The Handmade Woodsman

Four years ago, I was going on a winter trip to Norway. We expected pretty cold weather, and I saw it as a great opportunity to make, and test a pair of furry mukluk type moccasins, as a camp shoe. It turned out we had a lot of cold weather, and the mukluks were absolutely perfect for those cold and dry conditions. Unfortunately, I didn't bring a camera. I call them mukluks, but actually they're more of a cross breed between a puckered woodland moccasin and a mukluk. Basically I made the foot part after the woodland moccasin pattern, and added a long canvas leg, like you'd see on some types of mukluk. I got the idea, from the book, "Wildwood wisdom" by Ellsworth Jaeger. First published in 1945, this book contains tons of ideas and simple how to's, simply illustrated. I would have loved to have this book when I was 12 years old. Though written in somewhat childish, I think this book is as relevant to adults as kids. The main fo...

I recently made a canvas roll-top bag for my Baikal 12 gauge. Essentially, I made a drybag for my gun, to protect it during transportation while waterfowling. The list of materials is very simple. All the materials used, were bought at: www.laederiet.com 1 piece of 10oz canvas. Large enough to go around the gun, and about 15cm at the stock end for the roll-top. Remember to add enough fabric all the way around, for the stitches. A 1m piece of 25mm cotton webbing for the roll-top. A 25 mm plastic connector buckle. A 1,5m piece of 30mm cotton webbing for the carrying strap. A 30mm rein slide and a 30mm oval ring for adjusting the strap. Waxed linen thread for the hand sewn parts. First, I folded the canvas letting the fold run straight along the length of the bag. Then, I marked the shape of the bag out, making sure there was enough fabric to go around the gun, and added 2cm for sewing. At the stock end, I left 15cm for the roll-top. I then cut th...

I've quite often, heard people talk about their tools, as being an extension of themselves. You certainly can get that feeling, when working with tools that are set up just right to you and your hands. Actually, that goes for all gear. Therefore I rehandled one of my axes. I really like the weight and the size, of the "scandinavian forest axe" by Swedish Gränsfors Bruk. In my oppinion, they make really great axes. What I don't like, is the handle. Not that anything's wrong with the shape or length. It just doesn't feel right in my hands. So I cut off the original handle, and made a new one out of ash. I pretty much kept the same shape. But I made it thicker, and didn't sand it to a smooth surface. I think we have a terrible tendency to accept things as they are. Too often do we simply go with the manufacturers decisions. As well as they probably work fine, they might as well not. And who will be the loser? You will.  If you're not comple...

As long as we have walked this earth, the one thing that has been at the centre of our, the plantigrades existance, is the finely tuned, ten-fingered tools we call hands. As I see it, the one thing that really sets us apart, as a species, from all other inhabitants on this planet, is our ability to let our abstract thoughts manifest themselves through our hands. I find the ingenuity of even our earliest ancestors, incredibly fascinating. As modern humans, we see ourselves as techonlogically advanced, and superior to our primitive ancestors. And though our newest accomplishments might be wonderful achievements, we must never forget that we all stand on the shoulders of those who were before us. I would like this blog to be seen as a way of paying my respects to our resourceful ancestors. Without whom we would never be where we are today. And as a celebration of some of the simplest, but most genius inventions. Like the sewing needle, the processing of plant fibres into co...