Wildcat Outdoors

Emergency Fishing Kit

2011-12-10T16:18:00.001-08:00

I made this kit out of a protien drink tube that you can buy at walmart. they are very useful for all sorts of projects.

Here I am trying it out. I can get a good 20' cast with it.

God Bless Yall!

Jeepin in the Texas ice storm

2011-02-04T22:40:00.000-08:00

My fiance, the kids and I took the Jeep muddin today. There was ice still everywhere but the mud holes had thawed out. Part of the trail has this big concrete swale that you have to go through. It doesn't look that bad in the video. It is pretty steep though.

On this trip one of the power steering hoses blew a hole. Now it is leaking. Looks like I will be headed to the junk yard for replacement parts on Monday.

God Bless Yall!

Goldenrod bugs

2011-01-31T13:52:00.000-08:00

This weekend the kids and I were walking through the woods and came across a stand of Goldenrod. If you look closely you may find a stalk that has a bulb (gall) in the middle. Like this...

That bulb (gall) has an insect larvae inside it. Supposed to be good fish bait. I found one in one of the bulbs I sliced open but tossed it before taking a pic. Looked around and sliced open 3 more but none had the larvae inside. Of course I lost the pic of the split open bulb. I will have to try to find another.

We did find some small grub worms under a log though.

Hungry now?

God Bless Yall!

White Bass running in Spring Creek

2011-01-31T13:49:00.000-08:00

I went down to Jesse Jones Park this morning and fished for a few hours. I caught a few but it was pretty slow. My buddy Shiney was doing much better on Cypress Creek.

Here is my catch for the day. Fish for dinner sounds good!

God Bless Yall!

My homemade spoon

2010-12-16T20:05:00.000-08:00

I finally ordered and received a Mora #164 carving knife from Ragweed Forge. One night when it was cold with a nice fire going in the fire place, I sat in my chair and whittled this out. It is made out of a chunk of oak firewood. It was made using only hand tools. My hand saw, sheath knife and Wetterlings axe. After the spoon was sanded, it was rubbed with olive oil. I think it turned out pretty nice and now I am ready to make more. I plan to make a spatula and bigger serving spoons soon. I also plan on making a Kuksa cup soon.

Now I need to find some nice burl wood so I can make that Kuksa.

God Bless Yall

A level for your scope

2010-11-16T18:50:00.000-08:00

ACD (Anti-CANT Device)

The patented ACD (Anti-CANT Device) is a simple spirit scope level mounted in an aircraft-quality, two-piece aluminum scope ring that mounts in minuteswithout special tools. Properly mounted, the ACD allows the shooter to visualize and make adjustments for CANT, which experienced shooters recognize as rotation of a scope's crosshairs off a true vertical/horizontal plane.

Installed on a properly mounted rifle scope or pistol scope, the ACD uniquely equips the shooter to visualize and eliminate CANT with 100% certainty, 100% of the time.

Mounting Solutions Plus specializes in tactical mounts and gun accessories for professional and competition shooters.

Click Here to learn more.

Try it, it will help with your accuracy.

God Bless Yall!

Some knife pics

2010-08-19T21:25:00.000-07:00

I need to host them so you have to look at them. :-)

My new Crosman 2250XT

2010-07-24T06:05:00.000-07:00

I ordered this Crosman 2250XT from Mountain Air Custom Airguns. One thing he does is add 24" barrel and modifies the valve for more power. He also changes out all the orings to rings that are more durable and will hold up to the hard CO2.
First thing I did to it was put an 88gr to paintball adapter from Bryan and Associates on. I also added a lead dust collector from TKO22. It does a wonderful job of collecting the harmful lead particles.
While shooting 14.3gr Crosman Premiers over my F1 Chrony, I was getting average 667fps on the 88gr tank. Switching to the 9oz tank I was getting 677fps.
I will have to replace the scope as it is TERRIBLE. It is blurry and doesn't seem to be holding zero.

God Bless Yall

Funny video

2010-06-11T20:57:00.000-07:00

Gof Bless Yall!

Another Mora #1

2010-04-16T06:16:00.000-07:00

This knife has been sitting on my bench for nearly a year. One day I cut and rough shaped the handle, formed the ferrule out of a copper pipe cap and got everything fitted up. Then life and death got in the way and it just sat there. Since the fire was lit under my beehind recently, I decided to finish it up. It is a Mora #1 carbon (of course) blade, copper ferrule and Bocote handle.

You can see in this pic where the wood that was in the knot fell out during construction. Looks neat but may prove to be a week spot.

God Bless Yall!

Condor Golok mini-review

2010-04-14T13:01:00.001-07:00

I have always wanted a Golok and Parang. A year or two back Condor Knife and Tool started showing pics and teaser threads about this Golok and their Parang. I knew I had to have one when they came out since they are a fraction of the price of the beautiful and functional Valiant models. I got the latest copy of Smoky Mountain Knife Works catalog this month and there it was. I picked up the phone and placed my order. It was back orderd about a week, but it didn't take long to get here.

Overall Length is about 20.5". It had a sorta flat grind with no secondary bevel. After chopping some yaupon holly down, I convexed the edge. Can't really tell a lot of difference doing this, but I'm no champion chopper either.

It tapers from 1/4" at the handle to just under 3/16" at the tip.

Thanks to Shiney for turning me on to PVC sheaths. I had a section of pipe that was perfect for this job. After shaping, it was sanded down and given two coats of black Krylon fusion. Then left to sit in the sun all day.

Top of handle.

Bottom.

It fills the hand pretty good.

Overall it chops well and cuts through stuff up to an inch thick with one whack. It did chop one pine tree down that was the size of my wrist with three good whacks.

While we (me and dog) were out there we found a few burrows. I have been trying to train him to go in the hole and bring me some dinner. He is getting pretty good and going in. Now I just need to find one with a critter in it. He is a Toy Fox Terrier. If you know of any survival dog huntin trainers out there, let me know.

God Bless Yall!

The Ezno Trapper is finished

2010-04-11T05:44:00.000-07:00

I have been busy. Friday I cut and glued the Bocote scales. Saturday shaped up the handle and made the sheath. The spring clip is temporary till the lever clips come in.

I still need to put my mark on it and I may thin the handle some. The slot is still showing on the corby rivet, but it is pretty much finished. Now I need a day in the woods to test it out.

God Bless Yall!

A ferrocium fire starter for Shiney

2010-04-09T17:42:00.000-07:00

Prolly a year ago, Shiney asked me to make him a custom ferro rod. Well, life (and death) happened and it was put on hold for quite some time. Since I spent a few days last week working on a knife I decided to get it knocked out. Here is what I came up with. Dark green canvas micarta over red and white spacers. It turned out pretty neat. The rod is 3/8".

I hope he likes it.

God Bless Yall!

More knifemakin

2010-04-08T18:45:00.000-07:00

Last week Shiney's son came over and I walked him through putting scales on a knife blade he bought. While helping him I realized how much I enjoyed making knives and how long it has been since I made one. So I got on Ben's Backwoods and ordered an Enzo Trapper in 01. I have always thought this was a good looking blade.

I was thinking I would go with either Osage Orange, Texas Ebony or Bocote. Unless something else pops up that catches my eye.

God Bless Yall!

My homemade backpack

2010-03-28T20:28:00.000-07:00

The other night I had a wild hair to make a pack similar to some of the more basic Duluth Packs. a yard or so of duck cloth, some leather and a few buckles later and I have this. After making it I can say it is worth the $85 for Duluth's version. This was a pain in the rear to make, but I made it all by hand with hand stitching. The duck cloth is coated with beeswax. It's not my best work. I kinda threw it together on a whim. I got dye on the fabric, straps are crooked, but it works.

It will hold enough stuff for a day trip or a light hike. This design is not comfortable with a lot of weight.

God Bless Yall!

We have lift off...Jeep Cherokee lift off that is

2010-03-01T12:46:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post with pics after the lift was installed. The Cherokee now has 4" of lift.

Merriwether, would you bug out in this rig?

God Bless Yall!

First mud trip in the Heep

2010-02-02T12:26:00.000-08:00

First official time to take the Heep off pavement and get it dirty. It did really well and I was happy to discover that the 4x4 actually engaged the tires. We went to an area where there was a strip about a half mile long and 100yards wide. It wasn't hardcore/extreme mudding. I have not put the lift on so I can't get too crazy.

While at the pick-a-part today I snagged a Thule gutter mount roof rack. Now I can raise the basket up off the factory roof rack. The reason for this is the gutter mount system is stronger. How much stronger I don't know, but it was only $20 so I couldn't pass it up.

God Bless Yall!

White Bass Fishin...

2010-01-29T07:16:00.001-08:00

The white bass have started their annual run up into the creeks to spawn. It is still early, but there are small pocket of fish in the pools of the creeks. Yesterday a friend and I set out to bring home some dinner. We ended up only catching three white bass. We got in a school of yellow bass and also caught some crappie, a largemouth and a catfish. The yellow bass were tearing up our minnows. We thru back about 10 that weren't big enough to bother with.

I caught these two Wednesday morning on a feather jig. These fish put up a good fight and taste delicious.

We got some rain last night so maybe that will help trigger whatever senses in these fish and get them swimming up the creeks. Daily limit is 25. That means alot of good eatin is soon to come.

God Bless Yall!

Pine needle tea with Kephart

2010-01-25T16:06:00.000-08:00

I have been a long time reader of Horace Kephart and I always thought his knife was pretty neat yet really simple. My bud Shiney picked one up a few months ago and I really liked it. So after much begging, pleading and drooling he finally decided to do some horse trading with me.

It did not come with a sheath, so I copied JRE's ever popular pattern and made my own.

Fast forward a few days and I'm reading American Bushman's Blog and he wrote an entry on fireside hot chocolate and mentioned Canteenshop.com. So I couldn't help myself and picked up a canteen, mug and burner. It came in today and I just had to try it out. Started a little fire and boiled up a cup of pine needle tea with my daughter.

You have to set the cup on the burner sideways with a wood fire. The cup will sit down just a little inside the burner and be solid, but it will put the flame out.

There is a cut out in the side that is to allow the burner to slide up the cup and miss the handle attachment plate. It also serves as a place to slip in fuel.

I'm going to try using his as my day bag water/cooking system.

God Bless Yall!

Jeepin and fishin

2010-01-22T15:12:00.000-08:00

Took the Jeep offroad for the first time this morning. Went lookin for a fishin hole, didn't really find any thing that looked like a good spot to fish. I did get to drive through a few mud holes. Nothin too deep. I got some mud on it now though. It looks better with mud on it.

I cant wait for the lift. 30 days till 4" lift off.

God Bless Yall!

More Jeep pics

2010-01-03T16:03:00.001-08:00

Here it is with basket on the roof. Still need to hook up the lights. The towel is there because the power steering pump leaks.

God Bless Yall!

A new topic to blog about.....

2009-12-30T18:31:00.000-08:00

Wildcat Outdoors will now include Jeepin along with all the other topics discussed here. Two weeks ago I bought a 1989 Jeep Cherokee 4x4. It has some issues, but it runs and the 4x4 works. I got it fairly cheap so I don't feel too bad about it.

When I first got it it looked like this. Not exactly an offroad vehicle.

Next thing I did was build this "shelf" in the back so I can store tools, ropes, come-along and fluids while keeping an area where camping gear and stuff can be put.

The next thing was to loose the "rims" and put back on the factory steel wheels. Fortunately they came with the Jeep, so I only had to buy tires. Looks much better now, don't you think?

I put a roof basket on it Monday but have not taken a pic yet. I also ordered the shocks for it the other day. They will go on upon arrival. In February I will be getting a 4" lift from a fellow NAXJA member.

I will continue to post pics of progress. Future updates will be custom rear bumber with spare tire/gerry can/hi-lift jack mounts. Custom front bumper with winch mount. Repair some floor board rust and coat entire floor area with Rhino-Liner. It wont be a super-duper rock crawler, but I think it will get me thru my deer lease road.

God Bless Yall!

Using our Souther Wax Myrtle

2009-12-24T14:43:00.000-08:00

This morning my daugter decided to start stripping the berries off one of the wax myrtles in the front yard. She got about 3/4 cup of good berries. I have read that the waxy coating can be boiled off and used for making candles and the berry that is left can be put in a grinder and used as a spice.

Here are the berries after being boiled. There are alot of litte twigs in there so they will have to picked out prior to grinding.

This is how much wax you get from 3/4 cup of berries. It would probably take ten pounds of berries to make one candle.

In addition to the above mentioned uses, wax myrtle leaves can be added to soups abd stews for seasoning. In the spring, the bark of wax myrtle will slip allowing you to make a whistle this way...

There is still alot of berries to be picked. Maybe if we get enough wax I will try making a candle. Stay tuned.

God Bless Yall!

The chuck box is finished.....mostly

2009-12-11T20:18:00.000-08:00

I was able to mostly finish out the chuckbox today. I used some scrap laminate flooring wood for the shelving. The shelves sit on quarter round strips. I still need to secure the shelves to the top and bottom of the box. Right now it is all just friction fit. I put heavy duty handles on the ends. It will sit on plastic sawhorse legs in camp.

You can see the candle lantern on the right. There is s coffee pot behind the lantern. There is a cook pot on the bottom left.

Now I need to devise a way for the paper towel roll to deploy on the outside once set up, need a way to mount the lantern and I need to find some way to make the work surface a little more durable and easier to clean. I have seen some that used formica on the top. I will look into that.

God Bless Yall!

New axes and a lamp...

2009-12-09T08:54:00.000-08:00

Smokey Mountain Knife Works had these Wetterlings 20H axes on sale. Plus if you spent more than $50, shipping was free. So Shiney and I each ordered one. This thing cuts surprisingly well. It should really cut good after I do little grinding on the profile of the edge.

One weekend we stopped at a flea market and I picked up this Collins double bit for $15. It is in great shape but the head is loose. I think a new wedge should fix that.

At a different flea market I picked up this "Betty Lamp" for the princely sum of $2. I stuck some jute twine in there for a wick and it works like a charm. I'm using citronella oil for fuel. This oil does NOT keep skeeters away, at least not around here.

Any idea's on a proper wick? Maybe one made out of field expedient materials?

God Bless Yall!

Snow... In Texas

2009-12-09T07:17:00.000-08:00

I'm a little behind posting this, but it snowed for the second year in a row. In Houston, Texas. Durn "global warming". Where is Al Gore?

I think in my area we got a good inch, maybe two inches. The kids enjoyed it. Made snow men, snow angels and just had a good ole time and they didn't get sick. Hallelujah! That is usually what happens when the weather does weird things like this.

God Bless Yall!

Making a chuck box

2009-12-09T06:43:00.000-08:00

Normally when I go camping I like to bring as little as possible. I try to only bring dehydrated foods and try to get everything in one bag, two at the most. You know, the whole minimalist idea. I had a wake up call the last few weekends while taking a friend and our families hunting/camping. When you have nine people, you have to bring alot of food, plates, cups, silverware, etc. and I wasn't prepared for that. So that sets me on a mission to find something that I can organize all the extra stuff needed when taking a group to the property.

Enter the chuck box. I did some research and got some ideas of what I want to do. Of course I have to build it myself because I'm cheap and why spend money. Learn how to do it yourself. It may come in handy some day.

Keeping with the cheap idea. I had this old foot locker that has stuff just piled in it for storage. Last night Shiney was over and we were looking at it. Then I thought I would convert this locker to a chuck box.

I was trying to figure out how to take it apart to put a hinged front on it and Shiney says, "It's already done for you. Flip it over." So we did and now it looks like this.

This is kinda the general idea of how it will lay out. I already have some 1/4 plywood and some quarter round to make some shelves inside. I will add some little plastic tote type containers to keep everything tidy.

I will post more pics as I make progress on it. I will have to devise some legs for it to sit on.

I already checked the measurements and it will fit in the cargo area of my Jeep Cherokee, when I get it. In a short time I hope to be the owner of one of these. Time for some mud action.

God Bless Yall!

All knife steels are not created equal.....

2009-11-13T19:39:00.000-08:00

This video should encourage everyone to rush out and buy more chinakistan made knives...

God Bless Yall!

Mountain Oysters Yall?

2009-11-13T05:56:00.000-08:00

I got the most unusual phone call. A friend of mine asking if I wanna help him castrate some of the boar hogs at his dad's farm. So, not wanting to turn down a crazy adventure, I said "Sure, what time?" When we get to the farm, we find out there are 6 pigs that need fixin.

That's "Curly" with the knife and I'm holdin the pig. The Tidioute Moose got used on one of them.

Then the jokes about eating the "oysters" started flying. So we saved all of them.

Here I cleaned them up and filleted them. They went in the freezer and at the next get together we are gonna cook them. Got any good recipes? The tubes and stuff got fed to the catfish.

God Bless Yall!

Gone hunting, the rest of the story....

2009-11-09T21:04:00.000-08:00

Well, it was pretty uneventful. Didn't see anything that could be legally taken. I did get in some fishing. Caught these little blue gills and added them to dinner.

You can see in the pic, under the pot the fish fillets are poked on a stick and to the left of that my roll is being toasted on a stick too.

Going back in two weeks, maybe I will see some deer that can be harvested.

God Bless Yall!

test

2009-11-04T13:18:00.000-08:00

looks like its text only with the phone. at least till i figure it out.....

Going Hunting

2009-11-04T13:09:00.000-08:00

I'm making this post on my fancy new phone. Now I can make posts while i'm in the woods.

I will be heading to the property Friday morning. Do some cleaning and get ready for Saturday morning. Hopefully I will have pics of my deer. I plan on using as much of this deer as I possibly can. Maybe a few skwerls would be good too.

To all the other hunters out there, hope you are successful too!

God Bless Yall!

Homemade camp food

2009-09-24T20:48:00.001-07:00

This is a batch of Cuban Black Bean Soup. I loaded all the broth in the container with the beans and rice. That ensures I get all the seasonings included.

After about 10 hours in the dehydrator it looks like this. Doesn't look like much, but when it plumps up it is plenty.

God Bless Yall!

Sheath for the boys axe, and more

2009-09-24T20:31:00.000-07:00

Any good axe must have a sheath. So I whipped this out. I didn't have enough copper rivets, so I had to sew this one up. For attachment I just use a simple wrap which is just held in by the tightening of the leather.

The infamous Wildcat stamp.

A few of my axes.
In order:
Vaughn Supersteel
Collins Legitimus
Wetterlings
Super Banko Sweden

The Vaughn is the axe that nearly cut my leg off last year.

This shot shows the little Colonial hatchet. It is actually quite useful. It won't chop down any trees but it will hold it's own when used in context. Plus it is super light weight and it is not stainless steel!

God Bless Yall!

Boys axe finished

2009-09-21T08:41:00.000-07:00

I picked up a new handle from the hardware store. Scraped all the lacquer finish off. Added a coat of stain and then three coats of boiled linseed oil. I think it came out pretty nice. It is a little bigger than I wanted, but it is still pretty lightweight.

I contemplated giving the head a total redo and mirror polish, but I love the dark patina so much.

I need to get to the woods and try it out on a few Chinese Tallow trees.

God Bless Yall

A new to me 3/4 axe

2009-09-15T16:20:00.000-07:00

Trying to get back into the swing of outdoor stuff again. Recent events gonna make that hard to do, but I will find a few minutes here and there. Like the following....

Picked up this nice little Collins Legitimus boys axe on eBay. It's got a little mushrooming on the poll.

A good shot of the stamp.

These are the before shots. I have already taken it apart and discovered the handle is not going to fit. Off to the hardware store.

Hope to have some after shots in the next few days.

Also picked up a cute little teapot from Shiney.

God Bless Yall!

The fight of our lives

2009-08-30T04:48:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of posts lately.

We are on a new kind of journey. One that we don't really want to take, but we have to and we are happy to do it. There a no tents, fires or knives.

Back in the first part of July, my dear wife was diagnosed with Stage 4 Metastatic Lung Cancer. It is also in her liver and bones. She is in the full care of MD Anderson Cancer Center now. So we shall see were this goes. My specific prayer is for her full recovery and no more cancer, but ultimately it is God's good and perfect will that I want completed in our lives.

I will post updates and such periodically. Please keep us in your prayers.

God Bless Yall

Happy July 4 Yall

2009-07-04T07:54:00.000-07:00

Hope everyone has a safe and happy weekend.

God Bless Yall!

Father's Day Fun

2009-06-21T19:19:00.000-07:00

My lovely wife and kids gave me this new watch for Father's Day. It is a Casio. It has a compass and thermometer. Pretty slick. The compass feature is pretty neat, but honestly I usually already know the direction I'm pointed. The thermometer is basically useless since it is right on your body. The reading is going to be affected by your body temp.

A shot of the face.

A shot of the compass/thermometer screen. You can see the arrow in the bottom of the face. The temp is shown at the bottom 86.8F. It shows the angle, 15 4.

To top it all off, we went to church with some friends in Livingston and ate a big Father's Day lunch. Then we loaded up the boat and headed for the lake for some fishin. We put out 19 jug lines. Caught three nice catfish. I forgot to take a pic of the fish. You can see the "pool noodle" jug lines.

It was a nice day. Good food. Good fellowship with good people.

God Bless Yall

Happy Fathers Day Yall

2009-06-21T06:14:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day to all the dad's out there.

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. No excuses.

On the plus side, I've been working on this the last few weeks. With the ammo prices going thru the roof and the shortages. I decided to break out the airgun and get it spiffed up.

I can buy a 500 round tin of top shelf pellets for $9 and a 30 pack of CO2 cartridges for $10. Cheap wadcutters are $2 for 250. Granted, it does not have the power of a .22LR, but it will drop a skwerl at 25 yards no problem. At least that is what I'm told. Airguns are illegal on game animals in The Great State of Texas. Hopefully that will change.

It is a Crosman 2240. So it is a .22. I added a 24" 2260 barrel. RJ Machine long breech and bolt. Shoulder stock. Polished the striker. Bored out the inside of the valve just a little. Angled the exhaust port. Stock pistol with 7" barrel is advertised at 460fps. With the long barrel and bored valve, this one should be around 625fps, but I have not chronied it. So that is just a guess. It hits pretty hard though.

On top is an old Tasco. It works for now. I want to eventually put something better on top.

RJ Machine does nice work.

God Bless Yall!

Memorial Day

2009-05-25T09:48:00.000-07:00

I just want to thank all those that serve this country so we can sleep peacefully at night. I also want to thank the families of those that made the ultimate sacrifice. Thank you.

God Bless Yall!

My sheep shear knife

2009-05-20T18:17:00.000-07:00

My buddy Shiney hooked me up with an old, rusty set of sheep shears. Perfect for the sheep shear knife project I have wanted to do for so long now.

I cleaned this blade up with a wire wheel, sand, dirt, etc. Found the suitable deer leg bone and put it all together. It's really pretty simple. I made up some small copper washers out of some sheet that I have for just this sorta thing. I find the washers are needed because you are guaranteed a split bone without them when peening pins. After completion, I soaked in BLO.

I can't make out the stamp on the blade. If anyone knows what it is, let me know.

If you have an old set of sheers, give this a try. It is a quick project and fun too. Plus your saving the planet and keeping trash out of land fills with creative recycling. (where is that rolling eyes emoticon)

God Bless Yall!

My garden this year

2009-05-12T20:27:00.000-07:00

Everyone else in blogger land is showing pics of their gardens. So I thought I'd show mine. I put ALOT of work into it. My wife appreciates the hard work too. She loves the fresh veggies. It is so rewarding to pick the fruit of my labors.

I was a little preoccupied this season with the job situation and all. So this is all that was planted.

God Bless Yall!

Mother's Day at the beach

2009-05-12T17:53:00.000-07:00

My lovely wife said she wanted to go to the beach for Mother's Day. So we loaded up the family and headed out. It was pretty crowded out there. We went to a public access beach south of the sea wall.

Looking south

Looking north. You can see they still have a lot of clean up to do.

They beautiful, clear, Gulf Coast water.

While we were playing, the Coast Guard flew over. I zoomed in best I could and got this shot. You can almost see the personnel.

This is the famous spot where the I D 10 T stayed and got stuck in the building. The truck is still there. All the windows are blown out.

Then we had lunch at Mario's. If you are ever in Galveston, eat here. It is on 61st Street. They make their pizza right there when you order it. The cook tosses the dough in the air. If you go over and ask, he will toss one of the dough frisbee's out to you so the kids can play in the dough.

God Bless Yall!

More on the Squishy bowl and cup

2009-05-01T19:12:00.000-07:00

One thing I like so far is the set fits in my Imusa grease pot. That helps keep some of the clutter down in the back pack.

So tonight I tried a dish of dried veggies and dried ground hamburger meat. I boiled the water and poured it into the bowl with the food and let it sit for thirty minutes while we watched The Wilderness Family on Youtube.

You have to be careful when holding the bowl or cup. You have to hold it from the bottom or the sides will squish in if you try to hold it like a real cup.

God Bless Yall!

Guyot Squishy Bowls

2009-04-30T21:01:00.000-07:00

I've had my eyes on one of these for a while. We have an REI that's not too far from the house. Just so happened that I was on that side of town tonight, so I stopped in and browsed around and picked up a Squishy bowl and cup. I wanted a green set, but they only had red and blue.

Initial impression is they are pretty neat. You can't set them on the fire like a metal cup. Though you can turn them inside out and lick them clean. Try doing that with a metal cup. Only a few trips will tell whether they are useful or just another gimmicky product to empty wallets. I will give a report after a few uses.

God Bless Yall!

Rehydrating dehydrated trail food

2009-04-30T11:16:00.000-07:00

I got a few books a few years ago about making your own trail foods. So I started making my own. Through the process I discovered that casserole type dishes work the best as well as beans/rice, chili, and spaghetti. That does not leave alot of options, but these dishes are usually healthy and have the required ingredients for energy levels. I have been meaning to post about this for a while, but have been preoccupied.

I dried a dish of scrambled eggs out a few months ago. I set out today to do the demonstration. Here is my set up. I would rather do it over a fire, but this is quicker and less clean up.

Here are the dried eggs with salsa.

Add enough water to cover the food. You can always add more later.

Bring the contents to a rolling boil. With beans and rice it just takes a few minutes. You just have to watch it and experiment. Stir often because it WILL burn. Ask me how I know.

A shot of the stove cooking some lunch.

After a few minutes of boiling, turn off the fire and remove. Cover the pot and whittle a stick, take a walk, practice a skill or something that takes about 30 minutes. When you come back, the dish will be cool enough to eat and will have soaked up all the water it can. Add salt/pepper or anything else you like.

This was the first time to try the egg dish. I won't be taking this on the trail. It was yuck. I'll stick to oatmeal with raisins and honey for breakfast.

Give it a try. Get a nice dehydrator that has adjustable temp settings. There is all kinds of camping foods you can make with the dehydrator.

God Bless Yall!

Time to get the loading press back out

2009-04-29T20:11:00.001-07:00

I used to reload quite a bit with my Lee Loaders. Then we had our 2.5 children, got a white picket fence and two SUV's in the driveway. Well, at least the 2.5 children part anyway. So it has been a while since these Loaders have seen day light. If you've tried to buy ammo lately, you probably had a bad case of sticker shock. So, if I can find the supplies, I am going to get back to reloading. My wife is REALLY enjoying the last few trips to the range, and I'd like to keep that going. I love taking her shooting. The kids are also getting to that age, so it looks like the makings of a nice family outing.

My OLD Lyman vibratory tumbler. It doesn't hold many cases, but it works and it was given to me by a friend. So I'm not complaining.

Here is a box of @ 700 55gr. FMJ .223. I should have enough powder, just need a few more packs of primers.

All the necessary items (minus rubber mallet and calipers) to slowly reload lots of ammo.

So I think I will be spending some time at the loading bench over the next few weeks when I can.

God Bless Yall!

Paracord wrapped Breacher Bars

2009-04-28T09:38:00.000-07:00

My friend Friday brought me these Breacher Bars from County Comm. He wanted them wrapped with paracord. Here is the finished product.

They turned out pretty good. If you need a massive pry bar/splitting tool, these ought to get the job done and then some.

God Bless Yall!

Adonai skeet shoot

2009-04-20T05:59:00.000-07:00

God Bless Yall

Shooting guns and eating BBQ

2009-04-16T05:41:00.000-07:00

WARNING! I'm plugging a fund raiser event on my blog. :-)

This Sunday is Adonia Outfitters Ministry annual fund raiser BBQ. So, if you live anywhere in the Houston area and like to shoot guns and eat BBQ, then drive out to Carter's Country on Treaschwig this Sunday, April 19, noon till dark. There will be skeet shooting tournaments, .22 rifle matches and lots of BBQ. There will be raffle tickets for sale with drawings for those tickets throughout the day. Grand prize is a trip to Colorado to hunt elk or whatever game you'd like to hunt*. Second place prize is a Remington 30-06 bolt action rifle with a Bushnell scope on top inside an aluminum hard case. There will be other drawings for prizes throughout the day.

Hope to see yall there!

*Trip includes transportation to and from colorado, lodging and food. Licensce fees are the responsibility of winner.

God Bless Yall!

Harness the power of the sun

2009-04-04T12:27:00.000-07:00

God Bless Yall!

Osage Orange Puukko knife for Shiney

2009-04-03T06:05:00.000-07:00

I love puukko knives. Shiney saw a knife he liked, so I set out to make one that was similar, but different. He brought some micarta for the spacers. The handle is aluminum, white fiber, maroon micarta, osage orange. I hope he likes it. He took it, so I guess he did. I did not really want to give it to him, but I need another knife like I need a hole in my head.

God Bless Yall!

Funny McDonalds commercial

2009-04-01T20:12:00.000-07:00

i just saw this. it is too funny.

God Bless Yall!

went shooting today

2009-03-28T12:43:00.000-07:00

i'll let the pictures do the talking...

9mm

mp5

ar15

mini-14

feg hi-power

And a video...

God Bless Yall!

My new video on you tube

2009-03-23T09:51:00.000-07:00

I did this video showing starting a fire using a fire steel and fatwood.

God Bless Yall!

Antler Fire Steels

2009-03-22T12:05:00.000-07:00

These fire steels came from firesteels.com. I glued .75" into the antler. There is approx. 1.75" sticking out of the antler. They are all white tail deer antler.

I am offering these for sale. $17 shipped in the USA. To sweeten the deal, I will include a healthy chunk of really sappy pine fatwood.

Email me at nedfig25ATyahooDOTcom. Delete out the bold text and put in the correct symbols.

Thanks

God Bless Yall!

Paracord braclets with antler buttons

2009-03-20T20:11:00.000-07:00

These are made with a Cobra stitch. I got had the idea of using an antler button when I saw the monkey fist button version on Instructables.

God Bless Yall!

Paracord with a buckle

2009-03-17T21:09:00.000-07:00

I have not been able to find a local source for small buckles. Just by chance I was at the pet shop and walked by the collar section. A little more expensive, but I just needed one, for now. I need to find a better source. This time I used black and desert tan chord. Each color is about 4 feet long.

God Bless Yall!

Sunday of honoring The King and some Texas history

2009-03-15T13:31:00.000-07:00

This morning some friends and I went to Monument Baptist Church in Deer Park to visit. After church we went to the Monument Inn Restaurant.

This is a good restaurant. I recommend it if you're ever down that way.

While we were eating, we watched the ships go by. It was pretty neat.

After we ate lunch, we went over to the San Jacinto Monument.

We also passed up the Battle Ship Texas. We didn't go in. Darnit! I love that ship.

This is the murial on the side on a big tank at one of the chemical plants

I got some good pictures of old bowie knives, powder horns, rifles, flags and other great historical stuff. Then we went up to the observation floor. I took pics from all four sides.

God Bless Yall!

More Paracord bracelets

2009-03-14T19:50:00.001-07:00

I have been reading more Instructrables. I saw the one were the button is a monkey fist knot. So I thought, "Hey, a piece of antler would make a cool button." Turned out pretty neat I think.

Now I have to incorporate black and tan in this one some how. My friend Friday wants one with these colors.

God Bless Yall!

New Friction Folder

2009-03-13T06:34:00.000-07:00

I love friction folders. They can range from simple to very fancy. This one has a high carbon steel blade. Not sure of the content, but it is some agriculture implement steel. It hardened up nice. It was normalized three times and quenched once in veggie oil. The white tail deer antler is pretty unique.

I went with a twist in the tang on this one. The pin is mild steel with copper washers on the outside. It has brass washers inside.

I was going to offer this one up for sale, but I'm not sure now. I kinda like it.

God Bless Yall!

Finally on YouTube

2009-03-12T07:48:00.000-07:00

I uploaded a few videos to YouTube. I'll do some more later. These are the shorter vids. The longer vids I'll upload when I have time to tie up the PC for a while as they are pretty big files.

God Bless Yall!

It's been a wild ride

2009-03-12T06:12:00.000-07:00

In the last few days since the lay off, it's been a crazy few days. I've been doing a few odd jobs for friends and family, I've been going crazy making all these paracord items. Lanyards, bracelets and a watchband. I've done a few more that aren't pictured here. Made a few more knives.

A few of the paracord items I've made lately. The bracelet is like the one in this Youtube video.

The top blade will be for a friction folder. The bottom blade is going to be Shiney's new Critter Skinner.

I also uploaded some video from the forge. See them here WildcatOutdoorsTexas. I'll be making some bushcrafty videos soon.

God Bless Yall!

Another Friction Folder

2009-03-08T07:45:00.001-07:00

Since I have all this time time now. This is one of the knife projects that have been on the back burner for a while. I have the blade fitted to the handle. I'll forge out the tang and fit it all up. Hopefully we can get that rain the weather man is forecasting. Then I won't feel too bad firing up the forge. When this is done I'll offer it for sale.

God Bless Yall!

Layed Off

2009-03-08T07:32:00.000-07:00

Well, I've become one of the number of folks that have lost their job to all this economic junk going on. I guess now I'll have some time to make some knives, finish up some projects around the house and go fishin.

I have already received a few side job offers. Are they still called side jobs if you don't have a main job? I might be going into the handyman business. Now I need to think up a name for my handyman business. Any ideas?

Whatever happens, I know my Heavenly Father is in control. I look forward to see where all this goes.

God Bless Yall!

Shiney's Knife

2009-03-08T07:24:00.000-07:00

It's profiled. I need to harden it and clean up the shoulders. I've got a few others I'm going to profile and get ready for HT so I can do it all at once.

God Bless Yall!

Aluminum Tupperware...kinda

2009-03-07T13:26:00.000-08:00

The lady running the junk table said this was the aluminum version of Tupperware. I got it for two bucks. Thought it would make a neat container for stuff in the pack. Plus it is a neat bit of American history. When this sort of thing was actually made in America.

God Bless Yall!

My Gourd Cup is a disaster....

2009-03-03T20:05:00.000-08:00

Well, I was working on my gourd cup tonight. I got the handle all shaped and ready to fit up. I pre-drilled the holes. On the second pin, the gourd cracked. Ahhhh! Oh well. Learn from your mistakes and do it better next time. Time to start planting some gourd seeds I reckon.

God Bless Yall!

Paracord watch band

2009-03-02T19:14:00.000-08:00

I have been following Stormdranes blog for a little while now. I've seen his work for some time on CandlePowerForums.com. Then I found his Instructables.com tutorial. It is no where near as nice as his, but I think not bad for my first try. I'm gonna have to redo it anyway because one of the spring pins bent a little when pulling the chord tight.

You can see the wavieness (is that a word) in the chord. I also made it a smidgen short thinking it would stretch since it is nylon. Then the END of the tutorial says the chord could shrink as much as 10%. Darnit!

God Bless Yall!

Spring Creek on a beautiful Sunday afternoon

2009-03-01T18:01:00.000-08:00

We decided it would be a beautiful day to hang out at the creek, relax and let the kids play. So we loaded up and headed down there. Here we are under Riley Fuzzel bridge.

When we got there I started looking for fire wood and found a birch tree that was ready to give me some sap. This one was a willing candidate. Unfortunately, the sap started running down the tree instead of the tap about halfway thru the bottle. So I didn't get as much as I hoped. I didn't stay and watch it. I set it and forgot it.

We brought a few packs of hot dogs and buns. This is an excellent method of cooking them. The really cooked up nice. I used sycamore as the skewers.

By the time we got done doing hot dogs, marshmallows and all the other fun campfire stuff, it was time to go check the tap. I had just enough to make one cup of pine needle tea.

All in all it was a great day with my family and friends. I am truly blessed!

God Bless Yall

A new knife, well, sorta...

2009-02-28T14:45:00.000-08:00

My neighbor down the street (Shiny) is always on the look out for stuff. I asked him to keep his eyes open for an LB5, 6 or 7. He got this blade for seventeen bucks. Genuine American, Pre-chinese. The real deal. Thanks Shiny!

God Bless Yall.

Gourd Cup

2009-02-28T09:24:00.001-08:00

I saw this cup in "Book of Buckskinning II". I had a gourd left from last years vine. they didn't get big, so this one was perfect. I'll post pics when mine is completed.

God Bless Yall

Saturday morning garage sale loot

2009-02-28T09:18:00.001-08:00

When we moved 5 years ago, among the items that just mysteriously disappeared was my hand crank meat grinder. While on my Saturday morning garage sale run and picked up this Victoria meat grinder/sausage stuffer for seven bucks.

God Bless Yall

Eat the Weeds

2009-02-27T12:41:00.001-08:00

Wood Sorrel. You can eat this. Has a lemon taste. The experts say not to eat too much as it contains oxalic acid and that is not good in large quantities.

This is a nice Dandelion flower. The Dandelion has many uses.

Cleavers

Chickweed

Betony

Aloe Vera

Finally, a new camera

2009-02-27T11:44:00.000-08:00

I finally got a new camera. A Canon A590. I guess I'm gonna have to start a Youtube account now too. This thing takes nice video too. Well, nice enough compared to what I had before.
I stole this image from Canon

God Bless Yall

An afternoon at Spring Creek

2009-02-22T17:32:00.000-08:00

Sunday was such a beautiful day. I asked my lovely wife if she'd like to go to the creek with the kids and I, and she agreed. She has been reluctant to go in the past, but she has been coming around. She really enjoyed it and wants to go back.

While we were sitting on the sand bar watching the kids build a sand castle, I put my Imusa grease pot on the fire to boil some water for tea. It was a very nice way to spend the day with the family. You should try it some time.

On the walk in, I tapped two birch trees. Of course I forgot to take a pic of that. By the way, sorry for the crummy pics, these are taken on my cell phone. Both of these bottles were overflowing. I should have brought bigger bottles. The sap tastes like water, with just a hint of sweetness.

I think i'm gonna make a cup of woodsman's tea.

God Bless Yall

Casting Crowns: Slow Fade

2009-02-16T19:20:00.001-08:00

This is an awesome song and video...

God Bless Yall

Jesse Jones Park; Humble, Texas

2009-02-16T18:03:00.001-08:00

If you ever have a chance, you need to get out to Jesse Jones Park. They have a nice selection of activities for all ages. Check out the schedule of events. If you wonder who Jesse Jones is, you can read about him here.

One of my favorite areas in the park is Redbud Hill Homestead. There is a bread oven, log cabin, blacksmith shop. It's really neat.

There is also the Akokisa Indian Village. It is pretty cool too.

Normally the second Saturday in February Is Homestead Heritage Day. This year it was the first Saturday since the second Saturday was Valentines Day.

Go ahead and make plans to come out the second Saturday of November for Pioneer Days. I have not been to this event yet. If it is anything like Heritage Days, it is sure to please.

Take your family outside, get some Vitamin D, and build some memories that will truly last.

God Bless Yall

Cast Iron Dutch Oven Cooking

2009-02-16T16:30:00.000-08:00

This Saturday was a meeting of Merriwether and the Wethergirls with Wildcat and the Wildkittens. We met up at Jesse Jones Park for what I thought was going to be Homestead Heritage Day. Then we were going to catch the Cast Iron Cooking show. Well, I never was one to pay too much attention to some details. So I got the dates wrong. Homestead Heritage Days was the previous Saturday. We ended up going over to the park area to let the kids play. We then went on a small edibles walk. We couldn't let the kids have all the fun, besides, it was snack time.

After the snack walk, it was time for the cast iron cooking show. Here the living historian is starting the veggies cooking. He also cooked two cobblers that were absolutely delicious.

Time for the MEAT. Yeah!

The finished product. Boy was it good. It was hard to not help myself to a big ole spoonful.

Merriwether agrees, it's great. We both decided that we were breaking out the dutch ovens when we got home.

No need to worry about the leftovers going bad. There were none.

I plan on doing a special meal soon in my dutch oven. They are incredibly easy to use, safe and easy to clean. We had a great time, met some great folks that are into cool stuff like eating bugs, homeschooling and raising animals.

God Bless Yall

Friction Folder Knives

2009-02-13T20:57:00.000-08:00

I have loved this type of knife for some time. These two are my first attempts. One is all steel. The handle is mild steel. The blade is 0-1. The second is 1084 blade with whitetail deer antler. I've got some more ideas that I will try one day.

God Bless Yall

Ferrocium Fire Starting Rods

2009-02-13T20:11:00.000-08:00

This is my preferred method of starting a fire in the woods. I have been needing to add a loop for one on my Mora pouch for some time. So today I cut one out and piggybacked it on the back side of the sheath. You can also see me preferred method of attaching my knife to me. With a clip, I can attach it and remove it without taking my belt off and it can move around as I sit or stand, etc.

I should have made it longer tp cover more of the rod. Oh well, next time.

I used Aboyna Burl for the handle. I have enough for several handles. This is pretty cool wood.

God Bless Yall

Tools for Big Boys

2009-02-08T14:18:00.000-08:00

Today a friend of mine came over as he was on his way to the range. I got to hold a tool he uses at work. A real, live Heckler & Koch MP5. Telescoping stock, selector switch and all. It's not every day that you get to hold one of these in your hands and not have to worry about doing 25 years hard time in the big house. Look at the multiple red circles above the trigger. If you know what that means, then you know what I'm talkin about. This one is 100% honest.

I didn't even know he had it. We are planning a day a the range REAL SOON. How do you like my vintage NRA hat? Sweet!

God Bless Yall

More on the tanning process

2009-02-08T10:05:00.000-08:00

The hide has been soaking for a week now. I took it out this morning and started scraping the hair off.

Before

After
It took about 2 hours to get this far. I now understand why braintan hides are so expensive. It is alot of work to scrape these hides. It still has some hair around the neck area that would not scrape, so I put it back in the bucket to soak more.

The next step will be to stretch it on the rack to dry.

God Bless Yall

Hide Tanning - Making Rawhide

2009-02-01T10:34:00.000-08:00

A co-worker brought me a buck for meat and other projects. Since I didn't get one of my own this year, I was quite grateful. I have wanted to tan a hide for some time now. This is my first time to do this. So this weekend I got it out of the freezer to get started. It was already skinned, so that was done. Once it thawed out, I soaked it in a trash can with a mixture of ashes and water. It soaked over night.

Hide soaking in lye.

The next morning i propped it up on the beam to scrape all the goop off. I used an old file to scrape it. it worked okay. I need to make a proper scraper.

After scraping.

It is back in the tub to soak for a while till the hair slips off. I'll need to make a stretching rack thingy in the mean time.

I'm just planing on making rawhide from this hide.

If you have any suggestions or if I'm doing anything wrong, please let me now. I have been reading alot of material on PaleoPlanet and appreciate all the help I have received there.

I'll post the next steps, maybe next weekend.

God Bless Yall

Opinions on some Cups I have

2009-01-30T20:28:00.000-08:00

I'm always searching for the perfect cup. I have a small collection here. I just thought I would share my thoughts on the cups I have. Starting top left and moving in a clockwise direction...

My cup collection

1. Don't know the name of it. Got it at Bass Pro Shops a few years back. It fits on a "Nalgene" bottle perfectly. I really like this cup. It is kinda big, in my opinion, to be a drinking cup. It is more of a pot by my standards. I keep it in the pack under the water bottle in case I need to boil some water or cook lunch.

2. Black enamel cup. Kinda heavy. The handle is too short. Fingers get hot when drinking coffee.

3. Blue enamel mug. This is another big mug. big enough to cook in if need be. It also has a short handle.

4. Grey enamel cup. I really like this one and carry it on occasion. Holds a good amount of liquid and it stays warm. I found it in an old house and now it is enjoying it's life as a cup again.

5. Sierra cup. I snagged this cup at the Goodwill store for $1. I thought I had finall found the perfect cup. It seems to be pretty popular. One thing I like about it is the width. That gives more surface area so when you set the cup on the hot coals, it rewarms your coffee quickly. Unfortunately this is also the downside of the cup. The width makes it really easy for the liquid to slosh out. If it had vertical walls, that might make it better. For now it sits in the gear box.

6. This is a small SS cup I got at Academy Sports and Outdoors a few years ago. It is just about perfect, in my opinion. Well, it would be if the carabiner clip handle was just a tad bit bigger. It has a taller skinny profile that helps prevent spills.

Well, there you have my two cents on some of the cups out there. As time and funds allow, I'll add more cups and opinions about them.

God Bless Yall

Another Mora Knife

2009-01-30T20:17:00.000-08:00

I like Mora knives. They cut like crazy, they are not expensive and they are well made. I picked this one up at a local wood woorking retailer for $13. It is the 3.5" laminated model. The handle was pretty plain. The blade was extremely sharp. I didn't care for the plain barrel style grip though. So, I decided to add a little finger groove in the front. I also burnt the handle with a propane torch. After two weeks of cutting, carving and food prep, it is starting to get a nice patina on the blade. Of course I had to make the sheath more to my liking as well. I cut a small slot in the very bottom of the sheath. This will allow liquids to drain out. I also hooke a biner clip in the belt loop. I prefer dangle style sheaths, so this works better for me.

If you have a chance, I encourage you to get a Mora.

God Bless Yall

Maple Burl and Mora

2009-01-23T14:16:00.000-08:00

Makes a great combination. This one has birch bark and African Blackwood mixed in. The blade is the small carbon model. Sheath is veg-tan.

I have another Mora sitting on the bench. I also picked up some new wood at the wood shop. Some Bocote and Aboyna Burl. Can't wait to try them out.

God Bless Yall

BOHICA

2009-01-20T15:54:00.000-08:00

Get ready.

The next four years are going to be very intersting to say the least. Hopefully we don't go so far in toilet that we can never come back.

God Bless Yall

The Greatest Forum Ever (In my opinion)

2009-01-19T19:47:00.000-08:00

If you miss Outdoor Magazine Forums like I do, you can still read the archives HERE. You can search the archives. I hope that another forum comes along soon that can sorta take it's place.

God Bless Yall

Saturday on a sandbar

2009-01-18T06:20:00.000-08:00

Saturday I met Merriwether, Clark and one of my co workers at a new spot (to me) on Panther Creek. It was one of those sit by the fire and eat while the kids play in the sand kinda days. Of course we had to have a fire, what would an outdoor chat be without a fire. Once the fire was going good, Merriwether broke out his world famous stick bread mix. He made 4 loaves. It was a hit.

Merriwether with his bread mix

While he was making his, I started mixing up my batch. It was too loose to stick to a stick, so a can was cleaned and the dough went in. Set the can in the coals and pile up coals around the can to sorta make an oven. It turned out pretty good, though it could have cooked a little more in the middle. Merriwethers bread was quite good. I'm going to have to steal his recipe.

Both batches of bread cooking

Soup can oven

While all this was going on, I burned a few more cans to make some more hobo cups. Several folks have asked for one. I'll change them up a bit. I also boiled some creek water to make some cocoa to sip on.

After the meat and bread made it's rounds, I cut some bamboo in small sections to make a bird trap. It didn't work well in the sand. I would also suggest using something other than bamboo. The surface of the bamboo is too smooth and they slide on each other too much. The rough texture of tree bark would hold the trap together better. The trigger was made from a couple of twigs found on the sand bar.

Bird trap didn't get used, just playin around

It was a great time. Look forward to doing it again soon.

God Bless Yall

The Hobo Cup

2009-01-16T05:51:00.000-08:00

I made this cup from a soup can that I burned in the fire. I burned it till it was red pretty much all over then let it cool. After cooling, i scrubbed it with a Scothbrite pad and dish soap. The handle is made by twisting copper wire and then putting it thru a bone of a pigs leg. It works great and is sturdy. Hot liquids don't stay hot very long and the heat transfers thru the copper wire pretty well, but not enough to burn your hand. When drinking water, it has a sort of metallic taste. It makes a fun and unique project.

God Bless Yall

Another Hunting Trip

2009-01-07T14:07:00.000-08:00

I went hunting with Merriwethe r last weekend. It rained most of the day Saturday. Neither of us saw any deer or pigs.

I like to use a hammock. i got this one at gander mountain for twenty bucks. first thing i did was pull out all the paracord strands that made the ties. i replaced them with 1" polyester strapping. i sewed loops on each end of the straps and i use a real simple attachment to hold it to the tree. no knots to worry about untying the next morning. this pic shows my poncho rigged up over the hammock. It did a pretty good job of keeping the rain and the dew off.

Besides taking a hunk of skin out of my right leg with a 5 pound axe, it was a great weekend.

God Bless Yall

Happy New Year

2009-01-07T14:06:00.001-08:00

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-07T05:07:00.000-08:00

Please don't forget the reason for this season...

JESUS CHRIST

baking bread by the fire

2008-11-09T08:32:00.000-08:00

A friend and i went hunting this weekend. after cooking a nice pot of cajun rice, i broke out the bread mix. before leaving for the trip, i premeasured 1 cup of wheat flour, 1 tsp baking powder and 1/4 tsp salt. i put this in a sandwich bag. this is enough bread for two people when adding to a meal. to make it i added water to the bag till it felt like dough. keep kneading the mixture till all the lumps are gone. there are many ways to cook it. the method i used was this. i took a peice of oak bark and patted out the dough till it looked to be the thickness i wanted. i scraped some hot coals out of the fire and made a small pile. i took another log and set it right next to the hot coals. then i proped the dough bark board up against the log so the coals would be under the bark. now i have heat underneath the dough and the heat of the fire cooking from the top. it took about 30 minutes to cook this way. it turned out good. next time i will flatten the dough out more because it was still a little raw in the center. i was going to wrap it around a stick and make club bread, but i put too much water in it so it was a little too soft to wrap around the stick. oh well, always learning.

i also have to remember to bring the butter next time.

God Bless,
Wildcat

Fatwood

2008-11-09T07:58:00.000-08:00

fatwood is an excellent source to start a fire. it can be found in the stumps of old pine trees. look for a rotten stump. the bigger stumps seem to have a better concentration of the fatwood. you'll need a hatchet, axe or other strong cutting tool. when you find your stump, kick off the rotten wood. take your hatchet and cut into the top of the stump. if it is solid, you probably have some good fatwood. cut off a sliver of the wood and smell it. if it smells like pine resin, you are in business. if it smells like earth or dirt, keep chopping. it will also have a reddish tint to parts of it. this is where the highest concentration or resin is.

when you get the sliver off, cut a small piece out. find the reddish area and take your knife and scrape the sliver to make fuzz. you'll want a pile about an inch square, depending on your weather conditions.

once you have your pile of fuzz, take your lighting device and light it. i used my ferro rod and got fire on the first strike. now you can lay the rest on the fatwood sliver on the fuzz fire or if you already have your fire lay set up you can get your fire going.

Try it next time your out.

God Bless,
Wildcat

Fire from bark

2008-10-27T07:53:00.000-07:00

Birch bark that is.

Birch is a very useful tree. the bark can be used to make all sorts of useful items. one is fire. birch bark is full of oils that light easily. depending on your method of ignition, you need to collect a good handful of the top layers of bark. you don't have to cut into the bark, just peel the part that is hanging off.

if you are using a lighter or matches, you can just roll the pieces of bark up and light them and put them in your prepared fire lay. If you use a fire steel, you want to collect the very fine bark that is right up against the tree. i don't know the fancy word for it, i just know it is really thin and i can usually get a flame with one strike of the rod.

i don't know about the rest of the country, but in my area about the only place you see birch naturally is along river/creek banks. so, it may or may not be useful. it is just another bit of info stored in the memory bank for that day you may need it. next weekend i will try to do a post on getting fire from a tree that grow nearly everywhere.

God bless,
Wildcat

Finished the sheath

2008-10-27T07:50:00.001-07:00

i finished the sheath sunday. it is made with what i think is a moose antler tip and veg tan leather. i drilled the antler out so the blade slips into it. the leather wraps around the antler and holds the knife in and there is a dangler belt loop.

My new love, Puukko knives

2008-10-24T14:18:00.000-07:00

i just finished this one. it is a polar 3" carbon steel blade, elk antler spacer and stabilized fishtail oak. i have not made a sheath yet, probably sunday for that.