Baton, don't break

Course we do. We do it all. And there are a lot of knives on the market designed for exactly that. 

Which means that they are, at best a compromise. 

I am talking about batoning. Of course, the tool of choice is an axe or hatchet if you want to split wood. Even better, a froe. If you have none, you always risk breaking your belt knife, which really sucks. Or you carry around a froe with a tip and a different handle, aka Survival knife. You can find some which are really great cutters, too, no argument necessary. But fact is, batoning puts a lot of stress on a blade. 

This is how I like to do it. 

Gently tap the spine of the knife so that a crack opens. 

 Whittle a glut or wedge. 

At first, insert the glut below the edge of the blade. The knife will then be easy to remove. 

With a controlled motion, using one hand to keep the wedge in the crack, turn it towards the top. 

Split the branch with the wedge. 

Now you have two halves, e.g for whittling a spoon. 

A recent ride... much needed again...

 Sometimes it is outright disturbing... there´s so much going on and on, and work to do in a shitty job and messy voluntary work and stuff and a bike that keeps constantly falling apart that I just seem to be unable to get a regular ride in. But the other day I had fixed the old steed so that it worked quite sweetly and I rode to work and back on a detour.

 And as always, the soothing effect of the forest happened in an instant. That moment I left the road and set my tires in the dirt. That moment when the noise and ruckus subsides. That moment, when the singing of the songbirds and the croaking of crow and raven, and the eerie, faraway cry of the buzzard fills the air... That moment when all your fears of foul weather and the petty sorrows that ride high upon our backs simply dissolve into nothing. That moment when you realize that life is all the more complicated and all the more simple than you could ever know, and that it´s simply right that way, or rather, it is neither right or wrong, but simply is. That moment when you could laugh your head off when you look at yourself and all your little distractions that you deemed so important.

 That moment, when you look over darkening hills in not exactly nice weather, and you feel cozy despite the fact that you´re soaked through. And you sit on a stump, and you rode down a trail, and that is all that matters.

 Yes, I rode some gnarly trails through the thicket, over hill and dale, and it all passed as if in a frenzy.

 As if in a fancy, in a dream, I sat down in the underbrush, stashing my bike away, and just breathed for a while.

Then I got back on the trail and rode over the heath...

 To that oak that had welcomed me ever since I was a child and still offers me its serene hospitality...

 I sat down there and had a flask of tea and played around a bit with my new #Iämpedahler waldmetz.

 ...in my true living room...

What more do I need? Time is running short for man. I´d rather spend it with things that matter, at least for me...

Wonderful woodturning by my goduncle

On a recent and long overdue visit to my goduncle and godauntie in Marburg he showed me some of his woodworks. He was inspired by my father to take up woodturning, and took it to another level. This is a serving platter with wonderfully made intarsia out of several hardwoods.

 A chandelier out of oak wood, wonderfully grooved.

 I really love those goblets. Oak and cherry wood.

 But what I was most fond of these composite wood and MDF goblets.

 Walnut and oak...

 MDF board...

 Walnut.

 The handle he made out of a beef bone that went into a delicious soup.

When we started talking, he was convinced he´d give it all up, what with being 82, but after we finished talking he was not so convinced...;-). I will browse my attic for some interesting woods and look forward to what he´ll make of it! By the way, he will sell on request. Mail me and I will notify him, if you want one.

New bushcraft knife

 I made a new bushcraft knife. Ilkka Seikku has inspired me a lot, but I did not simply want to copy, but wanted a knife as rugged as his with the look of my own style. I am quite fond of a slight recurve and added a finger hold. It is made from selectively tempered spring steel with less than 1 % stock removal.

 I also made a sheath with a wooden (oak) inlay. Here it is not tanned yet and I also added some stitches.

The blade is 115 mm long and has a 6mm spine. The handle is elk antler. I tried out to do some balancing and thusly drilled out the hind part of the tang with 8mm holes. The centre of balance is on the first hollow rivet, on the index finger notch. It feels light and nimble for that. The blade has no secondary edge bevel.

I tested it already, and it does the job. I will document that with some photos, no worries;-). It is not as hard as Ilkka´s knives, some 58 HRC or so, but flexible enough. Chopping mild steel rods inflicted some dents on the blade, carving was a cinch, and it even stropped a Mora Triflex blade. Guess it will accompagny me personally, and I will work on perfecting the design.