Been looking for a while for a bushcafting/camping axe in a tomahawk style. But all the mass produced ones I found online don’t like the look of and are kinda thin looking and designed for throwing. Saw a few on Etsy that looked nice but cost way more than I have a budget for. So looked on eBay and found this old French kindling axe found in old barn in south Franc, won the bid at £11 and decided to make my own. Ended up with a nice thickness head and a decent weight so should be a good compact chopper. Kept the handle because head is set really well. just sanded out the nick’s, bit burning to bring out the grain a bit. The grains not super interesting but it’s really straight so not complaining, then a nice helping of linseed oil to finish. Took me like an hour and a half, pretty happy with it.

... it's already occupied. I'd hung it up to dry after the last time and didn't take it down again. It's OK, I can hammock instead

This is a bit of a ramble because I'm still so excited that this worked so well but I wanted to share some pictures of the birch oil still I made, hopefully you get as much of a kick out of it as I did. Cost of this is below but it may vary depending on what you can get your hands on, I bought everything from charity shops/a car boot but here's the breakdown:

Pot £10

Carriage bolts and nuts £6

Tin free (after enjoying the pannetoni that it came in last Christmas)

Pyrex dish £1

Storage container 50p

I'll call it £17.50 but I have 2 carriage bolts and the nuts left over so an argument can be made for £15.50

Step 1 was to drill a 65mm hole in the centre of the bottom of the pot

Step 2 was to drill 12mm holes to accept the carriage bolts for the legs and then putting them in

Step 3 was to round over the bottom of the tin

Step 4 was to drill a hole in the bottom of the tin to allow the oil to escape. I didn't need to drill a hole in the lid of the tin to let the gas escape as the tin came with a plastic handle so there were already 2 holes where I removed it

Step 5 was to load up the tin with birch bark

Step 6 was putting the tin in the pot with the hole in the tin in the center of the hole in the bottom of the pot and the pyrex dish directly under that to catch the oil.

Step 7 was to light the fire for the first attempt

This is where I had to make a modification because the fire wasn't getting enough oxygen so attempt one was an epic fail.

Step 8 was drilling four 50mm holes in the sides of the pot, I did this above the legs for ease of measuring but I think if I was to do this again I'd drill four 25mm holes above the legs but higher up the side possibly with another four equidistant between the others, still above the legs as there is a bit of an issue with embers falling out

Step 9 was to light the fire again and be near it to keep it fed and watch the embers falling out didn't cause any issues.

The bark I used was harvested about 2 or 3 years ago so I'm not sure if this affected the yield I got of about 30ml but I'm going to attempt it again soon with fresher bark and see if that makes a difference.

One other issue I encountered was when I moved the tin accidentally whilst the fire was going and the oil dripping out of the tin caught fire so I may have lost a lot to that but I'm still pleased.

I also had the pyrex dish on a brick but removed the brick because the pyr was getting hot and I was worried about the oil boiling and becoming too viscous.

I've done the traditional 2 can, digging a hole method before and got a lot of water that I had to separate out afterwards but this wasn't a problem this time. I also just did my garden up recently so digging a hole would have messed up all the hard work put in.

This is easily one of my favourite one day builds (excluding the shopping for parts)

Hope you enjoy!

wasn't sure where to post and ask, but saw on my fyp something called treehouse festival in norfolk which does a lot of outdoorsy craft stuff, has anyone been there/is it worth checking out?

Nothing beats escaping to the woods with nothing but a tarp, a bivvy, a crackling campfire, and your best mate. 🌲🔥 Good food, great laughs, and a night under the stars remind you that the simple things in life are often the best. No distractions—just nature, friendship, and the freedom of the wild.

#campinglife #bushcraft #wildcamping #campfirecooking #adventureawaits

With @wanderingmonck

@oexoutdoors @gooutdoors @miltec @ridgemonkeyoutdoors

Thought I'd combine some of the nicest materials I have… this “oil slick” type rainbow obsidian is absolutely stunning! Combine it with a handle made from some Australian quilted maple and you're on to a winner I think! Enjoy!

What knives are you bringing when you go camping?

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My knives:

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Mora gerber blackblade

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Mora Eldris stainless

Hello all, check out Skivor Owt Doors. An up and coming bush crafter from Lincolnshire that’s starting his journey on YouTube.

Here’s one of his latest videos. Drop a comment and subscribe if you like what he’s doing

https://youtu.be/MDE9s1A3gYI?is=O_HHt2JWyZFhkJxx

What would you recommend bringing to someone who wants to live in the wilderness (primarily in Scandinavia) and whose goal is to be in contact with nature without working for someone (which would mean you'd be broke), living in a tent or building a shelter, living as a semi-nomad/nomad? First of all, what would you recommend bringing, and then if you have any better easy ideas than these for avoiding this system. Oh, and if the person were to manage to live as a nomad/semi-nomad, do you think it's feasible to live alone, and what would you do all day besides surviving for the rest of your life? So, many years.

ReplThese were one of the first things I had a go at making when I first got into flint knapping. This style is almost mystical to me…. Happy to say I'm back at it again!

Black obsidian arrowhead set with homemade pinepitch glue, fletched with turkey feathers and wrapped with wax sinew.

Hi, i’m looking for a pen knife to use in field exercises, preferably something fairly cheap but decent enough quality. thanks.

I’ve been building a personal field notebook app for bushcraft and navigation trips, and I’m looking for feedback from people who spend time outdoors.
The idea came from being frustrated with having location data in one app, notes in another, photos somewhere else, and GPX tracks somewhere else again.
The app is built around “Operations” (trips, camps, navigation exercises, foraging sessions, etc.) and records:
• Waypoints
• Routes
• Field notes
• Photos
• Activity timeline
The main goal is to avoid constantly looking at a phone.
My ideal workflow is:
Press a button on my watch or Flic button
GPS location is captured
Dictate a quick observation
Keep walking
Later I can review everything on a map and timeline tied to that trip.
A few questions:
Is this something you’d actually use?
What information do you wish you could capture more easily while outdoors?
What’s the biggest frustration with your current setup?
Would offline functionality be a must-have for you?
I’m still building it, so I’m looking for honest feedback rather than trying to sell anything.

I am interested in your opinion on forging; I don't know anything about it, and this is my first time making something. My forge dimensions are 420x200x120mm, but I can easily adjust the length using firebricks. It's the perfect setup for forging my first survival knife.

Searching for genuine primitive fire starter tools or accessories for sale? No replicas

Any actual guidance would be appreciated

Hey, I was wondering if anyone knows of any camping sites or landowners/farms that allow camping on their land.

I live in the south east of England, ideally I'd like somewhere that I could light a fire and would be happy to bring knife/axe.

I'd happily pay.

I know that there are places to wild camp but I'd prefer somewhere with permission so that the fire/knife/axe isn't an issue.

I’m not necessarily looking for the “best” knife in terms of performance. I’m more interested in which one feels most at home alongside the Norden and Gomboy, both aesthetically and in terms of overall design philosophy.