Do any of you guys dabble in this sort of thing?

You know, like flint-napping, shelter building, hide tanning, making cordage or whatnot?

I'm starting to take an interest in these old skills for no other reason than they fascinate me.

It's kind of amazing what Indians could accomplish with a rock.

Not as much as I would like. I have some suggestions for you, however. For flint-knapping, check out Primitive Archer. One of the better knappers out there right now is an archery from AL (Billy Berger). He ought to be easy to meet up with for you.

There are a wealth of resources out there, and a lot of charlatans as well.

Was sitting in the living room floor on a really nice rug the other night practicing primitive fire making skills during the game.

GF walked in and damn near left me based on her opinion of my crazies. Well bye!

Guess it was a little nuts BUT I am a genuine REDSKIN!!

Is pulling out a primitive skill?

I'm guessing the loin cloth did it.

I remember some MS-DOS commands...

Zing!



all my skills are pretty damned primitive.

but back to HAJ, no I don't, but yes I wish I did. Would love to have even better bushcraft than I have currently

That is an impossible skill. Leastwise, to master.

I'm on child number 3. Obviously I lack this skill.

I have taught myself a little flint knapping. I don't do much of the other stuff you mentioned. The flint knapping is enjoyable, but it can be very frustrating.

Get someone to help you get started. Teaching myself was definitely the hard way to go and not something I would recommend or do again.

Watching you tube videos can help but most of the guys move so fast you can't follow their progress. They also don't tell you what they are doing and why. Still fun to watch and after you understand knapping, much of what they are doing will make sense.

Starting out with glass is a cheap and easy way to try this primitive skill without much investment. The tools are easy to make and protection is just gloves, leather scraps and safety glasses.

I'm not anywhere as good as I want to be, but if you are ever around Statesboro, GA, I can get you headed in the right direction and tell you some things to watch out for. Flying pieces of razor sharp flint or glass being two of the most important things.

My Brother and I also host a Georgia Knifemakers Guild meeting in February. We usually have a flint knapper come to the meeting to do demonstrations and teach the craft. If you are interested, the meeting is open to anyone and the cost is the price of lunch.

Number 3? Really?

I need to pay more attention. Congrats buddy!

Variety is the spice of life

ok, ya got me on that one!

But you knew you would...

This is what a premium insurance plan does for you. I see a total of 5 because this young man is doing a great job!!

That's some nice work man!

So very cool. It's amazing just how sharp those rock shards can be.

GA is a long ways away for me, but if I'm ever in the area I'll certainly look you up.

I saw some instructional video's on You Tube and the guy said what you just said about glass being a good medium to practice on.

He had a variety of antler shards for the detail work and even with all of his experience he broke the stone. That was a relief to see.

AWESOME tip man! Thanks a ton! I'll see if I can look him up.

What were you doing?

Bow drill?

Hand drill?

sparking flint?

14 yr old
2 yr old
one on the way.

The way his bowl pick season is going, I'm assuming he unloaded 3 rounds from his shotgun.

Like I can talk!

Really need to work on that skill Bob mentioned....

Being a fan in the NFC East will do that to ya too...

Our teams suck this year man...

No, that is a primitive technique.

My biggest problem with even starting something like flint napping is that I don't know rocks very well.

I don't know how to identify what a rock looks like that will chip well, and I don't know how to identify what kind of rock will make a decent hammer stone.

In other words, I don't even know where to start.

I'm thinking I need to buy some field guides...

I have never built a friction fire but with nothing but a fero rod I can build a fire in a down pour. I have been meaning to try friction fire but it has to be really dry. Never made cordage but I have built several shelters so when I go back to those places I only need my sleeping bag and mat.

Go to youtube and watch some Mors Kochanski videos Ron Hood has some good vids as does Dave Canterbury. I have learned a lot of things from all of them but its things that need to be practiced. Almost forgot Ray Mears has some great material. Bushcraft USA is a good resource for learning and its a very friendly site. Mannlicher is on that site as am I and I think Scott F is also on there. Great site.

If a man can pull out in that moment,that's practiced,disciplined skill.

lots of mall ninja types though.

I already have an account there.

Look up DirtHawk

Just getting started on their BushClass program and Hardwoodsman Course. They look quite challenging.

When I was looking into learning some skills I thought of what I could learn that would be most useful to me. While flint napping and bow making etc... were all intriguing I ended up teaching myself how to make beer, wine, and spirits. Much more practical and the day to day usage of said skill is enough to keep you interested.

I consider it target practice...

pm incoming

With modern medicine there is no reason to ever pull out or have a kid.

Dude, learning to make beer from natural materials would be awesome.

I'd like to sample some of your wares.

God knows I'm trying!!! Maybe too HARD!!

I need to pull out from the freaking guys on ESPN Gameday!!!

I figure that this kind of stuff would be fun to do with the kids too.

When they're really little and too fidgety to sit still they can make some cordage or we can work on tracking skills, plant and tree identification and so on...

This could be fun.

Beautiful job.

"Will Trade Wine For Fire And Arrows" I cruise
the Bushcraft site regular.

I am out of beer right now, I make beer during the summer months because that is mostly what I drink, in the fall and winter I swear off beer and switch to wine and whiskey, then start up the beer making in the spring so it is ready for summer drinking.

If you'd like pm me your address and I will send you some wine.

Man. those shots made my day!! Simply beautiful!

There is a reason why Falconry Friday is one of my all time favorite threads on the Campfire.

I really cannot get enough of what you share with us.

I had it all out. Flint, steel, rocks, bow. I think what freaked her out were the smoldering cotton balls and Q-tips from her vanity.

yw!

Matt puts up some cool stuff, no doubt.

That's an awesome mental picture!

Priceless!

I hope that you're framing some of these pictures.

Matt is bad azz..! He commands other animals to go out and kill him some food. Let see Survivor man do that...

I've tried numerous times making a bow friction fire. I've failed because of my choices of wood.

I'm not giving up, just taking a break. I can make smoke like nobody's business, but getting that tiny coal going has been my downfall...

[b][color:#3333FF]Making fire[/color][/b] with flint, steel and char cloth is pretty cool, will impress the kids. Not too handy though cause you have to keep a bunch of clean jute in your backpack..

A great job until that roof leaks on the ol' 'work bench'!

yes it is/does...that same day my 11 year old nephew had been here earlier. Hence, the reason for the in-house rainy day experiment. Cotton balls with Vaseline or alcohol work great. And I had some zip-loc bags of shaved magnesium so we're kicking butt.

Again, lesson learned was do not take stuff from her vanity. We were using her big soap holding scallop sea shells to throw sparks at alcohol soaked cotton balls. Not my brightest moment.

I tried bribing her with one of those 24HCF zippo's from Cal but major epic UBER failure.

I think we burned the rug too. I still deny that.

I'm rolling here!

Yes, I used a slide rule today.

That's high tech.

Work an abacus doing differential equations and you'll have my attention.

In 1967 VN we were still using (special) slide rules to calculate fire direction on the 105 Howitzers. Mid-tour we were issued FADAC, a huge electronic computer dedicated to fire direction. This might have had a fraction the power of today's pocket calculator.

A standard 3-ring binder is in the foreground, for size comparison.

Love the Ishi and Otzi stuff.
Ditto on Bush crafter USA. They have an excellent primitive forum also Dirttime.com

ANY book by Dave Wescott, Steve Watts and Paul Campbell is invaluable for the primitive skill set.
I just finished Paul Campbell's "The Universal Tool Kit".
I enjoyed it so much I bought another copy. Sadly
Paul just passed away recently. I can honestly say that Paul totally changed my perception on stone tools.

Thank you krupp! I'll have to take a look at those books!

Real glad that I started this thread. You guys have hooked me up good!

Thanks!

I try to concentrate more on just efficently using my modern BOB. I don't have time for stuff that I'll never need. I mean, come on, where are all the STEEL tools, electrical wire, fencing wire, plastic bags, cups, metal cans, fishline, plastic sheeting, etc, which are strewn all over the lower 48, supposed to disappear-to, anyway? In the weeks that it would take you to make all the (very inferior) field-expedients, you could have gathered up the modern stuff AND been long-gone, on a mountain bike, inflatable raft, etc.

Yeah...

Like I said, I am not exploring this as a means of "survival". I'm doing it because the history and heritage fascinates me.

I'm well aware that the year is 2014...

A level of awareness that escapes many...

Well, I didn't say that I liked it...

BTW,as long as you got the neurons firing, think about a shelter built over a hammock between two trees.

It comes in handy.

As a teenager, I about wore out the "Foxfire" series of books at the local library. I did all kinds of stuff shown in them, and especially enjoyed the chapters on snares, traps, tanning, etc. You've gotten me interested into seeing if I can find a set of them..........

all ya really need is the right clothing, and a poncho that will wrap around both a low ridgeline and the hammock, too. There's culverts, vehicles, sheds, trailers, all sorts of shelter within a day's walk of almost anyplace in the lower 48 states. So why would you stay out in the weather and suffer unnecessarily?

This sort of info is what I mean about "efficiently using modern gear".

These old skills are very cool but also a lot of fun. When my wife and I are on our frequent roadtrips and hunting/fishing trips we will use really bad weather days to see how we would do if broken down in a remote area. Sometimes we use only what is in the truck. Sometimes only what is in our packs. I have found this keeps us honest when making our preps. Something as basic as a small lightweight tarp can be a gamechanger. Trying to make a fire during a pouring Nov. rain in the forests of Idaho w/ a firesteel will inform you as to the importance of prepacked tinder.

I recently watched a video of Dave Canterbury testing an axe. He did everything from cutting down a tree to shaving tinder from the log. Neat stuff, thanks to all for the new sources to investigate.

mike r

There is a Hennessey Hammock about 5' from me as I type this...

Sadly, it's not mine.

I've been eyeballing a Warbonnet Blackbird and a few different tarp varieties.

You can put way too much money into hammocks if one wants to with underquilts, overquilts, and so on.

Hammocks look comfy!

Who said anything about suffering?

Most of us here actually enjoy being outdoors...

I've been flintknapping since 1996, and have gotten serious about it in the past 7 years. Been building and hunting with selfbows since then also.

Both have been a serious addiction, especially the flintknapping. I love working local cherts like Ft. Payne and it's variant Buffalo River. Love working Dover chert also. My cousin and I just got back from a rock run out to Craig Ratzat's Keokuk quarry in Quawpaw Oklahoma a couple of weeks ago.

Gathering materials like bow wood and chert is almost as much fun as making weapons from them.

Thanks for this.

I've been thinking that it could be fun, almost game like, activity for me to do with the kids.

I know those areas that you frequent.

One day I'll have to see about meeting up with you and trying to gain some knowledge from you.

Skilled flint nappers are awesome to watch.

I'd love to practice some primitive trapping, however I do not believe it's legal in Alabama where I live...

HAJ, be careful. A group of real users on this site tweaked my interest in axes and their application. It is expensive but I am proud to say I still have all my fingers and toes. I have been working to improve my survival skills all my life but still feel constantly challenged and humbled. I am just starting to learn how to fish, this schidt can be hard, and expensive. Have fun!

mike r

HugAJackass, a good book on knapping that has helped me when I was having some problems understanding what I was doing wrong is The Art of Flint Knapping by D C Waldorf. It has some illustrations that make it easy to see what is going on and what should be going on. That doesn't mean that knapping will be easy, because it isn't. Like most skills it takes practice.

There are plenty of videos out there that show you how to do everything from making the tools to finishing up the notches without busting the point. The book will help you to make sense of what you are seeing on the videos.

Don't hesitate to give it a try.

Wind break from two weeks ago while hunting with daughter and her grandpa:






Worked as cover too. Daughter primed out by the edge and made a 197 yard shot, dropping her first deer.

Daddy daughter adventure from this spring. We were tired of being cooped up in the house.I figured that bad weather is a great training opportunity.

She learned how to use a knife properly, make feather sticks and get to the dry wood on the inside of wet sticks, then build a fire without matches.

Not exactly primitive, but great lessons for a kid who wants to be in the mountains.












Hot cocoa reward for a job well done!

That's what I'm talking about!

It just doesn't get much better than that!

Thanks a ton for sharing Mack!

Don't I know it!

I've been eyeballing a Gransfor Bruks Small Forest Axe....

I'm already in trouble aren't I?

Thanks again!

I really appreciate the resources!

I picked up some pointers from some 10th Mtn boys, and during a rain "event" strung hammocks with a poncho overhead.

Stayed off the wet ground, stayed dry from the rain, and actually got some decent sleep.

Done it a few times since. Makes creepie crawlys take a few extra steps to get to you if they felt inclined.

The only thing I worry about with that set up is cold air underneath of you.

I hear a decent pad and a space blanket go a long ways to fixing that issue.

Haj,

A big congratulations on the new baby on the way!

Hey buddy,

How did your hunt go up by Stanley?? You were in the same general region as my cabin, btw.

Thank you sir!

The time is nigh! Wife is at 36 wks. The last one was born at 37 wks...

I do that stuff regularly. Just jump into my Chevy 4x4 time machine and go back to the 1830's for a few days or weeks.

Last weekend, shooting a trail walk competition with my .62 flintlock smooth bore. One of the targets is just above the gun muzzle. The white "hostile" with a steel heart swinger, had to hit the heart to score. No problem, killed all the "hostiles" that day and survived the trail.

Looks to be a grand time. Thanks for the peek into your world

star next to your name today for that one, sir. That's just plain funny.

Sorry if this has been posted already but I haven't read the whole thread. I used to spend hours here reading long ago. you guys might like it also. http://paleoplanet69529.yuku.com/

You cut down a tree like that every time you make camp..?

MS,the trip was a ball but I don't think I could find a wolf if we were in the same room. We saw Elk, pronghorns, muledeer, a badger and lots of Grouse but I am sure they knew I didn't have a tag.

I owe all the guys on here that helped w/advice a good trip report. I will try to get that done today.

mike r

I make self bows.


I also do a little forging. This 10" bowie blade was forged from the above leaf spring.



Here is the finished product. Handle is polished elk.


I also do the leatherwork, if that counts, and I've gotten better at it over the years.

It most certainly does count! Amazing work there! Thanks for sharing that.

I've tried to make a few bows. I know that you're supposed to get the outside face of the wood all on the same ring for strength. I can never manage to do that part. I always take off too much wood somewhere and cross rings making it weaker.

That's some tedious work and I admire the person who can do it.

Loving the steel and leather work.

Wow RH those are serious skills and beautiful work. I met a guy in Wyoming that was bear hunting w/ a homemade bow and arrows. The workmanship was impressive and I would guess his hunting skills were too. Please show us some of your other work if convenient.

This is a great thread and I hope it continues, I wish I had more to contribute. I am really primitive in my computer skills but I must learn to post pictures.

mike r

If you don't mind me asking, what do you use for your bow strings?

You only have to take it to one ring with Osage. You can make a Hickory bow and use the layer directly under the bark. That bow pictured is a hybrid Osage with bamboo back. It's not exactly primitive but it does shoot very well. PM me sometime and I'll hook you up with some bow wood and instructions if you are interested.

Here are a couple more pictures. I don't have any other bow pictures because I usually wind up giving them away. Sorry for the poor quality.


Tips are quite tiny and are Osage burl overlayed.

That one is the very primitive 8125.

I just like making things. I figure if I really wanted to be primitive, I would have to start naked in the woods. No sense using a chain saw to cut the tree, haul it in a truck, and then worry about the authenticity of the string material.

What kind of wood did the Indians use out in my part of the country when making their bows and arrows?

Wyoming and Montana

That osage is beautiful!

Thanks for the Hickory tip! I'll have to give that a try. Those bow making instructions would be awesome! Thank you!

It's hard to say. Any hardwood will make a bow. From the NW Yew would be a top pick. There have also been instances of primitive bows made from Osage found with no Osage around for a thousand miles. Obviously it was traded for or someone traveled a great distance to get it. Possibly tribes migrated as well.

You might start by reading The Bowyers Bible 1. You can also check into www.primitivearcher.com forums. There are several instructional threads.

Good point!

The operative word in the thread title is the word "skills".

You sir, have some amazing skills. I appreciate you showing us some of your work. It has to be immensely satisfying to create such works with your own hands.

These are the kind of resources I was hoping to find when I started this thread. Thanks again!

"You cut down a tree like that every time you make camp..?"

Not when I camp on the prairie.

HAJ
Anyone can do it with some practice and instruction. My first attempts were quite childish but they did return the fun I had as a child to archery.

BigBuck
Many indian bows were styled differently. Some were short, heavy sinew backed bows ,shot from horseback. Some were longer wide flat bows.

Most of my bows are a combination of flatbow and English longbow.

Is woodworking a primitive skill? Here is a table top I made of teak, with an inlaid starfish of birdseye maple. Dimensions are ~24" x 48". Shown in raw state prior to varnishing.

Anyone who has tried to read what it type know almost everything I do is primitive.

But besides trying to type I do other less modern things. I have not used big bundles of newspaper, gas or much of anything else modern for fire starting for a long time. It is just more fun to start with feather sticks and some sort of a spark.

I like to find and restore axe heads then hang with a handle made from scratch. I have made rope from cordage, and camp with a bedroll rather that a sleeping bag. I have played with arrowheads using obsidian found in Oregon and deer antler tools but an mot good at it and shoulders do not like pulling bows at all in my senior years.

Scott,

Just thinking out loud here but if you can't do the bow thing can you do something like an atlatl?

That should give your arrowheads something to do.

Not only is woodworking a primitive skill, but I can think of a ton of things to do with that beautiful piece of work you have there. That would be handy on so many levels.

I'm impressed with your work!

The wolves travel in a big circuit basically. A pack may run through an area and not be back for weeks. I've seen a fair amount while in that region, but they are getting pretty wary of dudes in the mountains.

Glad you had fun though.

Thank you Hug.