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!

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.  

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.  

Nice and satisfying carving project: Carving a tea infusor

The other day I came across some wild bamboo that is invasive to Germany,  so out came the pocket knife.  I sawed off a section,  carved off the bark and smoothed out the rings.  With the awl I drilled two holes at the end. 

Next came some holes in the bottom. Take care not to drill too deep.  

Actually,  I did drill some holes into the sides later on, since it works a lot better.  

Then I carved a stick for a handle and to remove the tea from the infusor after use. 

Then I tried it out.  

 I made a Video of the process,  too.  

I hope that you enjoy the project as much as I did,  and I do trust you will best me! 

Take good care! 

Weird licce carving knife

Dunno if you know that feeling... you got that idea nagging at the back of your brain, but it is just too weird, so you don't get started for ages.  

Well, until you don't don't get started anymore...😜. 

That one above.  

Forged a skull  bottle opener.

But with a little marking blade on the other end. 
Little bit of ball peening, too.  

 The knife is pretty handy for woodcarving, even though it is not well suited for roughing.  Steel is 80CrV2. It would also make a nice bartender knife. I am currently thinking about adding a corkscrew.  

But for woodcarving detail work, it really shines. Not the last one I made, for sure.  

Carving a graphite pen holder (inspired by Conrad Gessner)

I had found an old graphite electrode in the woods and thought I would like to try to make a pen after the concept by Konrad Gessner (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conrad_Gessner ). For convenience reasons and due to the available material I did it the other way round, though.  I carved the pencil from elder and put in four relief holes and four slots.  I then drilled a hole into the pith of the wood in order to hold the graphite.  

From a larger diametre elder branch I carved a lock Ring. 

After all that carving 😉, 

I poured myself a cuppa Chaga tea.  As you can see, it actually even works.