such bloggers as, "The Suburban Bushwacker", and "American Bushman", and Ferrol's "Bushcraft and Life", I decided that since I am avidly seeking more and more knowledge in the art of Bushcraft and all things 'Outdoors'.... might as well share!

I hope to add more information in the coming days....

Please feel free to send me your comments or suggestions!