Survival is staying alive as long as you are stuck somewhere as well as walking out or getting rescued. Bushcraft is primarily about constructing things during outdoor adventures as well as survival when necessary.
I'm native American and grew up with millenia worth of family lore. I guess I'm too comfortable in the woods, I must be sasquatching ❤ (I will be content living in a hollow tree, wearing woolen clothing and a guillie suit for years.)
Fair enough comment about survival, assuming of course that the person in question had only the intention to visit. There is another kind, quite rare I think (and I reckon they do not tend to make videos) which lives on the fringe of what we call society. These individuals practice a kind of indefinite sustainment/survival where sometimes bushcraft is featured prominently and sometimes scavenging is more readily apparent. There is a substantial amount of overlap with those two things. One of the worst things we can do is to insist that everyone conform to some conventional norm as a way of life. Anyone who does this is a tyrant by definition. Just as freedom of speech means getting to state things that others do not like, freedom of being means the ability to live differently than the social norm and still be a responsible human being. I'm not at all referring to wackos who deny the nature of human biology, but instead to those who embrace a life that is somewhat more primitive, which might even be called living closer to nature.
@@WR3NDI agree I don't watch a lot of TV except maybe MeTV and Grit but alone is an interestin watch (even just to watch the sissies who are "major bush crafters" fail miserablely)
@@WR3ND In this day and age, Looney Toons is far more entertaining and possibly more logical than many of the planned and manufactured bs situations going in society. I have far more trust in Bugs Bunny, Speedy Gonzales, Foghorn Leghorn, and the Road-Runner than any world leader or politician.
I can hear the Karens & Kevins screaming; "I can survive in my modded out van that has gas stove & fridge & my flat screen TV with internet router!!!" At least we'll know what they have so when shtf in the cities, we'll know who to pay a surprise visit to in a life or death situation! Up it puppet!!
When I read the title of your video, my immediate response was YES, bushcraft is stupid. It seems like it’s largely for armchair mountain men. I stopped using bushcraft as a search term some time ago, because I tended to get unrealistic or pretentious advice. Liked and subbed👍
I thought bushcraft was all about being prepared with the necessary skills to build a fire and make your own wooden spoon and bowl if you find yourself filming out in your backyard and suddenly have an irresistible craving for a bowl of soup…
Some guys swear by battoning. Some say to fashion wooden wedges instead of abusing your knife. In most places, there is plenty of dead wood to bust up by hand for firewood that you need not saw, chop or baton at all. Knowing skills doesn't do any harm but know when to use those skills and when not to.
I find that a lot of this "lightweight and minimalist" stuff is just people being too LAZY and pansy to do any of the real work!!! 😂😂 There is no 1 blade to do it all! Get a folder, small knife, big knife, kukri, machete, hatchet and an axe!! Game processing knife is important!! Why limit your tools....? "...A man is only as good as his tools..." - Bruce Lee
@@BeefT-Sq The harm is in thinking it is more relevant and reliable than it really is. Busting up a knife and wasting your energy using it to make kindling isn't an issue when you're not actually needing or wanting to live in the wilderness for long durations or indefinitely. Not many people are paratroopers stuck behind enemy lines with only a knife to survive to try and get out nor wackos shooting up police stations and living on the lamb. It's basically the man version of playing make believe. Just part of our instincts, like cats playing with balls of yarn.
Very well done and no bs here! Spent a lot of time in the outdoors in my 70 + years hunting, fishing, canoeing, camping and imo, this guy knows what he is talking about! Follow his advice and you won’t go wrong! Nothing fake here!
The obsession with knives in bushcraft always confused me. An axe is far more important but they will die on a hill arguing that an axe is unnecessary. An axe is a force multiplyer.
I just recorded a video on this yesterday, a hatchet is by far the most important tool. Easier with the big tasks like splitting wood, just as useful for the small tasks like carving trap notches
I take both. A 24" inch long 2 1/4 pound boy's axe, and a fixed blade tracker knife with 6" blade, 1095 steel. And a folding saw. It's all very easy to carry, weighs practically nothing, and I can accomplish basically any task I need to accomplish. Can't really even remember a time I really "needed" to actually baton firewood.
I learned “bushcraft” in the Boy Scouts in the 80’s, aka camp craft or simply “making stuff with knives, saws, axes, and lashing.” It’s a way to teach the basics of carpentry, arts, engineering, things that form the basis of civilization. Camp craft skills aren’t stupid, but “bushcraft culture” sure is 👍
If something isn't selling well, label it bushcraft or survival, or claim that you can use it to sharpen drills. Then any piece of crap will sell like freshly sliced bread.
"Critics have a lock on the cheap seats." -Unknown- Blackie Thomas, Dave Canterbury, Coalcracker and Waypoint Survival all have valuable info and are no joke.
@@oldbloke204 Yes, the days when you could chat at the bar or at the hairdresser or around the campfire are over. Nowadays you sit around a "laptop fire" and tell young people what great times they used to be and what you experienced and did. 😁
@@toms_dayoff Depends on how you choose to live really. Clinging on to the past and trying to set the rules for how we should do things is a bit pointless really as the world has changed. Plenty of the places that used to be wilderness are now suburbs.
Call it stupid, call it necessary, makes no difference to me. Life is short. Do what makes you happy. To be honest the same argument can be made about the tacticool crowd. The people that focus on mimicking a ‘Navy Seal’ loadout for long term survival. Does it matter though, really? You mentioned a title that fits perfectly, ‘outdoor enthusiast’. That’s what we all are. Nobody is going into unknown territory and living off the land because there’s so little of it left. We’re going out into woods to have fun. If you want to use a bow drill to start a fire, do that. If you to practice CQB, do that. Float your boat because at least you’re outdoors doing things you love. Bushcraft as a practical skill isn’t necessary. In fact, here in the US, being out in the forest permanently is against the law. I really appreciate the historical walk-through of bushcraft, but the evolution exists because society changed. Corporations ruined homesteading. It rather seems the government had more to do with the evolution of survival skills being turned into weekend activities than anything. That’s a whole other topic though.
Basically what I said. It's not stupid, it's just a hobby for (mostly) city folk. Although I'd argue many of the bushcraft crowd practice because they're also preppers and believe in the potential collapse of society (hard not to look around and see the possibility); they're just fooling themselves if they think these skills make them survivalists. Rednecks will wipe out the weekenders 😂
I'm happy I checked out this video! Had a few chuckles along the way, thanks. The number one reason I started YouTubing is I wanted to show how it really is in the back country after watching all these "bushcraft" channels teaching how its done. And no I don't beat on knives. I axe my way everywhere 😆. I am 56 with 45 years in the Canadian bush and my most reached for knife when I head out is Buck 110. Keep up the great work✌️
I hung out with Mors Kochanski a few times back in the day , and I'm telling you that he didn't go with 90 % of the Bushcraft BS that is going on. He showed me his knife collection also...very modest and old school. Axe proficiency is a must up here in the Canadian north for firewood , winter or summer. No need to beat the shit out of your knife when the axe works better and generally won't break. Thanks for the vid. Good perspective.
It is nice to watch a well prepared, honest, and objective speech in the old fashioned (taking the time, going trough the origins of bushcraft) way about this topic. It was refreshing, entertaining, and highly informative. Thank you!
Finally someone telling it like it is. One rarely sees a modern bushcrafter catching fish or hunting game and even more rarely processing it. Your message on material choice for effective tools that can be maintained in the field is a true gem of wisdom.
You may find this odd, but there was a tool called a shingle froe that was sometimes carried by backwoods explorers. They needed it to make shingles when they found an appropriate place to build a small cabin to winter in. Some had holes drilled in them for making various sized wood pegs as well to "nail" things together. That FROE is the ultimate wood splitting tool as well. It served as a draw knife, a picaroon if the blade tip was sharp. And it could be a nasty weapon I suppose. Shingles could be made with a wide blade axe as well but those are HEAVY . A froe was actually a practical piece of kit
I am quite pleased to see you doing this video and your opinion on this matter. I grew up in the woods. I played in the woods, camped, hiked, and hunted in the woods. About twelve years ago when I first discovered the internet and youtube, I started hearing this term "bushcraft." When did camping or survival situations that take place in nature become or start getting called bushcraft anyway? And why are are all these self appointed experts on bushcraft so obsessed with having some custom made fixed blade knife, and why are they obsessed with using a knife as a splitting maul? The first time I seen this I thought "what the hell is he doing- that is not what a knife is for- a knife is for cutting/skinning- not to be be used as a splitting maul." Some of these people are using a knife with a large/long blade and they have a hard time controlling the blade, a blade that is impractical and too long for practical use of a knife. When camping or on hiking trips, my Swiss Army Knife, a Leatherman, hatchet, and small folding saw were the handiest of tools. A fixed blade knife I have never needed unless dressing large game/fish; and an old Western hunting knife with a chrome vanadium upswept blade is excellent and easy to sharpen for cleaning large fish or dressing large game.
👍 Most realistic video on “Bushcraft” I have seen in the 21st Century. I particularly liked your very true comment about going into the wilderness unprepared is stupid. A shelter and water (or, water purification) on you is as important as your cutting tools. I have always agreed with you that knives are for slicing and cutting while hatchets, machetes, and saws are for chopping and generally reducing big sticks to small sticks. Buck, Ka Bar, Esee, Victorinox, and Mora are examples of companies who for years have made very useable and long lasting knives from simple steels with proper blade geometry and heat treat. If I had to choose between a proper knife or a proper hatchet for time in the wilderness, I would choose the hatchet. 🤷🏻♂️
Buck knives are generally a bitch to sharpen, so no. 1095 dulls absurdly fast and it's definitely horrendous for skinning game. There's no reason, other than being broke, to not get a skinner and camp knife in 3V or magnacut from a good company. I'm a 'neck, grew up in the woods, do primitive camping, backpacking, hunting, etc and I can easily say that it's made a lot easier with magnacut and 3V. Infinitely better edge retention, still easy to touch up in the woods. It's absolutely worth the price to make the tasks easier if you know the right company to buy from. If you think your budget steel is good enough with the right blade geometry and heat treatment, what do you think it's like using magnacut or 3V with those same qualities? Better, the answer is a lot better.
@@Swearengen1980Most Buck knives; 110, 112, are currently made of 420HC stainless steel. My Buck 110, that I got back in the late 70’s is made of 440C SS. I can sharpen my 110 to a razor’s edge in about 5 minutes with an EZ Lap Diamond rod and my grandfather’s ceramic razor stone. I have field dressed many deer with it, including cutting through the brisket, and it was still sharp enough to cut. If you can’t sharpen a Buck you’re not doing it right. Also don’t know where you got the idea that Buck knives were made of 1095 CS. Maybe the cheap Chinese ones are.
60 years ago when I was a 10 year old Boy Scout we made many campfires during overnight camp outs, without using a knife or hatchet. Once in a great while we used a hatchet to cut longer dead branches, that we couldn’t break, into shorter lengths. I never heard of batonning wood until I started watching RUclips about 5 years ago.
@@mattsweet7918 They are different statements. 1095 was referring to ESEE, which was in the original post. 440 is in fact harder to sharpen than many modern steels was the point. Yes, diamond stones help greatly...30 years ago learning to sharpen, I never even heard of a diamond stone. They sure weren't common. Regardless, you can justify it however you want, that doesn't change the simple fact that 440 and many Buck designs are outdated and inferior to many modern knives.
It's about time someone had the guts to speak up. I've felt this way since 1981. There is a solid difference between wilderness living and building forts in the woods like young boys. Well done. Rene
@christopherhill1678 I was lead instructor for Thera Trex Wilderness, I taught my students respect and stewardship. Not kids games. Unfortunately RUclips wasn't around then. BTW why are you so defensive?
@christopherhill1678 I agree with much of what you say. RUclips has made everyone a star, given them an audience. I hope people who have actual hands on knowledge can see through the bull. In a strange way it's ok to have neophyte lecturers on YT. They stick out like a roach on a wedding cake. Happy Holidays
@@christopherhill1678I am assuming the uploader was referring to DBK channel since he keeps showing thumbnails from them. I rolled my eye when Maartens said he doesn't want to carry an axe if he's hiking 20 km in Norway. In a hypothetical situation insteaf of speaking from experience. First off, if you don't need an axe, your hiking gears are good enough that you don't need a knife to begin with. And if you do need an axe, most folks have a pulk or have a partner to share the loads; and a lot of campsites usually have a communal axe. And if you choose to baton, then you're doing that with a 5 euros knife everyone has lying around on their work benches. You're not doing it with your 200 euros knife.
@@christopherhill1678 coward? We all have opinions, we do not often share. Why would you call me a coward about such things? Surely you are not one of those "experts" that likes to fight to impress his girlfriend/boyfriend? Peace be with you.
@christopherhill1678 You started by calling me a coward. Not the most fruitful way to start a conversation. When I said someone had the guts . It's a figure of speech. One who dares to break with the norm. Your insult is very telling. You like to judge. I'm not engaging. Happy New Year
For the most part I agree.. i actually live in a cabin in the Alaska interior. I built my own cabin from 8 inch logs. I heat my home with wood. I live in a dry cabin, which means i do not have running water, or an indoor toilet. I do have a couple generators to run power tools and vharge batteries.. also not one time ever have made feather sticks or batoned wood with a small knife. I fo use a council hatchet ans a couple fifferent hawks for splitting kindling. And a log splitter for bigger wood. Im old so i use a 20 inch husky chain saw...and a gas powered log 24:07 splitter. For a belt knife I prefer bigger knives. So my main knife is a O1 cold steel trailmaster. That plus my small camilus neck knife and forest axe, work well. I also carry a leatherman surge on my belt and a ferro rod as backup to my Bic lighter..i have built many shelters, but they require to much time and effort so i use a 10x10 cotton canvas tarp that i hot waxed myself. It far superior on moose hunts. It sets up fast. Does not leak, and keeps me warm even on snow days.
Amazing, I want to have the option to live like that, like you do, if I had to. Right now I'm homeless, but it's been super duper easy because I am sober and have practiced native American family lore of "sasquatching" my entire life already. I also spent 20 years honing my special talent and special interest of ropes and knots. I basically made a hammock bed/tarp shelter that can set up anywhere with trees, inside a big tree, 50ft up in a tree, on hills, over creeks, etc, and it fits into a 40 liter bed roll, which I can easily carry with my bike-camping bicycle. And the hammock ting sets up in literally 5 minutes. I made it up.
I used to be a large collector of a very popular brand of knives I shall not name. There was a member of the community forum who pretended to play bushcrafter, only time and again to beat his knives to destruction. I used to ask why he would baton wood when an axe or a hatchet was needed? Just SMH and your video brought this guy to mind. For those of us who were Boy Scouts, we were taught basic survival skills but didn't make us survivalists. Thanks for another great presentation.
Simple answers : 1) Make wooden wedges for splitting . 2) Scrounge dead wood that you can break up by hand 3) Carry a folding saw ( Silky, Bahco etc. ) 4) If weight isn't a problem, carry a good ax. 5) Carry a wood-burning stove and a bag of pellets. 6) Carry a big knife : KaBar Kukri or a Tops SXB to use as a hatchet.
Agreed (especially on point 6). I got a parang and it’s plenty for just about anything. For firewood, I usually just use two trees that grew close to each other to lever large dead branches into breaking. I never understood putting in so much effort to saw firewood for a campfire.
You know that person too? Yikes. My parents tried getting me into boy scouts but I was rejected. I am native American and "sasquatching" is built into my family lore, for at least millennia. Now as an adult, I find it ironic I didn't get in. I remember my first axe
@@BeefT-Sq Tops is absurdly overrated and overpriced for basic 1095. Not much sense in choosing a Kukri to use as a hatchet when you can just carry a hatchet. A good kukri weighs as (or almost as) much, so you're not really cutting weight. Ultimate the decision to use a kukri vs. hatchet depends on your environment.
Yeah, I don’t carry an axe anymore. Those Silky arborist pro saws are way more useful and safer. But, I actually live in the AK bush. If I ever move to the north woods, I’ll for sure get an artisan hand made Swedish axe.
@WhiteBreadThunder-op6in For me personally an axe as a more useful tool, but I like both. Really both tools can do some of the same things but they do a lot of things that each other can't do. If I had to cut through a big thick log I would want the saw. If I had to pound something into the ground like a stake I would want the axe, and if I had to defend myself versus a wild animal the axe would be the better choice. And one more point I would add is that I have seen some very gruesome wounds with a saw, so both tools can harm you very badly. With the utmost respect.
I find an axe being used extensively in the winter for chopping ice and clearing the suspension on my sled and also pounding stakes for traps. Which I also make with an axe. A saw? Yeah I don't use them much.
@@Bat-Fool Depends what you are doing, saws certainly waste less wood and cut more precisely, but if you are just clearing dead lumber an axe has it's uses.
You know after watching this video I kinda started to feel like i had marked out for a lot of this Bush craft stuff and that i had perhaps wasted time and effort developing a lot of the skills that are associated with bushcraft. Then i remembered that I had a lot of fun doing this kind of stuff with my little boy and realized that it might not have really been a waste of time after all. You make some excellent points in your video and this is good content.
Wow finally a video on RUclips about bush crafting that makes sense. I'm not a hunter, bush crafter or survivalist and even I think batoning wood is the dumbest thing. Especially when they baton wood with a folder. Thank you for a dose of reality.
One of our more modern ‘Outdoorsmen’ and ‘Woodcrafter’ was Clyde Ormond of Idaho who wrote half a dozen or more books on woodcraft and hunting. Quite a humble guy. I never understood why you would hammer on a knife or baton wood, just go and gather some smaller sticks, you’d burn less energy and save your gear from abuse that is totally idiotic! Luckily I learned woodcraft from my grandfather back in the 1960’s. Great video @DD!
I prefer 14c28n steel in my outdoor/hunting knives. It’s a great all around stainless steel with a lot of toughness. It’s super easy to sharpen and takes a very fine edge. Plus, it’s really cheap and available in lots of great knife designs.
The edge retention also sucks, so you're stopping to touch up the blade repeatedly. My primary EDC is 28n, but to think that could ever compete with 3V or magnacut for a hunting knife is laughably absurd. It's ok to just say you can't afford a better knife than to pretend it's just as good as clearly superior products.
Of the stainless steels it is indeed extremely high value for the money. Am knife maker. Its only cheap because its used in so many real world industries and is therefore made in high volumes compared to rare delicatessen steels. Its forerunner AEB-L is also excellent with cryo and very tough even at high hardness.
Best video I have seen in a while! I could never understand why people wanted to split firewood with a knife! Or even worry about starting a fire with a ferro rod. Fun stuff, but I was taught as a Boy Scout 50 years ago to "Be Prepared!" An ax and a saw for cutting wood. A lighter or matches along with a fire starter get things going pretty quick. I only started watching this "bushcraft and survival" stuff as a result of being sick and recovering for six months. I just take it for what the majority of it is. Entertainment. You made perfect sense to this old boy scout
60+ outdoorsman here. I never really bought into the modern use of the word "bushcraft". I learned, at my father's side, and the side of what I consider to be true experts in outdoor survival what we called "field craft". It's also the term that was used in the Canadian military, where I also learned "survival craft". Many of the "bushcrafters" and "survival trainers" we see on RUclips today, the so called "influencers" are practicing their craft on private land, (often just a short walk from their vehicle) and not really "wild country" camping/surviving. I learned most of the techniques and skills they talk about before I hit the ripe old age of 17. I didn't learn these by watching a computer screen, or reading a book, but through years of practical application, learnt in the wilds, from men I consider to be of the last generation of real outdoorsmen. Their names are not listed as authors on books because they preferred to teach and do, not talk. They were true mentors, not silly cyber mentors. I've walked away from hunt camps, on what was supposed to be a "day hike/hunt" only to shelter in place because the light dropped faster than I anticipated and it was safer to hunker in and wait til dawn. (BTW we're talking November in Ontario's near north with overnight temperatures around 10 to 14F . Even on those basic "walkabouts" I was eqipeed. I had my firearm, daypack, my small hatchet, folding saw, hunting knife, pocket knife, compass and map with me (ALWAYS). In my pack was an old military poncho, small first aid kit, a few snacks, canteen of water, small thermos with coffee, small hank of paracord, and a few fire starting tools. I never once used my knife to baton wood for firewood processing. I live up north where Birch are aplenty, so I never made feather sticks, and although I've know how to use a flint and steel since my adolescent days in scouting, my trusty zippo and its Bic backup (used to smoke back in those days) was almost exclusively used to start up a bundle of birch bark for fire. Even though building a poncho hooch, field cover (yes including a primitive igloo) was learned from my father, in scouting, cadets, and in the military, I would not consider doing so unless I knew I was really screwed and was going to have to wait several days before rescue arrived. Even then, if possible, I'd opt to walk out, and NOT hunker down for more than a might or two. Here's MY take on the modern day "survival" vs "bushcraft" debate. Pure "survival is about "enduring" the wilds and short term hunkering down for rescue or moving through the bush in a self rescue effort. Modern "bushcraft" is a more basic form of "camping". More about "enjoying" being at one's destination, in the wild, with the intention of remaining in one place for an extended period. From a pure survival aspect, the concept of "staying put and living there for an extended period of time" is misguided as eventually you'll deplete the area of resources, chill the bush (as wildlife adapt to your presence) and have to move on. It's a beautiful fantasy, but not based in reality. Why to do think the indigenous of old were seasonally nomadic in nature? Neither group of practitioners and their focuses are "stupid", just different in nature. There is a lot of crossover skills from each group that can help an avid outdoorsperson survive and thrive if needed. There is "gear hawking", "school/service hawking" and "useless" surplus information (even misinformation) floating around on both sides as well. The pursuit of the almighty dollar, has created a new breed of TV and internet frauds. If any presenter/influencer has a "shopping list" or sales based web site, or plugs a gear sponsor, I immediately start to doubt their intentions, and the validity of the information they are presenting. But that's just jaded old me. Instead of throwing stones at each other, why not just encourage all those who want to wander about in the wilds to learn all they can from each group. Acquiring knowledge is never a waste of time. Here's a final thought. I said earlier, I learned from men who I held up as real experts in field craft. What they passed on to me was not theory, but first hand, practical knowledge, transferred to me while practicing those skills in the bush. Their names will never appear as some random author, user account in some internet forum, or on some RUclips channel". They were men who spent their tome walking the path, not sitting around talking about it.
Excellent post! I agree with what you say. In particular, the concept of "living off the land" in a modern context is fraught with danger and very likely life-threatening. In the days of the "mountain men" or "frontiersman", there were generally far fewer people around, and very many more wild animals than there are today. Generally, these folk had access to some sort of transport (self and goods), like a horse, mule or often a donkey. Thus more equipment-carrying capacity was available, not just a backpack. Also, these days access to tools, equipment etc is far simpler, and often cheaper. One can therefore equip oneself (as you describe above) quite easily and be in a much better position to "survive" and get back to civilisation. I liked your approach, which is very practical yet simple enough. Cheers mate!
Excellent points! I also grew up in a rural setting with people whose knowledge of the woods traced back generations. My brothers and I learned from our grandparents, great aunts and great uncles and their peers. What all of these elders instilled in us was a comfort with the nature around us as well as a respect for that nature and the creatures that inhabited our environment. We regularly trekked into the deep woods for both hunting and the sheer joy of exploration. We did not carry a lot of gear. But we knew how to use what we had to its fullest potential. We did not carry tarps but we knew which trees gave the best rain coverage and we copied the methods of sheltering we saw with farm animals. If we needed to build a fire we didn’t play around with fancy friction-fire techniques. We pulled out our lighters or matches and quickly found whatever natural material would burn. We used axes and hatchets for “real chopping/cutting and knives for light cutting and game processing. The 10-year old stock butcher knife was just as respected as a fancy Bowie knife or high-grade folding knife. We did not romanticized rustic or subsistence living; but saw it for what it really is-various levels of hardship/discomfort softened by whatever niceties the family could bring to the situation! Because of this I recognize bush crafting for what it is; namely cos-play by people who can readily go back to the comforts of middle class living whenever they choose!
@PhilCherry3 I wouldn't classify bushcrafters and bushcrafting as cosplayers and cosplay. Most of the base skills they've learned and practice are valuable skills. Where I sometimes discount the practioners is when the stage a video for a RUclips channel that is not entirely forthright when telling about setting their stage. When they give the impression that they are a day's walk back in the wilds, while only an hours walk from the parking lot, they are being disingenuous. When they spent 20 minutes prepping starters and starting a basic fire, instead of 5 mins with a lighter, all for "content," they are being disingenuous. For example, many European bushcrafter go out into the bush for a weekender, and don't talk about food and camp security and potential predator interaction. They can do this because many European countries have hunted their big predators to extinction. A North American apprentice might look at those videos and think that they don't have to police their camp, bear proof their food and supplies, and inadvertently put themselves at unnecessary risk. By the same extent, "survivalist" in the bush channels talk way too much about SHTF scenarios, OPSec, and militaristicsty, behavior, most of which have little to do with pure bush survival. I would not call those guys cosplayers, cosplayers either just coming at bushskills from their unique perspective. Basically, I appreciate both sides' knowledge transfer videos but prefer to leave the hype out of it.
@dennisleighton2812 about five generations ago, tough men and women ventured into an untamed frontier. Most did so with little experience and foreknowledge, but they were tough-minded, physically strong, adaptable, and driven by a spirit following generations seemed to have lost. While they had all those attributes, they were also somewhat equipped. Most also had guides who knew how to live in the bush and survive. Those skills and confidence is what we need to teach and leave the hype out of it.
@ I’ve also participated in a few bush craft gatherings. While attending these events I’ve oftentimes seen behaviors & approaches to outdoor life that left me torn between appreciation for anachronistic methodologies to outdoor living and bewilderment about the earnestness with which some people presented solutions/approaches/techniques that would quickly endanger a person if used in real life situations. For example the same person who can show master flint knapping proficiency will also go barefoot through the woods & sleep on just a tarp under a lean-to in tick & snake infested areas. Then the person is shocked they get Lyme disease. In another example, Bushcraft diehards may demand “materials authenticity” for shelter building and spend precious time building structures out of wood, dirt, felled logs, leaves etc. while making zero efforts to learn how to quickly build shelter out of a plain tarp & cordage. So in their education sessions they are really demonstrating how to increase one’s risk of adverse effects from unnecessary exposure in severe weather situations. I believe Bushcrafting teaches & helps recover useful skills & knowledge about outdoor living. But just like so many other things in American life, the zealots take things too far and create nearly comical distortions of what bushcrafting is all about.
I tuned in thinking i was going to disagree with you. Sadly(but also fortunately) you opened my eyes to the fact that i guess i am a hipster of the woods and the hobby really has been seriously infected with consumerism (like everything else in todays era). But i think you made some excellent points, provided some good history and some good facts. And you have successfully changed the way i look at bushcraft. I appreciate it. You just got yourself a new subscriber.
The Gränsfors axes are too expensive. Far less costly axes work just as well. The Mora knives I've seen are good and inexpensive. I'd prefer a drop point but the clip points are so affordable.
The real ones have Billnas axes though. They don't make them anymore and Americans are always surprised you can get them for free or for less than 50 euros
@@robertpetersson5655I have a ton of moras, and I have a large forest axe from gransfors. The axe is fantastic.,but yeah it's expensive as shit. To us scandis, we should go for hultafors, and in the US they should by Council axes.
Ein guter Beitrag! Wir sind schon als Stift,Kind,oft im Wald unterwegs gewesen und genau das gemacht was sich heute als Buschkraft nennt.Das hat uns niemand gezeigt wir haben uns selbst Gedanken gemacht und wir hatten viel Spaß dabei.
Thank you for saying what needed to be said! Also, thank you for pointing out that a machete can be an incredibly useful (and surprisingly light weight) tool out in the bush. I've done a fair amount of wilderness backpacking, and I always carry a machete (standard, cheap, Latin American style, 18" blade, 24" overall). I've cut down pretty large trees with my machete, making nice "Siberian Log Fires" even in the wettest conditions with relatively little effort. They're usually easy to sharpen, too.
I never in my life thought someone would call me a hipster and agree with them. I don’t know if I should laugh or cry. But what ever I do. It will be over craft beer. 🍺
The biggest scam in my opinion is making elaborate sheleters without looking for dry tree branches above that can fall, with complete lack of knowledge how to spot an animal path, or assay if certain terrain will flood ;)
I was skeptical when I first saw the title, but this is well said. Having grown up on a rural family farm and having served over 20 years in the military, I can honestly say that many of the items marketed to Americans today are over-hyped and over militarized. Simple is better is almost every survival situation. On the farm, we made do with what we had and even repaired things for reuse when possible. My father and grandfather took great pride in doing more with less. That being said, I think it is great that people are getting outside and practicing niche and even novel “bushcraft” skills. If nothing else, such skills can help defeat boredom in the absence of electronics when living outdoors. Practicing such skills also helps one feel closer to nature in a time when we often feel separated and hopeless. Think of it like a Japanese tea ceremony. It’s not just about having a cup of tea to drink. It’s also about the process and becoming one with it.
You are 100% correct on every point and what you say matches exactly what I have used in my experience. I remember the time when a “survival” knife had to be at least 1/4” thick, too thick for most camp uses, too thick for people who skin and butcher animals. The YT bushcraft groups have become a kind of cult for many of the channels, who only want people to do things “their way.”
One of the few I respect makes it clear that it is primarily a hobby. Lots of hobbies out there, so why not have one that compliments other hobbies like hiking and camping.
@@WutangPham While I don't baton, you would be wrong. There are absolutely some knives that can baton and still slice nicely afterwards. They'll be made of 3V or magnacut and they'll cost you $350-$400 though and only some companies get it right. To the OP's comment though, big knives are not good skinners. You need room to maneuver. These days I typically use a blade around 3", although for larger game and doing the full hide, my favorite is MKC's Stonewall Skinner in magnacut. Easiest skinning job ever.
@@Swearengen1980 Im not talking about a knifes ability to retain an edge after use. Im talking about the blade geometry affecting how well the blade slices. A thinner blade with a high grind and a thin edge will cut better than a thick knife with a low grind and a thick edge. The characteristics that makes a knife durable for batonning makes the knife bad at cutting. It doesnt matter what the steel is. the montana knife blade you mentioned is thin in blade stock, a full flat grind, and a thin edge profile.
@@WutangPham I know what you meant and my point is that if all things are equal, steel does make a difference. People (usually broke ones) try to say magnacut is an overpriced waste of money and that any steel is just as good and throw out the "proper blade geometry". Well these $300-$400 knives clearly have proper blade geometry. It's an irrelevant point that relies on an assertion that these companies that use "super steels" don't know how to do blade geometry to justify their statement and it's simply absurd.
As an old school hunter, our outdoor skills were the bare basics to the extended hunting trips. We never even gave our "survival" skills a second thought. We knew what we had to do and we prepared for it. Preparation kept the situation from becoming a survival situation. The hunt was the primary fixation. This guy is 100% correct.
@@glos7569 it all depends if you need a machete and a chopper and dont wanna carry 50 tools a sharp throwing/chopping hatchet can do both and maybe a folding saw to compliment it, stop making absolute statements depends what size wood you need to process.
This is a great video. It goes so much deeper than knives. My parents are from Cambodia and I lived there for a few years. It’s not like I grew up living in primitive conditions or anything like that but the way my parents and I do many things is still the way people live in Cambodia. It’s nothing special to us but many people find it interesting. There’s so many hobbies and lifestyles that get a big fancy name and then people start gate-keeping them. Bushcrafting, lightweight backpacking, overlanding, van life, minimalist living, etc. It’s all stupid. I’ll never understand why so many people are so quick to box themselves in as any of those categories. Just do whatever you want, learn what you can from them all (because I still think there is some useful information from them all) and ignore the rest.
Yep, stupid expressions and phrases to describe everyday ordinary crap. America is the king of b*llsh*t and people pretending to be something they are not. Life is just life, why put dramatic labels on everything.
Glad I found your channel. I particularly appreciate the historical knowledge and how the tools/weapons have evolved and the difference between practical changes, and modern commercialism nonsense.
Good video Desert Dog. Bottom line is the world has become dumber and not smarter since the internet came along. On another note, holy shit! You must own an actual museum worth of outdoor equipment! It never ceases to amaze me at the gear you pull out for any video that you do! 😂 Have a great weekend!
"I watched the first half of Naked and Afraid."🤪 -Unknown- "Reality T.V. isn't."😴 -Anon.- This guy's laugh indicates deception. What is suitable Bushcraft may not apply to survival skills and vice-versa.
This is one reason why I recommend the Ashley Book of Knots. Too many people have gotten away from the "crafting" part when that's actually the most important. Even if it's something as oddball as making a copper funnel to fill your hurricane lanterns, being able to make simple things on your own is an essential part of getting around in the woods. Just saw a video where a guy made a wood pack frame and canvas bag for it. Wonderful stuff, even if he did use machine sewing and such, because it demonstrated an old way of being relatively self-reliant. That gear will be prized more and more as the patina of the years builds up - every stain and tear a memory.
This has to be the best video I have ever watched on the historical and proper use of a knife. Great job for sure. Thanks for opening a lot of people's eyes.
Thanks a lot pal! I stopped the video half way through and ordered a custom handled Russell, with fitted sheath because of your video! I'm 65 and own over 200 knives already (collecting since childhood). I'll die broke (but happy)!
Custom handled Russell? What is one of those, I have a custom handled butcher knife too, made he handle myself and blade made to order in Sheffield to the old pattern.
@inregionecaecorum I can ship it to you, after it arrives for you to review if you like. Actually, I always buy myself a Christmas gift each year, and am still feeding a lifetime addiction for knife collecting. Seriously, if you'd like to review my purchase (on or off camera) I'd enjoy your take - even if you tell me it was an "unworthy purchase".
Excellent review of "bush crafting". I love 1095 steel for my hunting knives and find that a small hatchet works best for me to process wood. As a hunter, fisherman, and hiker, camper, I have never tried using my 1095 hunting knife for processing wood. It seems all the "bush crafter" videos are about selling gear. Really enjoyed your videos.
The biggest scam is making complicated sheleters without knowledge how to spot a natural animal path, looking for half-dead tree branch above or assay how easily would a tarrain flood :)
Great vid. I’ve been suckered in on some expensive knives but have recently wised up. Great vid. I’ve read the books you described. Most of the stuff is marketing-and it works.
Short story. My 8 & 11 year old sons had absolutely no bushcraft training before my family and I set up a homestead near the woods. Not but a few weeks later after their mother and I told them to go out and play in the woods, they soon built solid wood teepee structures and campsites using simple tools on their own. No stress or pressure. Just boys learning through experience and play. They continue to 'bushcraft' on their own. This is the kind of practical bushcraft advice I've been looking for. Subscribed.
Landing at Vincennes Indiana among the assembled Indiana and Kentucky Militia prior to the Battle of Tippecanoe- “Many of these militia spoke the French language; their dress was a short frock of deer-skin, a belt around their bodies, with a tomahawk and scalping knife attached to it, and were nearly as destitute of discipline as the savages themselves. The militia from Kentucky and a few companies of Indiana were decent soldiers, yet the large knife and hatchet which constituted a part of their equipment, with their dress, gave them rather a savage appearance. The hatchet, however, was found to be a very useful article on the march - they had no tents but with their hatchets would in a short time form themselves a shelter from the weather, on encamping at night.” -Adam Walker, A Journal of Two Campaigns of the Fourth Regiment of U.S. Infantry in the Michigan and Indiana Territories Under the Command of Col. John P. Boyd and Lt. Col. James Miller During the Years 1811 and 12, (Keene, N.H.: Sentinel Press, 1816).
So true what you said about the fancy steels modern bushcrafters use and sharpening in the field. I have grown very fond of the plain and simple Opinel carbone folding knives, you can sharpen them so effortlessly and they hold a mean edge. I just use an old timey whetstone for scythe blades and it sharpens these blades so fast. I don't baton wood, but if I had to because I really needed to split wood for a project, I would even baton with these. They are of course not made for this kind of abuse, but hey, I can always buy a new one for around $ 30. At home in the kitchen I use the carbon steel versions of German "Windmühlen" knives. Very thin blades that hold a mean edge, also quite inexpensive. I sharpen every time before I do bigger tasks like processing poultry, cutting meat off the bone etc.
Totally agree. To me, true bushcraft is accomplishing the task in the simplest way possible. Most of what you see online these days is just overly complicating camp tasks into time and resource consuming nonsense.
Ray mears was always good to watch. Les stroud was also a good resource and neither tried to make things extreme. Just good knowledge and showing it to us in an easy format. I do enjoy Dave Canterbury as well even through all the drama.
Thought this was a well presented argument and i agree with 99 % of it. As both a bushcraft and survival instructor (not on you tube!) i would add one thing, which i don't think detracts from the argument made - i use the carving of feather sticks as a way to teach knife skills, more than i do for the production of fire. (Learning how to find the edge of a blade, etc....) Loved the video - esp the common sense on using hatchets/axes vs a far too fat and impracticle belt knife. Common sense is hard to find online. Thank you.
Because of the common sense that you have shared in this video I subbed. Every time I see someone splitting wood with a knife I’m reminded of the old phrase the right tool for the job.
Well ,you had me worried for a second there ,I wasn't sure what was coming and I was all set for a good solid argument ,BUT all I heard was old school common sense ,something that is seriously lacking these day it seems and I have nothing to add except ,thanks for the video and long live old school common sense .
Very well explained. I think a lot of this knife mania has also very much to do with the kit mania - means, from a military survival kit point of view one wanted to have a kit as small as possible yet as useful as possible, and there was clearly no way to add a hatchet. So the use of a knife was automatically coming into focus, and it swapped over from the survival to the bushcraft movement. These modern bushcraft and survival (even funny to have this as a common term which included totally different things as you perfectly explained) trends focus on knives which you can use during a weekend (and nobody has more than a weekend at a time to practise that hobby) without sharpening, and many focus also on kits (which contain whatever you want as long as there is a ferrorod, paracord and a fishing hook inside), and at the end everything turns around making money selling that stuff online to amateurs who are under the illusion to be professionals after having binge watched youtube videos. ah, almost forgot, there is also a focus on stoves - usually folding stoves or such which have to be ikea-assembled when it is about bushcraft, and jet gas systems when it is about hiking. And one more about LED torches which are according to the marketing gurus as better as more lumens they can produce for 20 seconds before shutting down automatically due to overheating to a more realistic and useful 200 lumens output ... Yet I see all of that very relaxed. Many people living in modern cities or their suburbs love to go out and have kind of a weekend adventure, whatever that might be, and that is absolutely ok. In former time it was fishing, now it is sitting anywhere in a forest and practising cutting wood even if there are perfectly right sized sticks laying around which do not need even a bit of processing. I always laugh when I see these videos, I feel it is very funny. In real life there is almost nobody living the livestyle of a bushcrafter 24/7 or 365 days a year, and also all that survival things and prepping etc. is just a time pass and money spending (resp. money making) affair and not anything what has to do with real life. All these bushcraft knives and survival kits and bugout bags and MREs etc. sold make the consumers happy and the producers and influencers rich, and one can basically accept that as ok, as long as nobody is really harmed. Well, and after all that said I just wanted to mention, that there are huge regions on our planet where neither fancy knives nor hatchets or machetes are used to process firewood and to perform plenty of tasks during work in fields and forests, but other tools like parangs, khukuris or billhooks. I love especially billhooks which are IMHO maybe the best tool for a lot of tasks, but that is a mere personal preference which I share with actually at least 1,4 billion people here around ... and more than 2000 years of history of using these tools also in Western culture, before they got there widely forgotten.
I was doing this when i was a kid ..playing in the woods building forts , having fires cooking hotdogs climbing trees ect ect now its called bushcraft.. Still go out in the woods now , its peaceful ✌️
Dave Canterbury has the most useful information about the outdoors . Whether you want to hunt , trap , or survive if in a difficult situation. I do not think it is for the weekend warrior. It is true ,useful information should you ever need it. I prefer regular carbon steel knives and was taught how to use them properly, that a knife is for cutting only. Axes are for felling trees, processing fire wood next to saws.
Dave started his career on a lie. He is almost universally disliked in the community because he will step on anyone’s neck to get an inch closer to more fame and fortune. While I agree that he is knowledgeable, one way or another, there are lots of great options and just better humans.
@@artinfluence I generally agree Art. In this instance I have met and talked with multiple people that have been instructors at Dave’s school and have known him personally for years. FWIW I actually loved his Character on tv.
I've been saying this for years, and folks just don't want to believe it. It's actually one of the reasons why I stopped making knives as folks were abusing the snot out of them and then blaming me for "shoddy craftsmanship" even though I told them that knives were for slicing not pretending they're an axe! Last guy broke one of my blades trying to hammer it through a knot-filled piece of oak. Good 1095 with a soft spine and keen edge. Took me days to make, and I was very proud of it. And pissed when it brought it back ruined! Being something of an historian of the days gone by, it's always been important for me to learn from the people of those days.... and that means shedding my ego and thinking I know better. If Kephart didn't use a knife to split wood, and he was living in the wildlands with gobs more experience than me.... who am I to say that my way is the right way and he just didn't know better? That kind of arrogance really fills the outdoors space, imo. Aside from the Founding Fathers of Bushcraft, I'd add Clifford Ashley as a critical author for every outdoorsman's library. The Ashley Book of Knots is a grand tome full of knowledge that outdoorsmen should familiarize themselves with. And it's a classic example of folks judging a book by its cover as I know quite a few people who have eschewed the book, thinking that they know enough knots to get by! I think too many in the bushcraft and primitive skills circles don't do much. Lots of feather sticks are carved, but not many "try sticks". Lots of wood gets batonned into kindling, but rare is it to find someone who can weave a basket. The gear becomes and umbilical cord back to civilization rather than a key that unlocks the possibilities in wild places. Who do you know that's made a pack frame and hand-sewn a canvas bag for it? Between Kephart, Kochanski, and Ashley, that's entirely possible.... and it takes your experience to an entirely new level. Making your own gear used to be part and parcel with traveling in the woods because stores were expensive. Look at what Nessmuk had and compare it to the tonnage carried by outdoorsmen today. He managed to survive in the wood with wool and canvas, but somehow we need a ton of plastic and store-bought everything, our pockets full of doodads made in china. We've lost something here, and knowing the difference between a knife and an axe is just the beginning.
Bring extra blades and battery. Broke the single blade I had cutting a Christmas tree. Thankfully I had my Swiss Tool with saw to finish the cut. This year I just brought my Stanley hand saw (and my swiss.)😅
@ cut the pelvis on our moose this year with it too. Didn’t have to saw the sternum this time, was able to just get my whole arm in there to cut the windpipe. Used it all week to cut camp wood. Used 2 6.0 HO batteries. A small axe was also needed to split wood. All that little knife stuff just wastes your time and energy. M18 sawzall is the best tool I own. Just charge and go. Swap any blade in seconds to cut almost anything with one tool that requires zero maintenance and doesn’t leak oil.
Shout out from NL. Was wondering what the title would be covering. Been 'bushcrafting' since the early 80's, then a kid, although it was called scouting at the time. I still covet my Eka knife from that time, 44 yrs old now. Got a great Malanika 'Bushcrafter' knife much later on, Cruwear and Desert Ironwood, beautiful. Not afraid to actually use it. But it's definitely not an axe. That's why we also learned how to use an axe, as scouts. Completely different tools. That clip of chopping a tree with a knife and a wooden stick was hilarious. Camping in the woods/forests, knowing how to make a fire, also when it rains and everything is very wet, is great. Living in the woods, is something completely different though. That requires an extensive, almost expert skill set. A lot of 'bushcrafting' videos are more about romanticism or escapism, than actual skillsets and wanting to live in the woods, completely self sufficient, old school way. I'd imagine it was effin hard, even for experts, they might thrive but not because they could lead some chill out/ASMR lifestyle...
I believe the concept of batoning wood was developed around military survival schools. Most of which focused on the downed pilot scenario. Batoning was just a way to maximize their knife with reduced time/energy used. Kinda hard to bail out of a plane with an axe. Same can be said for ground poundet units. Mors Kochanski also taught military survival schools.
You need to realize that you don't need to baton wood at all to make a fire. Nobody does that in real life. Why would you purposely mistreat and dull your knife in a survival situation.?
@@desertdogoutdoors1113 Yeah, we always just gathered up downed wood to make a fire. Then, we laid longer, larger lengths across the fire to burn them into 2 sections. Didn't need to use any steel tools at all to do that. I watch these Bush-crap videos & wonder how in hell these tenderfoot types would actually manage to survive in the wild during SHF. These Bush-crap vids are indeed dangerous. They're teaching people not how to survive, but how to perish. If you're out there in the wild for an extended period of time, you need to take very good care of what tools you have. And here these clowns are damaging their most valuable bits of kit. Darwin award material.
Thank you very much for this ! Salutations from Romania! Sheperds for exemple live like in the middle age , but never herd of batoning before watching americans on youtube.
In 1969 we called it Boy Scouting! And never once did we see anyone baton firewood! We were smart enough to use right tools for the job, such as saws, axe, map and compass etc! We never made feather sticks or discussed blade steel, lol! But we had a ton of fun!
as a friend once said to me after excavating an unused well in the woods to unsuccessfully search of treasure or caves (or both) - "what an enjoyable waist of time that was" I had to agree - stupid and fun are not mutually exclusive unless you take yourself far too seriously.
You are all wrong!! My 24 inch Bowie knife can baton a 30 inch log and chop down redwood trees!!! Its made from Magnamantium!!!! I sharpen it on the bottom of my coffee cup afterwards..... Then i skin some squirrels with it and cut potatoes so thin you would think it was rice paper..... HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE This video is golden... Yes i have fallen for some of the bushcraft bullshit... But i always get second and third opinions ... There was a video on you tube from a guy who i think was from Canada.. He said there is NEVER any need to baton with a knife in the woods. And very seldom any need to baton at all.. He walked around the woods and picked up sticks, twigs and branches off the ground and broke them by hand and started a nice fire... no feathersticks... GREAT VIDEO
I saw that guy too ! He said you can find such wood except in a campground where every twig has already ben gathered up and burned. Unless you are unexpectedly stranded with only a knife, you should have a folding saw for processing wood.
hello sir! I am 61 years old and live in the Patagonian mountain range of Argentina. I finally hear someone who thinks like me. Where I live, if a gaucho sees a person batoning with his knife, he would think he is an idiot. The saddest thing is that ignorant RUclipsrs who believe themselves to be "experts" impose unnecessary fashions and tools like some knives that separate it from true utility. All my life living in the forest I used a carbon steel knife with an 8" flat bevel blade and a 0.15" spine. Thinking more about processing food.leathering or slaughtering an animal activities to live in the environment.but never doing batoning and being a veteran seeing how "buchcraft experts" disfigured this lifestyle, leading it to unnecessary activities with knives that were ridiculous to me. Best regards sir and it has been a long time since I heard anyone say these truths!!
As a fellow middle-aged man, I wholeheartedly agree. I was bushcrafting as a child before I knew it was called bushcrafting. Then I found an Australian bushcraft book which fueled my desire even more. Several years ago I got sucked into the whole scandi-grind knife craze. I'm still bitter about spending so much money on a stupid knife design. It reminds me of when I was twelve and saved my money for a cool Gerber boot dagger, only to learn that it sucked at everything other than stabbing. Hipsters,,,,take heed to wisdom, not fads!
Bro, hear you tell it, hero! Growing up in Alaska, I found the same Australian book, Kochanski, and of course Angier. Scandi grind is for chip carving. I carry butcher knives now, cause skinning moose and caribou is way easier with those.
I guess I fell for it too. I have an Irish dirk dagger (or was it Scottish?) that has a double edge. One edge has a ground for skinning, the other has an edge for cutting vegetables. I just stab it into some log, and use a stick to push the veg into it, if you're curious. The stabbing ability is quite nice.
People should listen to rednecks and hunters more. The dumbest thing I've seen is a big YT guy (who does have amazing knowledge and skill) that has his own line of knives. All 1095 and every single model is scandi. What moron would choose a scandi for a skinner? A 1095 scandi is possible the worst combination to choose for a skinner that could possible exist beyond plastic. Scandi - Excellent at carving up wood, poor at literally everything else. I don't begrudge someone a 3"-4" scandi to sit around the campfire and whittle to pass the time, but to pretend it's a good survival option is absurd. The only non-flat grind blade I have is a Reiff F6 3V, which is a saber.
I bought a combat knife when I joined the Army back in 86. rubberized handle, thick blade, holds an edge, good for the field uses of a soldier. From stabbing to cutting to processing small game. It is NOT a hatchet. I bought a steel handled hatchet back in the 70s...still cuts wood just fine. I did, however, spend the 40 bucks for a swiss army knife so that I would have a few "extras" like scissors and pliers. Carried them on every deployment and camping/hunting/fishing trip since and have never replaced any of them.
@@bradfieldrich Bayonets do not cut anything and cannot be sharpened. They are good for stabbing, prying open wooden ammo crates if you are an 11c, and maybe digging a small hole.
My favourite thing I noticed with a well known bushcraft RUclips channel here in the cariboo area of BC is that in his videos he’s actually usually less than 200 yards from a road but he portrays it like he’s waaay out in the bush. The area he films in I’ve hunted and fished for the past 15 years so I have been able to recognize probably about 90 percent of his locations
This was a good view on this topic imho. I'm an ex knife maker and i cant tell you how many people came to me to make "bushcraft" knives. I used very simple logic and my knowledge of steel to change their minds on what kind of knife they wanted with an axe. Never had any complaints about my view and mostly thanks. Everything gets exploited over time and people forget to keep it simple and keep it safe.
Its not stupid. But its not necessary. We did all this growing up in the woods. Bushcraft is the selling point. I don't need 90% of bushcraft junk. Survival isnt fun, but bushcrafting is. Thats the difference.
Well done. Lots of history and common sense here. One thing that I haven't seen mentioned though is safety. Sure, if you are going to cut and split lots of firewood, use an axe or hatchet. But if you want to take a piece of precut firewood and make some kindling out of it, batoning works well and there is much less chance of injuring yourself. Especially true if you don't regularly use an axe or hatchet. Any sturdy fixed blade should do it without a problem. Will it dull your knife? Sure, if you do enough of it, but so what? I always have a second or third anyway. I find it a handy technique to use around the campfire. So, I agree with your statement at the end of the video, as well as the idea that bushcrafting is overhyped.
I thought I was doing something wrong because I never have baton wood or made feathers stick in my 45 years of making fires. I appreciate your dose of reality in assuring me I am not the only one
A person gets sick and by virture of knowing folk remedies they are able to make themselves well again. This is a good thing all sensible people would agree. That same person has a brother who eats right, exercises and practices excellent hygeine. That brother never gets sick. It can be argued that this brother is better than the one who got sick. Both of these brothers are exceptional for not having to call a doctor and being chronic dependents on pharmaceuticals. It's good to be the brother who never gets sick, but don't be too hard on the guy who knows how to use the folk remedies.
Great history lesson! I don't live in or near the woods so most 'bushcraft' doesn't apply. I'm in the desert so different set of rules and priorities. I appreciate your distinct definitions of 'bushcraft' and 'survival' - they are indeed two different entities.
This video is spot on! I cringe when I watch a RUclips video of some guy building an elaborate survival structure out of small logs and trees. They cut down more wood than a colony of beavers! And where in the USA can you even whack that much wood, other than land that you might own? In a survival scenario you won’t have the time and energy to build a wooden castle! Ever think of carrying a tarp, or a 1-2 person tent? This way you wouldn’t be deforesting an entire woodland! Also, many of the RUclips gurus have direct links to their online stores where you can spend gobs of money on things you don’t need!
Exactly. One point for me is that the most likely scenario I am going to face that will strand me out on a dayhike is a lower limb injury. Going to be pretty hard to gather enough wood for a night long fire and build a shelter outta sticks when I can barely walk. Warm clothing and an easily rigable tarp is what I will need to survive. Sure, I carry firestarter and a couple lighters in case I randomly did get lost, but my life cannot hang on my ability to process the forest.
Watch the good RUclips channels and scrap the silly ones. Kill your T.V. set too. Lilly, Dave Canterbury, Black Thomas, Coalcracker and Bender of Waypoint Survival are sometimes practical and fun.
Well duh, most of them are grifters. But if you see someone who builds a log structure, it is on their land they're going back to use it regularly. It's a camp that's put to use. It's not like they chop down a bunch of trees, build a lean-to or whatever, then abandon it after an afternoon. It's just an illustration of long term survival, especially since most of those people live where it'll eventually snow on you and your tarp isn't keeping you warm. I think you just wanted to go on some tree hugging environmentalist rant and didn't exhibit one once of critical thinking skills or see more than 3 minutes of an episode to have full context.
@ yeah, with my Masters degree in Forestry,and a Game of Logging graduate, and owner of several chainsaws, a sawmill, and firewood user, I’m a real tree hugger!
You’re right about supersteel . My S30v (ladybug) seems immune to resharpening but my Victorinox just needs a few strokes with a kitchen steel to get a good enough edge for a pocket knife. And it has a saw.
there is a tool in Greece called the Greek adze. I really loved your video and inspired me to talk about this tool. This tool has been an indispensable tool tightly tied to our civilization. It is used in masonry, in construction, cutting down small wood, breaking stuff digging ditches you name it. Still, hipster buschcraft people in Greece never use this!
What a great video. I like how you bring up kephart and Sears. I do believe that Bushcraft and camping go hand-in-hand, and survival is a totally different subject. Unfortunately, a lot of People Have Pl., Bushcraft and camping into separate terms and when they are truly not. A lot of people believe that you have to have this type of knife or this type of equipment to go and be a bush crafter. Fantastic video. I really enjoyed watching it. Happy trails.
I try going go with the Best--Right tool for the job, wouldn't use a 24-inch pipe wrench to remove a splinter, or fine tweezers to turn a 1inch rusty nut👍👍
Totally agree. I have the same point of view. I've been watching hundreds of videos of bush-crafting and practically all of them just staged to impress, having nothing common with real life. 👍
The western mountain man had access to relatively inexpensive and plentiful supplies for camp due to the industrial revolution. The OGs were the Appalachian mountain men who lived freely and held territory against Indians/colonial armies. Appalachian old timers still living the traditional way of life were mostly gone by the 1970s. Those were truly tough, self-sufficient men. At least the western mountain man could spend his life savings buying from a supplier to try his hand at trapping or prospecting and maybe make a living. These namby pamby dandy wanna-bees just want to get clicks and sell $500 knives to afford their comfortable lifestyle. The 'daddy, I graduated college and want to be an influencer now' career path. Modern bushcraft is stupid. Thanks DD!
Bushcraft, as it is presented online, is mostly an aesthetic. Don't get me wrong, it's an aesthetic I enjoy, with all of the waxed canvas and leather and carved wooden kuksa and whatnot. There is enjoyment in the ritual and practice of making and crafting things out in the woods. How practical the practice might be is debatable. I have always thought batoning wood is just silly though.
You're right. My favorite Bushcraft aesthetic is the cook videos because I'm homeless so I often do actual gourmet cooking with "bUsHcRaFt" type of things.
I was doing it in 1975 as a child we called it playing.
Same here.
I call it not freezing to death. Single digit temps last night here in NC in the disaster zone. Maybe negatives where I'm sitting.
That's what my boys do. Good stuff.
Same!
👌👌👌👌👍👍👍👍🔥🔥🔥🐇🐇🐇🦌🦌🦌🐂🐂🐸🐸🐸
Survival is NOT living in the woods. It’s getting the hell out!
My sentiment exactly that 👍
Survival is staying alive as long as you are stuck somewhere as well as walking out or getting rescued.
Bushcraft is primarily about constructing things during outdoor adventures as well as survival when necessary.
I'm native American and grew up with millenia worth of family lore. I guess I'm too comfortable in the woods, I must be sasquatching ❤ (I will be content living in a hollow tree, wearing woolen clothing and a guillie suit for years.)
Fair enough comment about survival, assuming of course that the person in question had only the intention to visit.
There is another kind, quite rare I think (and I reckon they do not tend to make videos) which lives on the fringe of what we call society. These individuals practice a kind of indefinite sustainment/survival where sometimes bushcraft is featured prominently and sometimes scavenging is more readily apparent. There is a substantial amount of overlap with those two things.
One of the worst things we can do is to insist that everyone conform to some conventional norm as a way of life. Anyone who does this is a tyrant by definition. Just as freedom of speech means getting to state things that others do not like, freedom of being means the ability to live differently than the social norm and still be a responsible human being. I'm not at all referring to wackos who deny the nature of human biology, but instead to those who embrace a life that is somewhat more primitive, which might even be called living closer to nature.
which includes living there for a certain time, sometimes.
This is why Alone is my favorite show. It will quickly demonstrate what works and what does not
I prefer to read through books and put those theories to the test out in the woods so that I'll be prepared if the shtf in the city.
I haven't really watched TV for about 25 years. Loony Toons is a better education.
@@WR3NDI agree I don't watch a lot of TV except maybe MeTV and Grit but alone is an interestin watch (even just to watch the sissies who are "major bush crafters" fail miserablely)
I love Alone. If I had more skills, I'd apply.
@@WR3ND In this day and age, Looney Toons is far more entertaining and possibly more logical than many of the planned and manufactured bs situations going in society. I have far more trust in Bugs Bunny, Speedy Gonzales, Foghorn Leghorn, and the Road-Runner than any world leader or politician.
It’s comparable to how car camping became “overlanding”. 😂😂😂😂
Nah, it's not overlanding unless you are in a $4000 tent on your roof. 😂
@@darb4091Car camping version of Glamping?
@@darb4091😂😂😂
I can hear the Karens & Kevins screaming; "I can survive in my modded out van that has gas stove & fridge & my flat screen TV with internet router!!!" At least we'll know what they have so when shtf in the cities, we'll know who to pay a surprise visit to in a life or death situation! Up it puppet!!
💯
"Modern hipsters of the woods" -- love it!
@@ronnybee9920 ascoltata quella frase mi sono iscritto al canale 😅
This guy is full of it. His nervous laugh is a "tell".
Them metro sexual city billies dressing up like lumber jocks with fancy waxed mustaches and tiny expreso cups, talking about roughing it in the woods
I liked log larpers
When I read the title of your video, my immediate response was YES, bushcraft is stupid. It seems like it’s largely for armchair mountain men. I stopped using bushcraft as a search term some time ago, because I tended to get unrealistic or pretentious advice. Liked and subbed👍
I thought bushcraft was all about being prepared with the necessary skills to build a fire and make your own wooden spoon and bowl if you find yourself filming out in your backyard and suddenly have an irresistible craving for a bowl of soup…
"...Unnecessary things to firewood with a small knife." Well said!
Some guys swear by battoning. Some say to fashion wooden wedges instead of abusing your knife. In most places, there is plenty of dead wood to bust up by hand for firewood that you need not saw, chop or baton at all.
Knowing skills doesn't do any harm but know when to use those skills and when not to.
I find that a lot of this "lightweight and minimalist" stuff is just people being too LAZY and pansy to do any of the real work!!!
😂😂
There is no 1 blade to do it all!
Get a folder, small knife, big knife, kukri, machete, hatchet and an axe!! Game processing knife is important!!
Why limit your tools....?
"...A man is only as good as his tools..." - Bruce Lee
@@BeefT-Sq The harm is in thinking it is more relevant and reliable than it really is. Busting up a knife and wasting your energy using it to make kindling isn't an issue when you're not actually needing or wanting to live in the wilderness for long durations or indefinitely. Not many people are paratroopers stuck behind enemy lines with only a knife to survive to try and get out nor wackos shooting up police stations and living on the lamb. It's basically the man version of playing make believe. Just part of our instincts, like cats playing with balls of yarn.
Very well done and no bs here! Spent a lot of time in the outdoors in my 70 + years hunting, fishing, canoeing, camping and imo, this guy knows what he is talking about! Follow his advice and you won’t go wrong! Nothing fake here!
The obsession with knives in bushcraft always confused me. An axe is far more important but they will die on a hill arguing that an axe is unnecessary. An axe is a force multiplyer.
I just recorded a video on this yesterday, a hatchet is by far the most important tool. Easier with the big tasks like splitting wood, just as useful for the small tasks like carving trap notches
Depends on geography/environment, my area machete worth more than axe.
I use a small folding saw. 😂
I take both. A 24" inch long 2 1/4 pound boy's axe, and a fixed blade tracker knife with 6" blade, 1095 steel. And a folding saw. It's all very easy to carry, weighs practically nothing, and I can accomplish basically any task I need to accomplish. Can't really even remember a time I really "needed" to actually baton firewood.
@@MeskaruneFolding saw is perfect and will work for almost anything wood or fire related.
I learned “bushcraft” in the Boy Scouts in the 80’s, aka camp craft or simply “making stuff with knives, saws, axes, and lashing.”
It’s a way to teach the basics of carpentry, arts, engineering, things that form the basis of civilization.
Camp craft skills aren’t stupid, but “bushcraft culture” sure is 👍
"It’s a way to teach the basics of carpentry, arts, engineering, things that form the basis of civilization. "
I love that :)
The old Boy Scout hatchet made by Plumb was an excellent woods tool.
I agree with you 100%. They have commercialized everything in the name of “bushcraft” unfortunately.
If something isn't selling well, label it bushcraft or survival, or claim that you can use it to sharpen drills. Then any piece of crap will sell like freshly sliced bread.
"Critics have a lock on the cheap seats."
-Unknown-
Blackie Thomas, Dave Canterbury, Coalcracker and Waypoint Survival all have valuable info and are no joke.
And yet here we are on YT discussing it and this channel making money from it?
@@oldbloke204 Yes, the days when you could chat at the bar or at the hairdresser or around the campfire are over.
Nowadays you sit around a "laptop fire" and tell young people what great times they used to be and what you experienced and did. 😁
@@toms_dayoff Depends on how you choose to live really.
Clinging on to the past and trying to set the rules for how we should do things is a bit pointless really as the world has changed.
Plenty of the places that used to be wilderness are now suburbs.
Call it stupid, call it necessary, makes no difference to me. Life is short. Do what makes you happy. To be honest the same argument can be made about the tacticool crowd. The people that focus on mimicking a ‘Navy Seal’ loadout for long term survival. Does it matter though, really? You mentioned a title that fits perfectly, ‘outdoor enthusiast’. That’s what we all are. Nobody is going into unknown territory and living off the land because there’s so little of it left. We’re going out into woods to have fun. If you want to use a bow drill to start a fire, do that. If you to practice CQB, do that. Float your boat because at least you’re outdoors doing things you love. Bushcraft as a practical skill isn’t necessary. In fact, here in the US, being out in the forest permanently is against the law. I really appreciate the historical walk-through of bushcraft, but the evolution exists because society changed. Corporations ruined homesteading. It rather seems the government had more to do with the evolution of survival skills being turned into weekend activities than anything. That’s a whole other topic though.
Bushcraft and tactic things are just a simple way to be gay
hell yeah
Basically what I said. It's not stupid, it's just a hobby for (mostly) city folk. Although I'd argue many of the bushcraft crowd practice because they're also preppers and believe in the potential collapse of society (hard not to look around and see the possibility); they're just fooling themselves if they think these skills make them survivalists. Rednecks will wipe out the weekenders 😂
Well said.
Couldn’t be said any better than this.
I'm happy I checked out this video! Had a few chuckles along the way, thanks. The number one reason I started YouTubing is I wanted to show how it really is in the back country after watching all these "bushcraft" channels teaching how its done. And no I don't beat on knives. I axe my way everywhere 😆. I am 56 with 45 years in the Canadian bush and my most reached for knife when I head out is Buck 110.
Keep up the great work✌️
Best video I’ve watched in a while. Carefully crafted and well-supported arguments.
I hung out with Mors Kochanski a few times back in the day , and I'm telling you that
he didn't go with 90 % of the Bushcraft BS that is going on.
He showed me his knife collection also...very modest and old school.
Axe proficiency is a must up here in the Canadian north for firewood , winter or summer.
No need to beat the shit out of your knife when the axe works better and generally won't break.
Thanks for the vid. Good perspective.
It is nice to watch a well prepared, honest, and objective speech in the old fashioned (taking the time, going trough the origins of bushcraft) way about this topic. It was refreshing, entertaining, and highly informative. Thank you!
Finally someone telling it like it is. One rarely sees a modern bushcrafter catching fish or hunting game and even more rarely processing it. Your message on material choice for effective tools that can be maintained in the field is a true gem of wisdom.
You may find this odd, but there was a tool called a shingle froe that was sometimes carried by backwoods explorers. They needed it to make shingles when they found an appropriate place to build a small cabin to winter in. Some had holes drilled in them for making various sized wood pegs as well to "nail" things together. That FROE is the ultimate wood splitting tool as well. It served as a draw knife, a picaroon if the blade tip was sharp. And it could be a nasty weapon I suppose.
Shingles could be made with a wide blade axe as well but those are HEAVY . A froe was actually a practical piece of kit
They are still around. Lehman's and some others still have them for sale.
I was a"shake rat" splitting shakes in the woods.
Yes, I own a froe like that! They're rare, people don't know jack smidtch now a days, just some city billy lumber jocks
Shakes*
I am quite pleased to see you doing this video and your opinion on this matter. I grew up in the woods. I played in the woods, camped, hiked, and hunted in the woods. About twelve years ago when I first discovered the internet and youtube, I started hearing this term "bushcraft." When did camping or survival situations that take place in nature become or start getting called bushcraft anyway? And why are are all these self appointed experts on bushcraft so obsessed with having some custom made fixed blade knife, and why are they obsessed with using a knife as a splitting maul? The first time I seen this I thought "what the hell is he doing- that is not what a knife is for- a knife is for cutting/skinning- not to be be used as a splitting maul." Some of these people are using a knife with a large/long blade and they have a hard time controlling the blade, a blade that is impractical and too long for practical use of a knife.
When camping or on hiking trips, my Swiss Army Knife, a Leatherman, hatchet, and small folding saw were the handiest of tools. A fixed blade knife I have never needed unless dressing large game/fish; and an old Western hunting knife with a chrome vanadium upswept blade is excellent and easy to sharpen for cleaning large fish or dressing large game.
I enjoyed that. You make interesting and very valid points. I suspect a lot of us knew that all along, but kept it quiet!
👍 Most realistic video on “Bushcraft” I have seen in the 21st Century. I particularly liked your very true comment about going into the wilderness unprepared is stupid. A shelter and water (or, water purification) on you is as important as your cutting tools.
I have always agreed with you that knives are for slicing and cutting while hatchets, machetes, and saws are for chopping and generally reducing big sticks to small sticks.
Buck, Ka Bar, Esee, Victorinox, and Mora are examples of companies who for years have made very useable and long lasting knives from simple steels with proper blade geometry and heat treat.
If I had to choose between a proper knife or a proper hatchet for time in the wilderness, I would choose the hatchet. 🤷🏻♂️
Buck knives are generally a bitch to sharpen, so no. 1095 dulls absurdly fast and it's definitely horrendous for skinning game. There's no reason, other than being broke, to not get a skinner and camp knife in 3V or magnacut from a good company. I'm a 'neck, grew up in the woods, do primitive camping, backpacking, hunting, etc and I can easily say that it's made a lot easier with magnacut and 3V. Infinitely better edge retention, still easy to touch up in the woods. It's absolutely worth the price to make the tasks easier if you know the right company to buy from. If you think your budget steel is good enough with the right blade geometry and heat treatment, what do you think it's like using magnacut or 3V with those same qualities? Better, the answer is a lot better.
@@Swearengen1980Most Buck knives; 110, 112, are currently made of 420HC stainless steel. My Buck 110, that I got back in the late 70’s is made of 440C SS. I can sharpen my 110 to a razor’s edge in about 5 minutes with an EZ Lap Diamond rod and my grandfather’s ceramic razor stone. I have field dressed many deer with it, including cutting through the brisket, and it was still sharp enough to cut. If you can’t sharpen a Buck you’re not doing it right. Also don’t know where you got the idea that Buck knives were made of 1095 CS. Maybe the cheap Chinese ones are.
60 years ago when I was a 10 year old Boy Scout we made many campfires during overnight camp outs, without using a knife or hatchet. Once in a great while we used a hatchet to cut longer dead branches, that we couldn’t break, into shorter lengths. I never heard of batonning wood until I started watching RUclips about 5 years ago.
@@mattsweet7918 They are different statements. 1095 was referring to ESEE, which was in the original post. 440 is in fact harder to sharpen than many modern steels was the point. Yes, diamond stones help greatly...30 years ago learning to sharpen, I never even heard of a diamond stone. They sure weren't common. Regardless, you can justify it however you want, that doesn't change the simple fact that 440 and many Buck designs are outdated and inferior to many modern knives.
It's about time someone had the guts to speak up. I've felt this way since 1981. There is a solid difference between wilderness living and building forts in the woods like young boys.
Well done.
Rene
@christopherhill1678 I was lead instructor for Thera Trex Wilderness, I taught my students respect and stewardship. Not kids games. Unfortunately RUclips wasn't around then. BTW why are you so defensive?
@christopherhill1678 I agree with much of what you say. RUclips has made everyone a star, given them an audience. I hope people who have actual hands on knowledge can see through the bull. In a strange way it's ok to have neophyte lecturers on YT. They stick out like a roach on a wedding cake.
Happy Holidays
@@christopherhill1678I am assuming the uploader was referring to DBK channel since he keeps showing thumbnails from them.
I rolled my eye when Maartens said he doesn't want to carry an axe if he's hiking 20 km in Norway. In a hypothetical situation insteaf of speaking from experience. First off, if you don't need an axe, your hiking gears are good enough that you don't need a knife to begin with. And if you do need an axe, most folks have a pulk or have a partner to share the loads; and a lot of campsites usually have a communal axe.
And if you choose to baton, then you're doing that with a 5 euros knife everyone has lying around on their work benches. You're not doing it with your 200 euros knife.
@@christopherhill1678 coward? We all have opinions, we do not often share. Why would you call me a coward about such things? Surely you are not one of those "experts" that likes to fight to impress his girlfriend/boyfriend?
Peace be with you.
@christopherhill1678 You started by calling me a coward. Not the most fruitful way to start a conversation. When I said someone had the guts . It's a figure of speech. One who dares to break with the norm. Your insult is very telling. You like to judge. I'm not engaging. Happy New Year
For the most part I agree.. i actually live in a cabin in the Alaska interior. I built my own cabin from 8 inch logs. I heat my home with wood. I live in a dry cabin, which means i do not have running water, or an indoor toilet. I do have a couple generators to run power tools and vharge batteries.. also not one time ever have made feather sticks or batoned wood with a small knife. I fo use a council hatchet ans a couple fifferent hawks for splitting kindling. And a log splitter for bigger wood. Im old so i use a 20 inch husky chain saw...and a gas powered log 24:07 splitter. For a belt knife I prefer bigger knives. So my main knife is a O1 cold steel trailmaster. That plus my small camilus neck knife and forest axe, work well. I also carry a leatherman surge on my belt and a ferro rod as backup to my Bic lighter..i have built many shelters, but they require to much time and effort so i use a 10x10 cotton canvas tarp that i hot waxed myself. It far superior on moose hunts. It sets up fast. Does not leak, and keeps me warm even on snow days.
Sorry for the typos.small keys do not work well for me
Respect sir.
If I may, how do you set your tarp to stay dry when it rains? I've tried it and didn't succeed
Amazing, I want to have the option to live like that, like you do, if I had to. Right now I'm homeless, but it's been super duper easy because I am sober and have practiced native American family lore of "sasquatching" my entire life already.
I also spent 20 years honing my special talent and special interest of ropes and knots. I basically made a hammock bed/tarp shelter that can set up anywhere with trees, inside a big tree, 50ft up in a tree, on hills, over creeks, etc, and it fits into a 40 liter bed roll, which I can easily carry with my bike-camping bicycle. And the hammock ting sets up in literally 5 minutes. I made it up.
I used to be a large collector of a very popular brand of knives I shall not name. There was a member of the community forum who pretended to play bushcrafter, only time and again to beat his knives to destruction. I used to ask why he would baton wood when an axe or a hatchet was needed? Just SMH and your video brought this guy to mind. For those of us who were Boy Scouts, we were taught basic survival skills but didn't make us survivalists. Thanks for another great presentation.
Simple answers :
1) Make wooden wedges for splitting .
2) Scrounge dead wood that you can break up by hand
3) Carry a folding saw ( Silky, Bahco etc. )
4) If weight isn't a problem, carry a good ax.
5) Carry a wood-burning stove and a bag of pellets.
6) Carry a big knife : KaBar Kukri or a Tops SXB to use as a hatchet.
Agreed (especially on point 6). I got a parang and it’s plenty for just about anything.
For firewood, I usually just use two trees that grew close to each other to lever large dead branches into breaking.
I never understood putting in so much effort to saw firewood for a campfire.
You know that person too? Yikes. My parents tried getting me into boy scouts but I was rejected. I am native American and "sasquatching" is built into my family lore, for at least millennia. Now as an adult, I find it ironic I didn't get in. I remember my first axe
@@BeefT-Sq Tops is absurdly overrated and overpriced for basic 1095. Not much sense in choosing a Kukri to use as a hatchet when you can just carry a hatchet. A good kukri weighs as (or almost as) much, so you're not really cutting weight. Ultimate the decision to use a kukri vs. hatchet depends on your environment.
I’ve never found a knife that stays sharp after cutting 100 tomatoes so good luck with chopping wood.
Also, take a lighter out with you - the SAS do.
I know some very old Northwoods trappers and they all universally agree that bringing an axe to the North woods is a necessity for them.
Yeah, I don’t carry an axe anymore. Those Silky arborist pro saws are way more useful and safer. But, I actually live in the AK bush. If I ever move to the north woods, I’ll for sure get an artisan hand made Swedish axe.
@WhiteBreadThunder-op6in For me personally an axe as a more useful tool,
but I like both.
Really both tools can do some of the same things but they do a lot of things that each other can't do.
If I had to cut through a big thick log I would want the saw. If I had to pound something into the ground like a stake I would want the axe, and if I had to defend myself versus a wild animal the axe would be the better choice.
And one more point I would add is that I have seen some very gruesome wounds with a saw, so both tools can harm you very badly.
With the utmost respect.
Especially, a full sized single bit.
I find an axe being used extensively in the winter for chopping ice and clearing the suspension on my sled and also pounding stakes for traps. Which I also make with an axe. A saw? Yeah I don't use them much.
@@Bat-Fool Depends what you are doing, saws certainly waste less wood and cut more precisely, but if you are just clearing dead lumber an axe has it's uses.
You know after watching this video I kinda started to feel like i had marked out for a lot of this Bush craft stuff and that i had perhaps wasted time and effort developing a lot of the skills that are associated with bushcraft. Then i remembered that I had a lot of fun doing this kind of stuff with my little boy and realized that it might not have really been a waste of time after all. You make some excellent points in your video and this is good content.
Wow finally a video on RUclips about bush crafting that makes sense.
I'm not a hunter, bush crafter or survivalist and even I think batoning wood is the dumbest thing. Especially when they baton wood with a folder.
Thank you for a dose of reality.
One of our more modern ‘Outdoorsmen’ and ‘Woodcrafter’ was Clyde Ormond of Idaho who wrote half a dozen or more books on woodcraft and hunting. Quite a humble guy. I never understood why you would hammer on a knife or baton wood, just go and gather some smaller sticks, you’d burn less energy and save your gear from abuse that is totally idiotic! Luckily I learned woodcraft from my grandfather back in the 1960’s. Great video @DD!
The whole movement is largely driven by marketing, videos and FOMO, nothing more.
I prefer 14c28n steel in my outdoor/hunting knives. It’s a great all around stainless steel with a lot of toughness. It’s super easy to sharpen and takes a very fine edge. Plus, it’s really cheap and available in lots of great knife designs.
The edge retention also sucks, so you're stopping to touch up the blade repeatedly. My primary EDC is 28n, but to think that could ever compete with 3V or magnacut for a hunting knife is laughably absurd. It's ok to just say you can't afford a better knife than to pretend it's just as good as clearly superior products.
Of the stainless steels it is indeed extremely high value for the money. Am knife maker. Its only cheap because its used in so many real world industries and is therefore made in high volumes compared to rare delicatessen steels. Its forerunner AEB-L is also excellent with cryo and very tough even at high hardness.
Best video I have seen in a while! I could never understand why people wanted to split firewood with a knife! Or even worry about starting a fire with a ferro rod. Fun stuff, but I was taught as a Boy Scout 50 years ago to "Be Prepared!" An ax and a saw for cutting wood. A lighter or matches along with a fire starter get things going pretty quick. I only started watching this "bushcraft and survival" stuff as a result of being sick and recovering for six months. I just take it for what the majority of it is. Entertainment. You made perfect sense to this old boy scout
60+ outdoorsman here. I never really bought into the modern use of the word "bushcraft". I learned, at my father's side, and the side of what I consider to be true experts in outdoor survival what we called "field craft". It's also the term that was used in the Canadian military, where I also learned "survival craft". Many of the "bushcrafters" and "survival trainers" we see on RUclips today, the so called "influencers" are practicing their craft on private land, (often just a short walk from their vehicle) and not really "wild country" camping/surviving. I learned most of the techniques and skills they talk about before I hit the ripe old age of 17. I didn't learn these by watching a computer screen, or reading a book, but through years of practical application, learnt in the wilds, from men I consider to be of the last generation of real outdoorsmen. Their names are not listed as authors on books because they preferred to teach and do, not talk. They were true mentors, not silly cyber mentors.
I've walked away from hunt camps, on what was supposed to be a "day hike/hunt" only to shelter in place because the light dropped faster than I anticipated and it was safer to hunker in and wait til dawn. (BTW we're talking November in Ontario's near north with overnight temperatures around 10 to 14F . Even on those basic "walkabouts" I was eqipeed.
I had my firearm, daypack, my small hatchet, folding saw, hunting knife, pocket knife, compass and map with me (ALWAYS). In my pack was an old military poncho, small first aid kit, a few snacks, canteen of water, small thermos with coffee, small hank of paracord, and a few fire starting tools. I never once used my knife to baton wood for firewood processing. I live up north where Birch are aplenty, so I never made feather sticks, and although I've know how to use a flint and steel since my adolescent days in scouting, my trusty zippo and its Bic backup (used to smoke back in those days) was almost exclusively used to start up a bundle of birch bark for fire. Even though building a poncho hooch, field cover (yes including a primitive igloo) was learned from my father, in scouting, cadets, and in the military, I would not consider doing so unless I knew I was really screwed and was going to have to wait several days before rescue arrived. Even then, if possible, I'd opt to walk out, and NOT hunker down for more than a might or two.
Here's MY take on the modern day "survival" vs "bushcraft" debate. Pure "survival is about "enduring" the wilds and short term hunkering down for rescue or moving through the bush in a self rescue effort. Modern "bushcraft" is a more basic form of "camping". More about "enjoying" being at one's destination, in the wild, with the intention of remaining in one place for an extended period.
From a pure survival aspect, the concept of "staying put and living there for an extended period of time" is misguided as eventually you'll deplete the area of resources, chill the bush (as wildlife adapt to your presence) and have to move on. It's a beautiful fantasy, but not based in reality. Why to do think the indigenous of old were seasonally nomadic in nature? Neither group of practitioners and their focuses are "stupid", just different in nature. There is a lot of crossover skills from each group that can help an avid outdoorsperson survive and thrive if needed.
There is "gear hawking", "school/service hawking" and "useless" surplus information (even misinformation) floating around on both sides as well. The pursuit of the almighty dollar, has created a new breed of TV and internet frauds. If any presenter/influencer has a "shopping list" or sales based web site, or plugs a gear sponsor, I immediately start to doubt their intentions, and the validity of the information they are presenting. But that's just jaded old me.
Instead of throwing stones at each other, why not just encourage all those who want to wander about in the wilds to learn all they can from each group. Acquiring knowledge is never a waste of time.
Here's a final thought. I said earlier, I learned from men who I held up as real experts in field craft. What they passed on to me was not theory, but first hand, practical knowledge, transferred to me while practicing those skills in the bush. Their names will never appear as some random author, user account in some internet forum, or on some RUclips channel". They were men who spent their tome walking the path, not sitting around talking about it.
Excellent post! I agree with what you say.
In particular, the concept of "living off the land" in a modern context is fraught with danger and very likely life-threatening. In the days of the "mountain men" or "frontiersman", there were generally far fewer people around, and very many more wild animals than there are today. Generally, these folk had access to some sort of transport (self and goods), like a horse, mule or often a donkey. Thus more equipment-carrying capacity was available, not just a backpack. Also, these days access to tools, equipment etc is far simpler, and often cheaper. One can therefore equip oneself (as you describe above) quite easily and be in a much better position to "survive" and get back to civilisation. I liked your approach, which is very practical yet simple enough.
Cheers mate!
Excellent points! I also grew up in a rural setting with people whose knowledge of the woods traced back generations. My brothers and I learned from our grandparents, great aunts and great uncles and their peers. What all of these elders instilled in us was a comfort with the nature around us as well as a respect for that nature and the creatures that inhabited our environment. We regularly trekked into the deep woods for both hunting and the sheer joy of exploration. We did not carry a lot of gear. But we knew how to use what we had to its fullest potential. We did not carry tarps but we knew which trees gave the best rain coverage and we copied the methods of sheltering we saw with farm animals. If we needed to build a fire we didn’t play around with fancy friction-fire techniques. We pulled out our lighters or matches and quickly found whatever natural material would burn. We used axes and hatchets for “real chopping/cutting and knives for light cutting and game processing. The 10-year old stock butcher knife was just as respected as a fancy Bowie knife or high-grade folding knife. We did not romanticized rustic or subsistence living; but saw it for what it really is-various levels of hardship/discomfort softened by whatever niceties the family could bring to the situation! Because of this I recognize bush crafting for what it is; namely cos-play by people who can readily go back to the comforts of middle class living whenever they choose!
@PhilCherry3 I wouldn't classify bushcrafters and bushcrafting as cosplayers and cosplay. Most of the base skills they've learned and practice are valuable skills. Where I sometimes discount the practioners is when the stage a video for a RUclips channel that is not entirely forthright when telling about setting their stage. When they give the impression that they are a day's walk back in the wilds, while only an hours walk from the parking lot, they are being disingenuous.
When they spent 20 minutes prepping starters and starting a basic fire, instead of 5 mins with a lighter, all for "content," they are being disingenuous.
For example, many European bushcrafter go out into the bush for a weekender, and don't talk about food and camp security and potential predator interaction. They can do this because many European countries have hunted their big predators to extinction. A North American apprentice might look at those videos and think that they don't have to police their camp, bear proof their food and supplies, and inadvertently put themselves at unnecessary risk.
By the same extent, "survivalist" in the bush channels talk way too much about SHTF scenarios, OPSec, and militaristicsty, behavior, most of which have little to do with pure bush survival.
I would not call those guys cosplayers, cosplayers either just coming at bushskills from their unique perspective.
Basically, I appreciate both sides' knowledge transfer videos but prefer to leave the hype out of it.
@dennisleighton2812 about five generations ago, tough men and women ventured into an untamed frontier. Most did so with little experience and foreknowledge, but they were tough-minded, physically strong, adaptable, and driven by a spirit following generations seemed to have lost.
While they had all those attributes, they were also somewhat equipped. Most also had guides who knew how to live in the bush and survive. Those skills and confidence is what we need to teach and leave the hype out of it.
@ I’ve also participated in a few bush craft gatherings. While attending these events I’ve oftentimes seen behaviors & approaches to outdoor life that left me torn between appreciation for anachronistic methodologies to outdoor living and bewilderment about the earnestness with which some people presented solutions/approaches/techniques that would quickly endanger a person if used in real life situations. For example the same person who can show master flint knapping proficiency will also go barefoot through the woods & sleep on just a tarp under a lean-to in tick & snake infested areas. Then the person is shocked they get Lyme disease. In another example, Bushcraft diehards may demand “materials authenticity” for shelter building and spend precious time building structures out of wood, dirt, felled logs, leaves etc. while making zero efforts to learn how to quickly build shelter out of a plain tarp & cordage. So in their education sessions they are really demonstrating how to increase one’s risk of adverse effects from unnecessary exposure in severe weather situations.
I believe Bushcrafting teaches & helps recover useful skills & knowledge about outdoor living. But just like so many other things in American life, the zealots take things too far and create nearly comical distortions of what bushcrafting is all about.
I tuned in thinking i was going to disagree with you. Sadly(but also fortunately) you opened my eyes to the fact that i guess i am a hipster of the woods and the hobby really has been seriously infected with consumerism (like everything else in todays era). But i think you made some excellent points, provided some good history and some good facts. And you have successfully changed the way i look at bushcraft. I appreciate it. You just got yourself a new subscriber.
As a swede I am proud that you have a gränsfors axe and a mora knife.
The Gränsfors axes are too expensive. Far less costly axes work just as well.
The Mora knives I've seen are good and inexpensive. I'd prefer a drop point but the clip points are so affordable.
My mora kansbol is the best knife Ive ever owned, absolutely awsome knife.
@slomo1562 yes but they are made the old fashion way.
The real ones have Billnas axes though. They don't make them anymore and Americans are always surprised you can get them for free or for less than 50 euros
@@robertpetersson5655I have a ton of moras, and I have a large forest axe from gransfors. The axe is fantastic.,but yeah it's expensive as shit. To us scandis, we should go for hultafors, and in the US they should by Council axes.
Ein guter Beitrag!
Wir sind schon als Stift,Kind,oft im Wald unterwegs gewesen und genau das gemacht was sich heute
als Buschkraft nennt.Das hat uns niemand gezeigt wir haben uns selbst Gedanken gemacht und wir hatten viel Spaß dabei.
Thank you for saying what needed to be said! Also, thank you for pointing out that a machete can be an incredibly useful (and surprisingly light weight) tool out in the bush. I've done a fair amount of wilderness backpacking, and I always carry a machete (standard, cheap, Latin American style, 18" blade, 24" overall). I've cut down pretty large trees with my machete, making nice "Siberian Log Fires" even in the wettest conditions with relatively little effort. They're usually easy to sharpen, too.
I never in my life thought someone would call me a hipster and agree with them. I don’t know if I should laugh or cry. But what ever I do. It will be over craft beer. 🍺
Ah, so you’re a ‘beer crafter’.
Stouts, porters and hefe are the best in my opinion
The biggest scam in my opinion is making elaborate sheleters without looking for dry tree branches above that can fall, with complete lack of knowledge how to spot an animal path, or assay if certain terrain will flood ;)
I was skeptical when I first saw the title, but this is well said. Having grown up on a rural family farm and having served over 20 years in the military, I can honestly say that many of the items marketed to Americans today are over-hyped and over militarized. Simple is better is almost every survival situation. On the farm, we made do with what we had and even repaired things for reuse when possible. My father and grandfather took great pride in doing more with less. That being said, I think it is great that people are getting outside and practicing niche and even novel “bushcraft” skills. If nothing else, such skills can help defeat boredom in the absence of electronics when living outdoors. Practicing such skills also helps one feel closer to nature in a time when we often feel separated and hopeless. Think of it like a Japanese tea ceremony. It’s not just about having a cup of tea to drink. It’s also about the process and becoming one with it.
You are 100% correct on every point and what you say matches exactly what I have used in my experience. I remember the time when a “survival” knife had to be at least 1/4” thick, too thick for most camp uses, too thick for people who skin and butcher animals. The YT bushcraft groups have become a kind of cult for many of the channels, who only want people to do things “their way.”
I agree, everyone wants a knife that they can hammer through a log. Those types of knives don’t cut!
One of the few I respect makes it clear that it is primarily a hobby. Lots of hobbies out there, so why not have one that compliments other hobbies like hiking and camping.
@@WutangPham While I don't baton, you would be wrong. There are absolutely some knives that can baton and still slice nicely afterwards. They'll be made of 3V or magnacut and they'll cost you $350-$400 though and only some companies get it right. To the OP's comment though, big knives are not good skinners. You need room to maneuver. These days I typically use a blade around 3", although for larger game and doing the full hide, my favorite is MKC's Stonewall Skinner in magnacut. Easiest skinning job ever.
@@Swearengen1980 Im not talking about a knifes ability to retain an edge after use. Im talking about the blade geometry affecting how well the blade slices. A thinner blade with a high grind and a thin edge will cut better than a thick knife with a low grind and a thick edge. The characteristics that makes a knife durable for batonning makes the knife bad at cutting. It doesnt matter what the steel is. the montana knife blade you mentioned is thin in blade stock, a full flat grind, and a thin edge profile.
@@WutangPham I know what you meant and my point is that if all things are equal, steel does make a difference. People (usually broke ones) try to say magnacut is an overpriced waste of money and that any steel is just as good and throw out the "proper blade geometry". Well these $300-$400 knives clearly have proper blade geometry. It's an irrelevant point that relies on an assertion that these companies that use "super steels" don't know how to do blade geometry to justify their statement and it's simply absurd.
As an old school hunter,
our outdoor skills were the bare basics to the extended hunting trips.
We never even gave our "survival" skills
a second thought.
We knew what we had to do
and we prepared for it.
Preparation kept the situation
from becoming a survival situation.
The hunt was the primary fixation.
This guy is 100% correct.
Knives for slicing, axes for chopping, saws for when you need to be precise or quiet
Saws are much more efficient cutting tools.
@@darb4091 lighter as well
Saws are actually much more efficient for cutting larger firewood than hatchets
@@glos7569 it all depends if you need a machete and a chopper and dont wanna carry 50 tools a sharp throwing/chopping hatchet can do both and maybe a folding saw to compliment it, stop making absolute statements depends what size wood you need to process.
@@darb4091 at what? what about chopping twigs and bushes you wanna carry a saw over a hatchet or a machete?
This is a great video. It goes so much deeper than knives.
My parents are from Cambodia and I lived there for a few years. It’s not like I grew up living in primitive conditions or anything like that but the way my parents and I do many things is still the way people live in Cambodia. It’s nothing special to us but many people find it interesting. There’s so many hobbies and lifestyles that get a big fancy name and then people start gate-keeping them. Bushcrafting, lightweight backpacking, overlanding, van life, minimalist living, etc. It’s all stupid. I’ll never understand why so many people are so quick to box themselves in as any of those categories. Just do whatever you want, learn what you can from them all (because I still think there is some useful information from them all) and ignore the rest.
Gross
Yep, stupid expressions and phrases to describe everyday ordinary crap. America is the king of b*llsh*t and people pretending to be something they are not. Life is just life, why put dramatic labels on everything.
Glad I found your channel. I particularly appreciate the historical knowledge and how the tools/weapons have evolved and the difference between practical changes, and modern commercialism nonsense.
Good video Desert Dog. Bottom line is the world has become dumber and not smarter since the internet came along.
On another note, holy shit! You must own an actual museum worth of outdoor equipment! It never ceases to amaze me at the gear you pull out for any video that you do! 😂 Have a great weekend!
"I watched the first half of Naked and Afraid."🤪
-Unknown-
"Reality T.V. isn't."😴
-Anon.-
This guy's laugh indicates deception. What is suitable Bushcraft may not apply to survival skills and vice-versa.
Bushcraft is: Crafting the things you need from the landscape.
No more, no less and especially not the garbage that its thought to be.
This is one reason why I recommend the Ashley Book of Knots. Too many people have gotten away from the "crafting" part when that's actually the most important. Even if it's something as oddball as making a copper funnel to fill your hurricane lanterns, being able to make simple things on your own is an essential part of getting around in the woods. Just saw a video where a guy made a wood pack frame and canvas bag for it. Wonderful stuff, even if he did use machine sewing and such, because it demonstrated an old way of being relatively self-reliant. That gear will be prized more and more as the patina of the years builds up - every stain and tear a memory.
This has to be the best video I have ever watched on the historical and proper use of a knife. Great job for sure. Thanks for opening a lot of people's eyes.
Thanks a lot pal! I stopped the video half way through and ordered a custom handled Russell, with fitted sheath because of your video! I'm 65 and own over 200 knives already (collecting since childhood). I'll die broke (but happy)!
Custom handled Russell? What is one of those, I have a custom handled butcher knife too, made he handle myself and blade made to order in Sheffield to the old pattern.
@inregionecaecorum I can ship it to you, after it arrives for you to review if you like. Actually, I always buy myself a Christmas gift each year, and am still feeding a lifetime addiction for knife collecting. Seriously, if you'd like to review my purchase (on or off camera) I'd enjoy your take - even if you tell me it was an "unworthy purchase".
Get an Adventure Sworn Classic, You won’t go back to anything else after
@@cocovasquez1 They look pretty awesome, thanks for the suggestion!
Excellent review of "bush crafting". I love 1095 steel for my hunting knives and find that a small hatchet works best for me to process wood. As a hunter, fisherman, and hiker, camper, I have never tried using my 1095 hunting knife for processing wood. It seems all the "bush crafter" videos are about selling gear. Really enjoyed your videos.
I couldn’t agree more, sir. It’s become a little ridiculous. “Playing with firewood” literally sums up the entire bushcraft market.
The biggest scam is making complicated sheleters without knowledge how to spot a natural animal path, looking for half-dead tree branch above or assay how easily would a tarrain flood :)
Great vid. I’ve been suckered in on some expensive knives but have recently wised up. Great vid. I’ve read the books you described. Most of the stuff is marketing-and it works.
Short story. My 8 & 11 year old sons had absolutely no bushcraft training before my family and I set up a homestead near the woods. Not but a few weeks later after their mother and I told them to go out and play in the woods, they soon built solid wood teepee structures and campsites using simple tools on their own. No stress or pressure. Just boys learning through experience and play. They continue to 'bushcraft' on their own. This is the kind of practical bushcraft advice I've been looking for. Subscribed.
Oh yeah, Nesmuk. Haven't heard his name in decades. Perhaps I'll read that book this winter. Very interesting video DD. Thanks.
Landing at Vincennes Indiana among the assembled Indiana and Kentucky Militia prior to the Battle of Tippecanoe-
“Many of these militia spoke the French language; their dress was a short frock of deer-skin, a belt around their bodies, with a tomahawk and scalping knife attached to it, and were nearly as destitute of discipline as the savages themselves. The militia from Kentucky and a few companies of Indiana were decent soldiers, yet the large knife and hatchet which constituted a part of their equipment, with their dress, gave them rather a savage appearance. The hatchet, however, was found to be a very useful article on the march - they had no tents but with their hatchets would in a short time form themselves a shelter from the weather, on encamping at night.”
-Adam Walker, A Journal of Two Campaigns of the Fourth Regiment of U.S. Infantry in the Michigan and Indiana Territories Under the Command of Col. John P. Boyd and Lt. Col. James Miller During the Years 1811 and 12, (Keene, N.H.: Sentinel Press, 1816).
So true what you said about the fancy steels modern bushcrafters use and sharpening in the field. I have grown very fond of the plain and simple Opinel carbone folding knives, you can sharpen them so effortlessly and they hold a mean edge. I just use an old timey whetstone for scythe blades and it sharpens these blades so fast. I don't baton wood, but if I had to because I really needed to split wood for a project, I would even baton with these. They are of course not made for this kind of abuse, but hey, I can always buy a new one for around $ 30. At home in the kitchen I use the carbon steel versions of German "Windmühlen" knives. Very thin blades that hold a mean edge, also quite inexpensive. I sharpen every time before I do bigger tasks like processing poultry, cutting meat off the bone etc.
Totally agree. To me, true bushcraft is accomplishing the task in the simplest way possible. Most of what you see online these days is just overly complicating camp tasks into time and resource consuming nonsense.
Totally agree! My favorite is the bow divot on Bushcraft knives that are too shallow and someone will slip and potentially stab their leg
Ray mears was always good to watch. Les stroud was also a good resource and neither tried to make things extreme. Just good knowledge and showing it to us in an easy format. I do enjoy Dave Canterbury as well even through all the drama.
Thought this was a well presented argument and i agree with 99 % of it. As both a bushcraft and survival instructor (not on you tube!) i would add one thing, which i don't think detracts from the argument made - i use the carving of feather sticks as a way to teach knife skills, more than i do for the production of fire. (Learning how to find the edge of a blade, etc....)
Loved the video - esp the common sense on using hatchets/axes vs a far too fat and impracticle belt knife.
Common sense is hard to find online. Thank you.
Because of the common sense that you have shared in this video I subbed. Every time I see someone splitting wood with a knife I’m reminded of the old phrase the right tool for the job.
It’s more complicated as those bushcrafters probably used felling axes set around 15 degrees
Well ,you had me worried for a second there ,I wasn't sure what was coming and I was all set for a good solid argument ,BUT all I heard was old school common sense ,something that is seriously lacking these day it seems and I have nothing to add except ,thanks for the video and long live old school common sense .
Very well explained.
I think a lot of this knife mania has also very much to do with the kit mania - means, from a military survival kit point of view one wanted to have a kit as small as possible yet as useful as possible, and there was clearly no way to add a hatchet. So the use of a knife was automatically coming into focus, and it swapped over from the survival to the bushcraft movement.
These modern bushcraft and survival (even funny to have this as a common term which included totally different things as you perfectly explained) trends focus on knives which you can use during a weekend (and nobody has more than a weekend at a time to practise that hobby) without sharpening, and many focus also on kits (which contain whatever you want as long as there is a ferrorod, paracord and a fishing hook inside), and at the end everything turns around making money selling that stuff online to amateurs who are under the illusion to be professionals after having binge watched youtube videos.
ah, almost forgot, there is also a focus on stoves - usually folding stoves or such which have to be ikea-assembled when it is about bushcraft, and jet gas systems when it is about hiking. And one more about LED torches which are according to the marketing gurus as better as more lumens they can produce for 20 seconds before shutting down automatically due to overheating to a more realistic and useful 200 lumens output ...
Yet I see all of that very relaxed. Many people living in modern cities or their suburbs love to go out and have kind of a weekend adventure, whatever that might be, and that is absolutely ok. In former time it was fishing, now it is sitting anywhere in a forest and practising cutting wood even if there are perfectly right sized sticks laying around which do not need even a bit of processing. I always laugh when I see these videos, I feel it is very funny. In real life there is almost nobody living the livestyle of a bushcrafter 24/7 or 365 days a year, and also all that survival things and prepping etc. is just a time pass and money spending (resp. money making) affair and not anything what has to do with real life. All these bushcraft knives and survival kits and bugout bags and MREs etc. sold make the consumers happy and the producers and influencers rich, and one can basically accept that as ok, as long as nobody is really harmed.
Well, and after all that said I just wanted to mention, that there are huge regions on our planet where neither fancy knives nor hatchets or machetes are used to process firewood and to perform plenty of tasks during work in fields and forests, but other tools like parangs, khukuris or billhooks.
I love especially billhooks which are IMHO maybe the best tool for a lot of tasks, but that is a mere personal preference which I share with actually at least 1,4 billion people here around ... and more than 2000 years of history of using these tools also in Western culture, before they got there widely forgotten.
I was doing this when i was a kid ..playing in the woods building forts , having fires cooking hotdogs climbing trees ect ect now its called bushcraft.. Still go out in the woods now , its peaceful ✌️
Dave Canterbury has the most useful information about the outdoors . Whether you want to hunt , trap , or survive if in a difficult situation. I do not think it is for the weekend warrior. It is true ,useful information should you ever need it. I prefer regular carbon steel knives and was taught how to use them properly, that a knife is for cutting only. Axes are for felling trees, processing fire wood next to saws.
Actually, bushcraft is an Australian term.
Yeah I would never use a knife to split wood when I can borrow a log splitting ax or a gas powered log splitter from my dad
Dave started his career on a lie. He is almost universally disliked in the community because he will step on anyone’s neck to get an inch closer to more fame and fortune.
While I agree that he is knowledgeable, one way or another, there are lots of great options and just better humans.
@@timber4560 judging a television character's character....you should grow up
@@artinfluence I generally agree Art. In this instance I have met and talked with multiple people that have been instructors at Dave’s school and have known him personally for years.
FWIW I actually loved his Character on tv.
I've been saying this for years, and folks just don't want to believe it. It's actually one of the reasons why I stopped making knives as folks were abusing the snot out of them and then blaming me for "shoddy craftsmanship" even though I told them that knives were for slicing not pretending they're an axe! Last guy broke one of my blades trying to hammer it through a knot-filled piece of oak. Good 1095 with a soft spine and keen edge. Took me days to make, and I was very proud of it. And pissed when it brought it back ruined!
Being something of an historian of the days gone by, it's always been important for me to learn from the people of those days.... and that means shedding my ego and thinking I know better. If Kephart didn't use a knife to split wood, and he was living in the wildlands with gobs more experience than me.... who am I to say that my way is the right way and he just didn't know better? That kind of arrogance really fills the outdoors space, imo.
Aside from the Founding Fathers of Bushcraft, I'd add Clifford Ashley as a critical author for every outdoorsman's library. The Ashley Book of Knots is a grand tome full of knowledge that outdoorsmen should familiarize themselves with. And it's a classic example of folks judging a book by its cover as I know quite a few people who have eschewed the book, thinking that they know enough knots to get by!
I think too many in the bushcraft and primitive skills circles don't do much. Lots of feather sticks are carved, but not many "try sticks". Lots of wood gets batonned into kindling, but rare is it to find someone who can weave a basket. The gear becomes and umbilical cord back to civilization rather than a key that unlocks the possibilities in wild places.
Who do you know that's made a pack frame and hand-sewn a canvas bag for it? Between Kephart, Kochanski, and Ashley, that's entirely possible.... and it takes your experience to an entirely new level. Making your own gear used to be part and parcel with traveling in the woods because stores were expensive. Look at what Nessmuk had and compare it to the tonnage carried by outdoorsmen today. He managed to survive in the wood with wool and canvas, but somehow we need a ton of plastic and store-bought everything, our pockets full of doodads made in china.
We've lost something here, and knowing the difference between a knife and an axe is just the beginning.
@@threeriversforge1997 Get yourself some more Chinese Doodads before they run out! 🤡
My favorite bushcraft tool is a Milwaukee M18 Sawzall.
I want one of those drill sized chain saws,... if the price ever comes down.
Bring extra blades and battery. Broke the single blade I had cutting a Christmas tree. Thankfully I had my Swiss Tool with saw to finish the cut. This year I just brought my Stanley hand saw (and my swiss.)😅
It’s how I disassembled my moose this year.
@ cut the pelvis on our moose this year with it too. Didn’t have to saw the sternum this time, was able to just get my whole arm in there to cut the windpipe. Used it all week to cut camp wood. Used 2 6.0 HO batteries. A small axe was also needed to split wood. All that little knife stuff just wastes your time and energy. M18 sawzall is the best tool I own. Just charge and go. Swap any blade in seconds to cut almost anything with one tool that requires zero maintenance and doesn’t leak oil.
My favorite is the bk9
Shout out from NL. Was wondering what the title would be covering.
Been 'bushcrafting' since the early 80's, then a kid, although it was called scouting at the time.
I still covet my Eka knife from that time, 44 yrs old now.
Got a great Malanika 'Bushcrafter' knife much later on, Cruwear and Desert Ironwood, beautiful. Not afraid to actually use it.
But it's definitely not an axe.
That's why we also learned how to use an axe, as scouts.
Completely different tools.
That clip of chopping a tree with a knife and a wooden stick was hilarious.
Camping in the woods/forests, knowing how to make a fire, also when it rains and everything is very wet, is great.
Living in the woods, is something completely different though. That requires an extensive, almost expert skill set.
A lot of 'bushcrafting' videos are more about romanticism or escapism, than actual skillsets and wanting to live in the woods, completely self sufficient, old school way.
I'd imagine it was effin hard, even for experts, they might thrive but not because they could lead some chill out/ASMR lifestyle...
I believe the concept of batoning wood was developed around military survival schools. Most of which focused on the downed pilot scenario. Batoning was just a way to maximize their knife with reduced time/energy used. Kinda hard to bail out of a plane with an axe. Same can be said for ground poundet units. Mors Kochanski also taught military survival schools.
You need to realize that you don't need to baton wood at all to make a fire. Nobody does that in real life. Why would you purposely mistreat and dull your knife in a survival situation.?
@@desertdogoutdoors1113 Yeah, we always just gathered up downed wood to make a fire. Then, we laid longer, larger lengths across the fire to burn them into 2 sections. Didn't need to use any steel tools at all to do that. I watch these Bush-crap videos & wonder how in hell these tenderfoot types would actually manage to survive in the wild during SHF. These Bush-crap vids are indeed dangerous. They're teaching people not how to survive, but how to perish. If you're out there in the wild for an extended period of time, you need to take very good care of what tools you have. And here these clowns are damaging their most valuable bits of kit. Darwin award material.
Thank you very much for this ! Salutations from Romania! Sheperds for exemple live like in the middle age , but never herd of batoning before watching americans on youtube.
In 1969 we called it Boy Scouting! And never once did we see anyone baton firewood! We were smart enough to use right tools for the job, such as saws, axe, map and compass etc! We never made feather sticks or discussed blade steel, lol! But we had a ton of fun!
Hell yes!
In some ways everything is stupid.
Bushcraft, camping and other off grid living helps teach you how little you really need. Empowering.
as a friend once said to me after excavating an unused well in the woods to unsuccessfully search of treasure or caves (or both) - "what an enjoyable waist of time that was" I had to agree - stupid and fun are not mutually exclusive unless you take yourself far too seriously.
You are all wrong!! My 24 inch Bowie knife can baton a 30 inch log and chop down redwood trees!!! Its made from Magnamantium!!!! I sharpen it on the bottom of my coffee cup afterwards..... Then i skin some squirrels with it and cut potatoes so thin you would think it was rice paper..... HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE
This video is golden... Yes i have fallen for some of the bushcraft bullshit... But i always get second and third opinions ...
There was a video on you tube from a guy who i think was from Canada.. He said there is NEVER any need to baton with a knife in the woods. And very seldom any need to baton at all.. He walked around the woods and picked up sticks, twigs and branches off the ground and broke them by hand and started a nice fire... no feathersticks...
GREAT VIDEO
I saw that guy too ! He said you can find such wood except in a campground where every twig has already ben gathered up and burned.
Unless you are unexpectedly stranded with only a knife, you should have a folding saw for processing wood.
Still have a Mora from the ‘90’s. Finnish and Swedish troops I worked with had them. Cool knives, ordered mine online.
Mega- irony!😂😂😂😂
You should check out the channel Bushcraft Bullshit. He has videos explaining what's wrong with many of these videos
@@TheUnhousedWandererran across his channel last night. He's bang on about all the BS "Bushcraft" channels. Good humour too. 👍
Voiced my thoughts on knife steel exactly. Eventually, every knife goes dull.
hello sir! I am 61 years old and live in the Patagonian mountain range of Argentina. I finally hear someone who thinks like me. Where I live, if a gaucho sees a person batoning with his knife, he would think he is an idiot. The saddest thing is that ignorant RUclipsrs who believe themselves to be "experts" impose unnecessary fashions and tools like some knives that separate it from true utility. All my life living in the forest I used a carbon steel knife with an 8" flat bevel blade and a 0.15" spine. Thinking more about processing food.leathering or slaughtering an animal activities to live in the environment.but never doing batoning and being a veteran seeing how "buchcraft experts" disfigured this lifestyle, leading it to unnecessary activities with knives that were ridiculous to me. Best regards sir and it has been a long time since I heard anyone say these truths!!
As a fellow middle-aged man, I wholeheartedly agree. I was bushcrafting as a child before I knew it was called bushcrafting. Then I found an Australian bushcraft book which fueled my desire even more. Several years ago I got sucked into the whole scandi-grind knife craze. I'm still bitter about spending so much money on a stupid knife design. It reminds me of when I was twelve and saved my money for a cool Gerber boot dagger, only to learn that it sucked at everything other than stabbing. Hipsters,,,,take heed to wisdom, not fads!
Bro, hear you tell it, hero! Growing up in Alaska, I found the same Australian book, Kochanski, and of course Angier. Scandi grind is for chip carving. I carry butcher knives now, cause skinning moose and caribou is way easier with those.
I guess I fell for it too. I have an Irish dirk dagger (or was it Scottish?) that has a double edge. One edge has a ground for skinning, the other has an edge for cutting vegetables. I just stab it into some log, and use a stick to push the veg into it, if you're curious. The stabbing ability is quite nice.
People should listen to rednecks and hunters more. The dumbest thing I've seen is a big YT guy (who does have amazing knowledge and skill) that has his own line of knives. All 1095 and every single model is scandi. What moron would choose a scandi for a skinner? A 1095 scandi is possible the worst combination to choose for a skinner that could possible exist beyond plastic. Scandi - Excellent at carving up wood, poor at literally everything else. I don't begrudge someone a 3"-4" scandi to sit around the campfire and whittle to pass the time, but to pretend it's a good survival option is absurd. The only non-flat grind blade I have is a Reiff F6 3V, which is a saber.
I bought a combat knife when I joined the Army back in 86. rubberized handle, thick blade, holds an edge, good for the field uses of a soldier. From stabbing to cutting to processing small game. It is NOT a hatchet. I bought a steel handled hatchet back in the 70s...still cuts wood just fine.
I did, however, spend the 40 bucks for a swiss army knife so that I would have a few "extras" like scissors and pliers. Carried them on every deployment and camping/hunting/fishing trip since and have never replaced any of them.
Didn’t you just use your bayonet?
@@bradfieldrich Bayonets do not cut anything and cannot be sharpened. They are good for stabbing, prying open wooden ammo crates if you are an 11c, and maybe digging a small hole.
When I was in 89-92, most guys had a Buck Bucklite 442 or a Swiss army pocket knife or both.
My favourite thing I noticed with a well known bushcraft RUclips channel here in the cariboo area of BC is that in his videos he’s actually usually less than 200 yards from a road but he portrays it like he’s waaay out in the bush. The area he films in I’ve hunted and fished for the past 15 years so I have been able to recognize probably about 90 percent of his locations
Always nice to hear truthful wisdom.
The word hipster makes my skin crawl.
This was a good view on this topic imho. I'm an ex knife maker and i cant tell you how many people came to me to make "bushcraft" knives. I used very simple logic and my knowledge of steel to change their minds on what kind of knife they wanted with an axe.
Never had any complaints about my view and mostly thanks. Everything gets exploited over time and people forget to keep it simple and keep it safe.
Humorous. I've done some camping and never batoned wood either, but I wanted to try it. Thanks for talking me out of it.
What the #$!! Is this? Truth on the internet..... amazing!
Looking forward to your knife vids.
Its not stupid. But its not necessary. We did all this growing up in the woods. Bushcraft is the selling point. I don't need 90% of bushcraft junk. Survival isnt fun, but bushcrafting is. Thats the difference.
Well done. Lots of history and common sense here. One thing that I haven't seen mentioned though is safety. Sure, if you are going to cut and split lots of firewood, use an axe or hatchet. But if you want to take a piece of precut firewood and make some kindling out of it, batoning works well and there is much less chance of injuring yourself. Especially true if you don't regularly use an axe or hatchet. Any sturdy fixed blade should do it without a problem. Will it dull your knife? Sure, if you do enough of it, but so what? I always have a second or third anyway. I find it a handy technique to use around the campfire. So, I agree with your statement at the end of the video, as well as the idea that bushcrafting is overhyped.
I thought I was doing something wrong because I never have baton wood or made feathers stick in my 45 years of making fires. I appreciate your dose of reality in assuring me I am not the only one
A person gets sick and by virture of knowing folk remedies they are able to make themselves well again. This is a good thing all sensible people would agree.
That same person has a brother who eats right, exercises and practices excellent hygeine. That brother never gets sick. It can be argued that this brother is better than the one who got sick.
Both of these brothers are exceptional for not having to call a doctor and being chronic dependents on pharmaceuticals.
It's good to be the brother who never gets sick, but don't be too hard on the guy who knows how to use the folk remedies.
Now that's a great name for a bushcraft channel! "Larping on logs" love it.
Sir, I thank you for your time and dedication! Well done sir, well done......ATB
What a well-made and well-presented video, very common sense and needed. I hope more people discover and watch this video.
Great history lesson! I don't live in or near the woods so most 'bushcraft' doesn't apply. I'm in the desert so different set of rules and priorities. I appreciate your distinct definitions of 'bushcraft' and 'survival' - they are indeed two different entities.
Cactuscraft 😂❤
This video is spot on! I cringe when I watch a RUclips video of some guy building an elaborate survival structure out of small logs and trees. They cut down more wood than a colony of beavers! And where in the USA can you even whack that much wood, other than land that you might own? In a survival scenario you won’t have the time and energy to build a wooden castle! Ever think of carrying a tarp, or a 1-2 person tent? This way you wouldn’t be deforesting an entire woodland! Also, many of the RUclips gurus have direct links to their online stores where you can spend gobs of money on things you don’t need!
Exactly. One point for me is that the most likely scenario I am going to face that will strand me out on a dayhike is a lower limb injury. Going to be pretty hard to gather enough wood for a night long fire and build a shelter outta sticks when I can barely walk. Warm clothing and an easily rigable tarp is what I will need to survive. Sure, I carry firestarter and a couple lighters in case I randomly did get lost, but my life cannot hang on my ability to process the forest.
Watch the good RUclips channels and scrap the silly ones. Kill your T.V. set too.
Lilly, Dave Canterbury, Black Thomas, Coalcracker and Bender of Waypoint Survival are sometimes practical and fun.
In a word, yup!
Well duh, most of them are grifters. But if you see someone who builds a log structure, it is on their land they're going back to use it regularly. It's a camp that's put to use. It's not like they chop down a bunch of trees, build a lean-to or whatever, then abandon it after an afternoon. It's just an illustration of long term survival, especially since most of those people live where it'll eventually snow on you and your tarp isn't keeping you warm. I think you just wanted to go on some tree hugging environmentalist rant and didn't exhibit one once of critical thinking skills or see more than 3 minutes of an episode to have full context.
@ yeah, with my Masters degree in Forestry,and a Game of Logging graduate, and owner of several chainsaws, a sawmill, and firewood user, I’m a real tree hugger!
I think Outdoor boys is more realistic. He mixes backpacking with survival skills. He uses axes and saws when needed.
You’re right about supersteel . My S30v (ladybug) seems immune to resharpening but my Victorinox just needs a few strokes with a kitchen steel to get a good enough edge for a pocket knife. And it has a saw.
Need a diamond stone for S30v.
Yep....
Nothing wrong with an Old Hickory carbon steel knife of any sort,,,it’ll rust quick when wet but they’re strong and full tang and easy to sharpen.
there is a tool in Greece called the Greek adze. I really loved your video and inspired me to talk about this tool. This tool has been an indispensable tool tightly tied to our civilization. It is used in masonry, in construction, cutting down small wood, breaking stuff digging ditches you name it. Still, hipster buschcraft people in Greece never use this!
Man someone finally said it out loud. Don't bring a knife to a wood cutting. I'm so tired of these want to be woods men. And there bug out bags.
The "if the world ends, I will grab ONE backpack and head to Yosemite, and never die." Sort of nonsense.
What a great video. I like how you bring up kephart and Sears. I do believe that Bushcraft and camping go hand-in-hand, and survival is a totally different subject. Unfortunately, a lot of People Have Pl., Bushcraft and camping into separate terms and when they are truly not. A lot of people believe that you have to have this type of knife or this type of equipment to go and be a bush crafter. Fantastic video. I really enjoyed watching it. Happy trails.
I try going go with the Best--Right tool for the job,
wouldn't use a 24-inch pipe wrench to remove a splinter,
or fine tweezers to turn a 1inch rusty nut👍👍
Finally ! A truthful video on RUclips about this subject.😀 Thank You.👍
Very few people have any real need to be in the woods, we are all just playing and fulfilling that need to be in nature and be more self reliant.
Totally agree. I have the same point of view. I've been watching hundreds of videos of bush-crafting and practically all of them just staged to impress, having nothing common with real life. 👍
The western mountain man had access to relatively inexpensive and plentiful supplies for camp due to the industrial revolution. The OGs were the Appalachian mountain men who lived freely and held territory against Indians/colonial armies. Appalachian old timers still living the traditional way of life were mostly gone by the 1970s. Those were truly tough, self-sufficient men. At least the western mountain man could spend his life savings buying from a supplier to try his hand at trapping or prospecting and maybe make a living. These namby pamby dandy wanna-bees just want to get clicks and sell $500 knives to afford their comfortable lifestyle. The 'daddy, I graduated college and want to be an influencer now' career path. Modern bushcraft is stupid. Thanks DD!
It seems these days most "bushcraft influencers" are just salesmen for outdoor equipment of various qualities.
Ewery video on you tube is sale ,they all sell something.
Bushcraft, as it is presented online, is mostly an aesthetic. Don't get me wrong, it's an aesthetic I enjoy, with all of the waxed canvas and leather and carved wooden kuksa and whatnot. There is enjoyment in the ritual and practice of making and crafting things out in the woods. How practical the practice might be is debatable. I have always thought batoning wood is just silly though.
You're right. My favorite Bushcraft aesthetic is the cook videos because I'm homeless so I often do actual gourmet cooking with "bUsHcRaFt" type of things.