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New Bushcraft E-Books by Jon Ridgeon
Step by step tutorial guides - £3.50 each or all seven for
£14.98
Hand drill Fire Lighting; Net Making; Weaving a Melon Basket; Wood
Carving; Spoon Carving; Making a shave Horse.
Click here
Latest Blog Posts
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My New Skin on Frame Canoe - Job Done! -
September 2012 |
| The moment I had
been waiting for after months of work; I made
the final touches to complete the construction
and took to the water.
I cant put into words
how satisfying it feels to step into and paddle
a canoe I have made. All I can say is that it
gave me a very warm feeling of achievement.
Canoeing is the nearest thing to physical poetry
that I know and is good for the spirit...
You can view the full 'build-along' pictorial
article showing how the canoe was made by
clicking
HERE
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You can view the full 'build-along' pictorial
article showing how the canoe was made by
clicking
HERE |
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Jon's Bushcraft
Basketry Courses Feature in Living Woods
Magazine - July 2012 |
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Rob Exton reviews my
Introduction
to Basketry Course in the Living Woods
Magazine
To view the article in full click
here
Rob Exton Concluded that...
"This
is a great way to spend a Sunday, in the
middle of the country (Meriden is not far
away), so many of you are within striking
distance for a day trip. Jonathan is a
delightful young man who is patient, calm
and very skilled. He is a clear teacher and
enabler who deserves to do well in his
chosen way of life. Mostly though, I must
recommend this course for its sheer value
for money. At £55 including tea and coffee
it has to be one of the best value courses
in the country."
Click the following link to
visit the Living Woods magazine website
www.living-woods.com
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Ongoing project -
Canoe
build-along |
| My Third Skin on Frame Canadian Style Canoe...
The following story will be updated as and when I complete
new stages...
Click here to
see
the full story as it unfolds...
After all the fun and enjoyment I've had out of my last two
skin on frame canoes, I have decided to build another one, this
time it will be a two man canoe in the same Canadian style that
I like so much. There are no plans for the canoe I am building,
all I know is that I want it to be around 4.5 meters long and
about 90cm wide at the centre Most of the jobs will just be done
by eye.
This is not a canoe made from 100% wild materials like a
birch bark canoe, but a mix of traditional wood working skills,
some cotton canvas and even a few wood screws. The emphasis for
me is always on doing a proper job, speed is not the essence. I
am always reluctant to use power tools as I feel mistakes can be
made quickly with such hasty devices. Hand tools fit better with
my calm and patient nature anyway. |
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| To start I've purchased a plank of naturally air
dried Ash wood from the timber yard about 7" x 1" x 5m.
At first I wanted to use a long sapling from the woods
to fashion my Gunnels from but I was unable to locate
one straight and long enough for my needs. By purchasing
the plank I would also have enough wood for many other
parts too such as the long keel baton etc. The wood
didn't come cheap though... about £90 for this one
plank! The first job was to rip cut along the length
to cut off two laths suitable for Gunnels. This job
could be done with a circular saw but I am quite
stubborn and don't like to use power tools all that much
:-)
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Using a Shave horse and Draw Kinfe I then worked
the two gunnels down to final dimensions which is about 20mm x
55mm. I then made a gradual taper towards the ends shaving it
down to about 3cm high with no change to the width.
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Now it was time to steam bent these tapered
ends upwards which will give my canoe some nice curves (known as
Indian ends). I am using quite a simple but effective method to
steam the wood. Firstly I wrap the wood in Hessian material,
then give it a good soaking and finally wrap it up in tin foil.
Then I cook the wood over the fire like a fish. The wood doesn't
burn if the material is wet enough.
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Post - 08/02/2012 -
Hand Made Skis |
| I had never been skiing before
or even held a pair of skis, but making a pair
seemed like a fun idea. I was mainly inspired by
a video of native Reindeer herders in Sweden,
and also by my good Norwegian friend - Torjus
(his website:
http://livingprimitively.com/ )
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One of the first things I learnt about skis
is that they are not actually just flat pieces
of wood with a bend at the end; they also have
an overall bend meaning that the centre of the
ski will stand off the ground slightly when not
stood on (see picture on left). This bend serves
to spread the weight of the user more evenly
over thick snow, and instead of the centres of
the skis dipping down into deep snow the skis
just become flat. |
I used much the same tools as I would use to
make a bow - A draw knife and shave horse; a
hatchet, a large Farier's rasp and a cabinet
scraper.
The wood is Ash wood. I split two billets from a
large fresh log which some tree surgeons had
left on a fire heap! I worked the wood while it
was fresh as that makes the job a lot easier!
Luckily the billets had an overall natural curve
which I utilised. The only bends I needed to
make were those for the ends. |
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To steam bend the ends I wrapped the wood in
hessian fabric from an old sack, I then soaked
this with water and wrapped the the lot with
Turkey aluminium foil. I then supported this
over a nice hot fire for perhaps 45 minutes
(note how a log protects the unprotected wood
from the heat. The pieces of wood on top of the
foil are just holding a flap of foil down.) Its
just like cooking a Salmon in foil really,
hehe.
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Before wrapping the ends with hessian and
foil, I had already rigged up some cord which
would enable me to swiftly make the bend and
hold it in shape; one loop tied to the top and
another long length secured at the centre of the
ski. When the wood had been steamed for long
enough (perhaps 45mins), I could then quickly unwrap the wood,
thread the long cord through the small loop at
the top and then pull down forcefully to bend
the wood and hold it in shape.
The rest of
the work to do included:
-Chiselling out a rectangular slot hole through
which I could secure the bindings
-Carving the decorative ends in a traditional
Swedish style
- Applying pure Pine tar with a brush (made by 'Bickmores' as
a horse hoof treatment, and purchased from the
'horse health' website)
-heating the tar and wood with a blow torch as
it is applied helps to make it go into the wood
better. Excess tar is rubbed off with a rag.
-Applying Bees wax to the undersides to make the
skis glide better (without the tar and wax; snow
would stick and clog the skis up.
-The final job was to then weave the Willow to
make
the bindings, these will ensure my feet are
securely fastened to the
skis. The Willow is soaked and twisted like a
withy beforehand to make it more pliable.
Then it was just a case of waiting for some
snow to have some real good fun!
100% satisfying!!
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Post - 21/09/2011 -
Birch bark containers |
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I recently made these two Birch bark pots,
they are stitched differently to the way I have previously made
containers; this is now my new favourite method. As well as
being very decorative, the 'stepped' stitching ensures that the
bark doesn't split along its grain, which would be likely if so
many stitching holes were made right next to each other along
the same line. Making stitching holes through two layers of bark
also helps the bark not to split.
The container on the right is made from the
bark of a dead tree. When stripping the bark from the logs the
wood inside had actually started to rot away but the skeleton of
bark was still good to use, that's because of all the natural
tar it contains. the smaller container is made from fresh bark I
managed to salvage from some logs left behind by tree surgeons.
This bark is such a nice material, its a shame so much of it
just ends up on peoples fire heap!
Some of the crafts I make are quite
intricate, so for a change I thought I'd show you how to make a
simple little bark box like this...
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| Strip your bark from felled or naturally fallen
trees. The only tools you need to make this little box
are a pen knife, a ruler, and something to score lines
with. The folds are simply held together by two stick
pegs inserted through slots in the bark. |
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Start by cleaning up the outside
of the bark. removing any loose material. Pulling your thumb
over the bark side-ways works well. |
Now cut the bark
into a neat rectangle. |
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Carefully score the
folding lines onto the bark as represented by the diagram. I
used a bradawl for this job. |
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Fold the corners up |
Make four small
slots ready to receive the pegs which hold the folds securely in
shape. |
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Cut two sticks to length and
shave them down thin. If they are a bit flexible that will help
with the fitting. |
Insert the pegs on
either side... job done! How simple and effective is that! |
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Also see my tutorial on how to make other
simple birch bark containers/ pots..
click here
And my step by step guide to making a Birch bark basket
Here |
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Post -
19/09/2011 -
Primitive Trapping |
| Trapping is only something you'd do if you needed to feed
yourself, it should then be carried out with much care and
respect. However, it can be fun to learn how to lay traps with
no real intention of actually catching anything; that's what
I've been practicing today.... I find it fascinating how a few
carefully prepared sticks can be assembled with a snare to
create a very effective trap. The trap here on the right is a
type of Rabbit snare. Many types of trap utilize a toggle which
is held in place by another stick; when the stick is dislodged
the toggle is released and up goes the noose. A trap like this
can surprisingly be set to an extremely fine tolerance.
Of
course, tracking skills and good knowledge of your prey's
behaviours will also mean the the difference between success and
failure; or the difference between a humane and inhumane catch. |
Click images to enlarge |
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| In primitive situations when you are using a snare made from
natural fibres, the animal needs to be lifted off the ground to
prevent it from biting through the snare line (or its leg) and
escaping. This is done by attaching the snare to a springy
branch, when the animal sets off the trigger mechanism, the
noose tightens around its neck and the tensioned branch lifts
the animal upwards. This tension also prevents any chance of the
noose loosening. Placing sticks either side of the trap and
the animal trail guides the animal into the snare opening. There
are other things that need to be thought about too, such as
trying to make your trap as inconspicuous as possible; masking
your scent (usually by smoking your snare and parts over a
fire); and making as little disturbance to the animals trail so
that it will not become suspicious... animals are more clever
than you'd think!
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Another 'neck hold' trap. This is another
example of a toggle based snare with the main line under
tension. The central stick would be baited in the middle. She
snare is held up with tiny 'Y' shaped sticks. It should be easy
to see how this works. |
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A simple 'Eye' made from a section of naturally hollow Elder
wood helps the snare to slip freely along. |
Please respect
trapping laws/ regulations and only
use these traps in a survival situation. Never leave a practice trap set.
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Post -
17/09/2011 -
Harry Potter Elder Wand |
| I'm not actually a big Harry Potter fan but I
made this wand with the intent of selling it :-) I
thought it might be an interesting item to show and share. I
carved it from genuine Elder wood with just a normal Bushcraft
knife. The Elder wand is said to be the most powerful wand there
can be. You'll think I'm mad but the finished wand strangely did
feel quite powerful in the hand. I guess the power of intent is
quite strong and maybe wands could be used to direct your
intent. We've all heard about the power of the mind; people
using their mental power to stay strong and overcoming illness
is a good example. |
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Post -
14/09/2011 - A
New Kuksa Cup Carved |
| I recently finished carving a new Kuksa cup from Sycamore
wood. This is now my number one drinking vessel. I use it all
day every day. Water tastes so much better these days...
Click here to see
my kuksa carving tutorial. |
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"With this simple basket weaving guide even a child with just an Elementary
education can weave one of these amazing baskets!" |
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