Skills For Wild Lives – Practical Wilderness Skills

Articles

The Seasons March On

The Seasons March OnI had that first feeling of autumn a week or two ago. Just a tiny touch but it was definitely there. Now just to prove that time is flying by as usual I'm crunching my way over windblown hazelnuts and...

10 Steps to Firelighting Without Failure

10 Steps to Firelighting Without Failure Fire lighting is like everything else - it takes time to get it right. Follow these steps and you'll be well on the way to failure-free fire lighting. Practice. This can’t be stressed enough. T...

Living The High Life, Hillbilly Style

Living The High Life, Hillbilly StyleI came across this great video a while back and just had to share it. Brilliant. The boys also feature on a great film about setting trot-lines....

The Bushcraft/Lightweight Continuum

The Bushcraft/Lightweight ContinuumI've been doing more thinking and planning than writing lately - I hope the fruits of this will appear here soon! In the meantime here's something to ponder: Since the earliest days of my involveme...

The Call Of The Mountains

The Call Of The MountainsLately I've been finding myself drawn to mountains. Coming from the county of Kent where the highest point reaches a heady 251m above sea level I'm not a natural mountaineer but I can't help being in ...

Woodcraft Tools Revisited

Woodcraft Tools RevisitedAfter Monday's tutorial on making a wooden cup Hendrik asked whether I had a photo of the basic tools needed for the task. I do indeed and here they are: This is the usual selection of tools I'd us...

Blackthorn vs. Hawthorn – An Identification Guide

Blackthorn vs. Hawthorn – An Identification GuideI'm often getting asked how to tell the difference between hawthorn and blackthorn. So, here's a practical photo guide: Hawthorn and Blackthorn are both members of the same plant family - the Rose ...

How To...

Step By Step – Making A Wooden Cup

Step By Step – Making A Wooden CupIf you're Norwegian, Finnish or Swedish you may call it a Guksi, Kuksa or Kåsa otherwise you may simply call it a cup. Whatever the name, the Scandinavian-style wooden drinking cup has become one of t...

Boiling Water In A Birch Bark Container

Boiling Water In A Birch Bark Container Amaze friends and relatives - boil water over a fire using a bark container! A nice even heat is required without too much flame. Heat applied below the water level it is conducted away from the b...

Step-by-step: Making Cordage From Tree Bark (Part 2)

Step-by-step: Making Cordage From Tree Bark (Part 2)When Chubby Checker said "Let's Twist Again" he could have been talking about making cordage. Twisting is the name of the game now we get into the nitty gritty of actually making our cordage. As I not...

Step by step: Making Cordage From Tree Bark

Step by step: Making Cordage From Tree BarkThink of the number of uses you have for cord, string or rope. What would you do if you didn't have any? In a wilderness setting cordage is highly valued as it takes time and skill to make it. The bar...

Responsibly Harvesting Woodcraft Materials

Responsibly Harvesting Woodcraft MaterialsWhether taking a few branches or a whole tree you're having some effect on the ecosystem around that tree. It's often possible to have a positive effect if you understand a few key principles: Firs...

Making Traditional Mukluks

Making Traditional MukluksMy thoughts on the evolution of indigenous technology are largely based on the discussions and theories one inevitably has when making and using it. When you start living with things you can really st...
Everything on this website (other than the odd photo) is my own work. If you wish to reproduce some of it for non-commercial purposes that's fine, just credit me and include a link. If you wish to reproduce something for commercial use please drop me a line and I'll be more than happy to discuss your requirements.


I support the Outdoor Bloggers Summit