A Bushcraft and Slöjd heaven in the making

Silke had contacted me some weeks ago.  Now Silke is a really awesome human being doing a great job representing a local sustainability centre on a high professional level. She had seen me carving some wood spirits, and it turned out, that she was actually quite fond of them.  So I offered to carve one for the sustainability centre for free.  We met in the woods to discuss the topic... and ended up sitting on a stump carving things until dark.  

Several days later I dropped by the centre and went to work immediately. Silke had said:"Make it your own", and I was pretty much amazed by the amount of trust put into me, and the positively creative atmosphere and flat hierarchy. Silke is the manager after all.  I spare you the ironforge rant, but just let it be said that up to date I did never experience such an atmosphere.  That is not to say that everything is possible, but the discussion culture is a whole different thing to everything I know. We are currently trying to work out a lot of ideas for the future, but first things first.  

I am just super stoked to be welcome for a change, so much in fact that I might have been a bit overwhelming. 

Anyway, I cleared up a spot for carving sessions with kids already.  The plan is to provide an open Slöjd meetup every Friday, with some basic tools and materialbeing available for absolute beginners. This will be complemented with Workshops and tutorials.  The Slöjd meetup will be open for a little contribution, but open for absolutely everyone. We are currently trying to provide a halfway convenient access for wheelchairs also, just so you get the picture.  It will be just that I will be there every Friday after Easter, working on my own projects, but if you drop by, I will do my best to help you with your projects, or maybe even learn from you? Anyway, if you are in the vicinity, drop by and have a chat.  

That said, I also worked on said woodspirit (s), because I could not restrain my creativity.  

Prepared wood for a gate and a Lean-to.

Made a mallet for splitting wood for a bench (driving gluts and stuff) 

It was a bit fidgetty clamping the wood for the head, but the woodspirit is a good guy and was eager to help 😉. 

Also prepared a signpost for the gate. 

The drawknife I got dead cheap on a local flea market. It is around hundred years old and razor sharp after some TLC.  I don't know what I would have done without it-it really was helpful, and I love it to bits!

Another woodspirit I made. 

When I was feeling too fluffy from the big stuff, I worked on that little cup from birch burr.  

There was a group of young girl- and boyscouts staying at the centre, so I already showed them a simple try stick.  One of the little ladies pointed out a mouse coming around to have a look, and we tried out to carve a mouse together (see my older post). 

This is how it is supposed to work in the future.  Just drop by, bring your pocket or bushcraft knife and maybe a flask of tea or coffee (we are currently working that out, too, however). Sit on a log or we can build stuff together to sit on.  

Really looking forward to it, and we do have a lot of ideas still for the future.  

 

Lovely early spring cottage cheese

Went foraging the other day and thought I would share one of my favourite herbal cottage cheese recipes with you.  

With the magic troll 's herb chopper, I finely chopped: 

one small handful of wild garlic 

equal parts ground elder, lungwort, chives, onion leek, jack-by-the-hedge, stinging nettle, 

Half a medium finely chopped onion

a bit of dried thyme, Oregano, rosemary, salt and pepper 

A tablespoon of butter, 

A tablespoon of grated horse radish

250 g of cottage cheese 

80g of Gorgonzola 

One teaspoon of squash seeds oil

Mix butter and oil. Add the Gorgonzola and thoroughly mix until smooth. Add the cottage cheese, stir until smooth. Add the horse radish, spices and herbs.  Thoroughly mix.  Leave to steep in the fridge.  Awesome with rye bread or as a dip for vegs. You can also fill mushrooms with it and grill them. 

 

Another quick and easy carving project-whittling a mouse

The other day, a little lady came to the Slöjd meetup and asked whether I could carve a mouse. I had never done so, but we worked it out together.  And I thought I would share it with you.  You start by cutting with the saw of your SAK, one rectangular and the second diagonal to the first, but only half of the depth of the first. 

These serve as a stop cut. You can also use the blade, but the saw is a tad faster and maybe a bit safer. Take note that I left some length to the branch, the better to handle your carving. 

At the first stop cut, reduce the diametre of the stick. 

Carve a tip on that side of the cut.  That will be the snout of the mouse. Reduce the diametre of the branch behind the diagonal cut. This will become the ears and the body. 

With your saw, cut out a notch between the ears.  Be careful, because you are cutting with the grain, and the wood splits easily.  Refine the cut with the help of the little whittling blade.  

Carve the back of the body.  Refine the snout and back and saw the mouse off the branch. Refine the cut with your little whittler blade.  

 Carve the eyes and refine the snout and body.  

It is a really nice and fast project, satisfying also for kiddos.  You can of course refine the carving more, by working out the legs, or give it a more abstract form.  Make it your own! 

Shoutout to little Nele, who provided the inspiration for me to think about it! 

Hope you enjoy it, and take care! 

Making custom firesteels-a really simple and satisfying project

This is another beginner-friendly crafts project you can achieve with really simple tools. 

You can get firesteel blanks from your favourite outfitters. I got mine from the awesome Janet from https://www.nordisches-handwerk.de/handwerk-schnitzen/dalapferde-handwerk-geschenkartikel/fertige-produkte/feuerstaehle/4411/scout-feuerstahl-firesteel-ca.-6-3x60mm

A firesteel is somewhat of a misnomer.  To the kids I explain it a by stating that the material isn't of course steel, but Auer metal, an ingredient in mini fireworks like a sparkler decoration. Technically, it is called Ferrocerium and it is a compound from Iron and the rare-earth mineral cerium, hardened with magnesium and other ingredients. It was discovered by the Austrian chemist Carl Auer von Welsbach in 1903, possibly in residues from Thorium mining. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferrocerium).

A ferrocerium rod is a rather convenient and reliable way to start a fire. Well, a BIC or matches are even more convenient, but sometimes not as resilient in a wet environment. And let us not forget the aspect that they are fun! 😉 

The wet blanket of course is that they are a highly industrialized approach to a rather simple problem. Sustainability works in another shed, so to say.  They can last you for a long time, though, which is sort of a compensation for a bad ecological balance.  

I got myself some small diametre ones, just 6,3 mm. Those make for a lighter and more compact carry.  For the things I do that is more than enough, and they are dead cheap.  But you can get yourself a bigger one alright.  

Making them requires a knife, a saw and a power drill. Actually you can also use a Swiss Army knife to mount them.  

Saw off a little block of your favourite wood.  I used bog oak, birchwood burr, and stag antler.  

Drill a 6mm hole into the handle. With the tip of your knife, remove the burr from the hole. Do not glue the Ferrocerium rod into the handle or use pine resin. That way, you can use up the half that rests inside the handle, too.  Two I recessed to the half of the rod into the handle to make for a more compact carry, the other two I left a bit longer for easier use.  Gently tap the rod with a wooden mallet or rubber hammer. 

On the stag antler Ferrocerium rod I added a lanyard hole for carrying in a traditional bushcraft sheath loop. And just like that- hey presto: Ferrocerium rod. 😉

 

Restomod of a badly beaten Victorinox Camper- changing the scales

On a flea market some time ago I got myself a cool, but really badly battered Victorinox Camper... but for 3€ or summat.  

Now Victorinox has really changed my outlook on bushcraft knives in general.  Maybe it is because I am getting old, but a Victorinox Ranger really is my most used knife these days.  Rather light, always on board and rather unproblematic with the authorities, it really shines in a lot of applications, if you know how to use it. 

I think that will be a topic for another post.

 Anyway, the knife I got had a bad dent on the small whittling blade. On the detour from the flea market, I did a little bimble through the woods, and picked out a random sandstone and ground it flat against a broken tile also lying around not doing anything, and used it on the small blade.  

This worked out pretty well. I will show you how to use a sandstone as a grindstone in a future post.  The beauty of a SAK, however, is that, while the tempering of the blade is really resilient, while having a more than adequate edge retention, it can be maintained with next to no provisions.  

The other day, I had ordered some new scales. I did not need to upgrade to the Plus scales, but I ordered new goodies in red, too.  I am a fashion victim, too, sometimes, you know? 😉

But, of course, there was a reason for it,  since the scales were a bit damaged, too.  

Those had arrived, and I watched the awesome tutorial by the master of SAKs himself. Look here: 

That said, I changed one thing, and that was adding some detergent to the boiling water.  Removed the tweezers and toothpick, and put the knife into the hot, no longer boiling, water. I took some tongs at the ready to take it out of the water after some five minutes. The scales get a bit softer afterwards. 

Using the small blade on another SAK, i popped off the scales as Felix suggested, getting between liners and scales between the two hindmost rivets.  Worked a cinch. You have to be a bit careful and have a little patience, but the scales come off with a rather satisfying "pop" 😉. 

Taking care to thoroughly clean the liners and working the blades underwater for some time (you can also use Q-tips or a piece of handkerchief or paper towel wrapped around the tweezers), 

Thoroughly dry the liners afterwards. 

Starting with the corkscrew side, handpress the scales onto the rivets. 

Use a towel, some tape, or felt inlays to protect the scales from scratches, you can use a vise to press-fit the new scales in place. 

And just like that, you have a knife that is almost like new.  

This is the real beauty of a SAK.  That knife is over 45 years old, and it is now ready for a good time in the woods again.  

It's that time of year again: Hazel catkin candy!

Recently I noticed that the hazel catkins are in full swing, and so I went out to get myself some for candy, tea and maybe whisky.  

Got a full bag of hazel catkins.  

I took 250g of butter, melted it on low heat, put in 250g of powdered sugar, stirred it in with a whisk and added the catkins.  Put in another 100 g of powdered sugar and added 200ml of water.  Reduced to a brown gooey texture, while constantly stirring on low heat. 

I put the warm catkins aside to dry to a crispy texture.  

Hazel catkins have been used as natural remedies for quite a long time.  They are reputed to have a diuretic and adstringent effect and to enhance blood circulation.  They are sweat-inducing and can be used to fight mild fevers, enhance bile flow and help with liver and gall bladder problems.  If you suffer from allergic reactions to hazel, I strongly advise you not to use it.  

In Celtic folklore, the tree is connected with wisdom, poetry and divination. According to Damian McManus: Irish Letter names and their kennings, Eric 1991, the Ogham name is Coll, with the Kenning connotations "fairest tree", "tree of sustenance" and "friend of nutshells". In poetic mythology, the nine hazels of fine mast at the well of wells of the Boyne nourish the Salmon of Knowledge.  Hence it is the tree of sustenance.  

This is a song by my lovely magic troll, Tríona nì Erc, you might enjoy.  

Stay sane, and until next time!