I’ve been reading Hilary Stewart’s book Indian Fishing which is an excellent resource that describes in detail the fishing techniques used by the native peoples who inhabited the west coast of North America. I was inspired by the artistic quality and craftsmanship expressed by these people in the making of the tools they used on a day-to-day basis. I was so impressed that I wanted to try to replicate something from the book. I opted for the salmon trolling hook that you see here thinking it wouldn’t be too difficult to put together. I had originally lashed the bone barb into place with waxed nylon (artificial sinew) but I wanted to make it more authentic so I ended up replacing that with split spruce roots. I was concerned that the root lashing wouldn’t bind the barb as tightly as the nylon thread did; however, I must confess that it holds it in place more firmly than the synthetic thread did. Perhaps this is due to the residual pitch left in the roots making them a little sticky. All in all, I am very happy with my new hook. What I want to do next is put together about 60 feet of natural twisted cord and then test the hook and line combination out in one of the local farm ponds. I’m hoping I might be able to land a bass with it.

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I’ve tanned a few deer hides in my day, but this is my first time trying to tan fur. Considering that it was my first attempt, I decided to make it easier on myself by working something small. I had a little red squirrel in my freezer that I’d been saving for just such a project. Typically, I like to read up on things before I dive in, so I went to braintan.com where they have some good articles that cover fur tanning. They primarily tend to focus on the production of brain tanned buckskin, but there are also numerous articles covering other aspects of traditional tanning as well. They also sell a great book and video companion that details the entire process and makes it very easy for the first-time tanner to succeed at making buckskin.

So, on to the fur tanning:

I decided to case-skin the squirrel hide and work it that way.  No real reason here, I just went with it. For convenience sake, I used the egg yolk from one chicken egg and mixed it with some warm water as a substitute for the brain solution. I wanted to do this in a simple fashion, so I didn’t use any tools for the majority of the process (e.x., fleshing tool, cable, etc.). I scraped as much of the flesh from the hide with my fingernail then allowed it to dry a little. Next, I rubbed the egg yolk solution onto the flesh side of the hide and let it partially dry again. Before it dried out completely, I applied another coat of egg. I repeated this process until the egg yolk solution was used up – about four applications in total. Then I just worked the hide in my hands, stretching it back and forth for about an hour, until it was dry. I have to tell you that it didn’t come out perfect. A large area on the lower half of the back came out rather papery. But, with the exception of this and the head/face area, the rest of the fur came out nice and soft. I haven’t smoked it yet because I’m considering adding more yolk solution to the stiff spots and working it some more. I often hear folks say you can case out certain critters and use their hide as an improvised glove or sock. But this squirrel was way too small to cover the four fingers of my hand. Next time I try tanning a squirrel hide, I think I’ll open-skin it and work it that way. I believe I’ll be able to work it much more easily and more thoroughly and possibly be able to do more with it as an open fur. We’ll have to see…..

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This is just the coolest thing. I learned about this from Fredde over at SwedishBushcraft. If you haven’t seen this guys work, do yourself a favor and check out his YouTube site. Not only is his take on bushcraft interesting and original, but his craftsmanship is superb and the way he uses a knife is an absolute joy to watch. And these hooks are just one example of some of the cool stuff you’ll see from him. You’ll get more from his video and the associated comments than I can explain here so be sure to check it out if you’re at all interested in making this for yourself. As you may be able to see in the photo, mine isn’t nearly as refined as Fredde’s, but it works.  I can’t say that for my first two attempts – they barely held together.

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The camp vise is illustrated in the book Wilderness Survival by Mark Elbroch and Mike Pewtherer. The authors suggest that this tool can be used to hold and work small objects that may be too difficult to do so with the fingers alone. Little detail is provided for the construction or use of the vise, however the concept is simple enough that it is hardly necessary. It consists of a split stick that tapers on one end with a small pivot stick inserted between the two split pieces and lashed into place. A wedge shaped stick is then inserted between the splits on the opposite end causing the tapered ends to close down on the intended work piece. With a knife and some cord, this tool can be made in a matter of minutes. I can see how it may be useful for sharpening a piece of bone when abrading against a rock or even as a clothes pin for drying a pair of wet socks. How would you use it?  Leave a comment and share your thoughts.

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Withys may not sound very exciting to most, but I’ve just had a breakthrough with them so I’m a little excited and thought I’d share what I’ve learned. First of all, I want to say that I originally learned about these from one of Ray Mears videos (again). But I’ve also seen them mentioned in Hilary Stewart’s book Cedar. If you are not familiar with the withy, it is simply a sapling or thin branch that you twist which causes the wood fibers within to separate making it pliable enough to be used for binding. Ever since learning about them, I would try to make one every time I went out into the field. But I never really had any success. I would start twisting, the fibers would start to separate, then eventually…SNAP! The fibers would break rendering my withy useless. The trick, as I learned today, is to maintain some tension on the shoot so the wood fibers don’t have a chance to kink. If a kink develops and you continue to twist you’ll likely hear a snap too. In the beginning, I was blaming everything but myself (e.x., brittle tree/shrub species or seasonal variations, etc.). But in the end, it all boiled down to technique.  So, in my excitement, I put together a little tripod fastened with a withy and a built-in kettle hook to celebrate.

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