Crafting pouches from bark

A current hyperfixation of this here neurospicy conker is making pouches from bark.  Pretty satisfying, since I am slowly getting the gist.  

I used cherry and birch bark, which is pretty flexible and durable.  

One thing I like to do, though, is doing some Naalbindning to further enhance stability.  

I also made this Slöjd sheath for a favourite Slöjd knife.  

I first carved a worden inlay from birch, 

That goes inside the pouch from birch and cherry bark.  I do like the contrast, however, essentially it didn't work out as intended, so I will try another.  

Here is a rather crappy Video on how I made it.  I trust that you guys can do much better, but it is a journey.  

 See you soon and take good care!

Primitive belt inspired by Mesolthic finds

 

The other day I rode out to my favourite creek to do some dipping and crafting, and I got some... nooootions.  😉

You know, my beloved magic troll is really ace with everything textile. That is really inspiring,.but also a little intimidating, so I needed a bit of time to find the impulse to get started.  Also, I need to understand by doing, dunno, some of you might be able to relate. 😉

Unfortunately, no photos of the process, because it was raining cats and dogs, but I used two branches as a loom and a Naalbindning needle as a shuttle and came up with this here. It is made from yute twine, because cheap, but I definitely want to try home made cordage, too.  

I want to make a bone buckle or something like that for it but need to woodlark that first 😉. 

Why is that crappy thingy even worth mentioning? 

Well, because it is not about the belt, not even the craft.  

It is about connection. About resilience.  Sitting beside the creek in the pouring rain, being capable of crafting something as crucial as textiles from almost nothing, feels really empowering. 

In these days, few things are more important.  

Wild food: Cooking Cornelian Cherry Chutney

I tried out a new recipe with Cornelian Cherry, which are quite abundant this year. They are pretty tangy in flavor, with a nice balance between sour and sweet, and are really rich with Vitamin C, making them a really nice wintertime treat. 

I took one clove of garlic 

Paprika, Cumin and turmeric

Herbs de Provence 

Olive oil (a good one) 

Three hot spicy chilies from the garden 

One bay leaf 

A bit of tomato concentrate (one tablespoon)

 Cooked it up and filled it into vacuum jars.  

Enjoy! 😉

New Slöjd knife from HSS steel

I have come to like that steel.  Made a blade from an old machining hacksaw from HSS.  The steel might not be a great choice for longer blades, but for carving, it really does work a cinch.  Made a simple handle from Yew, just roughed with my trusty Svante Djärv Slöjd.  

I cleaned up the carving with a glass shard.  

 Did a first oil coating. The handle shape is really great for a really distinct feedback for the hand.  Now it is in for some sharpening.  The handle I made a bit beefier than the last one, which aids in hard roughing out work, but is not as precise as the last one.  But that is whining on a very high level.  These little knives can really do a lot.  

Not quite there yet, and quite certainly not the last you have seen about it here.  

Paleolithic breechcloth from Gunnera

The other day I came across some Gunnera and was pretty amazed about the pliability and durability of the fibres.  Since there have been some new insights lately about paleolithic clothing, I thought I would give it a go.  Not an archaeological experiment yet, since no decent documentation yet, just a first try at making something more textile which is nothing short of a key skill. Extracting the fibres is dead easy: you just break the stalks and remove the bark and split it with your fingernails.  I then made some cordage...

The first 2m I just fingerlooped together.  

Made another 2m. 

And another.  
 

Using a wooden needle I carved from elm I looped stuff together any which way. The magic troll might have a lot to say to that, but I imagine that it was not much different to the way our ancestors learned.  

To date, that is a friggin 6m of cordage.  I will keep you posted! 

Making Linden Cocoa with Black Walnut cordial

Yesterday,  on a ride from a really shitty appointment, I came across some linden trees full of seeds.  

Took them to the kitchen,  cleaned,  and put them into the oven at 180° C for 40 minutes.

After that,  they were chocolate brown.  

Ground them to a fine grain.  

Stirred a tablespoon of black walnut cordial into some condensed milk. 
Some boiling water later...

I did get a lovely coffee substitute (not like cocoa really,  but really tasty). 

Enjoy!
 

Carving a coat hanger from yew

Sitting beside the creek,  I brought myself some aged yew for a coat hanger.  The branch needs to have another branch forking away asymmetrically.  I split it with my bushcraft knife (Casström Sweden SFK 10). 

Shortened the fork with a saw.  

Then I added a little heart at the end to add that extra dose of whimsy 😉. 

Like so.  😉 I carved into the grain and got lucky! 

For the small radiuses it is more recomnendeable to use a Slöjd knife, because it typically has a more slender tip.  This one is my all-time favourite by some of the awesomest craftspeople I know,  Elsa and Svante Djärv . 

Bit of carving later,  I added some details.  

Now it is ready for a first oil coating and drying out completely in a bag of shavings. 

 And I earned myself another cuppa.  😉

Even though I do have to live through some pretty nasty times at the moment,  projects like that do go a long way in order to keep my resilience.  The place beside the creek wasn't too shabby either.  Don't let something like that be taken from you.  

Resilience is resistance.  

A Slöjd knife from HSS steel and some thoughts

I had some HSS steel (DMo5) lying around,  pre-hardened to 64HRC and gave it a go to make some carving knives from it.  Now you often hear that this is a recommendeable project for beginners,  but it is pretty hard to achieve without overheating or ruining tools.  I used an angle grinder and constantly cooled the piece,  fixing it on a 4x4 with Carpenter clamps.  

Made a "pencil"-style handle for it and gave it a high convex bevel to zero.  Pretty hard to do,  but eventually succeeded,  even though it is not exactly beautiful.  The handle is from lilac from the old man's garden.  

Tested it,  and man, is that a slicer.  

Then I started a sheath from hazel.  

Fixed the halves with twine originally,  which has been replaced with silver-plated wire in the meantime.  

Thing is,  that little slicer is pretty versatile.  The blade being just 2 mm thick,  it just sails through the wood.  The blade is about 60mm long.  I also tend to use it in the kitchen or for foraging.  

 Thing is,  it does a lot of things really great.  So much in fact,  that I sometimes ask myself if we got it back to front with bushcraft knives.  I mean,  well,  it can not do batoning.  Or prying.  But you can carve everything you need with it,  including gluts.  It is so light you don't notice it is there at all.  I would not dismiss my Garberg or Casström knives for it or my Puukot,  but it certainly is a reality check.