Postman brought me today,once again,some military surplus,from my favourite shop Varusteleka. Its British,issued,dpm camouflage pattern,windproof Smock. Close relative to precent soldier 95 jackets they use. No experience yet but soon i will tell you what thoughts i raised. I ve been hearing opinions that its well made simple rugged jacket,and im trying it out now with modest expectations,although i wish it suits my needs well,as i really like the design of it,and DPM is my favourite pattern,along with american tiger stripe camouflage.And i also choose surplus as its somehow more economical IMHO,than buying the latest gear from the outdoors shops.Although i rarely find anything into outer layer of garment, from those shops,as the colour schemes give me headache :).
-One thing i noticed immediately was that i must modify the hood a bit,as i will run an electric wire thru some seam of hood,so it gives me an option to shape it better.The hood drops badly in front of my eyes now,but i will work on it to get it sorted out.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smock_Windproof_DPM
maanantai 12. lokakuuta 2009
torstai 8. lokakuuta 2009
Day well spent indeed
ok,
today i packed up my old backpack,with some food portions,cofee making gear,few knives etc,for me and my girlfriend,and picked up my kid bro,and head out to trail nearby,walked for a while,and just stopped at this nice rocky hill,where you could watch the beautiful fall colours,army training planes(old propeller planes) flying low over us,blue skies and these nice nice colours,of the falling leaves.
At the same time i used my F1 for the first time,i batoned it thru 3 inch branches,rotten stumps,carved freshly dropped pine with it,and hacked it thru some wood lying there,and it did sure perform as i suggested,flawlessly,without almost any effort,except for cutting this 3 inch branch in half,as the f1 aint as long as s1 that has longer blade with more leverage and hitting power. The handle has nice angle offering very accurate handling which might help with some detail work in future,as this was just a pleasant test drive to me with this famous knife.
My bro tried it too,and seemed astonished about how sharp it is,and it sure is,i dont deny.
He was there testing his Hukari,which is a beast for a knife,its more like an machete,and cut thru thicker woods easily,is easy to sharpen and worth its value,although its crude in finish but hey,function over design and coolness as ive said before. The only thing it needs is better sheath,but its easy to make it using the factory made as liner to new leather sheath or what ever he decides to use for it. Also he took his Esbit cooker there and i throw him a pack of the tablets so he could go and try it,and after we recovered this half rotten stump of a log cutted ages ago,which offered nice shelter from chilly fall winds,it took only some 5 minutes to get half litres of cold water to roll-boil in my cheap stainless steel measure mug. So we just enjoyed our time there,by testing out some equipment,made these few outdoor meals,and did coffee and cocoa for dessert,which always tastes better when your ein the wild.oh hey i also used my Aurora firesteel,gathered up some tinder from old juniper´s bark,birch bark and some tiny but dry ( it has been raining a lot for last days)i dug out under trees shadows. It took just some three strikes to get tinder into fire,and me smile or grin as my bro said. Then we "had" to get back to home areas,to take and heat up the sauna to crown the day well spent.
keskiviikko 7. lokakuuta 2009
Fall and winter ahead.
1.10-2009
So,tonight will be officially the first night,here at my home area,when the night temperatures go below zero.Just a few grades but still.
i have been wondering where the fall is as it hasnt been raining much,its suspicious even,and if i guess,its again fault own mankinds greedy actions and careless attitude against earth,nature,mother north.Its been very dry id say,and that aint so bad but it should be raining at fall i know,a sit did when i was kid and from then the weathers has been going odd. Short summers,long winter on one year and on next the opposite.It must have something to do with greenhouse effect too.But then again i dont have any degrees on high grade,on physics or maths so i can be wrong all as well :).
But but,im waitin eagerly to see this nights weather,as it has been cooling all day long and during weekend we might get storm as a guest here.Last fall it was pretty intense as the storms cracked off few trees in our yard and the roof tins were about to break off.
For last few days ive been dreaming at night of the winter trips,that im about to do,to drag a sled on ski ´is,to sleep in simple log cabins and lean to´s,while the frozing trees make the snappy sounds and winds blow. I just love the sound,which you hear for few seconds when the fire starts to go in the smoke pipes,when you light up the wood-ovens and heaters. Somehow its almost hypnotizing,to watch fire,no matter is in in the open fire in the camp,when you lie in the lean-to,or make some food over fire,or just sit around fire and talk with your buddies.
I have been making some inventories in my lockers,drawers and where ever i have my stuff lying. Ive been collecting some sort of winter-EDC ( every day carry) from these hides,and i put up small pocket size pack,its some maxpeditions small pocket pouch,to hold these:
-chapstick
-water purifier tablets in tiny stainless holder
-wiresaw BCB ( small size,better than nothing and better than multitool saw´s when sawing any thicker wood)
-Waterproof match contaner with matches and button compass
-Old leatherman supertool (good,locking saw,pliers,and good dedicated screwdrivers,these are reasons to choose this.)
-Small amount of snare,paracord and gaffa tape
-fishing line,few hooks,split weights,two needles,and safety pins,in tiny capsule.
-tatonka space blanket ( due to minimal weight and packing size)
-some piece of heavier tin foil(as it can be used to form a cup etc)
-Fox 40 whistle
-small keychain led light
-a small cheap diamond shapening rod
and as i nearly always still carry Victorinox OHT in kydex neck-sheath,with firesteel,led torch and proper small compass atached to it,i think im able to to take my dog for a walk around our yard any time :).
Seriously,this kind of stuff i just found,from old pencil boxes,from my wardrobe shelves,from pockets,and i just stuffed em into this belt pouch,and it seems good to go with me.
I tend to carry some gear with me always,but i love to lern to get along without gear,or with minimal too,so ive been learning to make fire with firebows etc,old but vise skills. Still,id rather put some knife or multitool on my belt,some energy bar on my pocket,and things like that,when i head outside the door,as they dont weight at all to my opinion and aint a problem to carry anytime.Its also a form of preparation to me,to gear up a bit "cause you never know when the SHTF". This kind of gear wont save me from apocalypse of zombie attack,nor from the massive plague,not to mention major meteorite falling from my head mbut it will surely help out a bit,if i get in some trouble in the trails,especially if i add some first aid items and food to me and my dog,in my daypack. And if if i take one more step and pack up a light sleepingbag,field canteen,some pot to cook up, and pair of dry socks,im ready to walk to the my favourite local every-mans-right cabin nearby.
And that wouldnt be bad start for this cold long season,to hike there,put up a small fire,feel the cabin to warm up,drink some soup and give my dog buddie some snacks,and just chill out till you fall asleep. It aint the great survival hike but man,its relaxing to me.
So,tonight will be officially the first night,here at my home area,when the night temperatures go below zero.Just a few grades but still.
i have been wondering where the fall is as it hasnt been raining much,its suspicious even,and if i guess,its again fault own mankinds greedy actions and careless attitude against earth,nature,mother north.Its been very dry id say,and that aint so bad but it should be raining at fall i know,a sit did when i was kid and from then the weathers has been going odd. Short summers,long winter on one year and on next the opposite.It must have something to do with greenhouse effect too.But then again i dont have any degrees on high grade,on physics or maths so i can be wrong all as well :).
But but,im waitin eagerly to see this nights weather,as it has been cooling all day long and during weekend we might get storm as a guest here.Last fall it was pretty intense as the storms cracked off few trees in our yard and the roof tins were about to break off.
For last few days ive been dreaming at night of the winter trips,that im about to do,to drag a sled on ski ´is,to sleep in simple log cabins and lean to´s,while the frozing trees make the snappy sounds and winds blow. I just love the sound,which you hear for few seconds when the fire starts to go in the smoke pipes,when you light up the wood-ovens and heaters. Somehow its almost hypnotizing,to watch fire,no matter is in in the open fire in the camp,when you lie in the lean-to,or make some food over fire,or just sit around fire and talk with your buddies.
I have been making some inventories in my lockers,drawers and where ever i have my stuff lying. Ive been collecting some sort of winter-EDC ( every day carry) from these hides,and i put up small pocket size pack,its some maxpeditions small pocket pouch,to hold these:
-chapstick
-water purifier tablets in tiny stainless holder
-wiresaw BCB ( small size,better than nothing and better than multitool saw´s when sawing any thicker wood)
-Waterproof match contaner with matches and button compass
-Old leatherman supertool (good,locking saw,pliers,and good dedicated screwdrivers,these are reasons to choose this.)
-Small amount of snare,paracord and gaffa tape
-fishing line,few hooks,split weights,two needles,and safety pins,in tiny capsule.
-tatonka space blanket ( due to minimal weight and packing size)
-some piece of heavier tin foil(as it can be used to form a cup etc)
-Fox 40 whistle
-small keychain led light
-a small cheap diamond shapening rod
and as i nearly always still carry Victorinox OHT in kydex neck-sheath,with firesteel,led torch and proper small compass atached to it,i think im able to to take my dog for a walk around our yard any time :).
Seriously,this kind of stuff i just found,from old pencil boxes,from my wardrobe shelves,from pockets,and i just stuffed em into this belt pouch,and it seems good to go with me.
I tend to carry some gear with me always,but i love to lern to get along without gear,or with minimal too,so ive been learning to make fire with firebows etc,old but vise skills. Still,id rather put some knife or multitool on my belt,some energy bar on my pocket,and things like that,when i head outside the door,as they dont weight at all to my opinion and aint a problem to carry anytime.Its also a form of preparation to me,to gear up a bit "cause you never know when the SHTF". This kind of gear wont save me from apocalypse of zombie attack,nor from the massive plague,not to mention major meteorite falling from my head mbut it will surely help out a bit,if i get in some trouble in the trails,especially if i add some first aid items and food to me and my dog,in my daypack. And if if i take one more step and pack up a light sleepingbag,field canteen,some pot to cook up, and pair of dry socks,im ready to walk to the my favourite local every-mans-right cabin nearby.
And that wouldnt be bad start for this cold long season,to hike there,put up a small fire,feel the cabin to warm up,drink some soup and give my dog buddie some snacks,and just chill out till you fall asleep. It aint the great survival hike but man,its relaxing to me.
Fällkniven S1
I saw an intresting review of Fallknivens S1 knife,at "SurvivALL" blog,and as i happen to be owner of the same knife,i thought i´d throw in a few words about this knife too.This aint nothing more than my humble opinion of that knife. Be sure to check out SurvivALL´s review of the knife too,its based on real field testing,done by person who knows what he speaks of clearly.
Im not big fan of some reviews seen in youtube where guys read the catalogues,order expensive knives,dont use em in real enviroment,and just show off their gear in front of camera and tell some stories,and just disgrace or hype the item. I understand that someone is collector,someone is user,and theres still enough space for the folks on the other sides.BUT,telling about that rare,hi end,expensive,never used dusty knife,kept in safe or drawer, made from un-identified material dropped from the space,without actual use of it,still aint based on real-life experiment,hands-on,no matter how well the steel cleared the labratory tests,as the life,the knives element is somewhere,in the woods and thats where you see how it actually works. Many exotic handmade knives with pricetag over thousands of bucks,get beaten by factory made 10 buck Mora knives,as funtionality still rules over coolness factor :).Once again,in my opinion,and i respect yours,what ever that might be.
In my opinion this particular knife is about one of the best factory made knives ive used this far,and this aint ass-kissing.This is based on about 6 month perioid of use of it,without shame or particular mercy to the knife,although i use knives for jobs intended for knives. So im not used to bash em into steel surfaces,onto concrete walls or similar stuff,which ive seen done to many hi-end knives too,beaten till breaking up in these odd youtube videos where they intentionally try to break knives in any method they can to achieve snapped blades and similar harsh damage.
I have been batoning this into branches and small logs,in size of about 3 to even 4 inches in diameter,without any real damage,visible that is,to blade.It hasnt made difference,has the tree been frozen,fresh or dry,it has been pretty easy to split by batoning it with aid of other wrist thick branch or other part of some tree.And it does-surprise-survive all the other stuff too,easily,from carving up spoons,to making lean-to´s,and as its made very hygienic,its good for any hunting related tasks too,from skinning to guttin,a sits can also be cleaned easily and also sterilised in boiling water. This is one fine detail in any fallkniven fixed blades,as the thermorun handle material is somehow cast permanantly to the blade itself,so there aint any cuts or seams for germs to get in, to pollute meat of any type.
The handle hasnt showed any marks of real wear and it has been used after night in freezing temperatures,so the quality of this rubber is ok in my books. It is called Thermorun,if i recall right. Its nice and grippy in any enviroment ive used it in,no matter the temperature,even when wet,it offers good firm grip without getting slippery. But when ive used it to gut some fish,the slime from fish scales has mede it pretty slick,so you better be careful while doing this (as always when handling sharp tools,that is). The open end of the handle show the tang of the knife,so you can use the end of handle as small tool to pound in nails or something,or if you have to,you can use the steel surface to batoning too,to get that blade through some tough material in some emergeancy,or just to get a hole thru frozen stream,to get water under the ice,as ive used it.
And as always,i found the hole in the handle,left there to attach a loop thru it,is just great,and in my own knife ive attached a 8 inch long piece of multicolour 3mm climbing rated cord with small carabiner,which i use to sequre the knife into its sheath.
My knife came with leather sheath,that i like,its sturdy,not fancy or posh. Durable stitching,sandwhich construct to prevent blade to cut through the seams,and what i like...big enough belt loop,so you can use this also in duty belts. I´d like to get my new sheath done,it will come out with loop for firesteel and a flap with snap closure,to cover the knife more,but this factory one is great too as the knife sit quite deep in the sheath,and the sheath itself rides low,compared to belt so it wont snag your stomach or anything when you sit. The dangler is attached to well formed steel ring that stops the unnecessary swinging.
I have modified the blade,but just to get the spine more sharp edged,as many do to their knives,to make it more handy to scrape out sparks from firesteels and in my case,it works now better for scaling fish. Other than that,i have nothing i might gesture to be done to the blade,cause to this date,ive sharpened it only few times,just because it wont get dull easily. To sharpening i have used fallknivens own DC3 sharpening stone that has two side,the diamond coated,and the stone on the other side,and also piece of fine grit wet sanding paper,glued lightly over piece of mouse-pad,as the pad is soft and contours the shape of the blade well.
So i think this might be money well spent to other outdoors enthusiasts too.
Edit: well ive learned a bit more,and what ive been told is that you can actually use just a drop of autosol polishing stuff,and leather strop together for good edge,so i went and tried and id did work well.
to see more about S1 user opinions,check out this one:
http://survivall.blogspot.com/2009/09/fallkniven-s1-serious-survival-knife.html
Im not big fan of some reviews seen in youtube where guys read the catalogues,order expensive knives,dont use em in real enviroment,and just show off their gear in front of camera and tell some stories,and just disgrace or hype the item. I understand that someone is collector,someone is user,and theres still enough space for the folks on the other sides.BUT,telling about that rare,hi end,expensive,never used dusty knife,kept in safe or drawer, made from un-identified material dropped from the space,without actual use of it,still aint based on real-life experiment,hands-on,no matter how well the steel cleared the labratory tests,as the life,the knives element is somewhere,in the woods and thats where you see how it actually works. Many exotic handmade knives with pricetag over thousands of bucks,get beaten by factory made 10 buck Mora knives,as funtionality still rules over coolness factor :).Once again,in my opinion,and i respect yours,what ever that might be.
In my opinion this particular knife is about one of the best factory made knives ive used this far,and this aint ass-kissing.This is based on about 6 month perioid of use of it,without shame or particular mercy to the knife,although i use knives for jobs intended for knives. So im not used to bash em into steel surfaces,onto concrete walls or similar stuff,which ive seen done to many hi-end knives too,beaten till breaking up in these odd youtube videos where they intentionally try to break knives in any method they can to achieve snapped blades and similar harsh damage.
I have been batoning this into branches and small logs,in size of about 3 to even 4 inches in diameter,without any real damage,visible that is,to blade.It hasnt made difference,has the tree been frozen,fresh or dry,it has been pretty easy to split by batoning it with aid of other wrist thick branch or other part of some tree.And it does-surprise-survive all the other stuff too,easily,from carving up spoons,to making lean-to´s,and as its made very hygienic,its good for any hunting related tasks too,from skinning to guttin,a sits can also be cleaned easily and also sterilised in boiling water. This is one fine detail in any fallkniven fixed blades,as the thermorun handle material is somehow cast permanantly to the blade itself,so there aint any cuts or seams for germs to get in, to pollute meat of any type.
The handle hasnt showed any marks of real wear and it has been used after night in freezing temperatures,so the quality of this rubber is ok in my books. It is called Thermorun,if i recall right. Its nice and grippy in any enviroment ive used it in,no matter the temperature,even when wet,it offers good firm grip without getting slippery. But when ive used it to gut some fish,the slime from fish scales has mede it pretty slick,so you better be careful while doing this (as always when handling sharp tools,that is). The open end of the handle show the tang of the knife,so you can use the end of handle as small tool to pound in nails or something,or if you have to,you can use the steel surface to batoning too,to get that blade through some tough material in some emergeancy,or just to get a hole thru frozen stream,to get water under the ice,as ive used it.
And as always,i found the hole in the handle,left there to attach a loop thru it,is just great,and in my own knife ive attached a 8 inch long piece of multicolour 3mm climbing rated cord with small carabiner,which i use to sequre the knife into its sheath.
My knife came with leather sheath,that i like,its sturdy,not fancy or posh. Durable stitching,sandwhich construct to prevent blade to cut through the seams,and what i like...big enough belt loop,so you can use this also in duty belts. I´d like to get my new sheath done,it will come out with loop for firesteel and a flap with snap closure,to cover the knife more,but this factory one is great too as the knife sit quite deep in the sheath,and the sheath itself rides low,compared to belt so it wont snag your stomach or anything when you sit. The dangler is attached to well formed steel ring that stops the unnecessary swinging.
I have modified the blade,but just to get the spine more sharp edged,as many do to their knives,to make it more handy to scrape out sparks from firesteels and in my case,it works now better for scaling fish. Other than that,i have nothing i might gesture to be done to the blade,cause to this date,ive sharpened it only few times,just because it wont get dull easily. To sharpening i have used fallknivens own DC3 sharpening stone that has two side,the diamond coated,and the stone on the other side,and also piece of fine grit wet sanding paper,glued lightly over piece of mouse-pad,as the pad is soft and contours the shape of the blade well.
So i think this might be money well spent to other outdoors enthusiasts too.
Edit: well ive learned a bit more,and what ive been told is that you can actually use just a drop of autosol polishing stuff,and leather strop together for good edge,so i went and tried and id did work well.
to see more about S1 user opinions,check out this one:
http://survivall.blogspot.com/2009/09/fallkniven-s1-serious-survival-knife.html
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