Tuesday, December 22, 2009

DIY Paracord 'Survival' belt


Things have been hectic with the holiday season quickly approaching, so just a quick post to showcase a paracord belt I made as a gift for an avid canoe tripper that I know.


The belt is 45" long using a double wide cobra stitch braid. The belt buckle I found at a local discount store near my office.

I started the braid by tying 3 larks head knots around the base of the buckle.  One white cord, one orange cord, and another white cord.  By alternating the square knots, you're able to make a solid double wide cobra stitch.  I tension the belt by hanging it by the buckle on a hook behind a door and began tying.


The whole process was completed over a number of months (working on and off). It's very laborious at first, with the length of cordage needed to make the belt, but as time passes the work moves quicker since the ends become shorter and shorter.

More information about tying the knots that I used can be found here: Wide Paracord Bracelet

Monday, November 16, 2009

DIY: Pop Can Alcohol Stove


Made an alcohol stove over the weekend using this website as a guide. The design of a basic open jet stove is fairly simple, so I took a stab at it. I haven't had a chance to test it out yet, but I shouldn't have too much trouble getting it to work. Plus the cost was the price of drinking 2 club sodas...so I can always make a new one if the design is flawed.

Friday, November 13, 2009

A first...

Will be following someone on a deer hunt tomorrow morning. This marks my first exposure to hunting ever. I'm looking forward to the experience, even though I won't be participating directing. Might be a little slow though...he hasn't had a kill yet this entire season.

Monday, November 9, 2009

Guyot Design 38oz bottle leather sleeve


I got a hold of some scrap pieces of leather and decided I wanted to make something useful out of it. One thing I needed was a way to conveniently carry my 38oz Guyot Designs water bottle when I didn't carry a pack with me. A perfect beginner project with working with leather.

I fashioned the sling by folding over the edges of the leather and securing them with contact cement. One thing to keep in mind is that the length of the sleeve needs to be slightly shorted than the circumference of the bottle because leather stretches and the laces need to hold it the leather snugly around the bottle. Next I drilled holes using a 3/16 bit and a drill press to insert the eyelets into. Then it was just a matter of riveting the eyelets in place and lacing up the sleeve.

I folded a piece of 550 cord in half and tied a 1" size loop into it. This was to give me a place to tie off a sling to in case I wanted carry it over my shoulder. I laced up the sleeve and secured the top with a square knot, then added another double knot for the upper loop.


The nice thing about using leather is that in the winter, the leather provided a layer of insulation between the cold metal of the container and my skin, so I can hold it without gloves if I wanted. Another nice feature is that because the laces can be loosened so that my GSI folding cup can be nested into the bottle and then tightened so I can carry both conveniently inside the sleeve.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Monday, October 26, 2009

EDC- Everyday Carry (Urban)



The idea behind the EDC is to have array tools that you carry with you at all times, so that in the event you need something, you simply have to turn to an item being carried on your body. Criteria for good EDC are that they are light, non-intrusive, can be carried with minimal effort, and (ideally) can be used in a multitude of emergency situations.

My current EDC shown above consists of items I carry around every day, and because I live in an urban environment, it is vastly different to what I carry around in the woods (which I will post about at a different date).

The kit includes
  1. Gerber mini paraframe knife
  2. Peanut lighter
  3. Swiss tech utili-key (contains:
    -
    flat screwdriver
    - phillips screwdriver
    - eyeglass screwdriver
    - serrated blade
    - bottle opener)
  4. LED key light
  5. 20' of parachute cord braided in a King Cobra bracelet
  6. Cellphone (not shown)

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Pathfinder Challenge Day 4- Part 2

Challenge: Using natural materials only, made a whistle to use as an audable signal

Response:

Usually the simplest solution is the best, and this is the perfect example. I could spend my time and energy carving a very intricate whistle or I could simple tension a blade of glass between two thumbs with my hands put together and get a very effective audio signal.

you decide.


Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Pathfinder Challenge Day 4- Part 1

So I obviously didn't make all of the challenges in order to win the contest...but that is irrelevant. Doing the challenges made me think and more importantly made me learn from a few mistakes, which I guess is really the spirit of why I should be doing them. In that vein I will pick up where I left off.

Part 1- Find and identify 5 edible plants, and 5 medicinal plants that grow in your area. For the 5 medicinal plants, list 3 things they can be used for.

Reponse:

Edibles
Pine

Dandelion

Wild Carrot

Clover

Sow Thistle

Burdock


Medicinals
Cat tails

Willow

Broad Leaf Plantain


Goldenrod

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Pathfinder Challenge Day 3

Challenge: Make a semi waterproof shelter, and prove it is waterproof by placing newspaper inside and pouring 2L of "rain" over top


My Response:

First thing I did was scout out a good place to set up the shelter. Not easy when it's already pitch black out. I found a place clear of trees and plant, with a single sapling I could use for support.

At this point I needed to work on the support structure for the shelter. In this case I chose an A-frame. I duct taped two supports together (duct tape = my 3rd item).
I then taped the two supports to a third log which would be my ridgeline.



After this, I taped the ridgeline to the sapling so that it would remain upright, and began laying sticks to form the frame.



I secured the frame sticks to the ridge line with more duct tape


At this point, I began piling as much green plant life onto the shelter as I could. This part took at least 90 mins alone.



I then cut some dry grasses and laid it on the floor to insulate from the ground, and piled debris from the ground on top the shelter.


I placed the newspaper inside and began the "rain"




The results:


Some of the newspaper is wet, but other parts are dry...which indicates to me areas of good waterproofing, and an area with a hole that should be patched.

I learned that the amount of debris needed on this shelter to ensure complete waterproofing was much much more than I anticipated, and alternatively I should have taken off my jacket and used it is a means to waterproof the shelter, since my sweater would have kept me warm even without the jacket on.

Hopefully the news paper is dry enough to move forward in the contest, but even if it's not I still be doing the challenges.