The Nessmuk Challenge

[comis]

Day 28 (part 3, and later by the minute…):


A few final shots…

Sunset came early.

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But there was still time to boil the Billy and relax over a decaf coffee….. Only I used full caffeine instant instead of decaf….. 

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Ah, well…. It had been a good day and sleep was sure to come.

The dishes got cleaned….maybe not to John Gould’s standards…..

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And the moon came up:

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I crawled into the camper and listened to coyotes yip and screech, while elk bugled in the far distance.

Awl three of the trio had been used and it had been a good day. I had intended to read a bit, but just lay there watching stars appear….and fell asleep, just as the coyotes got busy…..

Nix!  You outdid yourself again!  When you say camping, I am thinking more in line like this:



But what you did is called "glamping" 

[Nix]

I took up 'glamping' so that Mrs Nix would go along.   

And....sometimes...she does.... 

[comis]

And the coffee, steak, eggs, cornbread and BACON!  I am beyond words!

Now I know why of all these people, Bilbo will let Samwise go on the field trip:

[ReamerPunch]

Day 30 more stuff

Bowdrill Fire
Fourth attempt Part 2
I sawed the notch on the hearth board, and removed some material from the underside, and also removed the burned surface of the spindle.
Everything seems ready. The wire U is a stand I made for the phone.



I started slow. I got tons of dust, but the notch was too narrow and the divot too shallow, so the dust accumulated mostly on the hearth instead of in the notch. I will have to widen the notch a little. The divot is now deeper already. I got smoke, so I started going faster and faster, until I got tons of smoke. I decided to stop and thankfully I had an ember. It would have been even better if the whole thing was in the notch. I transferred it in the bird's nest, and got tons of smoke, but no real flame to speak of. My bird's nest was too small. It should have been at least five times bigger. Still, I got the tiny ember to turn the bird's nest into a massive ember. The wind was not helping either. It blew the smoke in my face, and in the end it blew away what was left of my smoldering bird's nest.

Still, this is a huge step for me.

[comis]

I took up 'glamping' so that Mrs Nix would go along.   

And....sometimes...she does.... 

   Happy wife, happy life...

[Nix]

Happy is the Hobbit..... 

[comis]

Day 30 more stuff

Bowdrill Fire
Fourth attempt Part 2
I sawed the notch on the hearth board, and removed some material from the underside, and also removed the burned surface of the spindle.
Everything seems ready. The wire U is a stand I made for the phone.
(Image removed from quote.)
(Image removed from quote.)

I started slow. I got tons of dust, but the notch was too narrow and the divot too shallow, so the dust accumulated mostly on the hearth instead of in the notch. I will have to widen the notch a little. The divot is now deeper already. I got smoke, so I started going faster and faster, until I got tons of smoke. I decided to stop and thankfully I had an ember. It would have been even better if the whole thing was in the notch. I transferred it in the bird's nest, and got tons of smoke, but no real flame to speak of. My bird's nest was too small. It should have been at least five times bigger. Still, I got the tiny ember to turn the bird's nest into a massive ember. The wind was not helping either. It blew the smoke in my face, and in the end it blew away what was left of my smoldering bird's nest.

Still, this is a huge step for me.
(Image removed from quote.)

Fantastic job!  You did it! 

[ReamerPunch]

Another boring video.

[Nix]

Still, this is a huge step for me.

Outstanding!   

You are 99.9% there.   

 

[ReamerPunch]

-The bearing block is perfect. No friction, and very comfortable to hold and control. It allowed for excellent friction between spindle and hearth board. This was the biggest issue I had.
-The bow is fine. It is the length of my arm, so I got nice, long push and pull strokes.
-The cord did not slip. I have to tighten it every now and then, but it is fine.
-The spindle is fine. I did not bother scoring along the length of it. The cord grabs on the spindle and is able to spin it, so no issues there.
-The hearth board is miles better than the fatwood one I had. I got tons more dust, and finally an ember. So all that remains is to make the notch a little wider, so that the dust can actually collect in the notch, to make for a hotter, bigger ember.
-The ember catch is a little small, but that is the easiest part to make.
-The bird's nest was too small. It got lots of smoke, and smoldered nicely, and became a massive ember, but still no flame. I noticed that the ember was fiddly. Once I dropped it in the bird's nest, I blew, and the smoke disappeared. I left it to smoke on its own for a little, and then I blew, and got lots of smoke. No doubt, had my bird's nest been bigger, I would have gotten a flame.

Thanks to the frictionless bearing block and dry hearth board, I can now get an ember without much fatigue. I'll make the notch a little wider, have a larger bird's nest, do it on a less windy day, and have a bucket of water nearby, to put out the flame I will hopefully get.

[ReamerPunch]

So, a few more tips, now that I managed to get an ember:
-Have a good bearing block that has little to no friction.
-Have a hearth board that is dry. Not one with fatwood like I had.
-If your bowdrill set is decent, it will not take too much effort to get an ember.
-Start slow. Going hard from the start will tire you out. The spindle and hearth have to warm up first. Keep a steady stance, and you will get smoke despite going slower than you think you should be going. Once you see smoke, go a little faster, to get even more smoke and dust. Once you start getting more smoke than you thought you could get, go faster, and push harder. You'll get tons of dust that will hopefully fill the notch, and going faster and harder will ignite it.
-Knowing when to stop is not easy. Once you get lots of smoke, and lots of dust, either in the notch or on the hearth board like I did, go as fast as you can with the bow, to hopefully ignite the dust before fatigue makes you stop.
-Have a bird's nest the size of your head. And process it down by rubbing it against itself until it is soft and fibrous.

Most importantly:
Do not let failure discourage you. You will make mistakes, you will fail at first, and you will feel like smurf. Examine the pieces of your set one by one, and find what is holding you back.
-I had too much friction between bearing block and spindle. I eliminated this by making a tiny bowl out of a coin. Bam! Frictionless.
-I had too little friction between spindle and hearth board. I eliminated this by replacing the fatwood board with a dry board. The new bearing block helped immensely as well.
-My divot was too shallow, and my notch was too narrow, but I still managed to get an ember on the hearth, and those are small problems that are easy to solve.
-My bird's nest was too small. Not a big deal. I'll make a bigger one next time.

[Nix]

-The hearth board is miles better than the fatwood one I had. I got tons more dust, and finally an ember. So all that remains is to make the notch a little wider, so that the dust can actually collect in the notch, to make for a hotter, bigger ember.

Yeah: both wood type and design have a big impact, I've found.

-The bird's nest was too small. It got lots of smoke, and smoldered nicely, and became a massive ember, but still no flame. I noticed that the ember was fiddly. Once I dropped it in the bird's nest, I blew, and the smoke disappeared. I left it to smoke on its own for a little, and then I blew, and got lots of smoke. No doubt, had my bird's nest been bigger, I would have gotten a flame.

Why I made a huge 'bird's nest' for my flint and steel fire!   

[Nix]

Fire with bow and drill has been the most frustrating technique I've tried.

Congrats for sticking with it.   

Great advice you've set out, too. Persistence being the most crucial element, me thinks..... 

[ReamerPunch]

I am so happy I got an ember. 
I'll try to make a better bird's nest for next time. I would have gotten a flame if I used cotton, but I wanted a proper bird's nest. I used palm tree bark. It was not fibrous enough, and not enough of it.

But the bearing block is really great with the coin.  I'll remove the bark, because it looks terrible.

[Nix]

At the end of the day, it's all about that first, precious flame..... 

[Nix]

RP, would this set of trials lead you to consider getting a knife with a bearing block divot built into the handle?   

[ReamerPunch]

RP, would this set of trials lead you to consider getting a knife with a bearing block divot built into the handle?   

Tough to say.
Most divots on handles that I've seen are just divots in micarta. That'll ruin the handle over time, even if you use wax or whatever. There are ones with metallic divots, which would be better, but then again, how would that affect ergonomics?

One might argue that if you have something on the knife for fire making, have a ferro rod instead of a divot, but the divot is still useful. I'd like to practice the bowdrill once I get a flame. It would be nice to have a bearing block build into my knife.

So, I'd say yes, why not. 
Even if it is just a divot in micarta. As long as ergonomics are not ruined, why not have a little divot to be able to practice the skill?

[cody6268]

Day 30

Removed the magnets from earbuds.
(Image removed from quote.)

Most seem to have some seriously strong magnets in them, and since well, they're useless when the connections go bad about every 6 months to a year. Surprisingly though, since I haven't left the house that much, and not taking them with me as much, they're lasting longer. My current pairs--1X VE Monk 1X Edifier H15 are getting close to a year old.

My "old" Monk earbuds I haven't thrown out yet. That reminds me to do what I always do before I chuck earbuds. Use the pliers, crush them open, and remove the magnets.

[cody6268]

Day 29, used the scissors to cut paracord to mount a lanyard to a new old-school incandescent light. I mostly use these around the house, as I seem to be mildly blue-light sensitive, and for just going to the bathroom, they're not blindingly bright. And so heavy and long, hard to lose.  The cord tip comes from old elastic shoelaces. I have went back to traditional laces I have to tie. Lock Laces are too much of a pain in the backside. Laced right, traditional shoelaces don't come untied nearly as much.

Also, I used the fish scaler to try to reset a GFCI outlet in the bathroom. Did troubleshooting--not the outlet, not the breaker. So, it's the wiring. But, it's not what I've been lecturing my folks about--this wiring is only 12 years old. So, who knows what's going on. I fear bodge job when the remodelling was done 12 years ago in which the bathroom was enlarged by taking out a closet from a second bedroom (and the remainder of that room merged into mine).  My folks are calling an electrician tommorow.

KIMG2323 by cody6268, on Flickr

[GearedForwards]

Congratulations with the bow RP, you've been really persistent and seeing your progress is inspiring! 

Another great trip with fantastic food Nix, just had dinner and you made me hungry 

Two requests though!

1) Can we see what the inside of the trailer looks like?

2) You have to keep us updated on trips like these outside of Spetember

[Nix]

I'll try to grab a couple of shots of the Chuck Wagon for ya.  Pretty simple really.   

[SteveC]

Nice camping pics Jack !   

[Alan K.]

I love those micro trailers.  Me thinks it needs to have some suspension added and bigger tires under it so it can go off trail behind the old 4x4.  At least you could sleep soundly without worrying about coyotes nipping at your toes.

[old Lefty]

Day 22
(I checked my earlier entries and noted that I had marked 4 twice):
Getting the fireplace online, winter is coming:


Chimney sweep came by and fireplace is now ready for usage. Doing some kindling for that with Corvid


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[RF52]

Day 30:

So the challenge didn't go quite as I had hoped but I knew that going in(still had hope though). Sorry for my boring participation, but that's life sometimes...
No use for hatchet or fixed blade, but my trusted Rebar did great
Thanks for an entertaining challenge guys, lots of great pics, projects, trips and tools

Sent fra min FRD-L09 via Tapatalk

[comis]

Day 30



I felt like I haven't used my axe enough throughout the challenge, and so started a new seasoned wood spoon carving with the axe.  This is my first time doing any spoon carving, and let me tell ya starting with a seasoned hard wood could be a total mistake.  After an hour or two of chopping and chipping, finally I get a blank that remotely resemble a spoon.  Meanwhile, I am wondering whether I could finish the project with my Trio or should I just wing it with power tools.


I would like to use this chance to thank you everyone wholeheartedly for participating in this challenge, what a blast!   So many memorable pictures and outings, some of us have gone out of the way to do many Nessmuky things, bushcrafting, camping, hiking, and it motivated all of us to get up and out, even just for a nice stroll.  Too bad it's been raining non stop for me, but I really do get a kick out of all your photos and uses, and it did inspire me to do more with my tools!


In terms of the trio, I still wonder whether if Nessmuk is around, will he be a true ultralight hiker/camper and trying cut loose all the heavy tools, or will he be a bushcrafter and trying to adhere to the old ways of things?  Nonetheless, if I am not hiking for a long distance to camp, I think I would really enjoy carrying the Trio or even more tools, just because nothing gives me more pleasure than playing with all these tools while in the great outdoors.

[comis]

Tough to say.
Most divots on handles that I've seen are just divots in micarta. That'll ruin the handle over time, even if you use wax or whatever. There are ones with metallic divots, which would be better, but then again, how would that affect ergonomics?

One might argue that if you have something on the knife for fire making, have a ferro rod instead of a divot, but the divot is still useful. I'd like to practice the bowdrill once I get a flame. It would be nice to have a bearing block build into my knife.

So, I'd say yes, why not. 
Even if it is just a divot in micarta. As long as ergonomics are not ruined, why not have a little divot to be able to practice the skill?

I think it could be nice additional feature to the handle if done nicely, and what you did with the coin is exactly what I meant in an earlier post.  Just took a picture of a knife I owned with the metal divot pre-installed, hope this could be of reference.





Personally, I think this method is more desirable than just a divot in micarta, which will probably get burnt very quickly.  But using a knife handle with divot is just really handy, one less thing to worry about when wanting an impromptu practice.

[ReamerPunch]

I think it could be nice additional feature to the handle if done nicely, and what you did with the coin is exactly what I meant in an earlier post.  Just took a picture of a knife I owned with the metal divot pre-installed, hope this could be of reference.


(Image removed from quote.)


Personally, I think this method is more desirable than just a divot in micarta, which will probably get burnt very quickly.  But using a knife handle with divot is just really handy, one less thing to worry about when wanting an impromptu practice.

Yes, that would be nice, and I am sure ergonomics are just fine. Especially if someone is new to bowdrilling, the built-in divot is a nice way to practice.

[ReamerPunch]

Day 28 (part 1, and a day late…):
I packed up the ol’ Nix “Chuck Wagon” and headed for the hills.

Another fine day out.

[Borg]

  Nice one Nix 

Day 30