Bushcraft Illustrated: A Visual Guide
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About this ebook
From Dave Canterbury—wilderness expert, New York Times bestselling author, and YouTube sensation—comes a fully illustrated guide to everything you need to know to hone your bushcraft, or wilderness survival skills, from types of shelter, to useful tools, to edible plants—and much more!
Before you venture into the wilderness, learn exactly what you need to bring and what you need to know with this ultimate outdoor reference guide, by survivalist expert Dave Canterbury. Filled with more than 300 illustrations, Bushcraft Illustrated showcases the necessary tools and skills for an awesome outdoor adventure, including such as:
Packs: Learn the different types and how to craft and pack your own.
Cordage: Essential knot knowledge for outdoor survival.
Firecraft: How to start a fire with a variety of materials.
Trapping: Tips for catching small game.
Plants: A catalog of edible plants to forage.
…And much more! With its many helpful illustrations and detailed, easy-to-follow instructions, this illustrated Bushcraft guide is a must-have for the seasoned outdoor lover and adventure novice alike!
Dave Canterbury
Dave Canterbury is the coowner and supervising instructor at the Pathfinder School, which USA TODAY named as one of the Top 12 Survival Schools in the United States. He has been published in Self Reliance Illustrated, New Pioneer, American Frontiersman, and Trapper’s World. Dave is the New York Times bestselling author of Bushcraft 101; Advanced Bushcraft; and The Bushcraft Guide to Trapping, Gathering, and Cooking in the Wild.
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Bushcraft Illustrated - Dave Canterbury
Introduction
BUSHCRAFT COMES FROM a desire to reconnect with nature. It’s the skills you need to be able to use what you have in the outdoors to help you survive. This book is an illustrated guide to help you acquire that knowledge, showing you exactly how these tools and skills can be used.
It is important in bushcraft to be fully aware of the natural world around you. I often tell my students to become a naturalist first and a bushcrafter second. That’s because so much of what you need to survive in the wilderness is provided by the wilderness itself. Naturalists and authors like Richard Graves and Mors Kochanski who helped develop the practice meant for bushcraft to be a set of skills that allowed you to effectively create what you need from what you’re able to find.
Carrying a simple survival kit is always the best plan. You’ll be able to bring these items with you in order to work with the materials you find. This book catalogs the most beneficial items you’ll want to carry into the woods as they’re more difficult to reproduce from natural materials.
You will then use what you packed to create what you need. You will focus on crafting a myriad of necessities—from traps to shelter to other useful campsite items. Making traps and other food-gathering devices helps to supplement and cut down on the food you need to pack. Building shelter out of natural materials helps you reconnect with nature since you won’t have to sleep in tents made of synthetic fabrics. Crafting campsite items makes things more convenient, cutting down on the gear you need to carry and allowing you to replace any damaged gear.
While I have no aversion to the latest and best in modern technology, I find that many times it takes away from the experience of being in the wild. Through the illustrations and instructions included in this book, you should learn about the basic gear and skills you will need to enjoy the wilderness as it is intended. To truly connect with nature requires us to be close to it. While these skills can be used in a bushcraft trip into the woods, you can also use and perfect them in your own backyard or park while camping, canoeing, hunting, fishing, or even homesteading.
I hope you will enjoy this book and your time in nature and, remember, it is always best to be prepared.
—Dave Canterbury
CHAPTER 1
PACKS
THERE ARE, OF COURSE, certain elements of kit that we carry into the woods, even though, in the spirit of bushcraft, we prefer to make them from the landscape. I generally prefer to carry only a few items in and make what I need otherwise. After all, this is the essence of bushcraft. But not everyone has the land, resources, or ability to make every single shelter and bed from scratch, nor do we always have the time to make clay pots to cook food in prior to needing to eat. So some items should always be carried in the pack to keep you going.
You should never be fooled into thinking that carrying in kit means you are not practicing bushcraft. You can still make cook utensils, harvest wild edibles, catch and kill wild meat sources, create camp stools and chairs, create a candle holder or lamp hook from a tree fork, or build a tripod to hang your pot. All these things are also bushcraft.
A pack is truly one of the things that is best carried in, but that does not necessarily mean it cannot be made from natural materials later. It could even be put together as a DIY project. I look at the pack as another container, except for carrying tools instead of water or food. In this chapter, I’ll show you some of my favorite types of packs, and I’ll give you some instructions on how to make your own.
CHOOSE A PACK
When you’re choosing a pack, you’ll want something that can contain your kit but isn’t too complicated to use. I am a big fan of simplicity and the pack you use does not have to be the fanciest design or the latest and greatest lightweight fabric and technological suspension system. Any canvas bag will work fine. You can also fashion a pack frame easily and attach a simple canvas sack to it in the beginning if you choose to.
I like bucket-style packs myself as it makes things easy to find and you don’t get confused on where you put something in the ten pockets and zippered pouches many new packs seem to have. A couple of outside pockets can work well for things you may need on the fly like fire kits, folding saws, or cordages. I like two or three outside side pockets large enough for tools in one side and a water bottle in the other. A pouch in the front gives ready access to a fire kit and gloves. Everything else goes in the main pack.
Old Forest Service packs or Boy Scout packs are easy enough to come by fairly cheap and if they are in disrepair can be fixed by your own hand, or they make a great pattern to work off of for making your own pack. See FIGURES 1.1A
–1.1F to get an idea of the different types of packs.
DULUTH PACK
Figure 1.1a
The Duluth pack is a traditional pack used by woodsmen since the 1800s. It is usually made of heavy canvas with an open bucket. It offers durability and simplicity but is a bit heavy.
DUFFEL BAG
Figure 1.1b
The military-style duffel bag offers an inexpensive and easy-to-find bucket-style pack with a large amount of space. This pack, however, would not be the best choice for the camper on foot because it is more awkward to carry than other choices.
PACK BOARD
Figure 1.1c
Pack boards offer a good weight distribution over the surface of your back and allow for attachment of many different articles and packs as well as ease of carrying out game on a hunt.
NORWEGIAN MEIS
Figure 1.1d
Meis is Norwegian for bag with a frame
and is what it sounds like, a bag tied to a wooden frame.
RUCKSACK
Figure 1.1e
The rucksack, typically now called a backpack, carries items on the back in an organized fashion. Outside pockets help make gear such as fire kits, gloves, and headlights immediately accessible.
YUCCA PACK
Figure 1.1f
Yucca packs are good starter packs and have been used by the Boy Scouts of America. It’s a simple but effective design.
MAKING PACKS
It is also entirely possible to fold your kit into your tarp and make a pack. See FIGURE 1.2
.
MAKING A PACK FROM A TARP
Figure 1.2
Pack straps are a simple way to use a tarp or other large sheet to roll your complete camp setup into. Attach a set of straps to form a backpack. See FIGURE 1.3
.
PACK STRAPS
Figure 1.3
MAKING A CANVAS PACK You may also want to make your own backpack, using sturdy canvas, as shown in FIGURE 1.4
. Making a backpack from natural materials can be a time-consuming process and very material dependent. However, you have all the time in the world to make one if you choose.
MAKING A CANVAS PACK
Figure 1.4
MAKING PACK FRAMES
External frames have been used since ancient times. They are great for supporting the load, and they work well for carrying other things like firewood or quartered game when not in use for the pack itself. Making wood frames is a great way to add a bushcraft touch to a modern pack. There are several types of frames you can make fairly easily. The following illustrations (FIGURES 1.5
THROUGH 1.11
) show a few of them.
LADDER-BACK ALASKAN FRAME
Figure 1.5
LADDER-BACK FRAME
Figure 1.6
SENECA FRAME
Figure 1.7
FRONT OF A WORLD WAR II–STYLE PACK ON A SENECA FRAME
Figure 1.8
BACK OF A WORLD WAR II–STYLE PACK ON A SENECA FRAME
Figure 1.9
ROYCRAFT FRAME
Figure 1.10
Y FRAME
Figure 1.11
Bushcraft Tip
The most popular improvised frame today is the Roycraft frame, named after Tom Roycraft, an outdoorsman who taught the construction of this type of frame to Mors Kochanski, the famous Canadian bushcraft and wilderness survival expert. This simple triangle can be constructed within minutes and can last many years if the lashings are correct and the wood selection is wise.
PACK BASKETS
Pack baskets are baskets with runners. Runners are slats of wood that protect the bottom of the pack when in contact with the ground. They are generally woven from ash splits and come in many sizes. They are typically fitted with either cotton webbing or leather for straps. The advantage to these packs is the rigid structure, which makes protecting contents a bit easier. However, you give up the advantage of the external frame and the soft pack that offers a sleeker profile and can be cinched smaller if less is packed in. See FIGURES 1.12
THROUGH 1.14
for examples of pack baskets.
PACK BASKETS
Figure 1.12
ASH PACK BASKET WITH STRAP
Figure 1.13
PACK BASKET WITH FLAP
Figure 1.14
Bushcraft Tip
Pack baskets have been used for many years, starting with the fur trappers of the Hudson’s Bay Company in the late 1600s. It’s easy to put things in and retrieve them later, and since the baskets are generally made from wood or modern synthetics, they also drain well if anything you put in them is wet.
PACK BASKET MAKING Once you have a bit of basketry experience a pack basket is something you could aspire to make while sitting around the campfire or at home, though it is a little time-consuming. See FIGURE 1.15
for an example of pack basket weaving.
PACK BASKET MAKING
Figure 1.15
IN ADDITION TO YOUR PACK
You may find some other items useful in carrying your kit, especially if you will be foraging or collecting natural resources.
HAVERSACK
A haversack is a small cloth or leather bag carried on one side of the body, usually with just one strap. The haversack has been a standard carry item since the days of the frontier. This device is used to carry items that are of immediate importance or items you collect along the journey. Never overstuff this bag to the point that you run out of room, especially for things you find along the trail; you may need room to store quick tinder sources or bird’s nest material. See FIGURE 1.16
for an example of a haversack and FIGURE 1.17
for an example of what to carry in your haversack.
ONE-STRAP HAVERSACK
Figure 1.16
HAVERSACK KIT WITH PERSONAL CARRY ITEMS
Figure 1.17
This haversack kit is carried along with a belt pouch (see following section for more information on belt pouches). This kit contains a stainless water bottle, kuksa, fire steel, hook knife, twisted metal fork, tarred hemp line, a piece of cotton material, carving knife, wooden spoon, and a leather tinder bag.
BELT POUCHES
Belt pouches, usually made of leather, are where the bushcrafter keeps the main fire kit and possibly a spare carving knife or jackknife. It is your wallet, so to speak, used to carry the most important items you may need, especially if you have left everything else behind at camp or if you lose your supplies. The size of this pouch can vary, but you don’t want it so big as to become cumbersome while moving about; keep it simple by choosing a smaller version. FIGURE 1.18
shows an example of a belt pouch with a variety of personal carry items.
ANOTHER BELT POUCH WITH DIFFERENT PERSONAL CARRY ITEMS
Figure 1.18
This belt pouch contains a blanket pin, flint-and-steel kit, lighter, matches, compass, some tinder materials, and a magnification lens. The small derringer is pocket carried and the belt knife is worn beside the pouch.
TUMPLINES
Tumplines are straps attached to a heavier load (such as a pack or frame) that are worn across the forehead to assist in carrying the load. In this day and age with the new designs of modern packs, tumplines are, for the most part, unnecessary, but they can be useful if you’re doing things in a more minimal fashion and are trying to get the most from your gear. I can tell you that a tumpline comes in very handy when trapping, since you may be carrying a basket filled with about 100 pounds of the day’s catch, in addition to your equipment. This alone makes it worthwhile if you’re planning to trap. See FIGURE 1.19
for an example of a tumpline.
AN EXAMPLE OF A TUMPLINE FOR HELPING TO CARRY A LOAD
Figure 1.19
CHAPTER 2
TOOLS
BUSHCRAFT CAN BE defined as our ability to fashion objects of need at any given time. We take advantage of nature’s storehouses for necessities as they may not occur within our everyday kit or to repair/replace something damaged during our time in the woods. The essence of the word craft means to create. We can do rudimentary crafting with only the