Category Archives: Miscellaneous

And here is the “catch all” category for stuff that doesn’t have its own.

SPL Antler Awl

by Woodsbum

Well, I am at it again. Rather than just being smart and building my own stuff I have purchased something from a craftsman to give me more project ideas. This time I picked up an awl made from a sail making needle and an antler.

SPL Awl

Not that I couldn’t have thought of this myself, but I never really saw anyone do this in a way that was memorable. I think he drilled a very small hole and just epoxied the needle into the antler. The important aspect of this is that I now have several ideas on what I should build for myself…… You will see some of these projects in a few weeks.

I have been using a Craftsman awl that came with a screwdriver set to poke the holes for my rawhide projects. When doing this I had to be really careful to not make the hole too big because the Craftsman awl has a fairly large shank/shaft/base on it and really isn’t made for what I was using it for. This will work much better. I do need to make some sort of a “sheath” for the pointy end before I end up sitting on it and giving myself a way to sew my butt crack together.

Steven also sent me some buttons he made and I should be getting a firesteel as well. The buttons are actually nice to see. I had been wondering how people did them.

Antler Buttons

These are just thinly sliced pieces of antler that have three small holes drilled in them. Nothing special for fancy, but I really needed to see how they were done. The core of an antler is not as strong as the outside so I was worried that there was some “magic” involved with the process to keep the holes from pulling through. Evidently there is not. Because I was not going to rush up to some other bushcrafter and stare at their buttons while out in the woods, I needed to get my hands on some myself. Important safety tip: Don’t rush up on a bushcrafter unannounced – they might be armed and almost always have a sharp knife.

I really love getting small project and craft pieces from people. By backward engineering their work I always get ideas for my own projects. Of course Steven’s work is impeccable, but I like to have ideas for ways to occupy my own time.

Again, keep checking back. I have a few ideas for some muzzleloading things made from antler now.

Possible Bag

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by Woodsbum

The art and skill associated with muzzleloading, particularly traditional designs, has become something of a scarcity in today’s world. The more I gravitate back to those older tools and traditions the more I see that there is less and less support available. Whether this is by design for by consumer preference that drives different industries doesn’t really matter. The symptom is the same either way. I end up having to build or modify my own gear 90% of the time.

Let’s take for instance my pursuit of an old school style possible bag. For those of you who are not sure what a possible bag is, let me elaborate. A possible(s) bag is used to store your odds and ends needed when shooting black powder firearms. These bags are designed to hang across your body with a strap and, in all reality, resemble a colonial purse. You could call it a murse for gun crap I suppose. The real problem I ran into while trying to find one that was “manly” enough and had a long enough strap was that most are built in Asia and designed for the average worker over there. If you are over 5’5″ tall, you no longer have a bag. You have a necklace.

At first I was going to build my own. I figure that it couldn’t be too hard to do. The old school shooters built theirs with less equipment and probable lack of Corona to drink while sewing. That means that I should be good, right?

Lucky for me I found a company that builds the items they sell on site and at a reasonable price. Most “custom” orders or “special order” bags I looked at were in the $180 – $250 range. October Country Muzzleloading hooked me up. A guy names John answered the phone over there, answered all my questions, and they added an extra 12″ of strap to my bag at no extra charge.

You catch that? No extra charge for the extra length strap.

The bag was ordered on Thursday morning. By Friday, the bag was already built and shipped. The special order bag was built the same day as being ordered and was in the mail the next day.

Here is the bag:

Possible bag with really long strap

As you can see, I kind of over guessed the length I need. When I told them 72″ long I thought that the very end of the strap would be 72″. They measured from the top most whole. This really isn’t a big deal because I know how to poke holes in leather and can cut the end if I need to. I probably won’t cut it and will just put stropping compound on the back of it so I can sharpen knives in the field. Either way, they definitely delivered.

I am not sure you can see from the pictures, but there are two compartments. The back compartment has a small pouch as well.

Back pocket

Here is the front compartment.

Front Compartment

I was actually hoping that this would have been bigger. When I read the description I was envisioning one big bag with purse type dividers in it. Instead it is two pouches that are kind of hinged at the top. Ultimately, I may like this design so I am not looking through my colonial murse when I need to reload my rifle. It is 5000x better than using cargo pockets, however. Loading this bad boy up will be a lot of fun tonight.

If I had to grade October Country’s product I would give it a solid A-. The bag is a little smaller than I thought, but the fit/finish push it back up to the grade I gave out. The company’s customer service, quality for price, and speed of build/shipping get a very enthusiastic A++. Over time I know I will love this bag for either the quality and/or the function. I realize this will happen, but at this time I am just a VERY small bit disappointed that it wasn’t just a touch bigger.

From what I can see on their website and after talking with John, I would have to say that October Country is a great source for your muzzleloading needs. When I take into account the way they treated me when I called, the order process, and everything else I have a sneaking suspicion that they probably know better than I do as to what size bag I should carry…… They are colonial murse experts, if you will.

In conclusion, I would not hesitate to call them for help again and plan to the minute I need additional assistance. At this point I am not only an enthusiastic supporter, but a happy customer. I strongly recommend them.

Willow Bark Tea

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by Woodsbum

I recently started using willow bark tea to help out with my constant ache and pains associated with the over abundance of injuries that I have sustained over the years. It doesn’t taste bad and when mixed with nettles and local honey, it is quite tasty.

The use of willow bark is not something that is new. Natives have used it for hundreds of years for pain relief. All you have to do is harvest the bark at the right time and then boil it up. Willow can be either ingested as a tea or turned into a tincture, so that is another option if you so choose. I have never used the tincture because the tea is perfectly fine with me.

Of the whole process, it is always the harvesting of the medicine that seems to be the rub. What you are looking for is the live, bendy twigs at the end of branches or year old saplings. Either way you want to gather it in spring when the twigs turn to a bright color and start to bud new leaves. Once you identify and harvest your willow bark, just take a vegetable peeler and strip off the bark. Don’t get any of the pith or your tea will taste funny. Also try to keep the buds out of your harvest.

Once you have your bark stripped, dry the bits out on a plate or bowl. I built a drying rack out of screen so that whatever I am drying does so more evenly. If you do use a plate or bowl just make sure that you turn it every so often to keep the bark from trapping moisture between the bark and the plate.

If you are having issues finding willow just take a trip down to your nearest river or stream. Here in the PNW, there tends to be a plethora of willow somewhere along every year round waterway. It won’t take too much of a hike to find. Worst case take a trip to Sauvie Island or walk along the Lewis River for a bit. When you get to the point where the brush and trees are too thick to navigate there is a high probably that willow is what has stopped your forward progress.

When you get ready to make your tea, I am much less than scientific. What I do is take what I can pinch between my thumb, fore and middle fingers and then toss it into a tea pot. After it whistles at me I remove it from heat and put in some local honey and let it sit for about 10 – 15 minutes. This allows the bark to completely soak and it seems to bring out the best flavor for the tea.

Now is time for the science of what willow bark does for you: From my research willow has a varying amount of salicin, which is an active pain reliever that is similar to aspirin. If you ingest too much salicin, it can do harm and even cause Reyes syndrome in much the same way that aspirin can.

Physicians Desk Reference for Herbal Medicines

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by Woodsbum

A few weeks ago I ran into an article that referenced the Physicians Desk Reference for Herbal Medicine. Considering my time in medicine and the fact that I work in a medical clinic, I was completely blown away by the fact that such a book existed. Of course I promptly went onto the Internet and purchased a copy. Here is a newer version of the edition that I purchased.

PDR for Herbal Medicines

From the onset, I was blown away by this book. The amount of information in this book makes it one of the most comprehensive collections of herbal medicine documentation I think I have ever seen. The edition that I purchased go so far as to touch upon the different preparations and parts of the plants that are used for different conditions.

By picking up this book as a supplement to several other herbal remedy sources, I am finally beginning to feel pretty comfortable with substituting this method of healing for Western Medicine. Of course each person’s results will vary, I am at least feeling much better than when I was relying upon chemical pharmaceuticals. If nothing else it would be a great reference if you were unable to get to a doctor for whatever reason.

Frontiersman Fanny Pack

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by Woodsbum

During the rainy season I tend to go through my gear and over analyze everything to the precipice of insanity. This time I have gone absolutely bonkers over the benefits of using belt bags/pouches. I am left with the nagging question, “To bag or not to bag?”

The type of bags I am talking about are as such:

Deepwoods Leather Belt Pouch

I know a lot of you are immediately thinking that I am just trying to find a way to make a fanny pack look “bushcrafty” and rugged. That is not the case – that I will admit to. The reality is that possible bags and belt bags like these have been used for hundreds of years by outdoorsmen. Adding something like this to my kit would be a great way for me to carry ammunition for my pistol and rifle, I can more easily carry fire starting gear, and it would be phenomenal for “snacks.” By “snacks” I don’t mean apples – I said, “snacks.” Even storage of a small hip flask would make this a worthwhile upgrade to my kit.

The problem I am having is in finding something that I like that doesn’t look like a woman’s purse or a small set of saddle bags. I already carry a Baldric setup for my MP Dire Wolf knife. Adding this has got to make things easier and not just give me a reason to carry more crap.

The alternative to a belt bag would be to carry a black powder possibles bag. These can easily be modified to carry my knife so that I don’t have to carry two items. The bad part is that I would have, without a doubt, a bushcrafting version of a murse (man purse). This doesn’t threaten my masculinity, but it does mean that I am one step closer to being considered either a hipster or a lumbersexual. Neither sits well with me.

When I am out tooling around in the woods, I really like to carry certain things with me. Since I am not one sold on the REI gear list is gospel concept, I do like to carry enough gear to get me though hard times if I need it. Such things that I carry are:

Medical supplies
Cordage
Fire kit
PSK (personal survival kit)
Ammo
Snacks
Water filter

Most else goes in my ruck, if I carry one. These items are just those that I like to carry on my person at all times. Having them hanging from my belt just seems like a great way to ensure I am never without.

It will take a lot more thought and trial before I commit to this addition. The functionality and convenience does make it seem like a good idea, however. If you see someone the size of a black bear wearing a black Wilderness shirt and a belt pouch it might not be a good idea to give me hell for the frontiersman fanny pack…. I am most certainly armed…….. Just saying.