Just a show-off, bragging with a new completed custom job from Kotavuopio.

 All in one, pushed in sheath, this is a 14 centimeter "long" piece of beauty & perfection in my eyes.

Net needle, anoher take, another maker.

I talked about these whittling tasks with T.Kotavuopio some hour ago and he obviously got hooked and tempted on the subject too since i just received these pictures.

This is just awesome, i´d say it qualifies as an tutorial too.

Its also done by every day carry- knife that hasnt been sharpened before this task. The size of blade aint tiny either, as its 130mm long, 5 millimeters thick spine and 30 millimeters tall profile.

Day off, at cabin site.

Today, i took a day off, and went to cabin site to vent some brain. Pretty nice, after the knife course, although i love the job.

Anyway, at morning i unwrapped my new pack, a Savotta 323, from my schoolmates Komiat Hetket company. In the same package was also Savotta´s Loue shelter, a classic finnish old school styled lightweight weird looking gadget that is favourite among many hunters here in Finland,as well as long distance hikers.

                                                                      Savotta 323.

So i stuffed an axe, Bundeswehr sleeping mattess to sit on, some instant Nestle coffee, few bratwürst sausages, some Fazer Blueperry pie chocolate, Austrian army surplus canteen with its metal mug and few other items in the backpack and then we drove to the camping grounds in the relatively near woods.

Since the last time i was there, the snow had melted a Lot indeed, and everything seemed well, nothing was broken or stolen, the roofs in cabins were ok etc.

                             Prepping the firewood and drooling the blueberry chocolate.


So i had nothing to do really, and i could just set a fire going on. Carried a few wood pieces to the firering and made some crude sticks out of em, with the hatchet and then i scraped the birch barks surface into some dustlike stuff that caught the spark easily from the firesteel. Well, nothing special in that. Since i didnt do anything i dont even try to make up an interesting story or similar.

                                                     Traditional Donald Duck fire.

                                                                 The guardian dog, Roi.

We boiled some water in the surplus mug in the fire as the sausages were getting ready and ate those, and then drank the tasty Nescafe Latte Macchiato instant coffee and munched the chocolate and just stared around to this melting snow and enjoyed the sunny day.

If id have had the time, i would have hacked an hole into ice and carried water in the sauna and heated it, and bathed but i had only a few hours today, so we had to skip that idea and head to home.

                                                                     

I locked the gates since heres been un-invited guests. This only stops folks coming with cars though.

                                                                              See ya !

On our way back i stopped to pick up the wooden raw bear thats been in wellcoming people by  the roadside. Now its back on its place next to its younger brother.

Lunch break knives

As ive been on knifemaking course as an instructor for last 4 days i havent had a chance to do anthing significant for myself but during today and yesterday,in cofee & lunch breaks i did these.

Tiny 15cm long puukko, with handmade blade, curly birch handle with stack of rawhide leather fro better control while carving and i also cast a brass part into it, fron used rifle cartridges.

  

13 cm long stubby knife, maybe a future necker,who knows. From an coilspring forged into blank and then forged and ground into this shape. Some simple filework in front of handle and rest of teh spine is sharp for firesteel use. I dont have any idea what the handles are but its some naturally dark brown wood,hard as a rock and its secured with thin leather spacers and brass pins.

Summers at the door and i miss the "hard" winter alreay.

I found a few pictures, from a relaxed cabin trip me and my friends did some...about a mont ago. Back then there was loads of snow although it was starting to melt already. We did ice swimming and bathed in sauna for many many hours in a row, ate deer stew and such. I just love to enter these old log cabins and feel that they´ve been un used for a long time,and this one was colder inside than the temperature outside. I cant ever describe what i feel when i carry the woods after chopping em, into the cabin and place them in the stove and light it. Hearing the first resin pops, smelling the smoke as the cold smoke pipe wont suck the smoke before its carefully heated with small fire. Then you hear the humming voice when the pipe starts to work . Hacking the ice swimming hole,carrying water into the sauna and cabin and then unrolling your wool blanket to warm up, boiling potful of coffee and such. Just watching the winter day in the cabins porch while stew´s scent mixes into the cold air and entering my nose. Things i cant ever feel during summertime. Well, in a 5 months ill have long dark days, and i see the leaves flying off from the trees and its time to wellcome winter again.

Fjällräven Chap pants & Fällkniven Warranty, thumbs up.

Aoout an hour ago when i arrived home from knife making course, i had two packages waiting for me.


In the bigger one was pair of Fjällräven´s Chap pants. These are from Fjällrävens forest line thats intended especially for hunters. Theyre made from silent, brushed G-1000 material thats rugged due to its large cotton content, and its also pretty good stuff for a guy like me who likes to play with campfire,as it wont melt and have holes, from sparks, unlike some plain synthetic material would. And because its partially fromn synthetic stuff, it dries a bit better than cotton. G-1000 is about the best material i know, over anything other commercial clothing materials. The brushed surface makes these very silent too which is always a good thing out in the bush when youre hunting. I havent ordered these so i didnt know what details these would have but obviously these are designed by person or persons that have real life touch to hunting and outdoors life. These are waterproof from knees and butt and other areas are G-1000 that keeps these breathing well,and the waterproof parts are placed on the areas where they need to be waterproof. Plain and simple. These have zippered pockets for the precious items that you dont want to loose easily. Right side back pocket, has one zipper, and one is on left side,just under handpocket,and one is almost hidden, in the right side handpocket. So plenty of secured pocket space for car keys,cell phone, licences etc. Then theres normal pressbutton closure backpocket on the left,two normal handpockets on front and one bigger pocket between right handpocket and knee,on the sideseam, and this has a special inner pocket, divided in two separate ones, one can be used for phone and similar sized flat gear and the other next to it, is something i really like in these....Theres aabout 3 x 1 inch sixed strap,thats sewn into sideseam just above the big pockets flap,and it has an press button on its other end. At first i didnt understand whats this for...but as i opened it and the big pockets flap,i noticed that the flaps seam isnt sewn all the way,no, it has a two inch gap,and as theres this inner pocket insde big pocket,i figured that man, this is a pocket for knife !. Ive never seen one like these. You can open the straps button, and slide your knifes belt loop in the strap as it acts like a small belt. Then you just drop the knife and its sheath under the big pockets flap seam,and thse sheath goes to this inner pocket. This way the knife wont swing in the big pocket,and it hangs from its belt loop quite nicely. Nice deatil on that, i say. Then what else...sturdy straps to tighten the trouser ends around your boots or to trim em so they wont drop over the boots,any way you choose to wear. Theres a nice detail,on backside too, just in midlle of the backside,where the beltloops go. Theres a 2 inch long rubber hose or similar tube,some..4mm diameter,sewn  in the upper seam, and it helps the suspenders from sliding off from the trousers. How genious. Details like these really catch my intention. All the sewings done in rugged way with reliable endings and overall, i think these might be damn good pants but ill see that after i start using em. Even the colour is nice, sort of very dark olive green...or might it be brown,i cant swear since i am red & green colourblind a bit.

G-1000


The other good thing today was that the tiny envelope without any info about sender, contained a new Fällkniven DC3 sharpening stone, straight from Sweden. It replaces the one i had as it might have had a small but affecting manufacture fail. So, i say thank you to Fällkniven, and to person who made this warranty replacement there possible. Ive been using my old DC3 so much and it has been my main sharpener so i was pretty attached to it. Customer service like this aint ordinary today, so im glad to tell you that Fällkniven is a respectful company in my eyes, more and more.
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Edit:

Today i wore the trousers for the first time and they feel damn good. They are silent and the waterproof butt & knees are working it seems. More than enough pockets to organise your pocket carry stuff too.

  

The strap to hold sheaths beltloop and the open gap,where you slide the sheath so the knife is well hidden and secured in the flap closure pocket.

                                 Sturdy, and easily adjustable straps to tighten the pants so snow wont go in.

Back.

I just arrived home....damn that soaking, icecold, pouring rain that made all my plans pretty much useless.

Goin out for a weekend

Today i drove to the small campsite in the woods,that i can use and where i am a sort of a voluntary janitor.

I am going there back,in few hours for two nights an dill be spending one in cabin and one in lean-to,no electric fuss with us at all,except for camera and cellphone...that i´ll be turing off most likely :).

So we went there to see if theres something that needs to be fixed and such but everything was ok, but there was loads of tight packed deep(ish) snow every where, and it tooks quite a time to shovel few routes to the main house, to the sauna house and to the toilet shacks and such. I carried in loads of snow filled buckets so they might melt into water for our later use.

Man it was sooooo nice weather, sun was shining and birds singing. I love the winter so its sad for me to see the snow go away though....

I have packed up my bag,way too much gear in it but maybe it pays off even as story or a review of something in this blog.

Anyways i wish you a good weekend,ill be gone in some 4 to 6 hours from this moment and ill return at some point during sunday.---if not even monday,who knos,not me.

Canteen carrier for the outdoor batbelt.

So, as i am heading for a short 2 night trip, ill be sleepin in a tarp lean-to for one night and one in an un-electified old cabin, i have been packing and playing with my gear. I noticed that i dont find my US Army canteens belt pouch at all so i had to make one.

Its made from horse harness & saddle pieces and it takes the canteens own metal cup in too. Crude but works as it should.