A cutting tool is the most important item of equipment to be carried, a necessity for any trip. With it you can make fire and shelters i.e. keep warm, cook food and purify water. The most useful and versatile of these is the knife, be it a Swiss army knife or machete, leading to the saying, “the best knife is the one you have with you, be prepared”. A good set of knives of varying sizes are an essential piece of kit if you are going to do any carving, however, these have to be used in compliance with UK laws. To my understanding an adult is allowed to carry a folding knife up to a 3" blade. Fix blade knives or knives with longer blades can only be carried if you have an immediate and legitimate reason for doing so. Typical examples given are a chief carrying kitchen knifes home or a farmer clearing a hedgerow with a Billhook i.e. work related activates. My personal feelings are that unless there is a specific requirement for a cutting tool they are best left at home (especially the larger knifes).
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Figure 5.1.0 : Frosts Mora Knives: Sloyd (top), Clipper (bottom)
Figure 5.1.0.1 : Sloyd improvised sheath
Figure 5.1.0.2 : Iisakki Puukko knive
Figure 5.1.0.3 : Iisakki Puukko knive
A bushcraft knife needs to be significantly more robust than your average pocket knife. I have two main knives both made by Frosts Mora (Sweden). A 4” general purpose knife and a 2” carving knife, as shown in figure 5.1.0. I would strongly recommend these knives, they are cheap (approx 10 pounds, some knives sell for 100 – 200+ pounds), well made, carbon steel, easy to sharpen (nice flat bevel) and hold an edge well. The only negative comment is the sloyd's sheath, too long, weak belt loop. However, this can be easily modified using a strip of aluminum as shown in figure 5.1.0. Still wasn’t happy with the fit of the knife so made an improvised sheath from plywood and a section of bike inner tube as shown in figure 5.1.0.1. Marked out the blades outline on a plywood block, cut out using a small hacksaw, then glued this between two other blocks with epoxy glue. Once dry carved and sanded the plywood to shape. Applied contact adhesive to the top 1cm of the inner tube, when dry folded over to form the top of the sheath. Tip, don’t apply too much glue as it seems to soften the rubber. To prevent the knife cutting the inner tube as it’s inserted or withdrawn I lined the inside of the sheath with plastic cut from a milk bottle. Wrapped the plastic around the top of the plywood block, then slide over the inner tube. This was glued in place with epoxy and whipped before being varnished. Tip, place the knife in the sheath before whipping to ensure the plastic is pushed out into the correct position. Also I’ve modified the Sloyd’s handle a little, adding a small thumb recess and sanded the handle with course sand paper to improve its grip. Another knife I’ve got is an Iisakki Puukko, this is a stainless steel knife with a birch wood handle, as shown in figure 5.1.0.2. Again, it has a nice bevel and is easy to sharpen, holding an edge well. The only negative comment is that I found that the edge can be a bit brittle. Buying knives can be a addictive, the attraction of shiny new tools, or should that be toys. The justification for my next knife was that I find that if I am carving for any length of time small handled knives tend to bruise / enflame my hand, especially the skin between the thumb and first finger. The knife in figure 5.1.0.3 has a relatively large handle helping to spread the load across the palm of the hand. The only negative comment for this knife was that I found that when the leather spacers dried out the handle became very slightly loose. To fix this I disassembled the knife using a drift to hammer out the tang, removing two leather spacers to slightly shorten the handle. Then I reassembled the knife with a little epoxy glue between each of the spaces before riveting the tang onto the back plate. Before using a knife make sure that :
The standard grip to hold a knife is shown in figure 5.1.1, power comes from the arm and shoulder, with the wrist locked. For finer cuts the wrist can be used to angle the blade through the wood e.g. when cutting an internal or external curved surface. Additional control can be gained by using your spare hands thumb on the back of the blade. When more delicate carving is needed the knife can be held using a throttled grip, this allows finer control of the blade’s tip (significantly less force). When passing a knife, first remove it from its sheath using the standard grip, then rotate the blade backwards, such that the back of the knife rests between your thumb and fore-finger, allowing another person to take the knife by the handle safely. Some general rules for using a knife:
In addition to a main knife a standard multi-tool pocket knife can be an useful accessory for smaller jobs, or those jobs requiring specialised tools e.g. scissors, pliers, tin opener etc. Some examples are shown in figure 5.1.1.1. One of my must haves is a Swiss army knife (SAK), this one being a Wenger traveler. This has a stainless steel main blade, bottle opener / screwdriver, can opener, scissors, file, cork screw and awl. All of these attachments are excellent, the only small negative was that after a few years of use (abuse), the scissors fell apart (easily re-riveted with a suitable piece of steel) and handle shells fell off (but this was after prolonged use). This can also be easily repaired as shown in figure 5.1.1.2, using two pieces of wood. Cut these to size and push the SAK into the wood, marking the positions of the rivets and shell clips. Drill out recesses for these by hand using a suitable drill bit. The wood is then shaped, sanded and glued into place using an epoxy glue (try to embed the shell clips in epoxy). Apply a good layer of glue to both surfaces, place the wooden shells in position and wrap the knife in cling film (to prevent the outer surface sticking) before clamping in a vice until the glue is set (use cardboard to protect the wood from the vice jaws). Remove from the vice after about 30 minutes, remove any excess glue and check that the blades can still be moved. When fully set, finish with a final light sanding and rub in a little linseed oil. The nail file attachment has been modified into a fishing hook disgorger using a needle file, as shown in figure 5.1.1.2 (the nail file makes a good match striking surface).
Figure 5.1.1 : Standard, throttled and passing grips
Figure 5.1.1.1 : Multi-tool knives
Figure 5.1.1.2 : SAK re-handle
The best way to learn how to use a knife is to carve a spoon, as most of the skills that need to be practiced are required in it production. The first step is to obtain a suitable piece of wood i.e. straight grain, no knots or pith. The best wood will come from the heart wood of a split log. To split a log a useful accessory to the knife are a maul (wooden hammer) and a few gluts (wedges). If possible a maul should be made from hard wood e.g. oak. I’ve nailed a strip of copper sheet (flattened pipe) to the working surface to extend its life (especially when used to hit a steel knife), as shown in figure 5.1.2. The copper sheet is soft enough not to damage the knife, use a nail punch to recess the securing nails as these will. To split a log, stand the log on a hard level surface and position the knife across its centre. Using the maul hit the back of the knife, driving it into the wood. Tip, ensure that the log is not too wide, there should be approx 1 cm gap between the knife tip / handle and the wood. When the blade is fully embedded in the wood, alternate between pushing down on the handle and hitting the knife’s tip with the maul, driving the knife further into the log. This process can be repeated until the log is split. However, once a suitable crack has been formed I tend to switch to using a wedge. Hammer these in, removing the knife when sufficient pressure has been released, then continue until the log splits. Tip, even if you do not intend to use a wedge it’s a good idea to carve a couple before you start, just in case the knife becomes jammed in the log. Repeat this process on the remaining three sides of the split log until you have produced a rectangular board (same process was used to produce the hearth in figure 1.2.4.1).
Figure 5.1.2 : Maul and glut
Figure 5.1.2.1 : Splitting a log
I was told that to carve a spoon work in one dimension at a time, as shown in figure 5.1.3. First rough out a basic shape looking from above, then from the side. I start with a curving cut from the base of the bowl to the end of the handle. An alternative approach is to cut two stop cuts at the base of the bowl, ‘V’ cuts to the required depth using a knife or saw, then cut / split from the handle end to the stop cut. One of the initial hurdles to overcome is to forget about what a typical kitchen wooden spoon looks like, you are looking to produce a spoon to eat with not stir a pot with. Next hollow out the spoons bowl, using a crook knife as shown in figure 5.1.3.1. Note, a twisting cutting motion when carving out the bowl sometimes helps. Holding the spoons handle and resting the bowl on the ground, carve out the back half of the bowl. After half a dozen cuts, rotate the spoon around and carve out the front half of the bowl i.e. resting the handle on the ground. This is one reason for not removing too much material from the handle at this time as hollowing out the bowl puts a significant pressure on the handle. Repeat this process until the bowl is the required depth. Tips, don’t try and remove too much wood in one cut as this will tend to split the wood, don’t carve too close to the bowl’s edge as this may also lead to cracking.
Figure 5.1.3 : Carving a wooden spoon
Figure 5.1.3.1 : Crook knife
Figure 5.1.3.2 : Finished wooden spoons
Figure 5.1.3.3 : Curved ornate wooden spoon
Figure 5.1.3.4 : Flat wooden spoon, handle spreader / knife
Figure 5.1.3.5 : Eating wooden spoon, handle spike
Figure 5.1.3.6 : Cooking wooden spoon, hanging hook
Figure 5.1.3.7 : Long handled cooking wooden spoon
Figure 5.1.3.8 : Wooden flour spoon / scoop
When the bowl has been carved out, the handle and bowl can be thinned down, removing excess material. Tip, pinch the bowl between your thumb and finger to gauge its thickness, don’t forgot to thin down the wood at the back of the bowl near the handle. Finally sand smooth and brush with linseed oil. Tips, don’t buy cheap sand paper, it tends to fall apart when sanding a curved surface, use a very course grade to remove cut marks and a fine grade to finish. At all stages take breaks to consider what to do next, its very easy to rush and remove too much material, be guided by the natural grain within the wood. Some examples of wooden spoons are given in figures 5.1.3.2 - 5.1.3.8. The classic wooden spoon for eating with is shown in figure 5.1.3.5, a spoon with a spike at the end of the handle. The spike being used as a fork substitute. Note, don’t carve a round spike, carve a flat spike such that when you stab your chunk of food it doesn’t rotate around the spike and fall off, also a slight upturn helps hold the food on the spike. Tip, due to the stickiness of most foods you don’t need to carve a large bowl on an eating spoon as shown in figure 5.1.3.4 i.e. a shallow bowl is capable of eating all but the runniest of stews. A good addition to any spoon is a hanging hook as shown in figure 5.1.3.6. Carved on the back of the spoon it allows the spoon to be hooked onto a bowl or cup, keeping it clean when not in use. It also helps to prevent splitting due to prolonged submersion in water etc.
Another practice item to make is a net needle as shown in figure 5.1.4. This does not require the range of cuts as a spoon, but more delicate cuts. Cheated a bit when making the example below, used and length of pre-cut wood and drilled the four stop holes shown (can all be done using a knife on larger versions, small holes are a little difficult to cut, steps shown in figure 5.1.4.1). First score out a channel using the knife’s tip, increase pressure and depth, then using a twisting action lift out the wood. Tip, only cut out to the depth of the scored channel cuts, be very careful not to apply to much pressure as this can snap the knife’s tip. Repeat on both sides until break through, enlarge slot to desired width. The bottom slot can be made in a similar fashion. Finally shape and taper the tip before sanding.
Figure 5.1.4 : Making a net needle
Figure 5.1.4.1 : Alternative net needle design
Common knife techniques are shown in figures 5.1.5 – 5.1.5.2. The first of these is cutting a branch without a saw, this can be easily done by weakening the area around the point where a break is to be made by repeatedly removing fine slices. Tip, bending the branch i.e. putting the fibres under tension where the cut will be made, helps this process. To make a hole in a piece of wood first thin down the wood (this method can only be used to about 1 - 2 cm depth, the deeper the hole the wider it will need to be). Then push the knifes tip into the wood, edge to back, marking out a square, then leveller out this wood using the knife tip. Repeat on the opposite side to break through, then enlarge the hole by removing extra material from each side. NOTE: again be careful not to lever too much wood out using the knife’s tip as a fine point can easily snap (I’ve done this a couple of times when rushing and it takes a good few hours to grind out). If this occurs grind a new profile / curve and sharpen, a diamond sharpening stone is good for this as it can quickly remove a lot of metal. Finish with a high grade stone and strop. The final technique is to make a quick pot hanger. Using a maul, hammer the back of the knife’s blade into a pole to form a cross, remove the top half of the cross to produce a recess the width of the pot handle (suits a wire handle best). Then cut an under hang to form a hook. To use, drive the other end of the pole into the ground at an angle such that the pot is suspended in the hottest part of the fire. If the ground is too hard cut a forked stick to the correct height, taking the weight of the pot, securing the pointed end under a heavy log / stone or by using a stick with a side branch hammered into the ground i.e. pinning it down.
Figure 5.1.5 : Breaking larger branches
Figure 5.1.5.1 : Making a hole
Figure 5.1.5.2 : Making a quick pot hanger
Any cutting tools needs to be kept sharp using a set (course, fine) of abrasive (grit, diamond) stones (water, oil), some examples are shown in figure 5.1.6.1. Tip, its worth spending a minute sharpening a tool as it will save ten when used. The grind of a blade refers to its cross section, some common examples are shown in figure 5.1.6, left to right, hollow, flat, sabre, double and convex. Hollow grinds produces a thin very sharp edge, however they are prone to damage as there is very little metal to support the edge making it unsuited for heavy cutting work. Flat grinds taper from the back of the blade all the way to the edge, single bevel, produces a sharp edge, more durable than a hollow grind, however still prone to damage. Sabre grinds are similar to a flat grinds, single bevel, however the taper starts in the bottom 1/3 of the blade, producing a more stable / stronger edge, at the cost of a little sharpness. Double bevel grinds are similar to a sabre grind but have a primary and secondary bevel, allowing a thinner cross section, improving the blades ability to cut / pass through the wood, however as the secondary bevel is quite shallow sharpness is again reduced in order to produce a stronger edge. Convex or axe grinds use a curved taper keeping a lot of metal behind the edge making it very strong, well suited for heavy chopping work, however, as the taper is a continuous curve it can be quite difficult to sharpen.
Dependent on the type of stone, soak in water or apply a coat of light oil to prevent the stone’s surface from becoming clogged (diamond stones / files can be used dry, but wet is recommended). To sharpen a knife lay it on the stone and raise the back of the blade until the bevel lies flat on the stone (for hollow ground approximately a blade thickness more). Push the blade away from you eight times, sliding it across the stone from hilt to tip, cutting edge forwards. You can do this with the cutting edge trailing, but this can cause a thin wire edge to form, very sharp but easily damaged. At the end of each stroke you can either lift the knife off the stone and repeat, or pull the knife back across the stone (very light pressure). I prefer this technique as its easier to maintain the correct bevel angle. When complete turn the knife over and repeat on the other side i.e. to maintain the cutting edge in the centre of the blade. To avoid damaging the stone’s surface only use a light to medium pressure. If a full length stone is not available an alternative technique is to lightly work the blade across the stone using a small cycling action. The final phase is to strop the blade. Initially I used a belt secured to a post, with little success and therefore dismissed this phase. Recently I tried a leather strop that has been glued to a board, plus a little polishing compound (Brasso). I find this works very well, giving a sharp long lasting edge. To strop the blade draw the knife across the leather with a trailing edge i.e. to prevent the leather from being cut, a dozen times each side. An alternative to a leather strop is one made from a Birch bracket fungus (Piptoporus betulinus) as the name suggests commonly found growing on Birch trees, as shown in figure 5.1.6.3. The other name for this fungus is the Razor strop fungus as it was used to make a cheap stropping board. Cutting into the fungus there is a clear divisions between the bottom pore tubes and the top fleshy layer. The top layer can be cut into stripes, dried and glued onto a board. When dry the fungus has a firm texture, cut / knife marks can be sanded out using course sand paper.
When sharpened hold the blade under a light, if properly sharpened no light should be reflected from the blade’s edge. I find this test works for the initial phases of sharpening, but as the blade gets sharper its more difficult to tell what areas require sharpening. An alternative test is that the blade should be able to cut a sheet of paper cleanly, another test is that it should cut a small stick cleanly. The key to obtaining a really sharp blade is to have a range of different grades of sharpening stones. The problem is these water stones are very expensive. A good alternative is to use Wet-&-Dry sand paper. This is glued onto wooden blocks to allow it to be easily held. Tip, first sand flat the tops of the wooden blocks, then glue a piece of thick card on top, this helps provide a good flat surface onto which the Wet-&-Dry can be glued. Note, use contact adhesive to glue the card onto the block as this acts a leveling compound. Tip, spread the glue along the block with a straight edge spreader cut from card, remove any glue lumps to ensure a level surface. Glue the Wet-&-Dry onto the card using Prit-stick, don’t use too much, allowing it to be peeled off when needed. Tip, to avoid cutting into the Wet-&-Dry drag the knife’s edge across the sand paper, don’t push it as its easy to cut. To sharpen a blade start lowest grade, working up to the highest. I use 240, 600 and 1200 grits, performing 15 strokes per side, per grit. If the blade is very dull, or chipped start with a sharpening stone first, grinding back to a clean edge, always finishing with a strop. The disadvantage of Wet-&-Dry blocks are that they wear out quite quickly, their life can be prolonged by not pushing down too hard when using them. Even after prolonged use the blocks can still be used as a very fine grit. Their advantage is their cost, very cheap to make and if damaged easy to replace.
Figure 5.1.6 : Different knife grinds (left to right : hollow, flat, sabre, double and convex)
Figure 5.1.6.1 : Sharpening stones
Figure 5.1.6.2 : Leather strop
Figure 5.1.6.3 : Birch bracket fungus strop
Figure 5.1.6.4 : Wet & Dry sharpening blocks
When in the field I don’t carry a full size strop or stone they are just too big and heavy. However, whenever your using a knife it would be foolish not to have on you a means of sharpening it. Therefore, I normally carry a small strop and stone board as shown in figure 5.1.6.5. The wooden body is approximately 4.5" long, with a 3" stone recessed into one side and a length of old leather belt glued to the other. Note, when using a belt make sure its real leather, not artificial leather. I find this strop and stone board good enough to restore a working edge to my knife when I’m out in the woods. Note, the lanyard is made using a Boatswain’s whistle knots to form the loop and a Chinese button knot to secure the free ends. Below are some useful documents on knives and sharpening knives ive found on the web (due to possible copyright conflicts these are only accessible from the local machine) :
Figure 5.1.6.5 : Field sharpen kit, strop and stone
Figure 5.1.7 : Folding and wire saws
A saw is a excellent compliment to a knife, allowing large branches to be quickly and safely cut. The first folding saw I used was a Laplander saw (Bahco), cuts on both strokes, sharp, strong blade. The two folding saws shown in figure 5.1.7 are cheaper versions but do the job ok. The main difference between these saws is in the quality of the blades. The blades used in the cheaper saws tend to be thinner and therefore more prone to damage. The key to using these cheaper blades is not to rush, as the main danger of damage is bending the blade on the power strokes. When sawing start off slowly until the saw starts to bed into the wood. Continue slowly until the full depth of the blade is embedded, slowly increasing speed and pressure.
Small branches can be simply removed from a tree in a single cut. Larger branches however should be removed in three cuts. First perform an under cut to approximately half way, to prevent the branch stripping bark from the main trunk. Tip, push the branch upwards to reduce pressure on the saw. Next perform a top cut slightly in front of the under cut until the branch breaks. Finally cut the remaining stump flush to the trunk and clean back the bark with a knife as this wood will only rot, injuring the tree. Where possible gather the required wood from a number of trees to minimise damage on any individual plant.
Figure 5.1.8 : Removing large branches
1. Image : reference -
The easiest technique to use when sawing a branch to size is to rest it across a second, as shown in figure 5.1.9. Hold the bottom of the branch in position with your foot and the top with your free hand. Always ensure that your free hand is a safe distance from the blade, as the saw can jump out of the cut whilst sawing. Saw above or on the fulcrum point and apply a downwards pressure with your free hand, opening the cut, reducing pressure on the saw blade. Never saw below the fulcrum as the downwards pressure of the saw will tend to close the cut, increasing the chance of jamming and possible damage. An alternative technique for sawing smaller branches is to hold the branch between your legs. Again using your free hand and leg to apply pressure to open to the saw cut.
An alternative to a folding saw is a wire saw, constructed from a four strand, plaited, stainless steel, serrated wire. These work well, however they should be considered more of an emergency saw than one for everyday use. A homemade wire saw is shown in figure 5.1.7, made from plaited steel wire. This version doesn’t work as well as the commercial version, more burning than cutting, but does work. When using either of these wire saws make two wooden handles to protect your hands, these can be attached to the saw with cord. An alternative to a folding saw is a fixed saw blade. The example shown in figure 5.1.9.1 is made from an old power saw blade. To extend the tang a piece of sheet metal is welded onto the saw blade. Initially a single angle tang was used, this proved difficult to hammer into the handle, forcing the blade off to one slide. To correct this problem a second angle was cut to form a central point. The handle was made from a seasoned piece of pine. The centre was drilled out, slightly smaller and shorter than the tang. Clamping the blade in a vice the handle was hammered on, was suspecting the handle to crack under this pressure but it was fine. With the handle attached it was shaped to the desired profile.
Figure 5.1.9 : Sawing techniques
Figure 5.1.9.1 : Homemade saw
A spade is a usefully tool to have, there are a number of different types available, varying from trowels, folding or detachable handle army entrenching tools to full size shovels. The spade I use is made from a cheap shovel (welded joins) bought from a supermarket (cost about five pounds), shown in figure 5.1.10. Using an angle grinder the original handle is cut off and two inches removed from the shovels blade (reduce weight). The blade is then angled and a new wooden handle carved. The handles length is chosen such that the spade can fit inside or can be tied to the outside of a rucksack. If stored inside the rucksack it’s a good idea to cover the spades edge to prevent damage. Some of the many possible uses include:
Figure 5.1.10 : Mark 1 - Adapted spade
1. Length = 65cm, Width = 18cm
Figure 5.1.10.1 : Mark 2 - Adapted spade
1. Length = 55cm, Width = 14cm
Although the first version fitted into my main rucksack it was a little large for a day sack. Also its large blade width, good for shifting sand was a bit on the heavy side for normal use. Therefore, made a slightly smaller version that fitted into my day sack without the handle sticking out of the top. Also went for a flat blade tip, this slightly increases blade area compensating for its reduced width, but more importantly gives the spade a blunt tip helping to prevent damage to the rucksack. Note, file off any sharp edges / corners to prevent it wearing out the bottom of your rucksack. The main disadvantage of carrying a spade like this is its weight (particularly resented in hot weather), don’t mind carrying this weight if im walking to a fixed camp where I will be spending a few days, otherwise, best take a small trowel.
Figure 5.1.11 : Digging stick
An alternative solution to a spade is a digging stick which can be made on site, approximately a metre long and 5 - 8cm wide, with one end cut into a point. There are differing opinions on how to shape the point from a round spear point, or a chisel like |/ or V shape. After trying a couple of different designs a chisel like |/ shape seems to be the most sturdy i.e. is less likely split along the grain when bent during digging. Note, keep the uncut front edge facing towards you when used to help reduce splitting and wear. Digging sticks can made when required so they don’t need to be carried and are used in a scrapping action (one hand low, one high) to dig small holes. Below are some useful documents on digging sticks ive found on the web (due to possible copyright conflicts these are only accessible from the local machine) :
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