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Field Guide To Primitive Skills

Articles From January 2008
#1 Coal Burned Vessels
#2 Fish Stick
#3 Winter's Fruit
#4 Survival Kits Are For Everyone...Yes, Even For Us Primitive Skills Enthusiasts

Week #1 January 2008

Coal Burned Vessels    by Tim MacWelch

Copyright © 2000 as Earth Connection Handout Series 1
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Coal burning is a process of shaping wood by repeatedly burning it with coals and
scraping away the charcoal. Many different types of wooden articles can be made with this
method, including bowls, spoons, ladles, platters, drums and even canoes.

Types of wood to use

The wood used for coal burned articles must by dry, free from rot and of non-toxic wood
if it will be used for food. Soft woods such as Poplar, Willow, Aspen, Pine, Cedar, Fir and
Hemlock Pine are OK for coal burning articles; and they are able to be burned out faster than
hard woods. However, hard woods like Oak, Hickory, Ash, Maple, Beech and Sycamore make
more durable wood items. Sycamore is well known for being a durable wooden bowl. Some
woods, like Tulip Poplar, are OK for short term use, but they tend to "check" (split) more then
others over time, or when exposed to heat and moisture. Avoid woods that can have toxic
tree parts like Black Locust, Yew, Cherry, Buckeye, Horsechestnut, Rhododendron and Laurel
for food vessels. It is possible that these woods could impart harmful toxins into the food and
drink contained in them.

What kind of coals to use

Any red hot coals from a wood fire will work. However, coals from a hard wood fire will
burn longer and possibly hotter than soft wood coals. Some woods, such as Dogwood, are a
poor choice for coal burning because the coals tend to go out quickly, rather than continuing
to burn.

How to coal burn

Begin by carefully taking coals from the fire with wooden tongs or some kind of scoop,
and placing them on the bowl or spoon "blank". Use a small pile of coals to burn into a bowl,
or a single large coal to burn into a spoon blank. Blow on the coals lightly, the use of a straw
or reed will help greatly. It takes a few minutes for the wood to begin to burn. Don't let the
coals flame up, as this extra heat may crack the wood. When the coals are almost burned up,
or you have burned into the wood and made a layer of charcoal, the coals can be dumped
back into the fire. Let any burning charcoal in your bowl or spoon go out, then use a shell or
stone flake to scrape away the char to reveal the browned wood underneath. Repeat this
burn and scrape process until you have burned out the wooden object to your satisfaction.

To keep spots from burning, you can wet that area or smear wet clay or mud over the
area that you are trying to protect.

How to finish your item

After coal burning your wooden item, it is useable. But there are several ways to finish
the wood surface to protect it and preserve the item. Start by sanding the item with a
sandstone. The sanding may also be done with actual sand and a piece of coarse stone.
Use a soft fine sand for softwood items, and combinations of soft and/or coarse sand to
hardwood items. The surfaces can be sanded to provide a finished look and feel to the wood.

The sanded or original wood surface can be hardened through a process called
Burnishing. This is a polishing technique involving a very hard smooth object that is rubbed
on the wood to compact the wood fibers and bring out a shine. Burnishing can be done with a
smooth Deer antler tine (point) or a glassy smooth river rock. Burnishing will make the wood's
surface more durable, and less permeable to fluids.

A final finish can be edible nut oil or rendered animal fat that is rubbed onto the
burnished surfaces to seal them, add a slight waterproofing and lend a little more shine.

Week #2 January 2008

Fish Stick  by Tim MacWelch

THIS LITTLE ARTICLE COMES FROM DEEP IN THE VAULT.  I WROTE THIS ARTICLE ABOUT 10 YEARS AGO FOR A LOCAL SPORTSMAN'S NEWSPAPER.  I JUST STUMBLED ACROSS IT THE OTHER DAY AND DECIDED TO PUT IT HERE.  ENJOY!!

Copyright © 2000 as Earth Connection Handout Series 1
ALL TEXT, PHOTOS, AND GRAPHICS ARE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT.  NO PART OF THIS WEBSITE MAY BE COPIED OR REPRODUCED WITHOUT THE PERMISSION OF EARTH CONNECTION, LLC. 
 

Who doesn't like "Fish sticks"??  I sure like 'em.  This is an article about a different kind of fish stick, though.

Have you ever wondered how people fished before they invented the fishing reel?

Archeologists have discovered many different “stone age” methods of fishing in our country.  In the East, excavators have found the carved stone weights from fishnets.  The early European explorers even watched the eastern Native folks using fish spears; along with bone hooks and line to bring in the big fish.  Out West, even more fishing tackle has been found.  Some of the drier climates can preserve wood and string for long periods of time.  Pieces of actual nets and spears have been recovered.  But one puzzling little thing kept appearing in the caves around a lake.  It was a stick less than a foot long, with one end scraped and sanded to a smooth bullet shaped point.  No one was really sure what purpose these sticks held.  Was it involved in fishing?  I think that I’ve got a theory.  But I’ll get back to that a little later.

Today, everybody has fishing rods and reels.  But a few decades ago, this wealth of outdoor equipment wasn’t common.  You may have had to get by with a little line and a hook on a cane pole or a plain old stick.  You may also be familiar the Hobo fishing kit, if not by that name.  This is a hook and some fishing line wrapped around an aluminum can.  This can acts as a reel to wind the line on for storage and also to reel in your catch.  The leader is cast out in one hand, while the line unwinds from the can held in the other hand.  While working on some survival fishing ideas, I tried using a film canister for tackle storage and this can reel I mentioned.  I wrapped the fishing line around the film canister and used it to cast out a hook, line and bobber.  Casting with this didn’t work too well.  The straight cylinder shape of the little film can kept snarling my line.  I needed something that wouldn’t get my line tangled up into a big bird’s nest.  I sanded a stick smooth, wound it with some fishing line, and though that I might try casting it out directly off the end of the stick.  I tried it.  I held the stick firmly and pointed it behind me with the hook, weight and bobber hanging loosely from the end of the stick.  Then I swung my arm over my head and pointed my stick out over the water.  My hook, line and sinker sailed out into the water until it was stopped by the uncommonly thoughtful knot I had tied in the line to the stick.  It worked so much better than I expected!  It had cast the full length of the line I had wound on the stick, about 30 yards!!  I think I was standing there holding the original “rod and reel”.

After working with this technique for some time, two improvements proved very helpful.  Tapering the casting end of the “Fish Stick” made the line cast out easier.  A word of caution, when showing this to first time fishers, put a wrist loop on the handle end of the stick so they don’t throw your amazing stick into the creek.  However… it is possible to retrieve the wooden stick.  How many other fishing rods do you know of that float? 

In the course of running a wilderness survival weekend (my part time job at the time), I showed this method of fishing to an Archeology student who had worked out West that summer (Jason Goldbach, we love you Jason!).  He said that this fishing stick I had showed him how to make looked familiar.  In fact, it looked just like the sticks with the bullet shaped end he found in some caves around a lake out west.  Maybe somebody else had the same idea.  Maybe somebody out there was as hungry for fish as me.  It makes an interesting theory.

So good luck if you try the “Fish Stick”.  I hope you enjoy it!

Tim

Week #3 January 2008

Winter's Fruit    by Tim MacWelch

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    Have you ever seen Opossum or Raccoon scat in the southeast in the winter time?  It is usually full of seeds resembling flat, brown beans.  We can take a tip from the diet of these animals, and locate both food and hunting areas by finding the “Food of the gods” during the fall and winter in the mid-Atlantic.  But do remember, that just because an animal ate it - DOESN'T mean that we can.  The Common Persimmon is a small to medium sized tree that grows in rich, moist valley soil; and also in dry uplands, old fields and mixed forests throughout the south east.  The tree’s scientific name is Diospyros virginiana, which means "food of the gods".  And for once, the scientific name is very accurate - the fruit really is that good.  Persimmon trees are most easily identified in late fall and winter by the small, wrinkled fruit that hang on the tree up through January and February.  These one inch diameter edible fruit are orange in color, usually with a chalky whitish coating.  A wide variety of animals visit these trees for food, including Bear, Deer, Turkey, Raccoon and of course, Opossums.  This can provide the hunter or trapper with a great spot to set up for their favorite wild game. 

    Speaking of 'Possum...  I cannot look at a Persimmon tree without thinking of Charles Worsham, and his great traditional Cherokee story Why 'Possum Smiles.  I'll tell the story now as best I can remember it.  "It starts with a 'Possum up in a Persimmon tree, eating Persimmons.  A hungry Wolf trots up to the tree.  He sees the 'Possum eating these delicious fruit and demands that the 'Possum throw down some fruit or the Wolf would knock down the tree and have the 'Possum and the fruit too.  The 'Possum thought for a moment, then said "Go ahead and try to knock down this tree.  At the very least you'll knock down all the fruit!"  So the Wolf ran away a few paces, turned, put his head down and charged at the tree.  The Wolf hit the trunk running at full speed and his skull made a loud "CRACK".  Not one fruit fell down, but the Wolf fell right over dead!  The 'Possum just grinned and grinned - and still to this day, when you see a 'Possum, he will be smiling and thinking of that stupid Wolf."
   
    With that cautionary tale of greed and ambition in your mind - there still should be nothing to stop you from having a snack while you're visiting these trees when the fruit is in season.  The fruits are ready to eat when they are good and wrinkled, usually around or after the first frost (end of October).  They should be very soft and sticky with sugar.  If they are hard, dark colored and fermented smelling, they are probably rotten.  But amazingly, many stay preserved ( either by the sugar, or by the cold ) well through January.  Just don’t try them in early Fall before they ripen; because they are full of relatively harmless, but extremely bitter tannins.  When ripe, we can eat the fruit raw, like the animals do, or de-seed and dry them like prunes.  They can also be cooked and made into jams and jellies.  The sweet flavor is great, and a welcome snack when you’re out in the cold weather.  Put a big dose of carbs into your "2000 calories a day" wild meal plan with these sugary fruits in winter.  Unfortunately, the seeds are not known to be edible to humans.  No animals seem to be able to digest them whole, either.  So just remember to spit out the seeds or your scat will be full of them, too.

Enjoy the sugar rush!

Tim

Week #4 January 2008

Survival Kits Are For Everyone... Yes, Even For Us Primitive Skills Enthusiasts!   
by Tim MacWelch

Copyright © 2000 as Earth Connection Handout Series 1
ALL TEXT, PHOTOS, AND GRAPHICS ARE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT.  NO PART OF THIS WEBSITE MAY BE COPIED OR REPRODUCED WITHOUT THE PERMISSION OF EARTH CONNECTION, LLC. 

    Survival Kits are for EVERYONE... Yes, even for us Primitive Skills Enthusiasts!  End of story!  I could stop right here and feel like I got the message across.  But I'll share a few more thoughts while we're here.

    You’ve hiked out from your camp to that clear pool where the trout always hide, or the Hickory covered ridge where you heard Old Tom gobbling, or climbed up some rocks just to see what's at the top.  You’ve brought all the things that you THOUGHT you would need for the day - water, lunch, snacks and a jacket.  But did you bring your
Survival Kit?

    It’s easy to think that you haven't traveled far enough from civilization to be on your own, or to get into trouble.  And then you step in a hole and break your ankle.  You can’t walk; and now you have to spend the night out in the woods.  My philosophy is that you’re better safe, than sorry.  If you’re planning to leave the pavement, you should bring a survival kit.  It doesn’t have to be store bought, or have the word survival written on it.  It is just a set of tools and materials to keep you safe, and even comfortable, in the woods if you have to spend the night or longer.  The kit should easily fit in your tackle box, belt pack or coat pocket.  It should contain things to meet all of your survival priorities – Shelter, first aid, water, fire, signaling and food.

    Here’s an example of things that I bring along out in the field, broken down into the priorities that they serve.  You don’t have to bring all of this stuff, but choose the items that suit the weather and terrain that you are heading into.  Yes, even us Abo-types NEED to bring this stuff.  You never know when you or someone with you will be hurt, become ill or get into trouble. 

1^st Priorities – Shelter and First Aid 
Bring a Space blanket, or better yet the new Space bag that is shaped like a sleeping bag.  Also bring a light poncho for wet weather.  Large, lawn trash bags can be used for a sleeping bag when filled with leaves, or for raincoat when worn over the body with a hole cut out for your head.  A small first aid kit should also be part of your gear.

2^nd Priority – Water 
Bring a bottle or canteen for water, and the purification tablets to go along with it.  Those Platypus water bottles are tough Mylar pouches that can be rolled up or packed flat, taking up very little space.

3^rd Priority – Fire 
Keep several sources of fire dry and ready.  Matches, lighters and magnesium fire starters are good basic tools.  There are also many other fire makers on the market.  Try them out and practice before you need to rely on them.  This may shock and repulse many men, but READ THE DIRECTIONS.  I can't tell you how many people have no idea how to properly use a magnesium bar.  Read the directions!

4^th Priority – Signaling 
Have loud whistle, a signal mirror, a small flare, a bright colored or blaze orange cloth/ bandanna.  A flashlight with spare batteries can also signal and light your way. 

5^th Priority – Food 
Bring some high energy food items like candy bars, trail mix, etc.  Some items to help you get food out in the field are useful, like a mini fishing kit or snare wire.

So to sum it all up, here are my…   

Top 10 Survival Items and extras

Knife - Light source - Lighter - Matches in a water proof container - Space bag - First Aid kit - Big Trash bag/s - Whistle - Water purification tablets - Platypus bottle 

Important Extras  Fishing kit - Poncho - Metal cup to boil water - Cord or floss – Signaling devices.

And don’t forget to Keep all dangerous survival kit materials (matches, lighters, purification tablets, fish hooks, etc.) away from small children!

All of these survival items can be sealed in a plastic bag, stuffed in your pocket and taken along on your next adventure.  Hopefully it will not be more of an adventure than you can handle.

Good Luck!

Tim

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Last modified: 02/05/08