Here’s some advice from Wade Bastian on the Appalachian trail gear he carried on his hike. Wade set out on the 2200 mile trail with fellow Eagle Scout Bucky Kellorg in February. As planned, Wade interrupted his hike to spend the summer employed as a peak steward in New York’s Adirondack mountains (he’s stewarding a peak in the photo above). […]
Woods Tools
Gifts for Scouts & Scouters – Camping Tools
Sturdy, reliable tools are important components of any camping kit and make great gifts for Scouts or Scouters. There are cheaper alternatives to some of my choices, but I have chosen tools that I think are a are great value for cost. Pocket Knives There is not one absolute best pocketknife for every Scout in every situation, but any one of […]
Caring for Axes and Hatchets
Here’s a handy one-page reference that highlights care and sharpening of axes and hatchets. A good quality new hatchet will cost more than lower quality tools, but they are worth the investment. Many highly touted hatchets and axes on the market are upwards of seventy to a hundred dollars, and I suppose they are probably worth the […]
Marbles Camp Axe Review (and more!)
Marbles Camp Axe Great fit and finish for a very good price. The marbles is a bit larger than most camp hatchets or axes and it’s a quality product. Aailable at Amazon Sarge Boy Scout Knife NO LONGER AVAILABLE Marbles Back Pocket Dual-Grit Tool Sharpener Great tool for maintaining axes, hatchets and pocket knives this […]
Review of Lansky Blade Medic
My first impression of the Lansky Blade Medic was a little cynical. Another knife sharpening gadget? No thanks. As a professional woodworker I have sharpened hundreds, if not thousands, of blades, chisels, knives etc. over the years. I’ve shown a couple of hundred Scouts how to use and sharpen a pocket knife and I’ve tried out many […]
Best Scout Pocket Knife
What’s the best Scout pocket knife? I am not sure there’s only one absolute best pocket knife for every Scout in every situation, but the Victorinox Hiker is an excellent choice and here’s why: COST A decent knife will last a lifetime (really!). Because a Scout will likely loose a knife or two along the way […]
Scouts and Whittling
Scouts and whittling evokes a vivid boyhood memory of sitting on the back porch steps whittling a green stick with a steak knife purloined from my mother’s kitchen. Since then I have always had one kind of pocket knife or another and whittled when the opportunity presents itself. Sometimes it’s nothing more than reducing a stick to […]
Eagle Scout Buck Knife
Scouts who have earned Eagle during my tenure as Scoutmaster receive a custom engraved Buck knife. I take the knife to an engraver in our mall called “Things Remembered”. I buy the Buck 110 lock-back because the bolsters are flat brass (not curved like others) and this makes them suitable for engraving.. When I first started doing this the Buck knife […]
Making an Axe Handle
Interesting article from Robin Wood on making axe handles. First wood selection. The perfect wood is nice straight grain ash fairly fast grown, if it gets more than 6-8 rings per inch it is much more brittle, 4-6 rings per inch is perfect. Having said that a hewing axe like this is nearly always used […]
Splitting Firewood
Splitting wood with a retaining chain and bungee cord: This splitting firewood video features a wicked-good looking splitting axe by Fiskars. It looks to me like their X series splitting axes that come in 17″, 23 1/2″, 28″ and 36″ lengths. The geometry of the axe head creates a wedge whose top curves outward sharply – […]
Channeling “Whittlin Jim”
Bill Macfarlane is blogging about an unusual quest; Years ago, when I was a Boy Scout, I would wait impatiently for the next issue of Boy’s Life just so I could see the Whittlin’ Jim “Slide of the Month” feature. But try as I might I could never make one of those slides. (I have the scars […]
Knives for Scouts – Leatherman Wave
I have had a few different multi tools over the years but none of them compare to the Leatherman Wave. I read lot’s of multi tool reviews and the Wave came out on top in each one. The wave is solidly built an each component functions extraordinarily well. I blanched slightly at spending around […]
Knives for Scouts – Offical Policy
Not the actual stitches mentioned below Knives for Scouts or knives vs. Scouts? In the battle between knives and Scouts the infamous record for my Troop is eight. Stitches, that is. Minor knife cuts are reasonably rare and I can recall only three trips to the emergency room because of a knife in twenty three […]
Pruning Saw for Camping
I have been using a pruning saw for camping like the Corona RS-1720 instead of bow saws to cut firewood. There are any number of similar brands and styles available but Corona has an excellent reputation for fine tools. A number of sportsman’s saws made along the same design are available, they are more expensive, shorter and […]
The Axe Manual of Peter McLaren
Fayette R. Plumb Inc. engaged ‘America’s Champion Chopper’ Peter McLaren to write a manual for their product- the redoubtable Plumb Axe. Though it was published in in the 1930’s the advice us as relevant today as it was then.
