OK, I love the idea of bushcrafting
My life is very simple, no iphone, no smart phone ..etc.
My nature is close to mother nature, you get the idea

So, I am not against buscrafting in any way
Actually, I WISH I have sometime to spend alone on the beach or some wooded area and make coffee at sunset

However, there are times when I see some buscrafting videos and wonder. For example, some people have a carving knife, the one that looks like a hook . I wonder. Its ONLY purpose is to make a spoon. You cannot use it even as a backup knife for general buscrafting/survival. So, isn't better and easier to just carry a spoon, or even a spare spoon ?

Then comes the guy who ORDERS and carry with him a bow drill. I understand learning the technique just in case you find yourself without matches or lighter , or ferrocium rod. In that case, I understand you fashion some bow drill and try to make fire. But BUYING a commercially made bowdrill ?? And carry it around with you ??? A lighter takes almost no space and is 100 times easier to use in case they haven't noticed. A ferrocium rod is also so small and doesn't get in the way and is understructible.

What am I missing here ?

Bushcraft has become just another hobby. Not just about survival. People spend lots of money on there hobbies, doing and buying things they don't really need, but want. Nothing wrong with that, if that what you like. You only life once, right?

As for buying a bowdrill, maybe it's the lazy man approach to learn new things. I'm not sure, I just gathered wood in the forest and learned how to bowdrill myself... Learning to find the right wood, is just as important as using the drill it self.

You are right

It's like some campers around here who carry TV with them.

I mean if they are soooo much attached to TV and all those other comforts , why not just stay home ??
The other day, some camper was using a camping oven like this :



The "kitchen sink" is certainly not going to be behind !! LOL

I think Tijin is right. It's become a hobby for many of us, rather than and actual survival need. I mean, how many stoves, knives or flashlights does any one person REALLY need?

I have to admit, I've been eyeing one of those crook knives and fighting the urge to make my own spoon and cup. How cool would it be to eat with/out of/off something you made yourself. What a hand-me-down that would be!

FWIW, as for the stove/oven combo - our Scout group has one. Fabulous way to make lots of stuff in camp (we only bring it to drive-in camps) and teach the kiddos about cooking and baking, not to mention the parent factor. (hey! that's just like cooking at home. I can do that!) Several of our Cubs and Scouts have earned their Cooking badge with it! We teach them how to cook over an open fire, and also give them hands-on experience with lots of different cooking methods from white gas stoves to foil packs to cooking underground, but this way, we can also teach them stuff them can cook at home.

Speaking of the kitchen sink... http://www.sheknows.com/living/articles/963062/must-have-camping-gadgets-and-gear

I am a handyman type guy and appreciate things made by oneself. I have actually made my own workbench and work table in my man cave. I have also made all my bookshelves in my office.

It is a great feeling, I agree. But my point is that we should buy things we will really use and benefit from as much as possible. Take a hatchet or tomahawk for example. I can use it for bushcrafting, garden work and be there for survival situations. But if you think of a crook knife, you make one spoon or cup, and that's it. You cannot even use it for food preparation (maybe you can, but I can't .. LOL )

I cannot see much of general use for it to justify buying it, much less carrying it around.

But then again, a camera is not a survival tool, yet I like to carry one around in my camping trips !! Touche !!

I'm with ya, Chisel. I've been resisting buying that crook knife for that very reason. I don't have very much disposable income right now so buying something so specialized is out of the question. If I do eventually get one, I can't see it becoming a regular part of my kit. I'd probably just carry the spoon/bowl/cup, unless I my intention was bushcrafting practice.

I have to agree with Tjin.

I have limited time off of work, and some of that is required for tasks related to living and home-owning. Once in a while, on a bluebird day, I lug a lot of stuff back into the woods. In reality, there would be no need for me to carry a tomahawk, a big Ontario cutlass, a slingshot, a small fishing rod, ferro rod, a camp stove, on and on.

Bushcrafting is a lifelong hobby with prepping and survival a natural progression.

I just use my time to play in the woods with my toys. I can see the appeal of having a hook knife just to whittle away an hour (pun intended) making a spoon in the woods on such a day.

As hobbies go, bushcrafting is a lot cheaper than casinos, fast cars, big bass boats, and......

So, here is how my brain does the claculation : if making spoons and other stuff is so appealing, then either i have FIRST ( before buying it) have to invent one or two more uses for it, OR find another bushcrafty way to make a spoon.

MY brain tells me to try a (free) amber from the camp fire to burn thru wood and carve a spoon. And to smooth it out and remove carbon, go to the nearest creek , use a bandana or other cloth with some sand/silt and do some abrasive cleaning of the inside, voila !!! You got a spoon. Not very geometrically correct, but it will do the job. And actually that will be closer to a survival training than relying on something made commercially.

Sheesh !! I sure sound like someone who is fighting the use of such knife. I swear I am not. LOL. Just don't like very specialized stuff. My brain cells prefer multi-multi-purpse, and even re-purposed stuff.

Agree and I am not against enjoying a few hours of relaxing activities. And if you use that knife multiple times and make many spoons and bowls as gifts ...etc. that's OK. If it is a loooong time passion and you still use it , very good for you. Problem is only when someone buys something attractive from a webpage, use it once and buries it in a drawer.

Also, carrying this knife needs more caution than a straight knife.



I honestly don't know. Do you make anything with it other than spoons. Maybe, if multiple uses are found, my case is folded.