Just wanted to share.

This weekend while I attended a former coworkers wedding I had the chance to practice some of the skills I’ve picked up reading this forum.

To make a long story short, someone put me in charge of building a fire in the reception hall. There was no kindling and only forearm sized logs and above. Being that the wedding was in a city park I didn’t know if it was legal to gather sticks and twigs for the fire, so I decided to practice my batoning skills.

Afterwards my girlfriend told me that she was glad I smelled like a man.

This was my first ever attempt at batoning. I used a Mora #640 that I keep in my vehicle tool kit.



I also made a giant BOF with a wad of toilet paper and petroleum jelly to get the ball rolling.



The fire!

good thinking..nice work..i assume the Mora was up to the job?..smart move having a good pair of leather gloves along.
they should be in every kit..

Yep, the knife worked like a champ. I got it with an order of other knives from Ragweed Forge. It was their cheapest model, so I thought "why not?".

You should have seen the look on the faces of people just out to walk their dogs in the park.

Nice job! See being prepared is not always about surviving. Sometimes it is about saving a wedding.

nice job. was the vaseline something you had in your kit or did you scavenge that?

I'm just wondering what other people thought when you pulled out gloves, a jar of vaseline, toilet paper, and a knife at a wedding. I know my first thought would've been "cool, he's gonna start a fire", but I'm sure other people probably had something else in mind.

Nice thought, using TP and PJ.

Those gloves look like they are/were brand new too. Mine are much more beatup looking than that...

Sounds like a mentos commercial

I did most of the work in the parking lot away from the wedding and reception site, so only a few individuals saw me. Those that did see me weren't involved in the wedding festivities; they looked confused and moved on with their business. A family that was going out to the park for some fun actually parked right next to where I was working. They just ignored me and I had to pause so they could get their kids out of the car without the risk of an errant sliver striking them.

I was also packed for an overnight stay in the area, and the PJ was in my toiletry kit. I used it so I didn't have to use my dedicated emergency supplies. The TP I scavenged from the bathroom though. I sure wasn't going to use my emergency stash of that.

The gloves are just a little dirty in the palm area from wrenching on stuff. I grew up on a ranch, so we always had pairs of gloves scattered in every vehicle and work area. And as a testament I still have all my fingers intact!

My sunglasses also do double duty as safety glasses, which are important to wear as well when working like this.

Great to know you could put your skills into practice, funny you were dressed for a wedding when your skills were requested, chopping wood in a suit is not something I would like to do.

EoK