Practically Seeking
Jaunuary 2009 (Issue 18)
Hey there,
Happy New Year!
It's been a busy month around here, full of workshops and Mentoring, so we haven't
had the chance to finalize our Spring⁄Summer workshop schedule. But we'll make
those last few decisions in this next week and hope to have everything posted
by February 10th, so be sure to keep an eye on the website.
Part of the delay has been putting our 2009 Events calendar together and getting a couple of trips nailed down, but those
decisions are almost all made at last. We already have plans to travel to Chicago, Kentucky and Texas for
Workshops and Mentoring, and are working on setting some dates for a week of
workshops in Ontario as well.
If you have a group that would like information on setting up a Skills
2 You workshop this year give us a call — we love the chance to travel!
The last gathering of Secrets
in the Stone is next weekend and let me say that I could not be
prouder of these folks. They have come much farther than they even
realize and it is my hope that they will continue to work at honing
and perfecting the skills they have learned. I'll post a gallery of
some of their finished pieces so you can see their excellent work.
Congratulations to you all!
I can't believe we're running into February already — may your New Year be all that you desire!
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| What's New | Upcoming Events | Skill of the Month | Eddie's Bookshelf | Practically Speaking | Final Note |
What's New
NEW ON YouTube! (Almost...)
Arrow Points from Bottle Bottoms: The Reduction Sequence
We've been doing a whole lot of learning about video
production over these last couple of months as we continue to work our
way up the quality ladder.
The one we're currently working on is for all of you out there who have
been struggling with flintknapping your bottle bottoms. We go through
the entire Bottle Bottom Reduction Sequence, from removing the bottom
from the bottle all the way through to your final point.
We didn't get it quite finished in time to post the link in this newsletter
but watch for it to be up within the next couple of days.
And be sure to check out our other YouTube
videos and let us know what you'd like to see next!
NAME THAT KNIFE!
New Knife Needs a Name
For several years now Eddie has been working on designing
a knife that is strong enough to stand up to the abuse he puts it though
in workshops, the woods, and daily life, yet delicate enough to carve
a bow drill notch.
And at long last it's almost ready for production!
The (hopefully) final prototype is being finished up by an excellent
new knife maker in California and all it needs now is a name.
We'll post a photo and description of the knife on our website when the
new prototype arrives next week, and are counting on you to help us come
up with a cool, simple, appropriate name for the design. You can get
a sneak peak of the current proto-version, which Eddie is using in the
photos for How
to Make an Ishi Stick. So check it out and send your ideas!
(For those of you who have been waiting patiently, the
knife will be available for pre-order as soon as the final prototype
is approved.)
Upcoming Events
Scout Skills Workshop Weekend Coming Up
February 21-22
The dates for our first Scout
Skills Workshop Weekend are coming up fast! If you've taken a Scout, Urban
Scout, Escape & Evasion, Stalking & Camouflage, Scout Protector or other "Scout-type" class
from another school in the past then we invite you to come and give your skills
a workout!
This weekend will be built completely around the Scout Skills you want to learn,
practice and improve upon, and will give you a chance to hone them in a group
situation. Because just like when you're tracking, when you "Scout" alone
you're never wrong.
Here are some skill that participants have requested so far:
- Counter-tracking
- Modern vs. Primitive Camouflage
- Lock-picking
- Man-traps
- Dead space
- Urban variations
- Invisibility
Remember: Anything that falls into the "Scout" realm is fair game!
And if you haven't taken a Scout class yet but want to be a part of this
unique weekend, Kevin Reeve's onPoint
Tactical has several classes over the next month, so be sure to check
them out.
Free Open Skills Nights
February 18
March 18
April 15
Come on out and join us for our FREE Open Skills nights the third Wednesday of each month. Bring a project you're working on, a plant ID guide, an animal tracking book, or just come to meet us and spend an evening hanging out.
It's fun, it's free, and everyone is welcome. We never know who will be here,
or what folks will be working on, but we do know that it's always a great evening.
We look forward to having you here!
(Check out photos of some past Open Skills Nights on our new and growing Flickr page!)
INTENSIVE SKILLS APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS
World of the Hunter-Gatherer
We've been spending a great deal of time pouring over
the applications for World
of the Hunter-Gatherer and going over every possibility on how we
could restructure the program so as to be able to include all of the excellent
candidates.
However, in the end we had to admit that, at this point anyway, each of
those options would have in some way or another cheated the participants
or lessened the integrity of the program. So we have made the decision
to go ahead as originally planned, with one Tribe of four.
We received so many excellent applications and had an extremely difficult
time deciding on the members of this year's Tribe. But the decisions have
been made at last and we are in the process of contacting everyone who
applied to let them know their status.
We are very excited about this year's group, and are looking forward to
another great program. We'll keep you all posted on their journey!
Upcoming Workshops
Our Spring⁄Summer schedule is almost ready!
But until then, here's a look at what's coming up over the next couple
of months…
February
13–14 Winter
Tracking
15 Making
Fire
20 The
"GO" Bag
21–22 NEW! Scout
Skills Workshop Weekend
27–1 Survival
Bows: 3 Bows in 3 Days
March
2 Survival
Arrows
13–15 Bow
Making: Self Bows
16 NEW! The Woodland Basket Quiver
Skill of the Month
Flintknapping: Making an Ishi Stick
When pressure flaking stone, the Ishi stick provides additional leverage so that your body energy is used more efficiently and you can knapp with more precision and greater control.
Named after Ishi (1860-1916) who was known as the "last wild Indian in North America" and whose tools are still on display at the Berkeley Museum, the Ishi Stick has become a standard piece of every modern flintknapper's tool kit.
While a "traditional" Ishi stick is usually made from antler, there are many excellent versions of this tool out of modern materials. Here is how to make one from materials available at your local hardware store.
(For more information on the life of Ishi pick
up a copy of the amazing book "Ishi in Two Worlds" by Theodora
Kroeber. Consider looking for a copy of the Deluxe Illustrated Edition
-- the photos reproduced in this version are extraordinary!)
(For photos to go along with these step-by-step instructions check out our website.)
How to make an Ishi Stick:
- You'll need a 7⁄8" dowel piece and a 3⁄4" to 1⁄2" copper reduction coupling. Be sure to CHECK THE FIT before purchasing. The coupling must fit snuggly onto the end of the dowel, and not all doweling is created equal.
- Cut the dowel to your desired length. This will be generally between 12" – 22", depending on your body size, and preferred pressure flaking style.
- Place the reduction coupling next to the dowel so that the "shoulder" (the place where the coupling reaches it's 1⁄2" diameter section) is at the end of the dowel and the 3⁄4" end of the coupling is alongside the dowel. Mark with a pencil where the 3⁄4" end of the coupling finishes, and continue that mark around the full circumference of the dowel.
- Center the 1⁄2" end of the coupling on the end of your dowel and use your pencil to mark the inner circle of the coupling on the dowel.
- Using a small saw cut into the dowel along the circumference line you drew in Step 3, but only to a depth that matches the end circle you drew in Step 4.
- Now cut into the top of the dowel on the circle you made in Step 4, but only as far down the length as the cut you just made around the dowel's circumference. Make another cut on the opposite side, then on the third and fourth sides. We've now made our circular dowel into a square at one end.
- We are now going to turn the square into an octagon. You should be able to see the remaining "circle" markings on the end of the dowel. Cut off each corner on that marking — again remembering to go only as far down the dowel as the cut-in from Step 4.
- Carefully trim or sand down the end so the dowel will slide completely into the reduction coupling. This should be a snug fit and require a bit of effort to accomplish. It is important to be as precise as possible, leaving no gaps between the dowel and the copper.
- Secure the reduction coupling to the dowel with a good 5-minute epoxy and allow to dry. (We use Loctite Quick Set 5-minute Epoxy.) The tip of the dowel should protrude slightly. Once the epoxy has cured and set, cut this piece off so the dowel is flush with the coupling.
- Using an awl, make a "starter" hole in the very center of the end of the dowel. This hole should be deep enough to ensure that the hole you are about to drill will go straight down and not angle off to the side.
- Take a piece of copper wire, a copper nail, or length of copper rod
that is at least 3⁄16" in diameter and about 2" in length.
Drill a hole into the very center of the end of the dowel which is slightly
smaller than the diameter of your copper rod, to a depth of about 1".
(Approximately 1⁄2 the length of the copper rod.)
NOTE: Do not use regular copper wire. It is too soft and will bend too easily. #4 hard drawn copper wire is a very good choice and a small scrap piece may be available for purchase from your municipal power authority. - Insert the rod into the drilled hole and tap gently with a hammer to seat it into position.
- The exposed end of your copper rod/wire/nail is likely flat, rounded, or otherwise oddly shaped, which is no good. Using a hammer, pound the end into a tapering pyramidal tip. Then use a file to retouch tip to your desired sharpness. The finer the tip the more pressure will be delivered into the stone and the smaller platforms you can work.
So Have Fun, and Enjoy your new Ishi Stick!
Eddie's Bookshelf
Deerskins into Buckskins
— Matt Richards
This one has been around for quite a while and remains a must-have for
anyone wanting to learn the wet-scrape method of traditional tanning.
If I'd had this book many years ago when I tanned my first deer hides
I could have avoided the resulting complete disaster which almost ended
in the whole north east of Texas being declared a biohazard zone!
Alas, Matt's fine work had not yet become the widespread standard volume
that it is today so I was forced to rely on inferior information. (But
hey, at least I got a great — almost legendary — story out my complete
and utterly spectacular failure!)
First published in 1997, with an updated Second Edition printed in 2004,
this indespensible guide will stay with you every step of the way, providing
clear, concise, step-by-step directions on how to produce high-quality
buckskin using brains, soap or eggs.
Further, Matt gives really good information on "Makin' Stuff" like
clothing, moccasins, bags, etc, in the chapter of the same name, and lists reputable
resources where you can obtain both supplies and instruction.
Since the art of tanning continues to evolve and grow as it is rediscovered by more and more people, the second edition could already use some updating (and if you're reading this Matt, we can't WAIT to see a 3rd edition!). Several friends who both tan hides and teach tanning for a living recommend this book regularly, and we agree with them whole-heartedly.
So if you want to learn to tan and not risk becoming a legend within your community — in a questionable way — pick up a copy of this book and follow the instructions (or better yet take a class) and your experience will no doubt be a memorable one — in a good way!
Not ready to try tanning on your own just yet?
Check out the braintanning workshop offered by
Two Wolves Braintanning
To find more information on this and other recommended books, see our website.
Practically Speaking
Time: The Currency of Life...
How do you spend it?
Are you one who just follows along, or stumbles through life?
Do you live deliberately and with purpose?
How aware are you?
The one skill that we can all work on all the time is awareness. Attention
to detail is seriously lacking in the day-to-day lives of most people.
We are a culture which likes to have information (and most everything
else for that matter) presented to us. We no longer apply critical thought
and reasoning to find truth, but merely accept what we see or hear on
blind faith.
Take, for example, the YouTube video that shows a car door lock being opened
with a tennis ball. A person who takes the time to think about how locks
actually work will quickly see that this video it unreal. But how many
just watched and passed the concept on as truth? The almost 200,000 hits
say that it was most likely more than a few! And how many tried it themselves
only to discover that it did not work, yet felt the fault lay with them
— that they must have "done it wrong"? I am willing to bet once
again, more than a few.
Admittedly, most people in our society no longer have any idea how the
interior of a lock functions. As a society, we have come to the point where
we no longer feel we have the time to know how even simple things work,
let alone the more and more complex technologies that rule our world. We
no longer "need to know", as when an item breaks we simply throw
it out or call someone else to come fix it for us. But, having given up
a huge amount of "how things funtion" knowledge that was taken
for granted just a generation ago, we have become "functionally" illiterate.
So we watch and accept as truth something that makes no functional sense,
then dutifully pass along this "truth" on to others.
In the real world we must be take the time to be concious and aware of how thing interconnect. There are cause and effect relationships to everything, which are subject to the guiding principals of the Universe. Applied to a bowdrill fire for example, when the rules of the physical Universe are carefully applied a coal comes with very little effort in 30–60 seconds. But when a single aspect is out of balance the process becomes a struggle that can last for many minutes on end, and often results in exhaustion or failure, or both.
There is no way to make a thrown tennis ball unlock a car door, and
there is no way to get a bowdrill coal without the right amount of hot
dust in your notch. So take the time to develop awareness and critical
reasoning through observation, questioning, and journaling.
It is a choice to spend your time paying attention to detail and questioning
what is merely implied, or is presented to us a truth when it does not
seem possible for it to be so. But it is through these questions that we
learn, develop and grow. Every answer generates another question and thus
allows awareness to permeate every aspect of our daily lives.
Which way is the wind blowing? Why is it blowing from that direction? Is
that normal for this time of year? What weather usually follows? What are
the animals doing?
But don't just limit your awareness to the outdoors!
In what cupboard do they keep their salad bowl? Where does this person
usually leave the remote? How do my friends take their coffee? Which direction
does the dog circle before lying down? These questions are all just as
valid, and will all assist in your ability to truly SEE the world around
you.
So question… look… think… and spend some time building your awareness
today.
One Final Note
As we embark upon another New Year, with many new resolutions, new opportunities, new ideas and new options, I would like to offer up a sort of challenge to you all.
Let's make this the Year of Integrity.
Defined as "the quality or state of being of sound
moral principle", integrity embodies the qualities of uprightness,
honesty, and sincerity.
When did these qualities become so very rare?
Almost every day brings news of another person or leader or CEO or politician
or whoever that has lied, or cheated, or stolen, or "redistributed";
who has taken advantage of some situation or other, or someone else's
ignorance or gullibility over some thing or other…
And let's be honest, we've all been tempted throughout our lives to say "just
this once" to something we know is not right, but would benefit
us. And sometimes it's just so easy!
But we have to take a realistic look around us and see
that our world has gotten out of balance in this regard. So let's open
our eyes and our hearts to the opportunity to do our best to do what's
right in our own lives every day.
Now I don't claim to be any sort of moral paragon in this regard (or
any other for that matter!), and we will all no doubt continue to make
bad choices, poor decisions and stupid mistakes for the rest of our lives.
No one is ever going to be perfect, nor should we expect ourselves to
be. But no matter the mistakes we make, we can all try to live a Life
of Integrity every day.
Let's make this the year where we demand the best of ourselves
and expect the best of those around us.
Where we applaud those we see who live lives of Integrity and stop accepting
excuses from those who do not.
Where we do the right things in our own lives, and hope that our behavior
will encourage those around us to do the same.
Be examples to our families and children and neighbors and colleagues
and friends and strangers.
Let's make this the Year of Integrity, and Be the Change we Hope to see in this world.
Be Well,
Eddie & Julie
Practical Primitive