The Nessmuk Challenge

[RF52]

Yes it worked fine, it was a bit shoogly at first but once the tension was ramped up it sorted itself out, the big letdown was the old blade i used, it really needs a sharpen and re set, a sharp new one would be better 

You would probably get it more stable with a tenon type joint but that takes more time and i wouldn't want to do that more than once so i'm thinking the less time you spend on it the less likely you are to want to carry the pieces with you if you move camp, if you are happy to carry the extra weight then it's worth doing neatly with more secure joints, the hole and pointy stick method i used works fine though, not pretty but it works 


Go for it, it makes a far better saw than one of those emergency chainsaw things, probably the same weight too 

Thanks RP, i think every one you make will be quicker than the last and can soon rattle one out in no time

Thanks Steve 

 

Good point in not complicating the build, spend to much time and you will be carrying all the parts.

Sent fra min FRD-L09 via Tapatalk

[David]

Day 22

The smoky skies finally cleared out yesterday afternoon. Now its cool overcast and drizzling. Every thing is wet. If I needed a fire I would resort to ferro rod and vaseline soaked cotton balls and maybe a storm match.   

[cody6268]

Day 22:

 Today, scissors twice, both blades (opened mail and packages), and awl. The little SwissTech tool was used instead for drivers because they are machined, probably tool steel, and sharp. I mostly have it for pliers so I don't have to drag along full pliers or another multitool loaded down with redundancy.

Tried to repair hole to ensure my Granddad's hearing aid was (sort of) water resistant. Really need to drop the thing off at the hearing aid place to get rebuilt. I don't know who at Starkey thought acrylic like on a cheap lapel pin case on a several-hundred-dollar hearing aid was a good idea. I don't know why anyone would need to see the guts anyway. Yet LEGO uses polycarbonate on ten-cent bricks that is near indestructible. Heck, $3 safety glasses are polycarbonate, have protected me from some serious screw-ups and were still intact and have considerably more plastic.

KIMG2226 by cody6268, on Flickr

Fixed my new glasses. Somehow they got knocked off my bed, and a lens fell out. I just now started carrying the eyeglass screwdriver, after finding one I didn't lose. Need to buy about a dozen of them. This one tool is why I converted to corkscrew.

KIMG2227 by cody6268, on Flickr

 Installed new indoor/outdoor thermometer outdoor transmitter. I first used the awl and SwissTech tool to drill the hole, then used a self-drilling wood screw to go the rest of the way. The screw head would not fit the notch for a nail/screw on the back, so I grabbed my hammer put a nail from a photo hanging kit in the hole--that fit perfectly. Also cut open the packaging (box, not clam pack, as this was bought online) with the pen blade. I need to really retire this hammer. It's an old Belknap Hardware that probably dates to the time of Nessmuk. It was my Great-Granddad's.  It's fairly small, about 16 ounces, but for household stuff, it's all the hammer I need. I have a 28 oz. Estwing for the big stuff, 28 ounce Vaughan in my regular toolbox, and another 28 ounce Pittsburgh, a ripping hammer, which I mostly use for fencing since it is inexpensive to replace.

KIMG2229 by cody6268, on Flickr

And a few other things I forgot--mostly mail and package opening with the blades.

[ReamerPunch]

Day 23

Having enjoyed the traps so far, I decided to make the Paiute deadfall, but I found this variation, the Y bone deadfall. Same concept as the paiute, but the Y gives it more stability. It worked like a charm.
Looking at it now, I have all the pieces required for the Paiute. I can use two sticks from the Figure Four, and the string and toggle from the Y bone.




I also shortened the long fishmouth spreader. I gave each arm half a coil, and now it is much stronger.

[RF52]

Nice work RP

Day 23:

Used the Rebar saw to cut of a piece of a wooden board to use as a backing for sandpaper to sharpen tools

Sent fra min FRD-L09 via Tapatalk

[old Lefty]

Day 14:
After a training break Rinaldi got finally out to do some underhand chopping:



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[comis]

If you have read this, you probably would have guessed where Nix might have gone!  Nix is in the wild!  So I am posting today's quote for Nix.  Very befitting if you ask me. 

[comis]

Day 23



Went out for another quick walk today, we've been having summer showers in the past few days.  Everything is wet, and colors look saturated.

[comis]

Thanks again Comis for making the magnets for us.  I had chili last night, and of course I forgot to take any pictures.  Made mine with black beans instead of red because that's what was in the house. Never thought of using orzo before. It looks good.

Day 22

Today i tried a different method of making the saw

(Image removed from quote.)

The blade is held in with pins slotted through and held in a groove

(Image removed from quote.)

It works, plenty tension there to hold the blade tight, or should that be too much tension...

(Image removed from quote.)

Even with the broken spine it still works and still holds as its just the cambium split but i wouldn't trust it for long

I will call this a fail even though its usable as it is, did Nessmuk carry duct tape? 

Different species or a nicer stick called for i think

Borg, another great one, even though split in the middle but I think it got great potential.  It looks much faster and easier to assemble.

[comis]

Day 22

The smoky skies finally cleared out yesterday afternoon. Now its cool overcast and drizzling. Every thing is wet. If I needed a fire I would resort to ferro rod and vaseline soaked cotton balls and maybe a storm match.   

Storm matches!  Those are definitely cool gear, and my favorite prank involves those self igniting candles which you can't blow out...

Day 22:

 Today, scissors twice, both blades (opened mail and packages), and awl. The little SwissTech tool was used instead for drivers because they are machined, probably tool steel, and sharp. I mostly have it for pliers so I don't have to drag along full pliers or another multitool loaded down with redundancy.

Tried to repair hole to ensure my Granddad's hearing aid was (sort of) water resistant. Really need to drop the thing off at the hearing aid place to get rebuilt. I don't know who at Starkey thought acrylic like on a cheap lapel pin case on a several-hundred-dollar hearing aid was a good idea. I don't know why anyone would need to see the guts anyway. Yet LEGO uses polycarbonate on ten-cent bricks that is near indestructible. Heck, $3 safety glasses are polycarbonate, have protected me from some serious screw-ups and were still intact and have considerably more plastic.

KIMG2226 by cody6268, on Flickr

Fixed my new glasses. Somehow they got knocked off my bed, and a lens fell out. I just now started carrying the eyeglass screwdriver, after finding one I didn't lose. Need to buy about a dozen of them. This one tool is why I converted to corkscrew.

KIMG2227 by cody6268, on Flickr

 Installed new indoor/outdoor thermometer outdoor transmitter. I first used the awl and SwissTech tool to drill the hole, then used a self-drilling wood screw to go the rest of the way. The screw head would not fit the notch for a nail/screw on the back, so I grabbed my hammer put a nail from a photo hanging kit in the hole--that fit perfectly. Also cut open the packaging (box, not clam pack, as this was bought online) with the pen blade. I need to really retire this hammer. It's an old Belknap Hardware that probably dates to the time of Nessmuk. It was my Great-Granddad's.  It's fairly small, about 16 ounces, but for household stuff, it's all the hammer I need. I have a 28 oz. Estwing for the big stuff, 28 ounce Vaughan in my regular toolbox, and another 28 ounce Pittsburgh, a ripping hammer, which I mostly use for fencing since it is inexpensive to replace.

KIMG2229 by cody6268, on Flickr

And a few other things I forgot--mostly mail and package opening with the blades.

I think many SAKaholics would agree with you on the corkscrew, part of the reason is really to host the mini screwdriver.  It really excel in pushing all the reset buttons or recessed small screws.  I carried a SAK with corkscrew almost 95% of the time, and that one time I choose to carry a backside phillips, family went to lunch and someone brought the wine without an opener.  Imagine what a bummer that was when I sprung into action and only pull out a SAK without the CS.  From that point on, I am a 100% CS convert, rain or shine.

Day 23

Having enjoyed the traps so far, I decided to make the Paiute deadfall, but I found this variation, the Y bone deadfall. Same concept as the paiute, but the Y gives it more stability. It worked like a charm.
Looking at it now, I have all the pieces required for the Paiute. I can use two sticks from the Figure Four, and the string and toggle from the Y bone.
(Image removed from quote.)
(Image removed from quote.)


I also shortened the long fishmouth spreader. I gave each arm half a coil, and now it is much stronger.
(Image removed from quote.)
(Image removed from quote.)

This is looking better and better, I gonna try to make one with my SAK before the challenge ends.

[comis]

Nice work RP

Day 23:

Used the Rebar saw to cut of a piece of a wooden board to use as a backing for sandpaper to sharpen tools (Image removed from quote.)

Sent fra min FRD-L09 via Tapatalk

Good use!  I really quite like the Rebar, definitely one of the LM classics.

Day 14:
After a training break Rinaldi got finally out to do some underhand chopping:
(Image removed from quote.)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Glad to see the Rinaldi out to play! 

[RF52]

Good use!  I really quite like the Rebar, definitely one of the LM classics.


Glad to see the Rinaldi out to play! 

The Rebar is a favourite for me too

Sent fra min FRD-L09 via Tapatalk

[RF52]

Day 23

(Image removed from quote.)

Went out for another quick walk today, we've been having summer showers in the past few days.  Everything is wet, and colors look saturated.

Great pic!

Sent fra min FRD-L09 via Tapatalk

[Borg]

Borg, another great one, even though split in the middle but I think it got great potential.  It looks much faster and easier to assemble.

Absolutely, think back to when we were kids making bow and arrows, same principal but the saw blade instead of string 

Day 23 I'm not sure why but i get the same excitement getting new tyres as i get from a new knife

Package opening

[Nix]

Having enjoyed the traps so far, I decided to make the Paiute deadfall....

The Paiute is my favorite!  A bit tricky...but great trigger!

[Nix]

So I am posting today's quote for Nix.  Very befitting if you ask me. 

 

[Nix]

Good stuff today (and yesterday), guys!   

[Nix]

Day 22 (late entry, part 1):

I submitted a Day 22 photo at the start of the day, but the day became more interesting after that….

In that photo, you can see that I added dangler to the sheath. In general I don’t like danglers. I don’t like them unless I’m going backpacking. The dangler allows the knife a sheath to ride below the waist belt of a pack. So, I tolerate the annoying slapping against my leg in order to have a knife and wear a pack.

And I was going backpacking…..

My destination, those hills behind the smoke:





The trail…the Continental Divide Trail [CDT]…leading off into the hills:






Once you get into the woods, the terrain changes fairly dramatically:





This is the most rugged terrain I’ve ever hiked. The trail, well worn as it is, varies from smooth to very rocky. It is often level….for up to 10 meters at a time…otherwise it is up and down.






You can see the trail is well maintained….every decade or so…..



(Actually, any tree that had blocked the trail, had been cut up and cleared. Who ever maintains this trail does so to a perfect degree: easy to follow, but still a bit wild.)


Lots of these little guys (one of Fuzzy’s kin I believe….):



This rascal was not intimidated by me or the Nessmuk hanging off my side. He had found something on the trail and was not giving way for a tourist.

The Nessmuk, a gratuitous shot:




Did I mention this is some rugged terrain?




I think the ‘Rocky Mountains’ earn their name….heheheh.


I found a spot for lunch:





My pack is an Osprey 70L. I had it filled…..80%.  The sharp-eyed MTo’er will notice the yellow& silver ‘Z-lite’ ground pad and matching seat pad. Overkill? Possibly. But I can’t tell you how useful that seat pad can be. (But, later, I’ll try.)

Also visible from this angle: orange cat hole trowel in the right-hand side pocket (along with the seat pad), Garmin InReach GPS unit, on the left shoulder strap, Sawyer water filter kit in an orange bag in left side pocket, and Bear Spray (red can) on waist belt. Plus, most excellent walking stick. 

The walking stick is a huge asset in this terrain. The footing is often variable and tricky. I find a ‘third leg’ to be hugely useful. (And Im’ thinking that a pair of trekking poles might be even more so….)

The Garmin InReach thingy is a nice thing for me to have. It uses a satellite network & GPS to relay my position and emergency messages to a central dispatch service (for which I pay a monthly fee). Since I spend a lot of time alone in remote places, it makes sense. And, I can send Mrs Nix a few pre-canned messages to let her know where I am and that I’m doing fine. (Which prevents her from placing advertisements to rent my room out prematurely.)


Lunch!





OK, nothing to get excited about…. The ‘greenbelly’ food bars (two to a pouch) were perfectly palatable. They provide about 320 Kcal of “balanced nutrition” per bar. I ate one, and it was perfectly palatable and sustaining, but I’m not sure it was worth the price. A handful of GORP and some Biltong would have been more fun and less money.

(This shot was taken just before some idiot knocked over the water bottle, spilling a precious 8 oz of water.)


The view from the lunchroom:

[Nix]

Day 22 (late entry, part 2):


I don’t have any great ‘vista’ shots. I was hiking in rough timber country and the view was mostly of trees. Which you’ve already seen.

Here’s a hint of yet another distant ridge line:






I hiked along, working up a sweat, not finding any water sources…, and noticed that some clouds were rolling in. Although it was a bit early to stop (not according to my legs, I might add), I started looking for campsites. Pausing to ‘air out the dogs’….







I found one promising spot, but there were a number of dead trees that posed a potential threat in a storm. They don’t call ‘em “Widowmakers” for nuthin’....

I ended up back-tracking a mile or so to an area that seemed more promising. I worked my way about 150 yards uphill from the trail and found a spot to set up a camp. It wasn’t perfect, but the trees seemed sound enough. 

So, tarp & hammock got set up and pack hung off the ground:





Sure enough, a minute ot two after setting up the tarp, a light rain started to fall.....

This view gives a sense for why I love the hammock. It can be hard to set up a tent in this type of country. The level and clear spots are few and far between. I can hang a hammock near anywhere.

I’ll add that by carrying a tarp, hammock, and ground pad, I can set up a camp anywhere. I can sleep slung from trees or on the ground. I can use my hiking staff as a ‘tent’ pole and a few stakes to make a 'plow-point' shelter. This system—while a bit heavier than many tents—gives me options. You guys already know I like options. 

Here’s the view from my hammock:





Naturally I had to climb up that pile of rocks…. Here’s the view of camp from the top of the rocks:





While not “Stealth Camping”, I do like to be slightly stealthy. My camp is well off trail, invisible and unobtrusive. This may be because I camp alone and a degree of invisibility is a degree of security.

Until the bears come along….

Yes, there I was, pleased with my relatively safe campsite, sipping my yuppie-style Lemon-Ginger Tea, when a bear decided to circle my camp:





There is something about sipping a nice hot Lemon-Ginger Tea in the woods by yourself that leads to a certain quiet refection. Which is nice for people, but apparently also appeals to bears.

I was sitting there, enjoying said tea, when I heard a loud ‘crack’. Hmmm….. A moment later I saw the aforementioned bruin foraging around the camp.

Who knew bears liked Lemon-Ginger tea? 

Instead of reaching for my bear spray, I moved to a spot where I could get a better shot for you guys.  Mr Bear paused and nibbled up some berries, then turned to move closer to me…..





So the bear was only about 20 yards (18 meters) away at this point. My bear spray was about 10 yards (9 meters) away. I realized that if the bear decided to be aggressive, I was essentially a dead man. 

So, I said, in a friendly voice, “Hey, bear.”

The bear was not impressed or worried.

But now I was.

So I picked up a thick stick and gave it a good ‘snap’ across my knee.

For reasons you can intuit, bears are startled by sticks snapping. And, in this case, once again, the old stick snapping trick worked.

The bear turned and ambled off.

I followed him for about 50 yards, snapping more sticks underfoot, and he took off at a good pace. Sometimes a good bluff works.... 



Note to self: hang food in a bear bag. And keep the bear spray closer at hand.

Dinner time!

For my dinner I used the last bit of the MRE featured earlier in this thread: the cheese spread. This is real cheese, made in Wisconsin, the cheesiest state in the Union. Don't be a hater!   





Also pictured here is my favorite cookware: Valtcan 650mL cookpot (excellent pot! So many thoughtful features for such simple device!), Guyot silicone bowl (genius!), MSR ‘Pocket Rocket’ (a workhorse!), and the all-crucial long-handled spork (have to keep that spork badge looking shiny and new!). The Vic FX got used to open all packaging. 

So here was my plan combine the rice noodles from the Thai soup package with the Army cheese spread and then perfect it awl with some of Nix’s Trail Magic Hot Sauce™ (Recipe provided earlier in this thread for MTo members only.)

Trail Thai Noodle & Cheese:





After I took this shot, I decided that it needed a little extra ‘pasta water’ and added it accordingly. Perfection!

With a belly full of noodles and a long day of trekking behind me, I headed off for the comforts of the hammock and sleeping bag…..

(Hung me food bag in a distant tree first though…… ...)





Add:  Because of the high risk of wildfire in the area, at this time of year, open campfires are not permitted. So, sad to say, there are no campfire photos....... 

[David]

Bear...........          

[David]

Day 14:
After a training break Rinaldi got finally out to do some underhand chopping:
(Image removed from quote.)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

      

[comis]

Nix, what a cool trip   and the bear! 


Do you carry all the water on the trip or there's a spot to refill?

Really like the hammock setup of yours, those are lightweight, easy to setup and comfortable.  And about dual hiking sticks, I sworn by it, really help me to hike further, faster and much easier on the knees too.  I probably won't go on any hikes without them.

[David]

Day 23

[Nix]

 


'Like' too much.... 

[Nix]

Nix, what a cool trip   and the bear! 


Do you carry all the water on the trip or there's a spot to refill?

Really like the hammock setup of yours, those are lightweight, easy to setup and comfortable.  And about dual hiking sticks, I sworn by it, really help me to hike further, faster and much easier on the knees too.  I probably won't go on any hikes without them.

More to come for Day 23.... But, yes, I agree, dual sticks would seem to be a great thing. Who doesn't like four-wheel drive?   

[cody6268]

Absolutely, think back to when we were kids making bow and arrows, same principal but the saw blade instead of string 

Day 23 I'm not sure why but i get the same excitement getting new tyres as i get from a new knife

Package opening

(Image removed from quote.)

I buy knives like crazy, but tires, especially on our heavy equipment, don't get replaced that often. Early this year, we replaced 24-year-old front tires and ballast on a tractor that had dryrotted, and were full of plugs.  Rears are still original.

I've got to replace the ones on my truck due to dry-rot. They're roughly 14-year-old BF Goodrich. I'm moving from an "all season" tire to an "all terrain tire". 

[Nix]

Day 23:

I fell asleep to the sound of Elk bugling in the distance.

I woke up to…snapping twigs.

And more snapping twigs…..

And crows….

And squirrels….

I always expect to sleep the sleep of babies when I go camping. But, let’s face it, the woods are noisy.

And I’d just seen a bear.

And, if you hadn’t noticed, there were a lot of dead trees waving in the wind, ready to fall.....
 
And it is wildfire season. And…is that smoke I smell?  (Yes, but probably coming over from Oregon….)

Anyway, I was in bed…hammock…by 2000 hours. Fed, washed, and teeth brushed.

I woke up through the night several times....I checked my watch at 0514, mostly because I was a bit cold and wanted an excuse to get up and make coffee…but it was still really dark.

I must have fallen asleep again, because at 0700 the sky was lighter and it was definitely coffee time!

This one is for Comis (but also counts for my Day 23 knife photo):




I’m not sure about the Starbucks instant coffee, but I think I scored comis-points for Mountain House trail food, Scrambled eggs with BACON, and a Victorinox.  (Three points in one photo!)

So here is the secret to this breakfast:  Heat the water for the eggs first, then heat water for coffee. While the dehydrated meal is rehydrating and warming through, enjoy your coffee.

“But Nix…..won’t the dehydrated eggs get cold?”

Ah…..here’s another use for the Z-lite seat pad: food insulator.





After adding the hot water, wrap the freeze-dried meal in the Z-lite seat pad!  (Shiny-side inwards, please.)

After 5 minutes….the eggs were still piping hot!

(And add a splash of Nix’s Trail Magic Hot Sauce™.)

Once I had had a Starbucks coffee (livin’ high on the hog!) and some styrofoam eggs (made miraculously delicious by Nix’s Trail Magic Hot Sauce™), I was ready to head back out.

The sky was light and the trail was visible…





Visible, but rough:





I was running low on water (didn’t help that some idiot had knocked over the canteen….), but the only water sources I had found seemed….discouraging……





Yes, these are animal tracks in this mud-hole:





Not even the Sawyer could make this soup palatable…. I bypassed these ‘water sources’ and just carried on…..

At least the scenery was dramatic:




By the time I was near the truck I was down to 1/2 of a canteen of water (9 oz). Once I got back to the truck, I greedily swallowed that all down.

Looking back:





A fine trip.

What worked:

Z-lite seat pad
Vic Farmer X
Hammock
Valtcan 650 mL cook pot
MSR Pocket Rocket
Buff


What didn’t:

Greenbelly meals: heavy, bulky, and expensive.
Water supply: there wasn’t any, and the Klean Kanteen was too easy to knock over…..
Nessmuk knife: uhhh…loved having it along, but the SAK took care of all the chores. Hmmmmm….. 

[cody6268]

Day 23. OK, I was bored and got the wild hair to do this.  I am honestly surprised at how many of the non-emergency models I buy are red. And these were just on one shelving unit.

Red by cody6268, on Flickr

[comis]

Day 23

Just lovely! 

Day 23. OK, I was bored and got the wild hair to do this.  I am honestly surprised at how many of the non-emergency models I buy are red. And these were just on one shelving unit.

Red by cody6268, on Flickr

Cool composition, red SAK amongst all the red trucks!

[comis]

Day 23:

I fell asleep to the sound of Elk bugling in the distance.

I woke up to…snapping twigs.

And more snapping twigs…..

And crows….

And squirrels….

I always expect to sleep the sleep of babies when I go camping. But, let’s face it, the woods are noisy.

And I’d just seen a bear.

And, if you hadn’t noticed, there were a lot of dead trees waving in the wind, ready to fall.....
 
And it is wildfire season. And…is that smoke I smell?  (Yes, but probably coming over from Oregon….)

Anyway, I was in bed…hammock…by 2000 hours. Fed, washed, and teeth brushed.

I woke up through the night several times....I checked my watch at 0514, mostly because I was a bit cold and wanted an excuse to get up and make coffee…but it was still really dark.

I must have fallen asleep again, because at 0700 the sky was lighter and it was definitely coffee time!

This one is for Comis (but also counts for my Day 23 knife photo):

(Image removed from quote.)


I’m not sure about the Starbucks instant coffee, but I think I scored comis-points for Mountain House trail food, Scrambled eggs with BACON, and a Victorinox.  (Three points in one photo!)

So here is the secret to this breakfast:  Heat the water for the eggs first, then heat water for coffee. While the dehydrated meal is rehydrating and warming through, enjoy your coffee.

“But Nix…..won’t the dehydrated eggs get cold?”

Ah…..here’s another use for the Z-lite seat pad: food insulator.

(Image removed from quote.)



After adding the hot water, wrap the freeze-dried meal in the Z-lite seat pad!  (Shiny-side inwards, please.)

After 5 minutes….the eggs were still piping hot!

(And add a splash of Nix’s Trail Magic Hot Sauce™.)

Once I had had a Starbucks coffee (livin’ high on the hog!) and some styrofoam eggs (made miraculously delicious by Nix’s Trail Magic Hot Sauce™), I was ready to head back out.

The sky was light and the trail was visible…

(Image removed from quote.)



Visible, but rough:

(Image removed from quote.)



I was running low on water (didn’t help that some idiot had knocked over the canteen….), but the only water sources I had found seemed….discouraging……

(Image removed from quote.)



Yes, these are animal tracks in this mud-hole:

(Image removed from quote.)



Not even the Sawyer could make this soup palatable…. I bypassed these ‘water sources’ and just carried on…..

At least the scenery was dramatic:

(Image removed from quote.)


By the time I was near the truck I was down to 1/2 of a canteen of water (9 oz). Once I got back to the truck, I greedily swallowed that all down.

Looking back:

(Image removed from quote.)



A fine trip.

What worked:

Z-lite seat pad
Vic Farmer X
Hammock
Valtcan 650 mL cook pot
MSR Pocket Rocket
Buff


What didn’t:

Greenbelly meals: heavy, bulky, and expensive.
Water supply: there wasn’t any, and the Klean Kanteen was too easy to knock over…..
Nessmuk knife: uhhh…loved having it along, but the SAK took care of all the chores. Hmmmmm….. 

Did someone say BACON?  I think that's might be what attracted the bear in the first place, and I bet if you toss the breakfast in the opposite direction, the bear may not come after you.    

I have seen Z-lite used in many ways, rain shield, sleeping pad, backpack stiffener, seater, or even impromptu cast for broken limb, but you Sir, topped them all off, breakfast warmer!  That's original!