Out in the woods

I've ordered a few new toys, a hatchet, folding saw, high carbon knife (perfect for flint striking) and a crook knife for carving. I couldn't wait 'til they arrived though so I met a buddy and went out into the woods to mess around with his kit since he has the same hatchet and saw. I've already tried out the saw on my Leatherman that I bought in the States in August, and I'm actually quite impressed with it. It handles small branches pretty well and much quicker than batoning, but trying out the Bahco I felled a small Birch no problem and did so pretty safely and cleanly. One of the most important things to remember with a short handled hatchet is that it's really easy to bury it into your leg, so you should always swing it while kneeling so you can be sure that it'll bury itself in the ground if you miss the chop. In this case I played it safe and used the saw for felling, but the hatchet was of course handy for taking off the branches and bark. It has a really nice weight to it and it feels really comfortable holding it close to the head, and using it for dexterous work like carving. It's also pretty interesting owning something with a makers mark. His hatchet was an MM (Mattias Matsson) but I wonder who will have crafted mine?




















He had just bought a new tarp and wanted to set it up, getting used to the pitch and all. To be honest I'm still getting used to the Akto, it's tricky getting a really tight pitch, but I can't argue with the quality! I remarked that although I'm a little paranoid about sharp sticks when I'm picking a site, it's more about how much money I invested in the tent than that I don't trust it to cope. I'm sure it'd pass the test, just don't want to test it!















He had also just purchased a new Frost River canvas pack so he kindly donated me his old vintage pack. It might not be so light at a whisker under a kilo, but it looks the part and it certainly encourages you to carry less with it's compact size. Perfect for bushcrafting!