Making a Bushcraft Knife – Part 5

Posted on 23/08/2017 by Ray-H

While trying to decide what wood to use for my handle I got to thinking about adding my makers mark to the blade, after watching many videos on YouTube I spoke with Ben Orford about some etching tips and my knife blank found itself in the post heading down to Ben's as he was doing a batch of etching which would include putting my logo onto the blank.

etching_knife_blank

I now have the fixings for handle and have decided on using a stabilised wood for the handle (possibly oak) with a forest green liner. I want to shape some more handles on ready made blanks to get a bit more practice at profiling handles before working on this one, I will share a few of these in a future post.

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Sorry for the Silence

Posted on 07/07/2016 by Ray-H

The past year has been a bit rough, I was made redundant and while trying to find work again I was not in the right place to write any posts or edit the few podcasts I have recorded.

I stared a new job back in May and now I’m ready to start picking up where I left off.


If you have any suggestions or questions please get in contact through the Facebook page

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Sealskinz Mid Weight Mid Length Sock

Posted on 03/03/2016 by Ray-H

Wet feet are not fun, I had a pair of walking boots that had a hole in them and anything deeper than half an inch resulted in a soggy boot for the rest of the day. I was saving up for a new pair of boots and was sent a pair of Sealskinz Mid Weight Mid Length Socks by Blacks to review.

sealskinz-socks

I have had these now for 2 years and have taken them with me on trips to Hungary, Norway and Sweden, as well as all over the UK. With my holey boots I was able to enjoy being out when it was wet, yes I still had a soggy boot until I managed to get new boots, but now my feet were remaining dry and I was feeling happier at the end of the day.

I got myself a second pair to allow for changing during the day on long walks and when winter camping in the mud on a scout camp to rotate through them. By the nature of keeping water out I found that they kept sweat in, so I would advise bringing some foot powder and comfortable socks to change into at the end of the day. As the old saying goes take care of your feet and they’ll take care of you.

Given that I have already added a second pair and I am looking at getting another pair in the future, I would and do recommend Sealskinz socks for anyone who spends time in the outdoors.

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Snugpak Sleeka Elite Jacket

Posted on 16/10/2015 by Ray-H

I have been using the Snugpak Sleeka jacket provided by WebTogs for just over 6 months now and it is an item that has become part of core my outdoor kit. It has been on several trips in the UK and came with me on my trip to Norway & Sweden earlier this year, I have found it to be a versatile item of kit and it is fast becoming an item of clothing that will come on many future trips.

Snugpak sleeka-elite-jacket green

Just like Snugpaks Softie Elite sleeping bags this jacket is very efficient at keeping you warm, while walking around Oslo with tempatures just above 0°C I was comfortable with just a shirt under the jacket. It was a nights wild camping next to Lake Rodjen where the jacket cemented its place in my kit for future trips. When the sun went down and the tempature plummeted, the Sleeka jacket kept me comfortably warm. Placed inside a dry bag it made a great luxurious pillow (who says you don’t have to be comfortable while roughing it) and it the morning after a invigorating plunge in the lake (there was still ice on the water on the far bank of the lake) played a big part in warming me back up while eating a ration pack breakfast and drinking pine needle tea.

Camping in Sweden

Since then it has been on all but one trip I have been on and the trip where I did not bring it I spent most of the time regretting it. So with the colder weather on its way this jacket will get more use over the coming months, so if you are looking for a new jacket to stay warm during Autumn and Winter a Sleeka jacket from Snugpak will see you right.

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Sungpak Underblanket

Posted on 14/10/2015 by Ray-H

Shortly after getting my DD Camping Hammock I made the decision to buy an underblanket, I had been using a sleeping pad between the two layers of the hammock and found it a little bulky when sleeping. I looked at a few underblankets and decided to purchase the Sungpak underblanket, the service from DD Hammocks was great as always (DD Hammocks no longer stock the Snugpak underblanket as they now have their own version).

My first thought was how do I attach this to my hammock and I tried various methods of attaching the underblanket over two years until I found Dutch Ware Clip On Quilt Hooks and Quilt Hangers, now my underblanket is very easy to attach or remove and does not slide out from underneath me in the middle of the night.

Dutch clip

So I no longer find myself waking up in the middle of the night with a cold back and having to move everything back into place to feel the benefit of it. Why are attachment methods like this not included with underblankets? The simple answer would be each persons hammock setup is different, so it’s not a one size fits all solution.

DSCN0796

Back to the underblanket, the outer is made from paratex light fabric and is filled with softie premier to reflect and trap heat proving a comfortable well insulated nights sleep. It packs down pretty small and takes up the bottom third of my pack 23×24 cm and weighs 1320g if you count the weight of all your kit. In the future I hope to add the Sungpak Hammock quilt to my setup in the future to compliment the Underblanket.

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