Herb Chopper for the magical sorcery troll

 Made a fast herb chopper for the most extremely bestest magical sorcery troll.

File steel,  selective quench and triple temper. 

Repairing an old sheath and progress on the Trollstein knife sheath

Well,  this is a really old and treasured knife I have had since the 1990s,  a Helle Fjellkniven in H3LS steel. I have used this really slicey cutter on and off, really hard,  and it always came back for more. 

Trouble was, the sheath was made without a welt or inlay. Actually this was less of a problem as it might seem at first glance,  because the leather was molded really intelligently to the shape of the knife. But leather gets softer with time, so the mold got loosened up and consequentially,  the blade cut through the stitching. So I removed it altogether, cut a welt and stitched everything back together with pitched twine. 

I also made a concoction to harden the leather and give the handle a bit of love. I took 3 parts spirit alcohol, 1 part spruce resin,  1 part beeswax from old candles, and 1 part turpentine oil. You can see the effect on the handles. 

I also worked on the Trollstein knife sheath. It really IS tricky to convince it to keep the knife in (see my previous post). Maybe this is why that reindeer hunter lost it in the 6th century... I think,  I will have to add some kind of retention device,  maybe some brass sheet or something like that. 

 All in all,  I really like how it all turned out...

Now to the other projects...🤣

The one beginner knife-Opinel

 Well,  folks,  this might be an unpopular opinion post. 

When I got started on blogging,  there was no such thing as a thriving bushcraft community. Of course there were people like Rüdiger Nehberg, Mors Kochanski,  Ray Mears,  Anton Lennartz and the BBQ bear, but it was a bit of a niche activity. And to be honest,  maybe it was a whole lot cooler. You know,  the way mountainbike riding was cooler. It wasn't easy to get started,  there were few people who could tell you the how-dos. And of course we all fell for movies like Rambo or other "survival " shows. On the other hand,  well,  if you used your shit,  it quickly became apparent that reality was a whole different thing. As a kid,  I broke about five Rambo knives,  as we called those hollow handle shrapnels you could get for cheap at the Hardware store. 

I got a knife as a kid that rode in my pocket most of the 45 years since I got it. I had to sharpen,  as in reprofiling the blade, this knife once in 45 years. Of course I had to strop and hone more frequently,  but I had to sharpen once. 

It was a Wenger SAK. With a saw,  nail file,  awl and stuff like that.

I also bought a cheapo Ka-Bar lookalike, which performed admirably until I lost it. Actually the tang was stronger than the original,  but the blade was quite thin. It didn't break,  though. 

Now the world has changed a lot. Survival takes place in entertainment shows and there are a lot of experts on the devil's own web,  some of whom are really great teachers,  but on the other hand those awesome teachers are rarely the ones that go viral. 

The harsh truth about survival is that survival is when you are in a liferaft fleeing a warzone with your kids,  survival is what a Ukrainian mother does when she walks 85km with her little ones on one pot of boiled potatoes in -35° Celsius,  survival is what some indigenous kids do for two weeks in the jungle after their parents died in a plane crash. The truth is that noone in their right mind would ever want to get into a survival situation. My mother walked on the hand of my grandmother all the way from Silesia to the Ruhr region in Germany,  my father survived heavy Bombardement in an air raid without a shelter. They had to survive,  and they did. I am living proof of the fact. They all had in common that they very much appreciated and loved their creature comforts afterwards. 

That is not to say it is not a good thing to know things,  to practice and train. First aid is one of the highest priorities. You don't sneak up on sentinels. And as I have said time and again,  the very notion of a knife fight is absolutely silly. You win a knife fight if you do not get into knife fights. Even combat knives most of the time just prepare food and open boxes. Knives are tools and should be seen as such. 

What most of us do in the woods,  well,  what is it? To me,  it is a lot of woodcarving and foraging, food prepping and cutting cordage and fabric. Snacking,  whittling a stick and fun projects.

The Opinel most certainly is not a heavy duty knife at all.  It is a time-proven design with some shortcomings and a lot of strengths. If it gets wet,  the blade often gets stuck in the handle, because it consists of five parts: Handle,  blade,  collar, rivet and Virobloc looking collar. If the wood of the handle gets wet,  it sponges up, increasing friction. On the other hand,  well,  there are five parts. You might destroy the knife if you abuse it,  but you could repair it forever. That said,  it is not really easy to destroy it if you use it sensibly. The Plus side is that there are few knives that are as sharp out of the box like the Opinel. You can,  for example,  cut wobbly mushrooms freehand. The grind is a very high and thin convex bevel to zero. Making feather sticks isn't easy at first,  because you tend to cut all the way through the stick at first due to the slicey grind. You can use the spine to strike sparks from a ferro rod,  but also as a steel for striking a flint. The knife,  even the biggest ones,  for the 12 and 13 are almost sword-like, are ridiculously light in your pocket.  Food prep is where the knives really excel,  so much in fact that the magical sorcery troll and myself use the 12 in the kitchen instead of our not exactly crappy kitchen lasers. The knives are well balanced and can also be used for delicate carving tasks.  Carving tent pegs,  spoons,  forks and whatever takes next to no time. Herbs and mushrooms simply fall apart. 

The knives are light enough not to notice them in your pocket. They look civilized,  and are so socially acceptable that the name is held synonymous with folding knives in French dictionaries. It is perfectly legal in Germany and even in the UK,  the smaller ones will normally be acceptable in legal reason contexts, say,  gardening or hiking and foraging.  It is a survival knife because it is more probable that you have something like that on you when you get into a less than agreeable situation.  

And the simplicity is inviting your creative impulses. Opinel even offers chunkier handles for you to carve. It can be truly yours afterwards.  

The culprit,  however,  is that price. The simple carbon models cost up to 25€ today. So,  if you want to get started,  get yourself one. It is not perfect,  but actually you could change that with very simple tools. Maybe I can walk you through the process in a future post,  so stay tuned! 

Thank you for reading,  cheers!

A sheath for the Trollstein knife

Made a simple sheath for the new Trollstein knife trial piece. Just quick and dirty is all, but I already found out something. 

 These are the first trial pieces. The one on the right is closer to the original shape. It is made from 80CrV2 steel with a selective temper (see previous post). As you can see,  it follows a leaf shape,  making it quite wide at the blade,  wider than the blade.  

The handle,  however,  gets significally thinner towards the blade. 

Period sheaths were a bit like the one I made (the ones that did survive,  that is), but,  for the most part,  even more simple,  lacking a welt and not following the contour as much.  

They also lacked any kind of securing device,  of course. With a sheath like that,  both the broad blade and thin handle will make it quite tricky to achieve a good retention in the sheath.

I will achieve this with the use of spirit alcohol and secret processes and hot-waxing making it almost as snappy as a kydex sheath. Maybe even a clip made from copper or bronze or bone,  but most of the period pieces lacked that. 

So I want to propose that maybe the properties of the sheath, which are quite certain, might have contributed to the owner losing it. As I said,  mine will stay in, but it is a really tricky thing to make a sheath for the blade shape. 

Anyway,  really looking forward to using this knife. 

Thoughts on the Trollstein knife

 So I am in a really fascinating process of recreating the Trollstein knife,  a knife that had been found in the glacier melt near Trollsteinen in Norway in March 2023 by Secrets Of The Ice archaeology. 

Now people who know me know that while I have a strong fascination with all things historical and archaeological,  I also want to know how those things worked and whether or not they would still work. I believe in check, check and doublecheck whether a technological Innovation really benefits our everyday- or not. We have been sold a lot of BS (and that is getting worse), nuff said. 

What we have here is a real knife used for a kind of bushcraft we cannot even imagine. For while,  to be quite honest,  for most people including myself,  it might be a leisure activity or maybe even a lifestyle,  they most certainly not even called it any special name at all then, because it was simply life reality in those days. 

In our time we have very specific things we want from a knife. And while it is a good thing we are able just to walk inside a shop and buy the latest tool with a steel of precise specifications, we tend to dismiss anything that the industry doesn't hype. 

The original (see my previous post) is roundabout 1400-1600 years old. You can bet that it saw some pretty hard use before the owner lost the tool,  and it suffered a huge load and immense force and pressure from the ice drift. The tang and handle are bent. That's the damage it suffered. And it is pretty much good to go. Put an edge on it,  and it will cut again. 

We like to put knives to extreme tests and even destruction. That is pretty okay and understandeable. 

The test this knife has been through is the most extreme I could think of and it is neigh on impossible to duplicate it. Not that it would make any sense at all,  but it is a fact.  

Thing is,  if I posted the knife in a lot of bushcraft groups,  I can imagine the kind of arguments that would arise instantly. You know,  "but batoning " and "survival " and "tactical settings". Hard use,  you know. Not that sissy reindeer hunting,  woodcarving,  building traps, butchering and processing firewood and what have you. The knife doesn't even have a full tang,  mind you! 

Fact is,  I have built these two first knives to see what they are capable of. Or better yet,  what I can do with these knives. They are not as close as I would like them to be,  but about as close as I can get without handling and measuring the original. The first one is made from file steel and quite close to the original as far as the blade is concerned and the general shape and layout of the handle  are concerned. On the second I stuck more to the shape of blade and handle cross section,  but added bronze bolster and peening disc and a bit of a finger notch. That blade is made from 80CrV2 with a selective temper,  an awesome steel that I am just coming to terms with. Balance point on both knives is on the index finger. 

Using the knives I can safely say that I cannot say much,  and in the best of ways. Everything simply falls into place. And this is not due to a special achievement on my part. The design simply does everything. It is awesome for food prepping,  cutting meat and Slöjd. No,  it is not the next hyped survival knife. But if you know what you are doing,  it really COULD be a one-tool-option.

It almost certainly was for the hunter who lost it in presumeably the 6th century. That is humbling. 

First try recreating the Trollstein archaeological find

(Photo courtesy of Secrets Of The Ice,  Norway)

This is an awesome story. Says I. 

Because it was once upon a time,  in the sixth century,  to be quite exact,  that a hunter ventured far out to stalk reindeer on a glacier near Trollsteinen in Norway. 

A lot of you guys know how it is. Got your game,  stalked it most of the day,  get to skin and butcher it,  while the light is getting dim. Cannot let it go to waste,  too. 

Where the actual what now did I just put that knife now? 

Sliding down that slope into that crevice,  that is where I put it, for whosesakeever.

That was in the sixth century AD. 

Zoom in to March 2023,  climate change killing us all,  but also melting the ice of that glacier. A team of Norwegian archaologists discovered a knife that melted out of said ice and,  no irony intended,  lovingly and caringly secured that site. Shout out to Secrets Of The Ice archaeology team for literally doing that. Those guys are awesome. They deserve a whole lot of more support than they get,  and that is a fact. 

Enter uncle Fimbulmyrk,  leisurely browsing the devil's own webs and getting sent arse over teacup into the next rabbit hole. 

Fire lit,  forge roaring. 

Like that,  see? 

Smitey,  smitey,  little filey,  no more work,  become a knifey. 

Fact is,  I messed up,  but actually I did not expect to succeed in the first. Because I really want to make this a real archaeological experiment,  so making this knife will be just a test for the real one.  

On the other hand, I already got an impression of the capabilities of the concept,  and that knife will be a biter. 

Actually the differences are not toooo bad,  and the mistakes I made also have a lot to offer in terms of understanding the knife. 

Blade is file steel,  with a selective temper and a high convex bevel to almost zero,  as on the original (as far as I can tell without having handled it. 

I,  for one,  think I earned that cuppa tree. 

The picture above is an X-ray of the original,  courtesy of the Musem of Culture Norway,  Vegard Vike (Copyright). 

The Museum studio photo shows the original and why I have ways to go still.  This knife is stunning. It is dated to the 6th century AD. It bears some striking similarities to the finds from Illerup Ådal,  too,  which is really fascinating. 

I really do need to do more research on the topic and really look forward to putting this knife to use.  

So,  stay tuned and thanks for your patience and loyalty! 
 

Proof of concept for a Nåalhus

I have been meaning to carve myself a Nåalhus for ages now. Now for those who never heard of it,  it is exactly what it sounds like. Originally deriving from Sáami culture,  it is,  plain and simply put,  a "house" for your needles,  a needle case to be worn on the belt alongside your knife and firesteel equipment. Typically,  it stowes away the needles,  stuck into a cloth and sometimes secured by additional leather flaps,  which rests in a case typically made from reindeer antler or bone,  but also sometimes wood,  being secured by a rather intelligent combination of gravity and friction. I personally think it is genius. Now I wanted to set myself a challenge to make it entirely with a Victorinox SAK,  and only from stuff that was lying in the woods not doing anything,  also because I also want to do a fancy-schmancy version in antler soon. I drilled two holes from either side of the piece with the awl, and made a long hole by sawing out the middle. Needs a bit of patience,  but it is perfectly doable. You can also remove the middle part by using the blade. 

That said,  I actually left it on a bigger piece in order to better being able to handle it. When I had done the drilling,  I carved the outline of the body of the case. 

After that,  I sawed it off. 

A bit of cleaning going on,  and I actually put an angle into the bottom to create a bit more of a friction fit. 

Splitting and carving the bottom. Now to carve a ring for the top.

 Also I am currently contemplating what to use as a cloth. Originally I had planned to make it from Amadou,  also the flaps,  but it,  while being an awesome material in its own right,  has its shortcomings,  at least mine has still,  because it is not very homogenous. So maybe I will use leather and cloth from an old couch I found in the junk... we will see. I hope to show you some progress soon! 

Review of a Casström Woodsman

Last summer I had ordered a Casström Woodsman bushcraft knife. It being a design by Roger Harrington I had been sneaking around that knife for ages now. I had handled the old version,  which was made from O2 steel, almost a decade ago. Fact is,  I loved it then,  but also did not quite understand the concept. 

When Casström announced that they had launched a new version in Uddeholm Sleipner steel,  I decided to give it another try.  Now Sleipner is quite an interesting steel. http://localhost/en/products/uddeholm-sleipner/ is the spec sheet. More than 50% better resistance to abrasive wear than D2(1.2379), not that I would be too fond of D2,  but still. Also a finer edge possible,  and a lot more positive aspects. The steel is an allen of Iron, Manganese,  Molybdenum,  Silicium,  a wee bit of Chromium and so forth. Technically it is relatively stain resistant,  albeit no stainless steel. 

The blade is 88mm long and offers a rather thick spine at 3,9 mm, with a low slightly convex Scandi bevel. It is therefore possible to do food prep or slicey tasks,  but it is of course not optimal. The edge had a really microscopic microbevel and was able to split a fine hair out of the box. It was possible to shave your beard with it out of the box. The blade also offers a  90° really sharp spine. It is possible to use it for debarking branches or create fine resinwood shavings for fire starting. After almost a year of really hard work all it has needed was a leather strop. 

Rather thick spine,  you see... but it actually does the job of food prepping,  too,  if you cut at an angle. Batoning is obviously a cinch with it. 

The long handle also allows for more leverage when using it for mild chopping tasks. It is made from stabilized birch burr and really beautiful. It comes with a small,  but sturdy lanyard included. 

The sheath is absolutely stunning. When new,  retention was so high it was neigh on impossible to draw the knife,  which is a good thing. The seams are made with sturdy yellow twine,  the welt is good and thick. Even after half a year of wearing,  it still has some crisp to it. 

The belt loop accomodates standard common jeans belts,  but also military issue belts and is stitched and riveted in place. 

 All in all,  the knife does do most tasks exceedingly well. Edge retention is almost otherworldly,  and it gets really frightening sharp.  It really excels at most woodworking tasks involved in bushcraft,  and is also suitable for delicate carving in the woods. 

A classic bushcraft design with mythical edge retention and sharpness. As of today,  it is not exactly cheap. You pay up to 199,00 € , if you want a Firesteel. In my opinion, and you know I do not say that lightly,  I could have saved a lot of money had I bought it earlier. 

Btw,  also available in British bog oak... 😜If you can afford it,  buy one.  

But wait until you read my review on the SFK 10 Forester,  which is coming up soon...😜

Carving a Snapskuksa

It has been several months ago that I treated myself to a new kukså. Unfortunately the birch I was permitted to harvest was long dead and a bit rotten,  so all I got was a smaller burr. Cutting two slits above and below the burr I removed it with my carving hatchet. 

A bit of axe and knife work later (the Casström Sweden Woodsman performed admirably for the job,  by the way. I will give you the ins and outs on this really great knife soon), I got the blank roughed out. 

There was a lovely grain showing in that burr. I cooked it in sunflower oil and beeswax. 

Made one for the magical sorcery troll,  too,  and it was baptized the traditional way with a bit of Whisky in the woods. 

 It is a relatively fast project where you can try out the technique for a bigger Kukså. Already got started on several other little fellows... it is quite addictive... 😜 there is something soothing in sitting in the woods whittling away and making stuff you can actually use. And somehow sipping from a Kukså, big or small,  reflects that feeling. You have to try it out to be able to relate. It is somehow like a wonderful little ritual.  

Sheath for a very old and very weird knife

 Some of my older readers might recognize the knife. 

It has been in use in the kitchen for ages now and it is of course kinda weird. So I thought I would share the story first with you. 

In 'em days in the Bethaus smithy I forged it from junk spring steel I found near the roadside when mountainbike riding to the trailhead. Long story short,  I forged it,  annealed it,  and when it came to quenching,  the lard bosh was nowhere to be found. Volker simply had disposed of it. 

He had some delicious chicken soup in the larder of the Restaurant,  though,  so I used the steel to heat it up and the soup to quench the steel. I have never had to actually sharpen it,  although it has seen at least ten years of hard kitchen work and cut a lot of hard sausage and bacon,  nuts and what have you. 

So I looked it up why this mad prank did work. 

It finally turned out that the fat on top of the soup was solid and served the purpose of a first quench. The salt in the soup created sort of a bainite temper. Of course I just hardened the edge up to two thirds of the blade,  with two different zones of hardness. Of course I was being a bit over the top and it was sort of a mad prank,  but it turned out surprisingly well.

Now I am actually quite fond of the knife, so I just made a sheath for it. Really dirty technique,  but I think it will still be durable as anything. The dangler I had forged from mild steel. 

Looking forward to carrying it into the woods! 

Review of a Svante Djärv Slöjd knife

Several months ago I got a parcel from Sweden. Ella and Svante Djärv are really hard-working, lovely people doing things the old way. For starters,  I had ordered a smaller Slöjdkniv,  a spoon carving knife and a big Slöjdkniv. For the smaller Slöjdkniv I also treated myself to a lovely traditionally made sheath. 

Service was really awesome,  we really worked everything out really great. The tools were partly made on demand. It took a bit of time to make,  but that is only natural. 

Do not get me wrong,  the finish is in no way showcase queen standard. The handles were glued in with a big blob of epoxy. Fit is really great,  though. The handles are relatively rough,  but this is on purpose. These are tools for your toolbox,  no knives for display. 

The blades are forged to size. The temper seems to be really spot-on.

The grind...blimey. Out of the box,  without any stropping at all,  they literally split (!) hair, and yes, I tried. 

The little Slöjdkniv has a mild hollow grind to zero.

The leather of the sheath is half-tanned for the body and top grain leather for the belt loop. It keeps the knife in really great,  even upside down. 

Actually the blade took a bit of getting used to. Making feather sticks first just resulted in me cutting off the branch rather than just making shavings,  it is that sharp. Taking the handle with just three fingers did the trick. 

The spine is rounded to prevent blisters,  so throwing sparks from a ferro rod obviously isn't possible,  but this knife is not a bushcraft knife in the first,  at least it is not designed as one. The thickness of the blade is some 2,4 mm, length is 76,5 mm. Balance point is on the Index finger. It is a really light carry.  I took a leather thong to carry it as a neck knife,  which is perfectly agreeable even for a longer period of time. 

The knife is absolutely dexterous, and its frightening sharpness lends it to be suited for really delicate tasks. 

The handle has a very grippy structure. People with soft hands might find that a bit rough,  but it really enhances grip and control for really precise cutting. 

Carving a spoon takes no effort at all.  Combined with the Skedkniv,  you can use few,  articulate and precise cuts. No sandpaper needed. 

It is also the one tool for really complex and delicate try sticks. It is capable of doing work of knives double the size. 

Carving hardwood is not a problem either. 

Carving bone resulted in a tiny burr on the edge,  which could be removed by stropping with a steel. Small wonder,  however,  it has the same grind as a straight razor,  and I really put it through its paces. Drilling with the tip did not do any harm to tip nor edge,  even in bone. I put a micro-micro-bevel on afterwards, which did not compromise the cutting performance much, but led to a more robust geometry,  even though it still splits hair. As is, I do not think any sensible use could damage it beyond repair. It is a somewhat specialized knife for carving wood,  but it also excels at food prep,  cutting leather and string. 

It doesn't cost an arm and a leg,  too. Pair it with a SAK and a sturdier bushcraft knife and you are ready for anything. But on the other hand,  it also does a lot of things a bushcraft knife can do,  if you use it sensibly. 

I wholeheartedly can recommend it. 

 

First flint and steel fire starting success

Today I have reached another milestone in my learning. Just started my first fire with flint and steel. 

 The striker I forged myself ages ago from junk file steel,  and of course I processed the Amadou myself. 

I also used treated Cattail seeds as a fire starting agent. Which worked really awesome. 

Now,  some of the more survival minded folks might say "why bother,  if I can carry a flint and steel set,  I can just as well use a BIC lighter", and yes,  you are right,  but you maybe miss my point here. 

In fact,  it actually is more of a bit of psychological self-care and historical fascination that drives me. It is not as much about the thing or the fact you just started a fire with a piece of steel- it is about knowledge. Of having forged the striker from junk people discarded,  of having processed the tinder,  of understanding the chemistry and the principles,  and the almost alchemical context involved. 

You can lose your lighter,  your matches,  your ferro rod,  but you most argueably will not use your knowledge. The more you understand the principles,  the more likely you are to not only survive. Survival is not enough. It cannot be a way of life. You cannot exist in Code Black all the time. 

I personally always look for ressources. Everything can be used,  you just need to know how. It is really fun to learn new things. 

Our culture is of course really advanced scientifically,  and that is a good thing. But sometimes I get the impression that we did not grow to that point. We did not keep up with our own pace. So we jumped to that point,  taking a lot of shortcuts. We are just now paying the price for that. 

Processing tinder,  making birch pitch, firecraft, preserving and processing food,  distilling and baking and cooking are the roots of medicine and chemistry. And alchemy. Do not get me wrong,  alchemists maybe were the ones that invented scam. Éa-Nasír is famous for his fake copper ingots until today. 

But what we forget is that it was Maria of Egypt who invented the pressure cooker and the Bain Marie,  and her recipe for the lapis philosophorum and the homunculus most argueably involved making Adamantoplasts and Osteoplasts. 

Well,  that is stuff for a different post. But it also explains why I bother to try as I might to learn stuff like starting a fire with flint and steel. Why you can strike sparks with a file and a stone is fascinating in its own right. Why the Amadou works also explains part of its medicinal properties. 

And this is a really great example for the fact that a lot of things are interconnected. It is a bit like that phrase "by word to word I was led,  work led me to work." . Actually,  that is a scientific principle,  one of very many,  but also sort of a spiritual practice. 

This is what drives me. Sometimes I think it drives me mad,  but I could not possibly live another man's life. Tried that for decades. Was shit. 😉

So,  I had a lot of fun learning it. It was of course also humbling to get there, and really testing for my patience and resilience, and it is but a first step.  But I also learned a lot about learning,  and about patience and resilience and trying not to be a dickhead. 😉

Which is something,  too. 

Anyway,  now I am in for more practice to make the learning sustainable. Which I am really looking forward to.