Prototype Testing

We managed to get some woods time yesterday and I had the pleasure of working with the Bark River Knife and Tool Aurora Prototype. The knife will come with a JRE Industries sheath and will be made of A2 fully convexed by the crew in Escanaba. The handle slabs are contoured and the handle falls right in to the "not too big, not too small" category. I found it fit my normal-sized hands as well as it fit Dan's big mitts.

The knife handles extremely well and features a nice pointy tip that can be used for drilling a hole and other fine work while retaining strength for more aggressive work.I used it to make fine shavings from a fallen tree trunk for firestarting. Here you can see some of the curls after just 30 seconds of work. After a minute or two I had enough curls to make my bird's nest. Another 30 seconds of scraping the flattened spot provided me with enough fine tinder to get a fire going with the squared spine of the Aurora and my firesteel. I LOVE the smell of woodsmoke...

We found a bundle of fishing line wrapped around a dead branch and I proceeded to unravel it to get myself a nice length to do some hand-fishing. A piece of aluminum can to reflect light and a bit of mashed Powerbar and we were off to the river. Having no hook, the kids and I had little success at the hand-fishing game but we did inspire Spen to give it a go.

The day ended up a bit warmer than I had anticipated so the kids and I were overdressed for the activity level. I made sure to encourage both Jake and Laura to hydrate often. Then I showed them how to spit like a fountain...and soon the water ran out.

With very little encouragement, the kids both waded into a lake on the way out of the woods. However, both of them kept their shoes and socks on and neither managed to keep their clothes dry. Fortunately I had extra clothes for them both back in the car so I wasn't too concerned as long as they were having fun and playing safely..Despite the soggy socks and shoes, I think we all had a great time. The kids were a bit antsy from time to time in the woods but there was plenty to do and see and once they'd realized just how much was going on around them they settled into a rhythm.

The forecast calls for snow as soon as Thursday so our days of sunshine and warmth are nearly over. While that may depress some, I happen to adore the cooler/colder weather. I can't wait to see what next weekend brings...

Thanks for reading,

B