The following entry was kindly provided by Woodlorean Justin Burns, who made his own handle for the Julius Pettersson Knife Blade:
Hi all,
After browsing your website it got me thinking about making my own Julius Pettersson knife handle. I loved the idea of having a handle that you could put your own stamp on.
Justin’s knife, in progress
Regular followers of the Woodlore blog may well be familiar with the name John van Zanen thanks to his fantastic hammock-making guide, which we posted on these pages last year. Well, John has been busy once again, this time sharing his enthusiasm and bushcraft skills with a group of scout leaders in his homeland of the Netherlands. Here he shares with us photos and videos of the group working together to create a hangi – a traditional Maori method of cooking food outdoors in a heated pit oven:
Hello Ray and Woodlore Team,
I attended the Woodlore Camp Craft course in 2011 and was challenged by your team to spread the knowledge of bushcraft. Not long after, I spent a few days with a group of scout leaders to teach them some of the skills I have learnt in the past years attending courses with Woodlore.
Each year, scout leaders come together to open the new season and to get new energy and inspiration for the year to come. This year I was invited to join them and teach some bushcraft skills. We talked about quite a few topics, but the highlight of the weekend was surely eating the food from a hangi. Instead of rocks, we used bricks and covered the pit with wet towels, branches and soil. The result was really great and the food tasted fantastic. During the four hours that the food was cooking underground, we all carved a spoon to eat our dinner with.
Digging the hangi pit
The prepared food in steel baskets, ready for cooking
The following post was kindly sent in by fellow Woodlorean Campbell Metcalfe:
Hi Woodlore,
After coming on a Fundamental Bushcraft course in September I’ve been enjoying walks around the forests near where I live in Scotland. After seeing a traditional Kuksa in a couple of Ray’s programmes, I thought I’d give it a go; having only carved one or two spoons before I knew it would be quite a challenge.
On one of my walks I found a recently fallen ash tree with a large enough burr on the side of it to try to make my cup. I started by hewing the rough shape out with the Small Forest Axe and carving the bowl out. After a slightly over enthusiastic hit with the axe I unfortunately snapped the handle. A quick repair job later and the cup looked fine, so kept on going.
Campbell’s in-progress Kuksa
After attending our Fundamental Bushcraft course last year, Woodlore customer Stan Intihar had a go at making his very own knife for the first time, with great results:
Howdy,
Here are some pics of my completed knife and leather sheath; a carbon steel Enzo blade and desert ironwood handle with red liners:
Stan’s hand-finished knife and leather sheath
New Woodlore Assistant David Southey
On 9th – 11th March Dan Hume and Keith Whitehead ran an induction weekend for the new members of staff who joined the team recently as a result of our recruitment process in November. New members of the team were shown the ropes of setting up camp, useful routes to our course sites, shops and hospitals, amongst being introduced to other essential knowledge required for assisting on our courses to ensure they run seamlessly for our clients.
We would like to take this opportunity to welcome David Southey, Joel Toren, Mark Callard and Nigel Hopkins to the team and we hope they will enjoy their time with us.
Following the induction weekend the newer members of the team were joined by the rest of the outdoor team for Woodlore’s annual training week. Everyone was pleased to be back in the woods again, and although a training exercise, training week is a fantastic chance for everyone to get together to compare their winter adventure stories and to discuss the year ahead.
During the week Head of Operations Dan Hume hosted many activities for the group including a tracking evaluation, carving, training for trainers delivered by Brian Fox and PT.
High on the agenda was Woodlore’s annual First Aid Training. Expertly run as always by Fusion Medical Limited, it provided the Woodlore team with a high level of competence in this essential field of Bushcraft. First aid is often an underrated skill, but one which anybody who is keen to enjoy the outdoors should have.
Dressing a wound during a first aid scenario
Tick-borne disease charity BADA-UK and its Patron, Ray Mears, are warning both outdoor workers and outdoor-pursuits enthusiasts to be vigilant about a potential increased risk of tick bites this spring. The charity is using its annual awareness campaign Tick Bite Prevention Week (26 March – 1 April) to highlight the health risks that ticks pose, especially following the recent EU ban of the herbicide Asulam.
BADA-UK's Patron Ray Mears
Asulam was used by hill farmers to control the invasive spread of bracken which provides the perfect habitat for ticks. Ray Mears warns:
The control of bracken is vital to the survival of numerous species of flora and fauna as well as reducing tick populations. The spread of bracken as a result of this ban will lead to increased tick numbers, making it all the more important that the public takes precautions against tick bites when out and about in rural areas.
The following post was kindly provided by Woodlore customer Steve Sutterthwaite, who created his own knife handle and matching sheath for his hand-forged knife blade:
Hi Woodlore,
I thought you might like to see some pictures of the knife handle I have made for the Julius Pettersson knife blade I purchased from you:
Steve's knife handle, complete with matching sheath
Whilst purchasing a Julius Pettersson knife blade for my son as a birthday present I saw the wonderful handles created by your readers and decided to purchase a second blade and have a go myself. I had recently been given a quantity of yew in small pieces, left over from the bow-making process which I planed flat and laminated together to create a blank for handle and sheath.
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Rekindling the Fundamentals course
Woodlore’s 2012 UK course season has almost begun and we are very pleased to be offering six brand new courses this year. Rekindling the Fundamentals is among them and will be the first new UK course to be run in 2012, which we are currently very busy preparing for. This course has been designed specifically for those of you who have completed our Fundamental Bushcraft course.
It can be difficult to find the time and a suitable place in the UK to really practice your skills and put them to the test. During this new course you will have the chance to learn new skills, while also practicing and improving those you already have, all the while having an enjoyable and informative time in the great British outdoors. Our skilled and experienced instructors will be on hand to help you improve and hone your personal skills, ensuring your progression.
Our instructors will also be introducing students to working with axes, while helping to improve the skills of those already competent with the tool.
We have often been asked in the past whether we provide a course such as this, so we are very excited to now be able to offer it to our students. So, if you feel the need to practice, progress or simply get outdoors for a week, then join us on the Rekindling the Fundamentals course this May.
In February 2012, Ray Mears joined Lars Falt in Northern Sweden to lead Woodlore’s Arctic Experience expedition. Upon his return to the UK, Ray gave the following interview, discussing his fascination with the Arctic, the wildlife you can find there, and the environmental changes he has seen since first running the course 19 years ago:
Ray Mears in Northern Sweden, as part of Woodlore’s Arctic Experience expedition in 2012
Where did you spend much of February this year?
In Northern Sweden, running our Arctic courses; roughly 104 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle.
How do you feel the courses went?
They went very well; we had two really good groups of people. They were all seriously interested and there for the right reasons. They worked hard; they put a lot in and got a lot out.
What is it that drew you to the Arctic in the first place?
The Arctic forest is an area that I find fascinating. The boreal forest is the largest land biome. It’s a wilderness that stretches around the top of the globe. It’s a fascinating area; a difficult area to travel in. It’s an area that takes a long while to really come to know and understand well. I feel a kinship with it – I like the space, I like the solitude, and I like the fact that you have to work very hard if you’re going to see wildlife there.
The following post was kindly written by Woodlore Aspirant Instructor Sarah Day:
The recent fall of snow offered great opportunities to see tracks and signs left by wildlife. It was a real eye-opener, and made me realise how much I must miss normally.
Animal tracks in the snow
The Ray Mears & Woodlore Bushcraft Blog 