For me, one of the greatest joys of wilderness travel is the opportunity to innovate using found materials. Whether it's an old rusty can wedged under a fallen tree, a twisted bundle of wire hanging from a fence post, or a piece of aluminum foil buried in an abandoned fire-ring from days past, chances are good I'll find a use for it.
It's a shame that so much trash has been left behind but one thing I've observed is that most of the items have been lying about for quite some time.
For the most part I think the "leave no trace" concept of packing ones trash out of the wilderness is working. I rarely find "modern" trash along the trail and when I do, I figure it accidently fell out of someones pack when they reached in to grab something, and for whatever reason went unnoticed when the person decided to move on. When I spot one of those eyesores (the trash not the person) along the trails, I like to do my part in keeping the wilderness clean by picking it up and packing it out.
On my way to the first camp, accessing a mental note from one of my past trips, I remembered an old battered and weathered shovel I'd seen lying in the sand between a group of rocks a short distance from the trail I was on. Figuring I could use it as a "pan" for some bread recipes I wanted to try out, I located the shovel and carried it on into camp.
Many times one idea can lead to another and on the second day in camp...I got such an idea.
Even though the shovel was old and rusty, I knew the metal could be utilized for making other tools. And since cutting tools are an indispensable item in any persons wilderness kit,creating a knife from a piece of the metal seemed like a logical place to begin.
Here's a look at the knife making process:
|
| The Knife
|
| This is the condition in which I
found the shovel. Notice the top section of the handle junction that has started to separate from the main piece.
|
|
| In this photo I'm "harvesting" a piece
of metal using a pair of Knipex pliers and a little muscle. I used a
small file to cut through the rivets that held the handle in place.
|
|
| A view of the shovel after the
section of handle was removed.
|
|
| Using the Knipex pliers, I began
forming the rough shape of a knife by breaking off small pieces of
metal. The process is best desribed as "metal knapping".
|
|
| Throughout the metal knapping process
I would pause to straighten the blade using a stone hammer and anvil.
|
|
| Once I was satisfied with overall shape
of the knife, using the file, I smoothed all the rough edges and
applied the cutting edge.
|
|
| I finished up the sharpening process
using a smooth stone then stropping the edge with a leather belt
charged with fine sand. When I was finished, the knife shaved hair.
(Photo taken at camp 2)
|
|
| The last step was to wrap the handle
using the leather chin strap I "borrowed" from my hat.
|
|
| Here you can see all the tools I used
to make the knife along with the leftover materials.
|
|
| And yes, I was still able to cook up
some dropped biscuits ala Kephart using what was left of the shovel!
|
|
|
| The Sheath
|
| When it came time to travel, I found it
a challenge finding a safe way to carry the razor sharp knife without a sheath of some sort. A temporary solution was to use a piece of rubber off of my pack-frame's cargo shelf held in place with some twine.
|
|
| Once I was settled into my second camp, I started experimenting with some different sheath materials. I tried using some leather from my belt. I also tried folding a "tin" can to form a crude "pocket". Nothing seemed to work very well.
|
|
It was then that I remembered a wooden type sheath that Neo-Tribal master metalsmith Tai Goo made awhile back. It was an open face design that held the knife in place using a cross bar to apply pressure to the blade. I believe Tai refered to it as a "Hikot" sheath.
Here I start by tracing around the blade and chipping away the material to form a cavity for the knife to sit in. The lighter area shows where the material has been removed.
|
|
| A view from the top of the sheath. Notice the material left behind to allow a better grip while working on the sheath.
|
|
| Like the knife, making the sheath was
a lot of trial...
|
|
...and a little bit of error.
In this photo I'm fitting the cross bar to the front of the sheath. Once it's fastened to the sheath, it will apply friction to the front of the blade allowing a secure fit.
|
|
| Being an admirer of neck-knives I
attached a piece of twine to the sheath so it could be worn in that
fashion.
|
|
| In the end the knife/sheath had a very primitive look and feel to it so I attached a feather to complete the "package".
|
|
|
I'm very pleased with how well the knife and sheath turned out. It was a great feeling to observe a tool of such use evolve from something that was once considered to be trash.
I was surprised at how well the knife took and held an edge! As I
mentioned earlier, the knife shaved hair!
The greastest feeling of satisfaction was being able to use the knife throughout my entire trip. I felt as though I went through a sort of rite of passage process while I was working on the knife. And because I had a certain spiritual connection with the knife, myself, and my surroundings, I felt an extra sense of "welcome" while exploring various Indian sites.
Eric
|