American Bushman

"If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead, either write things worth reading or do things worth writing." —Benjamin Franklin

Saturday, December 05, 2009

Favorite Knife Quick!

What's in your pocket right now? Is it your favorite?

I've been using the heck out of this one:



It's not so shiny any more. As a matter of fact, it's taken a fantastic patina from use.

It was the knife around my neck during both the basement and garage clean outs. It was the one I grabbed to cut up meat for lunch the other day. It's the one I use to break down boxes. It's also the one I use to carve spoons.

Has it replaced the F1? Maybe.

Probably not though. The F1 is fantastic and I've put it through a lot. The 510s no slouch though and for about 10% of the price it's a superb value.

Thanks for reading,


B

Thursday, December 03, 2009

Pass Around

I've been watching Ray Mears' newest series Northern Wilderness and have ordered Hearne's book from Amazon.com.

With the website project and the basement project I don't have time to give it a read yet. I'm thinking about passing it around if you guys want to give it a read.

If there's an interest, I'm going to send it to Ranger Squirrel first since he's the one that pointed me to the videos. Then he can read it and send it on to someone else.

I just ask to get it back by the beginning of April when I might once again have some free time.

Let me know,


B

Wednesday, December 02, 2009

American BushGeek?

Along with my obligations as a Tiger Den Leader and member of several boards I have the basement project and all the subsequent clean-up that has been required. That wasn't enough for me though.

I've also taken on the task of designing, planning, and coding a full-featured website that will integrate every facet of the community and the organizations that help the community to run. We've been talking about it since July 4th but I'm finally getting the project rolling and have been given until the end of the first quarter of 2010 to have it up and running.

I believe I've mentioned before that I'm a former keyboard cowboy so the project itself isn't daunting in the least. The problem that confronts me is the new languages I have to learn. It shouldn't take too long but it's going to take some time and focus I just don't seem to have.

More Mountain Dew and less sleep for me for the next several months.

The good news for you, dear reader, is that I'll be bringing those skills back to this blog and I hope to be able to roll out some really neat new features for your enjoyment.

Sarah's sitting in her high chair eating some Rice Krispies and clapping so she must be on board with the project now. :)

Thanks for reading,


B

Tuesday, December 01, 2009

Today it Starts

Today's the day.

Permits have been filed.

Materials are being delivered in just a few minutes.

Workers will begin showing up shortly.

The cleaning is all done. Not only has everything been put in its proper place but all the bins have been stacked in the middle of one part of the basement so everybody can move around them to work on framing, plumbing, and electrical.

It's going to take all winter to complete but when it's finished it will (hopefully) be worth the headaches and heartaches.

My Man Room has been removed from the plan but now it's more or less going to be a Man Basement! Deer heads, mounted fish, caribou rugs, guns, knives, and axes galore...

I can't hardly wait. :)

Thanks for reading,


B

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Feeling Pretty Stupid.

Last weekend was the great Garage Clean-Out and this weekend has been the Bonzer Basement Purge.

As well as getting rid of things that are of little or no value I have been reorganizing the things that remain. The problem arises when I start getting rid of empty boxes. I often check them to make sure they're really empty before putting them in the recycling and that attention to detail has served me well.

The pain of getting rid of so much of my stuff will be worth it in the end when I have a Man Room in the basement where I can go to be with my guns, knives, axes, and other outdoorsy stuff.

Let's cut to the chase.

I managed to pick up TWO of Fallkniven's 3G F1s and one went straight into a sheath. The other one remained boxed up for future use. Yeah, it was in a box.

I just got rid of my last empty box.

I'm tired both physically and mentally.

Did I screw up? Have I tossed the box with the F1 still in it?

I sure can't find it now.

It'd be bad enough with the production F1 at around $100 but the 3G cost twice that. Ouch.

Two is one and one is none. That adage proved true today...

Bummer.

Thanks for reading,


B

Friday, November 27, 2009

Had an Idea

I emailed Spen of JRE Industries a few weeks ago about an idea I had and finally made the trip down on Wednesday to take the idea from concept to finished product. It's a VERY simple modification to one of my favorite bits of kit and it improves portability and security with minimal effort.

I've been carrying a Fallkniven DC4 in my pocket for some time now and I had almost convinced myself that the 4 was too big but the DC3 is a bit too small for the way I use the stone and I didn't really want to convert. Then it hit me.

If I dropped eyelets into the top of the DC4 sheath (one on each "lip") I could secure the stone with a piece of paracord or shock cord AND I could carry it on a carabiner clipped to my pack or my belt loop. The problem was that I had a DC4 and sheath but no eyelets. Spen has eyelets and a really nice press to put those eyelets in.

He suggested the S-biner from Nite-Ize as the clip and so far it's worked perfectly. Now I have the DC4 out of my pocket but still have it with me in case I need to sharpen my, or someone else's, knives. That may sound a bit strange but it has happened on more than one occasion.

JRE sells the DC3 and DC4 stones on their website and I'm encouraging Spen to offer the eyelets as an option for another couple of bucks as it really does improve the product without detracting from the current functionality.

Thanks for reading,


B

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving!

Football, turkey, and family...

That's what's in store for us today.

I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving!

Thanks for reading,


B