Woodlore Blog

If the name Hywel Evans rings a bell, it may be because you saw the fantastic pictures of his hand-finished Julius Pettersson Knife that we posted on our blog earlier this year. Well, Hywel has been busy again, putting his new knife to use in carving his very own Kuksa cup.

The Kuksa, or Guksi as it is otherwise known, is a traditional style of drinking cup originating from the Sami people of Northern Europe, which is carved from wood. Here’s how Hywel made his:

Hi guys, just thought I would send you the making of my Kuksa cup for the Woodlore blog. I started off by cutting a large birch burl off a tree I found with a 5 ft cross-cut saw, the only real tool in my opinion that can cut such a large burl off a tree without using a chain saw. I trimmed down the outer bark with a small hatchet and soaked the burl in water for a while to remove some of the sap in the wood, making the drying process faster. I then drew around a cup on the flat side to produce a cylindrical outline:

The first step

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Woodlore customer Paul Savoie kindly sent in the following article and photos:

Dear Woodlore,

Over the past two years I have purchased most of Ray’s DVDs from a local Canadian supplier; I noted that Ray always seems to have his NATO Crusader Cup with him. Shown below are a few photos illustrating some of the modifications I have made to the BCB Crusader Kit. I found the “clip-on” BCB Crusader Cup Hanger to be a rather precarious arrangement and an accident waiting to happen when handling boiling water over an open fire.

I made a new hanger using 3 mm (1/8 inch) diameter 304 grade stainless steel wire with corresponding modifications to the Crusader Cup and lid. The notches on the cup’s rim/lip keeps the wire hanger upright and very secure (see photos below):

Richard Spencer, a Woodlore customer from Australia, kindly sent in the following post:

Dear Woodlore Team,

Having received the Fire Stick Rods from you, I had a bit of fun making handles for them:

Richard Spencer's Fire Stick, complete with gumnut handle

I used spent gumnuts. These things lie in their countless millions on the ground, in the woods and on the side of the roads where the gumnut trees grow. You’ve probably heard of them. They’re light, they float and they’re very tough yet easy to work with few tools. I used one tiny flat file and a bit of sandpaper to make this handle. There’s a small brass picture hook for a lanyard.

The gumnuts contain seeds which drop out, leaving these tough, smooth shells, which just beg to be used for other things.

They can be stuffed with cotton wool and after a few drops of aromatic oil, they’ll keep the car smelling fresh. If you soak them in paraffin then fill them up with melted candle wax, they make great firelighters.

Yours sincerely,

Richard Spencer

The following post was kindly sent to us by Woodlore customer Emma Wennersten:

Dear all at Woodlore,

I watched recently on the Discovery channel one of your Wild Foods shows, where you and the good Professor gathered food from the ocean (including sea buckthorn and seldom have I seen such unappetising goo…).

Anyway, when you got to the razor clams I was surprised to see you use salt to get them out. My boyfriend has been taking me to gather razor clams for years here in the west of Ireland and I didn’t even know you could use salt. What he does (and I, but I suck at it to be quite frank) is take a sharpish knife with a long blade (a breadknife is good) and walk very slowly up to the breathing hole that indicates that there is a razor clam.

You then slide the knife, not point first but rather the whole sharp side in and downwards towards where the clam should be. Start a good 2-3 inches away from the hole at least. You will feel the edge catching the clam shell, then all you have to do is dig it up – your knife pressing against it stops it from digging its way to freedom.

I am only writing this because at the time of that program at least, Ray stated that he wasn’t sure how our ancestors would have caught the razor clams. He may well have found out by now but this is the way we do it!

Emma Wennersten

You can see Ray’s method of gathering razor clams in the following video clip, taken from the BBC DVD Ray Mears Wild Food:

The following guide was very kindly provided by Woodlore customer and Camp Craft course attendee Martin Dryden:

Hi Woodlore,

Just wanted to drop you a line to say thanks again for sorting out the Wildlife Hatchet Axe Head for me. It took a little while to source some suitable Ash and to shape the handle, but below are some pictures. The axe head is a really high-quality item and was a pleasure to work with.

My Small Forest Axe (issued on the Camp Craft Course) made light work of the job of splitting the Ash log I had. The wedge is the Holly Glut I made on the course also, so it’s now served use again.

Fitting a new axe handle

Once in half I split them down into quarters, which gave about the right size I felt to work with. In retrospect, I may have been better splitting it into 1/6 rather than 1/4, but we learn by doing.

Fitting a new axe handle

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We’re often asked by customers about the Tarp Taut Hitch and other quick-release knots that Ray Mears and the Woodlore team use when pitching our tarps/hootchies; hopefully this post will help.

The knots which Ray uses to pitch his tarp are demonstrated in the following video clip:

The pitching of tarps using these knots is taught on a number of our Bushcraft Courses, including:

• Introduction to Bushcraft
• Family Bushcraft
• Fundamental Bushcraft
• Junior Fundamental Bushcraft
• Camp Craft

The following article was kindly written by Woodlore customer Martin Dryden. Not only is it a great review of the Hand Forged Knife Blade, it also serves well as a guide for those thinking of having a go at making their own knife handle:

Martin's finished knife

I’ve looked at the Woodlore knife for many years and loved the craftsmanship that’s gone into it. I also saw the episode of Ray in Julius Pettersson‘s forge, while he was making a knife. When I saw the Hand Forged Knife Blade listed on Woodlore’s shop I wanted the chance to make my own knife to try out some skills and hopefully do justice to it. I’d had a go with a knife kit before and this was very rewarding but I knew I could do better.

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The following post was very kindly sent to us by Woodlore customer John van Zanen:

Hi Ray and Woodlore Team,

After doing the Woodsense Tracking course this year I am keen on getting better and better at tracking. I bought one of the books that Jeremy recommended and can’t stop reading about the subject. This Tuesday I had a ‘father and son day’ and when I asked my son what he would like to do he said, “Let’s do some pace tracking.”

So, with only Monday to prepare, I had to come up with some markers for our pace tracking exercise. I went with my son and daughter to the chemists and bought 46 wooden tongue spatulas (the thing a doctor puts into your mouth when you have to say “Aah”) for the price of 2 Euro’s.

Then it was time to visit another chemist shop to buy some paint to colour the spatulas. I bought two tins of Dylon paint which is normally used for dyeing clothes. I used scarlet red (nr. 32) for the red markers and fluorescent green (nr.64) for the green ones (5 Euro’s for both tins).

At home me and my kids soaked the spatulas in the paint for about 10 minutes and after soaking we rinsed the spatulas to get rid of the redundant paint. For drying the spatulas we used a hair dryer. The kids could do all this themselves and were enjoying making their own kit. The wooden spatulas absorbed the paint quite nicely and it beats having to paint them one by one.

After drying the spatulas we rolled a water based no-colour finish on them so we would not end up with green and red hands after an hour of pace tracking. This really made a nice finish to our home made markers. They look great we think.

I’ve included a picture so you can see the result of our work. It might just be a good tip for anyone who has done the Woodsense course and wants to make some markers of their own. My son and his friend had a great time pace tracking yesterday.

John van Zanen, The Netherlands

John's son and his friend with their home-made markers

BBC Wildlife Magazine online

How do you become at one with the landscape and follow the animals that live there? Well, BBC Wildlife Magazine spent a day in the woods with Ray Mears and asked that exact question.

You can now read the full interview with Ray online, complete with useful tracking insights and stories from his past adventures, from the following link:

Ray Mears: How to track wildlife

If you’re interested in learning about tracking and giving it a go yourself, why not take a look at our Woodsense: Tracking & Nature Awareness course, or the Animal Tracks & Signs guide book.

The following guide has been taken from our Bushcraft Tips & Advice section, where we’ve also uploaded information on axe sharpening, how to care for leather products, and how to use a fire stick.

While this guide will no doubt help, the best way to learn how to sharpen a knife is to see it done in person. The safe use of cutting tools (including knife sharpening) is covered in our Fundamental Bushcraft Course.

The above video clip has been taken from the DVD extras of the Ray Mears Bushcraft Survival Series 1 DVD, while the following guide is an extract from the book Ray Mears Essential Bushcraft:

To sharpen your knife you will need a set of abrasive stones ranging from coarse to fine. At home you can indulge yourself with a set of large bench stones, while in the field you will need a small, lightweight alternative. Abrasive stones are manufactured from a wide range of materials. Ray’s preference is to use Ice Bear Japanese Waterstones which work fast and conveniently to give a razor edge. Use three grits – 800 for coarse, 1200 for medium and 6000 for fine. In the field carry a combination 1200/6000 stone sawn in half.

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