Let's have a talk about woodcraft and bushcraft....
Posted: Sun May 08, 2011 1:19 am
So, lets face it.....swords are awesomely cool! I love them and they are one of the great advances in human warfare.....if warfare can be considered great....swords are designed as a single purpose tool....a killing tool for men to kill men.
But, when we head to the woods there are other considerations....like shelter, firewood, butchering and of course defending oneself from orcs and other less savory creatures.
This is why I carry a bearded axe. It is of high, usable quality (I slowly ground it to shape from an Iltis Ox Head axe). It is helved onto a 22" handle with an OAL of 24".
It is still light enough to carry easily on a belt, long enough for any woodland chore short of felling a huge tree, a heck of a shaping tool, you can butcher any critter and lastly, with the size and weight it is FAST on the attack and defense. The beard is useful to hook a shield, arm, leg or sword and deliver a dirk to an eye, throat or weak spot in the armour. An axe like this is the "leatherman" of the Middle Earth woods!
Is it a perfect combat weapon? No. Is it a weapon and a great usable tool? YOU BET!
Survival on treks is the biggest consideration. If you do not live through the night....then the battle in the morning is a moot point.
The Dunedain were a woodland people for the most part. They would have known the woods intimately....and would have been comfortable in the woods indefinitely, but this would also take into account having the right tools, like an axe. If you add a saw and draw knife....then you would be set even to build a cabin....
I know in a pinch with the axe and the knife (with discreetly hidden strike anywhere matches and a bit of heavy duty aluminum foil) that hangs around my neck I can survive until rescued. the neck knife NEVER leaves my body when in the woods and is worn underneath my shirt. If you add a small bag of jerky, nuts and dried fruit that always is on your person then you will have calories to keep you going....I carry mine in a small "wallet" that hangs over my belt. Mine is 3" wide by 12" long. For an example follow this link: http://www.colonialmarket.com/casada/wallets.html
I have the matches and foil to: make fire and boil water to make it potable. The axe will let me create tools and traps, fashion other tools, make a shelter and lastly it will let me split enough wood to have a fire big enough to stay warm no matter what!
That is not to say that a ranger in the desert or jungle should carry an axe, they would probably be better served with a machete-type tool....but for me, in the hardwoods of Kentucky, an axe works best.
Swords are awesome......but maybe we should make other considerations when heading out on a trek! We reenact in Middle Earth but live in the mundane. I for one to not want to die a historically accurate death of hypothermia, exposure, dehydration or drinking bad water.
Let's face it, they are far more likely to kill us than a marauding band or orcs or uruks!
But, when we head to the woods there are other considerations....like shelter, firewood, butchering and of course defending oneself from orcs and other less savory creatures.
This is why I carry a bearded axe. It is of high, usable quality (I slowly ground it to shape from an Iltis Ox Head axe). It is helved onto a 22" handle with an OAL of 24".
It is still light enough to carry easily on a belt, long enough for any woodland chore short of felling a huge tree, a heck of a shaping tool, you can butcher any critter and lastly, with the size and weight it is FAST on the attack and defense. The beard is useful to hook a shield, arm, leg or sword and deliver a dirk to an eye, throat or weak spot in the armour. An axe like this is the "leatherman" of the Middle Earth woods!
Is it a perfect combat weapon? No. Is it a weapon and a great usable tool? YOU BET!
Survival on treks is the biggest consideration. If you do not live through the night....then the battle in the morning is a moot point.
The Dunedain were a woodland people for the most part. They would have known the woods intimately....and would have been comfortable in the woods indefinitely, but this would also take into account having the right tools, like an axe. If you add a saw and draw knife....then you would be set even to build a cabin....
I know in a pinch with the axe and the knife (with discreetly hidden strike anywhere matches and a bit of heavy duty aluminum foil) that hangs around my neck I can survive until rescued. the neck knife NEVER leaves my body when in the woods and is worn underneath my shirt. If you add a small bag of jerky, nuts and dried fruit that always is on your person then you will have calories to keep you going....I carry mine in a small "wallet" that hangs over my belt. Mine is 3" wide by 12" long. For an example follow this link: http://www.colonialmarket.com/casada/wallets.html
I have the matches and foil to: make fire and boil water to make it potable. The axe will let me create tools and traps, fashion other tools, make a shelter and lastly it will let me split enough wood to have a fire big enough to stay warm no matter what!
That is not to say that a ranger in the desert or jungle should carry an axe, they would probably be better served with a machete-type tool....but for me, in the hardwoods of Kentucky, an axe works best.
Swords are awesome......but maybe we should make other considerations when heading out on a trek! We reenact in Middle Earth but live in the mundane. I for one to not want to die a historically accurate death of hypothermia, exposure, dehydration or drinking bad water.
Let's face it, they are far more likely to kill us than a marauding band or orcs or uruks!