Hobo Tin Can Cooking set tested

Today I tested my diy Hobo cooking set.

Making all this stuff myself instead of buying it is great but I better test it out before I bring it into the field so today I tested the Hobo cooking set. Basically it is just a tin can to boil in (Billy can) and another tin can made into a woodburning stove. Instead of burning twigs in the stove I made a quick Buddy burner because I was affraid that wood would give to much smoke and may cause an alarm to my neighbours.
I decided to test it out in my shed.. that way I was outside but still sheilded from the wind and the eyes of curious neighbours.

So this is how the test went.. Boy was I in for a big surprise...

Once inside the backyard shed I put the stove on the concrete floor, lit up the buddyburner and putted it inside the stove, then I took the billycan, poured a bit of water in it and placed it on top of the stove.. Now I just waited for it to boil.

Soon I noticed that there was quite alot of smoke coming out from the buddyburner and along with it a terrible smell.   After just a few minutes it was asif I had entered the dark realm of Hades himself.. in other words smoke was everywhere, the smell was horrible and I even noticed that it was getting a lot warmer in my shed. I had turned my shed into a smokehouse. Instead of waiting for a boil I cancelled it and put the fire out.   Once I did that my girlfriend came and said that my neighbour came by to ask where all the smoke came from, worried that our shed might be on fire hahaha.
He need not to worry, that'll be the last time I burned anything in there.

The Result....

Hobo Tin Can Cooking set
Worked great and after cooling down there was no damage dispite the heat. I did not get the water to boil but after putting out the fire. the water was very warm. So what can I say; Screw all those pots and pans, this will do the job perfectly at no costs what so ever.

Buddy Burner
All you Bushcrafters and Survivalists out there, forget all you knew about making signal fires! Just bring a buddy burner with you... What a let down.. Yes this realy is a long lasting candle indeed but the smoke and smell makes it horrible. Not something I would like to be cooking on.

Pfeil wood carving knife

In my last journal entry I wrote that I do a lot of woodcarving and I have kept myself pretty buzy with making some decoration on my knife handles. Carving with kitchen knives and my opinel was sheer hell. It is so hard to make small details if you only have knifes with long blades. So today I went to the local craftstore and bought myself a Pfeil No 7 carving knife.

The length of the blade is only 37mm (1.5 inches) and the handle is made of beech wood.

The blade somewhat looks like a scalpel and it seems to be just as sharp. Naturally I immidiatly tried it out and I love it allready.

I'm not to sure as to what type of steel is used for the blade but I think it's carbon.. which is good.
Got myself a nice tool for just 9.55 euro's.

Yes I will take this small knife with me when I head out into the unknown, I will add it to the list of gear I will be taking with me.

The selfmade leather shoes

I have wrote about these shoes before but I feel like I should give a bit more detail about how I made these and why I made them in the first place.

When I decided to make these shoes I already had some sewing experience.. Repairing my own clothes, repairing my kids stuffed animals and even making my own clothing however this turned out to be something totally different.. Making my own shoes turned out to be a lot of hard work.
I got the leather from a jacket I bought years ago. I was not going to take the jacket with me on my journey so why not use it and make something useful out of it. It was somewhat of a motorcycle jacket, made out of black leather.

I looked for patterns online and I found a pattern for Anglo Saxon shoes on some reenactment website. No printer so I had to drawn it myself using my bare foot as a measurement tool. And then I start cutting.. no problems there. It's when I started hand stitching when I really ran into problems. I was used to stitching cotton, fleece and wool but this was a lot harder to do, at some moments I almost gave up. Broken 3 needles, fingertips were all sore and had scratches. But after 6 days the shoes were finished and the results are on the pictures below. If you look closely at the pics you'll see that each shoe is made out of a single piece of leather. The white inner layer is fleece for comfort and warmth.

So do they fit nicely? Hell yes!
If I wear these and put on socks as well then they become to warm for comfort when I'm inside. Wearing them feels like wearing slippers but they do a pretty good job as shoes. Some time ago I was walking these in my garden while it was snowing. There was snow everywhere and I expected the shoes to have no grip at all since they are "sole-less", I was in for a big surprise. Not only did I have enough grip, I also realised that they were completely waterproof.
My ancestors most likely were not Anglo-Saxon but "Germanic" Saxons.. Still they would wear the same type of shoes or at least the design would look familiar to them. Wearing them gives me the same feeling as a Native American who puts on Moccasins for the first time, or a Greek wearing ancient Greek sandals... a sense of patriotism..

When I head out I will be wearing typical, common sneakers, They are alot better when your cycling because of the pedals. But I'll be carrying these Saxon shoes in my bag for later use, when the adventure truly starts. Enjoy the pics.

 

Some of my recent DIY projects

As you all know by now I am a creative spirit.. I love to build things from scratch and I made alot of things in the period when I was without a compact camera so I could not show you all of the projects I was working on. Now that I do have a camera I just had to show you some of the items.

Well here ya go.. I'm sorry about the dark picture and the awful colour of the background :)

Let's start with the shoes.. I got the pattern from a website that was about early medieval reenactment. The pattern apparently was for making (Anglo) Saxon shoes. I made them from sturdy, black leather that I got from an old leather jacket (Grease style) and I used soft fleece for the inner layer which feels better on bare feet. If you look closely you'll see that there are 4 holes in each shoe for short laces but those are not necessary as they fit perfect. Making these shoes was hell and it took me quite some time.

Then there is the Boomerang. I did not make the boomerang myself. I bought it but I didn't like the plain wood design so I got myself some paint and this is what it turned into. Traditionally boomerangs were used for hunting birds but I will use it for fun out there (though I might give it a try).

Between the boomerang and the shoes lays a small Pipe that I did make from scratch. From leftover wood to be more precise. It was fun to make and I made it without power tools and as you can see I do use it. Despite the fact that I want to quit smoking I will take it with me. I want to quit being addicted to tobacco but I will continue on herbal smoking (No, I don't mean cannabis). As you can see I was inspired by Native American pipes but it is in no way meant to be a peacepipe.

Finally on the left there are 2 bags I made.. On the top a simple bag with a circular design, In it are items to make incense (another recent hobby of mine). And on the bottom is a rectangular bag that was inspired by (again) Native American tobacco bags.

Well that's it for now, As you can see I have not been sitting still. Finally below is a more detailed picture of the boomerang and how it looked when I got it.. Take care now everyone!

 

Wooden turtle into bowl

It was about time to test my crooked knife..

Last year my family in law went on holiday to Gambia and when they returned home they gave 'us' some wooden Gambian crafts including a set of small wooden turtles..

Jeezz.. thanks guys.. you don't have to do that.. realy, you don't....

Anyhow, So yesterday I took my crooked knife, the turtle and turned it into a bowl. I have no idea what type of wood this turtle is made of but it is very soft and the knife goes threu it like butter. It was a fun project. I won't be using the bowl, it's to small but it was a fun test project.

The items list

Here is a list of all the items I will take with me on my journey, this list may change over time and several items may be added or removed. Not all of these items will go in my backpack, some will be attached to my bicycle and others are small enough to fit in my pockets.
Items that are crossed are last minute/late cancellations

Tools

Mora Companion knife
Opinel folded knife
Mora Crooked knife
Pfeil Carving knife
Awl
US Engineer Compass
Bicycle repairkit
2 needles
black sewing thread

Clothing

Fleece Pants
Military parka
Military winter parka undergarment
Camo Tshirt
pair of socks
winter gloves
Winter sweather
Shemach
DIY simple leather shoes
Pair of boxershorts

Fire

2x Firesteel
About 15 lighters
Box of matches
Baggie filled with charcloth
Baggie filled with Vaseline cottonballs
Some Charcoal
Small bag with tinder

Water

Military Canteen
500ml plastic water bottle
2.5ltr water bottle

Shelter/Sleeping

Military grade Poncho
Wool? Blanket
some Rope
Pillow sheet
LED camping light

First Aid/Hygiene

some Bandaids
Bandage
5x Paracetamol
Anti-musquito stick
Labello stick
Bottle with medical alcohol
Tigerbalm
Disposable razor


Eating

Set of small wooden chopsticks
DIY Tin can (Hobo) kitchen set (Stove + Billycan)
2x buddy burner

Food/Drinks

1x instant soup bag
4x cup a soup
1x  noodles
250ml bottle filled with homemade fruit juice
Small bag of Rice
Small bag of Pasta's
Small bag of Flour
4x bouilon cubes
Little bits of Sugar, herbs and salt
Trailmix
Some dried meat
Some dried veggies & fruits
small amount of Coffee
5 Teabags
2x Tuna in a tin
some vitamin tablets
Few slices of bread

Fishing/Hunting etc

Crosman 2240 airgun + Shoulderstock
.22 airgun pellets 250x
about 10 Co2 cartridges
10 fishing hooks in several sizes
Fishing/trapping line.. lots of it
various Fishing leads
1 Float/Bobber
5 softbait lures, various types
a Sling
1 DIY fishing lure

Other
2 Very small size pocket torches (disposable)
Wooden Boomerang
Book: the Hobbit
Book: on Greek mythology
Book: DIY Field manual
Several plastic bags
Roll of duct tape
1 candle
1 charcloth/coal making tin
Some pens and a pencil
Some olive oil
Aluminium foil folded into a small package
Compact camera
Small bag for camera
Extra disposable batteries for camera
Extra SD memory cards


Note:
Bringing one pair of pants for example seems a little weird but remember that I will be wearing pants already when I leave (and a tshirt, socks etc) so I'm actually bringing 2 pants with me :)
Also it's clear to see that all this stuff weights alot after cycling and hiking for miles and miles. But the longer I'll be on the road the less it will start to weigh. Food gets eaten, lighters get empty and from time to time I will get rid of stuff.

Crosman 2240 and Airgun hunting

Today I wanted to talk about my 2240 and how I will use it for small game hunting

I bought my 2240 with a shoulder stock, a pack of co2 cartridges and .22 hollowpoints a few years ago and I bought it for one reason only; to hunt with. 

Warning: some of the following pictures contain images of shot animals and may be considered shocking.. even though I highly doubt it..

About the Crosman 2240
The 2240 is a bolt action airgun that shoots .22 (5,5mm) pellets, It's a Co2 pistol that with the help of a shoulderstock becomes more of a rifle. But there are a lot of accessories available for this nice crosman. It's great for plinking but it packs enough power for small game hunting such as rabbits and squirrels.

but I have to be honest and tell you that it has a few disadvantages..  Dispite it being pretty accurate with such a short barrel the open sights are horrible so buying a scope will be a good idea, however the 2240 has a plastic top/breech so that has to be replaced with a metal one making the 2240 cost you twice as much. The simple facts that it uses Co2 cartridges as the power source can be a problem for some, Not only do you have to buy both ammo and Co2 in order to shoot it you also have to count the number of shots you fired (so you know when the Co2 is running on empty). The only other disadvantage I can think of is that it's quite loud for an airgun.

a modded 2240

The best thing about the 2240 in my opinion is it's size, even with the shoulderstock it's quite small and portable. This thing is also very cheap and it's sold at Pyramidair for $57.95 and airgun enthusiasts often buy this cheap "toy" in order to convert and upgrade it into something awesome.

Airgun hunting.. the ups and downs

When it comes to hunting many people consider airguns to be toys for kids while firearms are for the big guys. however hunting with airguns is just great because they are usually cheap and silent. when you shoot you don't scare away nearby prey and when you use it for pest control in you backyard you are not annoying the neighbours, when you miss, who cares.. a pellet costs near to nothing.

 

Airgun hunting gains popularity but it is not aloud everywhere so be sure to first check out what your local law has to say about it. In my country for example I am not aloud to hunt with an airgun, even if it's for pest control (sure, i have shot several birds in my yard, just don't tell anyone ;) ) When you pick an airgun be sure to buy one that does the job. Some airguns are too weak to even kill a small sparrow while other airguns are powerful enough to kill a big moose (no joke!) so that would be overkill for rabbits. 

 

When you've picked a perfect airgun it's time to buy the perfect ammo. Choosing the right ammo is an important part when it comes to hunting. Pellets come in many different shapes, weights and calibers, most airguns shoot either .177 or .22 pellets and there''s an old saying.. ".177 for feathers, .22 for fur".. in my opinion you can shoot birds with a .22 but shooting a rabbit with a .177 often ends up just hurting the animal, not a good idea.

Just some of the most common pellet shapes

 

When it comes to the shapes of pellets remember that most shapes are ok for hunting. the most common pellets are wadcutters (above pic on the left) these can be used for hunting but are meant for field target, the best pellets in my opinion are hollowpoints and the worst being round balls that look just like bb's they tend to be very inaccurate and the often destroy the inside of the barrel. there are also pellets made exclusively for hunting. experiment a little and find out what works best for you.

 

Bird hunting.. guns appear to be Gamo's

 

For more information about airgun hunting check out these websites

http://americanairgunhunter.com/

http://airgunhuntingforum.lefora.com/

 

The List of stuff 2 make (done)

This is the list.. here I will write down all the items that I still need to buy before I head out into the wild, some items are more important then others. Another part of the list are items that I still need to make, usualy I only buy stuff that I can't make on my own.

This list will be updated often..
Stuff 2 Buy

• Military grade Poncho  got it
• Walking/hiking shoes  made it myself
• Compass  got it
• 2nd Firesteel  got it
• Opinel folding knife  got it
• small Axe (optional)   didn't have enough space

Stuff 2 Make

• 2nd pair of shoes (made of thick leather, somewhat medieval styled, nearly finished)  done
• Pants (Made of fleece for wearing under regular pants on cold days, nearly finished) Bought one
• A 3rd sling (made of yute twine and leather pouch) decided bringing one was enough
• Winter hat (made of fleece and wool, nearly finished, looks somewhat mongolian)  done
• Fire piston (optional)  failed
• Collapsable Tin can cooking set  done
• Longsleeve undershirt/tunic  (fleece)  decided i wouldn't need it, had plenty of warm clothes
• Groundsheet (made of any flexible, waterproof material)  Wouldn't need it
• Small saw (out of a kitchen knife, nearly finished)   failed
• Dreamcatcher (not important, just a fun project)  done
• Gloves (using old gloves and add a second layer for warmth)  Waste of time, use old ones instead
• wooden Boomerang (mainly for fun)  kinda tricky to make, bought one instead

Update:
It is now the 21st of februari 2013 and this list is done and won't be updated anymore. I would love to make more items that would be usefull for my future journey but I'm running out of time for such projects. I have all I need to make it out there.

About my Mora knives

I have two knives that I will bring with me into the bush made by Mora in Sweden.
The first is the Mora Companion (basicaly a new version of the Clipper) and the Mora 164 Crook knife.



























The Mora/Erik Frost 164 crooked knife
I buyed this knife soon after I bought the Companion because it's a useful item for making crafts such as bowls and spoons. it's a great tool and it looks great and feels great aswell. The curved blade is made of carbon steel which makes it easy to sharpen, but I haven't felt the need to do that for now.

The Mora Companion
I will use this as my average Bushcraft knife.. For making tools, preparing food and fish and as an axe to chop down small trees and it has countless other uses... If I would have to enter the wilderness with just one of my tools it better be this knife. There are multiple versions of this knife and mine is the MG version with carbon blade. to learn more about it watch this great review/test video I found on the net

 

I highly recommend these knives and all other knives made by Mora.. For the quality they are ridiculously cheap and they are sold in many outdoor shops.

Why not take a visit at their website.. http://www.moraofsweden.se/

The Ancient art of Slinging

Ahhh.. the Sling.. my favorite ancient hunting weapon..

People started making slings during (perhaps even before) the Neolithic period as a hunting device but later on during the bronze age peoples such as the Greeks started using them in war and it stayed that way until the dark ages. Nowadays the Sling is used mostly for recreation by few people and it is the national sport of the Balearic islands near the coast of Spain but there are probably still tribes around the world using it as a hunting weapon. Sometimes they also show up in conflict areas such
 as Palestine.

So what is a Sling?
Well, it is nothing more but a pouch with 2 pieces of string connected to it on either side. A stone (or other projectile) is put in the pouch, then by swirling the sling around and letting go at the right time the stone will fly away in a surten direction. The Sling can be considered the ancestor of the Bow.

Types of Slings.
A sling can be constructed in many ways but usualy it involves some type of braiding. But making a sling is pretty easy.. is you can braid someones hair, you can make a sling.. It can be made with most types of string/rope, The one I have made is made from sisal twine but wool is also fine.
If braiding isn't your cup of tea then using 2 shoelaces connected to a piece of leather will do just fine.

Types of Ammo
Round stones from riverbeds is what ancient man used most but after a while people started to use lead by casting it in special molds, the greeks were famous for this. But basically anything that is somewhat round or coneshaped and that has some weight to it can be used as ammo.
There are also items that can be used as safety ammo since slinging rocks can be quite dangerous and you might accidently hit others or even yourself. That's why many people use golfballs.. being hit by a golfball hurts like hell but it wouldn't kill you. I personally use potatoes alot when i'm out slinging in a nearby park or forest.. it's quite fun.

Slinging History
What is amazing to know is that most ancient civilizations have used the sling no matter what continent they are from. Want a quick list of some of these civilizations?
Sure..: The Greeks, The Romans, The Aztecs, The Apache, The Celts, The Saxons, The Egyptians, The Assyrians, The Rodians, The Minoans, The Iberians. And the list goes on and on.. It almost seems asif every country in the entire world has had their own slingers with Australia being the only exception.

Slinging as a sport.. The benefits..
Archery is a very populair sport worldwide while slinging is practiced by the few.
Making a sling is easy and the materials you need to make one are cheap. Ammo for the sling (when using rocks) is even free.. compare this with a bow.. But a sling has one important drawback compared with the bow. Learning to sling takes alot longer then learning archery.. hitting the bullseye of a target takes a long time with a sling, even from a short distance.. the bow clearly wins when it comes to accuracy.

If you want to know more about slinging visit www.slinging.org It's one of my favorite websites and it's full of info when it comes to slinging and it has many tutorials on how to make slings.

The making of a Billy can

Well, a very simple billy can in this case. but one that does the trick.. pioneer style :)

All I need was a tin can, a piece of metal wire and pliers

All the stuff you need

 

Making 2 opposite holes near the top

 

 Shaping the metal wire into a handle

Finito!..

 

Now I have some to cook with or boil water in for cleaning water or one of the other tons of uses.

I have honestly no idea how long this can will last, this ain't no thick, stainless steel cooking pot but this is how it was done in the old days and I seem to be some kind of a traditionalist. If it breaks down it realy isn't such a big deal, I could easily make a new one from all the rubbish people leave behind in the forests.. it's a curse and a blessing at the same time

What does your survival kit looks like?

Buying and making a survival kit is a very important and very fun part of bushcraft, survival and even prepping.
Some people like to buy survivalkits.. i'm not one of them.. they are always stuffed with items we do not realy need. also if I would head into the desert I want different items then when I go into the tundra

 

 



The above picture is just your average commercial survival kit.. let's have a look inside..

1. Apparently this is supposed to be the poucht that contains all the items, kinda hard to see on this photo
2. A plastic bag designed purely to hold water.. nothing wrong with that.
3. A musquito headnet.. since there are multiple ways to keep clear of musquitos (including making a simple smokey fire) this is quite pointless
4. Emergency poncho.. A poncho is very usefull for keeping yourself dry in the rain and you can use it to keep the inside of your shelter waterproof. However, military ponchos are made to keep you dry and to make a tent out of it! better go for that.
5. Emergency space blanket.. Great item to stay warm in cold climates and it reflects in the sun so it's easier to find you. unless you don't want to be found like me. other then that.. useful item!
6. Emergency sun glasses. could be usefull to prevent snowblindness. but take a flat piece of wood or bone, make two slids and you have something against snowblindness. If the Inuit can do it so can you
7. Stailess steel cup for boiling water or food.. Usefull item
8. SAS Survival book.. Crap item.. If you need a book to teach you skills you're doing something wrong. If you buy such a book read it and read it again so you memorize the most important skills. Watching survival videos (see how it's done) or taking a survival class are also more usefull then a book. Also this is a SAS Survival book.. The SAS is a military organisation meaning that this book is filled with military know-how useless for the common man.
9. According to the website this box has various items for fishing, sewing and it's a first aid kit.. Good job!
10. A Multitool.. rather this item is usefull or not depends on what's inside.. which I don't know
11. 150 yards of fishing line.. great for fishing, trapping, sewing.. you name it
12. Apperently these odd looking things are soft worm baits for fishing. usefull for bigger fish. despite the fact that I would take a different, smaller design.
13. Soft brass snare wire.. Why.. you already have good strong fishing line
14. Emergency whistle.. just learn to make them in the wild. which has been done before.. less items is good.
15. More thread.. Good!
16. Folding utility knife. Sure, the more knives the better
17. Cheap lighter.. Just one? realy?..
18. Measuring tape.. Why?
19. 2 rolls of mini Duct tape. Very important item with many uses.. tool making, shelter building, bandage..
20. Compass and mirror combi. Great item despite that I would rather go for button compasses.
21. Fresnell lens for fire starting.. Not my way of starting fires but ok
22. Firesteel. Best item in the kit..
23. Water tablets for cleaning water, usefull but only with dirty, smelly water. If that's not the case: Boil it!
24. Bobbers.. A joke right? Nature provides you with good working bobbers, they're called sticks! If you do prefere something more fancy make it on the spot, I have done that before.

 

So what does my survival kit contain? Well, I don't have one haha.  And with good reason. I'm not preparing for a quick wilderness trip for a week. I'm planning to stay for years, maybe until the end of my days so I would need an altoids tin (or 2) for fire making material alone. So having a small, portable survival kit is pointless in my situation.

Glass knapping

Among all the rubbish on youtube there are some videos that can teach you alot. Some time ago I was walking the country side and I found a path made of small stones, rocks and gravel. some of the stones were shining in the sun like glass and I realised that those stones might be flint and I always wanted to try some flintknapping. dispite the fact that the stones were rather small I decided to give it a try and I brought kilo's home with me. I tried flintknapping and it didn't work. So I tried to find flintknapping tutorials on youtube to see what I did wrong. Lot of usefull stuff but then I found a video about practicing with glass. so I tried it and I got myself a nice arrowhead.

After trying glassknapping for a while I realised 3 things

1- Glass is not as durable as flint, it breaks more easily
2- Glass is easier to work with then flint
3- Glass is easier to find in nature (bottles, rubbish) then flint.. I know it shouldn't be.

Also some things are better to make out of flint then out of glass. A (hand) axe for example. The more I practice the better I get at it and it is a fun skill to learn aswell

My wilderness living stuff

Here are some pictures of all the stuff i'm hoping to take with me when i'm off living in the wild. Some of the items are simply usefull in order to survive but I also pack items that will help me fight boredom and some items simply have an emotional valeu. There's a lot of stuff that I bought and also stuff that I made myself since i'm the creative type of guy. I also realise that I might not be able to bring all of this stuff with me because I will be travelling by bicycle and i'm not an athlete. I now realise that buying the 100 liter Alice backpack probably was'nt such a great idea if I better travel light.

What a mess! So what do we have here?.. All of the stuff lays on top of a (modern) German military jacket that I bought to keep me warm during the colder seasons, The blue book is about Greek mythology for entertainment. The map seems usefull and an important thing to bring along but it's just a map of Holland and a small part of west Germany which is not that great. there's also a fishing rod, shemach, russian military t-shirt, waterbottle, a sling and smaller stuff.

When it comes to finding food i will rely on fishing alot since I have some experience with fishing.. this picture shows my fishing kit. since this pic was taken I bought alot more fishing gear such as fishing leads, more hooks but laso more fishing rods. this picture also shows my bushcraft knife, a Mora compaignon.

another detailed shot

This picture shows my airgun (don't wanna eat fish all the time) it's a crossman 2240 with a shoulderstock (not on the pic) It shoots .22 (5.5mm) pellets and it's perfect for hunting rabbits and similair small game. it has it's drawbacks.. I find it hard to be accurate without a scope and it's powersource are co2 cartridges, so once all my co2 bulbs are empty I might just as well throw the piece away even if I still have pellets. But I am experienced with airguns and it's small so I might aswell bring it with me.

 

 

These pictures are just to give you an idea of the stuff I'll bring with me once I leave home. There are a few very important things that are not on these pictures such as a fleece blanket and food.. During the early stages of my journey I will travel through Holland and Germany where it's illegal to hunt and fish without a license and I want to obey the law as good as I can. but I still have to eat  so I will be packing food that's easy to cook and that will keep me going such as rice, pasta's, cans of tuna and such