Introducing myself and my goals

[Rowan]

Hello y'all!
Im a 17 year old guy from Denmark (Northern Europe) and im rather new in reenactment, but I've been bush crafting, hunting and doing martial arts for long so y'alls page really intrigued me to get started. My primary goal with all of this is to be able to live as if I was a part of nature with minimal gear like a ranger does - as of right now I can do that, but most of my gear is rather modern, but I've been wanting to get some more old school gear for a while (wool blanket, flint and steel etc.).
To me the whole clothing thing is really interesting too, but since my primary focus will be the bush crafting side of things that will probably be the last thing I will get the hang of.

As of right now the only gear I have that you could call "ranger gear" is:
My two knives, one is a small knife for all around work, the other one would be a fighting knife which I also use for skinning and butchering.
My arrows - home made medieval style arrows
My modern longbow - which I hope to replace with a english yew or ash longbow or a ash/elm flatbow
My leather quiver - it's a native american style so I'd like to make a new one soon...

The next things I'll aquire though, will be a wool blanket (been wanting that for a while), a canvass tarp instead of my nylon tarp and a flint and steel.

My skills are rather broad, I'm a decent tracker and archer although I'm still trying to improve myself. I know many edible and medicinal plants in my country and I'm still trying to further my knowledge on these subjects. As I mentioned I'm a bush crafter and I've been doing that for long so I know how to tan hides, make cordage, make primitive shelter, start and sustain a fire, cook over a fire, make arrows from scratch, I've even made a bow before, and I know many traps and I practice setting them often (I have to take them down though since trapping is illegal here). I've been hunting for most of my life as well so I'm good at stalking game and hiding.

Hope y'all will welcome me with open arms and teach me a thing or two - I've heard people talk about "different paths" of being a ranger, maybe someone could explain this a bit deeper for me?

Regards from Rowan

[Elleth]

Greetings!

I think you're in the best possible position: it's far easier I think for a bushcrafter to craft or acquire period clothing than for a historical reenactor / fairegoer to harden up to bushcraft. (I of course say that from the reenactor side of the house. )

I'm looking forward to hearing more about your adventures!

[Harper]

Welcome Ranger!

I don't see an axe mentioned. I imagine it would be important in your area of operation.

Are you a member of Bushcraftusa.com? There is a lot of info there on fieldcraft.

[Rowan]

Elleth - yeah I guess, now I just have to sit here in utter admiration of those beautifully crafted clothings y'all wear and think to myself "I'll never be able to get that"

Harper - I do have a hawk, but to be honest I've found that an axe/hawk ain't that important, you can get plenty of firewood straight of the ground and I don't need any sticks that are thicker than what my knife can handle... unless I have to make a bow... then I'd like to have my hawk on me, so maybe I should ad it to my kit anyways... More stuff for thought, thanks. No I'm not, mainly due to the wast difference in laws, plant life, wildlife etc. most of the information I seek is based around such factors which is often easier to find on European forums - i am a member of several bush crafting groups on facebook though, but mainly to share my experiences and learn from others

[Greg]

Welcome!

Small recommendation:
If you're really wanting to get serious about bushcraft, I'd like to suggest you give the hatchet another chance. Your knife can handle a lot, to be sure, but when you need to stay warm at night, larger material will help you maintain a heating fire longer, and when all the wood is wet from a rain, an axe will be invaluable in splitting open the bigger stuff that still has a dry core.

Again, welcome! I'll echo what Elleth said...it's probably much easier to approach the active part of this hobby from a outdoorsman' perspective first. That's where I came from, and though it's been a long road, I finally have started to get the historical side of things under my belt, too.

[Harper]

As Greg says, an axe can prove invaluable in winter (and wet weather) if you are going the wool blanket/tarp route.

An axe/hawk in one hand and a large knife in the other makes a potent close quarters offense-defense combination for an archer. There is no example of this combination used by Rangers in the texts but, given a woodland environment, it seems perfectly appropriate.

One of the reasons that axes/hawks (and knives and spears) were used so much is because they were cheap and commonly available. Everybody had them.

There is not much use for a sword in the woods except for fighting--but they are cool.

[Rowan]

As Greg says, an axe can prove invaluable in winter (and wet weather) if you are going the wool blanket/tarp route.

An axe/hawk in one hand and a large knife in the other makes a potent close quarters offense-defense combination for an archer. There is no example of this combination used by Rangers in the texts but, given a woodland environment, it seems perfectly appropriate.

One of the reasons that axes/hawks (and knives and spears) were used so much is because they were cheap and commonly available. Everybody had them.

There is not much use for a sword in the woods except for fighting--but they are cool.

This is exactly why I got the axe in the first place, to get bigger firewood during the colder times of the year and for the hawk/knife combo. I do love history (especially the stone age and viking era (mid 700s to 1050) but I also love the medieval - I see a lot of people discuss exactly what time period lotr is set in, from my perspective it seems like it is similar to the 1300-1400 due to the weapons (mainly thinking about the human race here) and the clothing - but what are your thoughts on this?

[Rowan]

Just thought I would share my gear.
Sadly I can't bring the big knife to the wild due to the laws of my country - It was passed down to me from my grandfarther, he got it when he was stationed on greenland so it has a huge sentimental value to me.
As I mentioned I'd like to get another bow as an alternative to my modern longbow, but not before I've trained myself to shoot a 50 pound bow (legal hunting weight here) - sadly I can't bring my bow to the wild either before I get my bow hunting license... our laws are really stricht when it comes to weapons here...

Next up will be the wool blanket, canvas tarp and flint and steel - I hav one question though, I have a pathfinder canteen that I normally use for boiling water and transporting it in when I'm in the wild, what alternative cound I get to that which would fit more into the role of a ranger? I know I can make a leather bota or something, but I can't boil the water in that....

[Udwin]

Welcome to the MERF! Nice to have a new face from the Old country. Be sure to check out the pinned advice for newcomers threads Here and Here.

As for water preparation, if you don't like boiling in your canteen directly,you might think about carrying a small metal kettle (we know the hobbits brought them from home and/or purchased at Bree).
A more 'stone age' or 'bushcrafty' solution would be the old 'Rocks heated red-hot dropped in a rawhide-lined pit' method of boiling. While it's nice to be self-reliant, there's nothing wrong with packing a vial of iodine tabs to kill nasties...when health is involved, a certain amount of modern-methods compromise is perfectly acceptable!

[Peter Remling]

Welcome.

You might want to try a mucket like the one linked here:

http://www.ccsutlery.com/cgi-ccsutlery/ ... f61a45012c

This will work for boiling water and cooking porridges, stews, soups, coffee, tea etc.

[Elleth]

from my perspective it seems like it is similar to the 1300-1400 due to the weapons (mainly thinking about the human race here) and the clothing - but what are your thoughts on this?

It's hard to say, because so much of Eriador is - to borrow a phrase we've used before - "post apocalyptic."
But that said, the human default feels to me about AD 1100-1200. By AD 1300 in our own Middle Ages, you're starting to get plate armor and the beginnings of a literate middle class/market culture in the towns that feels surprisingly modern, and by 1400 you can almost see the Renaissance waiting in the wings. Add patches of AD 1800 (the Shire, at least in terms of creature comforts and economy), AD 700-800 (Rohan), quite possibly BC 500-2500 (Mirkwood men), and even neolithic in the Druedain. Add in the craft of dwarves and elves, and it's just weird.

But as a go-to gestalt, I cling to early 12th century... maybe a little later in Gondor, a little earlier in Eriador.


Regarding kettles and canteens and such, you may have seen this thread on water carriers mentioned in the text - but for copperware I'm especially fond of Peter Goebel of Goose Bay Workshop

[Harper]

.

^^^ What Elleth said. I can't say it any better, so I won't even try.