In general, the most important plants to learn first are the most common. And with poisonous plants, the most important ones to learn first are the most common and widespread species that have significant ability to cause you some trouble….
Mike from TA Outdoors comes down to the woods with a shopping list of bushcraft skills he’d like to brush up on or learn. Here’s what we managed to cram in over the course of a day-and-a-half, all captured by Mike’s videography…
At the 2018 Bushcraft Show, like many Bushcraft Shows in previous years, I made a presentation of axes and axe skills. The aim was to introduce axe techniques suitable for various different sizes and styles of axes, to look at the benefits and limitations of different axes, to share some tips on how to optimise their use as well as underpin everything with solid safety considerations. The demo was filmed and you can watch the video here…
In this episode of #AskPaulKirtley I answer your questions about expanding from survival skills to broader bushcraft skills, sleeping bag liners and entanglement, fishing as part of a bushcraft repertoire…
I answer questions about how to use the inner bark of sweet chestnut, Castanea sativa, for tinder bundles, ideas for minimising smoke from fires, first aid for young people, and some thoughts on every day carry (EDC) items…
In this episode I answer questions about how you know when it’s the right time to start teaching bushcraft, considerations for washing up after cooking when you only have limited drinking water and how to test how clean and pure the water is coming out of a water filter is…
In this episode of #AskPaulKirtley, I answer questions about featherstick material recommendations, remedying chipped axe edges, washing down sleeping bags and hydrophbic down…
Much of what we consider bushcraft today was tied to journeying in the past, whether it was seasonal migrations of native peoples, frontiersmen pushing into new territories or colonial powers employing expeditionary forces. Despite all the technology and materials available today, bushcraft still has a solid place in modern expeditioning in wild places. From lightweight backpacking to canoe tripping to winter camping by snowshoe and toboggan, bushcraft forms a solid backbone of practical skills for pretty much any environment you can think of. Further, there are psychological benefits of entering wild places with a strong base of bushcraft skills honed close to home. In this presentation I explore and expand upon these concepts, highlighting the bushcraft skills which I have found valuable in a career of wilderness expeditions and which you can benefit from learning then applying wherever you choose to have your adventures….
I talk about tarps (yes again), fire hardening of spears and the potential for making them more brittle, froth in water after it has been through a Millbank bag or Brown bag, and my views on hunting within bushcraft…
In this episode of #AskPaulKirtley I answer your questions about obtaining big sheets of birch bark, the benefit of identifying trees in bushcraft, bow drill polishing, deer carcass inspection and my favourite made items..