The knife is the most crucial piece of gear in any survival or bushcraft situation. With a good knife you can fell trees, cut branches, chop wood, carve utensils, cut plants and roots, start fires, build wind shields, defend yourself and much more. I bring my knife around in my daily life as well as in the forest. And I can't remember the day it did not come to some use. I use it for everything from cutting an apple to carving spoons. I will start by explaining the different parts of a knife. How the parts affect usage and what you should consider when choosing one. I will then discuss the different types of survival knives before going on to how to use them efficiently, how to care for them and finally comparing some popular models. The different parts of a knife. This is a modified Marttiini knife from Finland. (Click to enlarge.) A kitchen knife is almost impossible to use for carving, while a carving knife throws away your carrot pieces when you cut. (Don't b...

Here are six youtube channels which stand out above the rest, through rich content and an original view on bushcraft. These are the channels which teach beyond just the basic skills. Have some recommendations yourself? Let us know in the comments! Survival Lilly Lilly is an Austrian bushcrafter survivalist with lots of knowledge on both primitive and modern bushcraft and survival.  Her channel covers everything from urban survival to advanced techniques on making hand drill fire . Unlike many other bushcraft channels she's actually in the forest making her videos under real circumstances. You can see her jumping in ice cold water with her only set of clothes and then making a fire to dry them. Shes building advanced primitive shelters and she shows more than 10 ways of making fire . Everything is shown with very simple and easy-to-follow instructions. Shes very inspiring and I hope that she can inspire more people out there, and especially other girls to take up the...

The speedy stitcher is a handy little sewing machine you can bring on trips and have at home for handicraft projects. It has saved me countless times on trips when backpack seams or shoe seams has broken. The seam it makes is identical to a sewing machine's. Except instead of using a bobbin you thread the lower thread yourself by hand. The handle has a nice shape which makes it easy to press the needle through really thick materials. To see how it works, take a look at this video by Youtube user Sask Hunting The speedy stitcher ships with two needles, one straight and one slightly bent in the top. They have a cutting point to sew well in leather. Along the needle is a track for the thread, which makes it stay in place on one side, and make a loop on the other when you pull it back. The thread, which is usually waxed cotton, linen, hemp or polyester is stored inside the wooden part of the stitcher. When you buy thread, make sure it's not the kind of super sticky waxed ...

You may be familiar with rivets, but have you used Chicago screws? Here we take a look at different kinds of rivets and Chicago screws and compare them. Rivets are used in exposed areas such as the shoulder straps on backpacks and the buck tie attachment on a belt, where just sewing isn't enough. It's no wonder that Duluth pack uses them on their very tough backpacks . Rivets The basic principle of a rivet is that it consists of two parts, a post and a cap. The post is the long part which goes through the material. The cap is put on the post from the other side of the material. The ideal length of the post is less than 1/8" (3 mm) longer than the thickness of the material. Exactly how long depends on the type of rivet you are using. Usually you can find instructions on the product's page. The diameter of the cap and the head on the post should be as small as possible without slipping through the hole in the leather. If it's too big it will cause too much ...