IS BUSHCRAFT STUPID?

[@crawwwfishh3284]

I was doing it in 1975 as a child we called it playing.

[@willhall640]

Same here.

[@kynaston1474]

I call it not freezing to death. Single digit temps last night here in NC in the disaster zone. Maybe negatives where I'm sitting.

[@wardrm5598]

That's what my boys do. Good stuff.

[@toms_dayoff]

Same!

[@crawwwfishh3284]

👌👌👌👌👍👍👍👍🔥🔥🔥🐇🐇🐇🦌🦌🦌🐂🐂🐸🐸🐸

[@WhiteBreadThunder-op6in]

It’s comparable to how car camping became “overlanding”. 😂😂😂😂

[@ronnybee9920]

"Modern hipsters of the woods" -- love it!

[@glucamura1808]

@@ronnybee9920 ascoltata quella frase mi sono iscritto al canale 😅

[@BeefT-Sq]

This guy is full of it. His nervous laugh is a "tell".

[@asher3951]

Survival is NOT living in the woods. It’s getting the hell out!

[@manofkentcatapultsgunsando5069]

My sentiment exactly that 👍

[@BeefT-Sq]

Survival is staying alive as long as you are stuck somewhere as well as walking out or getting rescued. Bushcraft is primarily about constructing things during outdoor adventures as well as survival when necessary.

[@drchilapastrosodrlasmacas438]

I'm native American and grew up with millenia worth of family lore. I guess I'm too comfortable in the woods, I must be sasquatching ❤ (I will be content living in a hollow tree, wearing woolen clothing and a guillie suit for years.)

[@JonathanMacleod-s8k]

What cracks me up are the guys whose video's include cutting wood with a knife building an elaborate shelter then cooking up a pan of pork sausages from the supermarket 😂

[@andrewfournier8817]

"...Unnecessary things to firewood with a small knife." Well said!

[@BeefT-Sq]

Some guys swear by battoning. Some say to fashion wooden wedges instead of abusing your knife. In most places, there is plenty of dead wood to bust up by hand for firewood that you need not saw, chop or baton at all. Knowing skills doesn't do any harm but know when to use those skills and when not to.

[@fubufb420]

I find that a lot of this "lightweight and minimalist" stuff is just people being too LAZY and pansy to do any of the real work!!! 😂😂 There is no 1 blade to do it all! Get a folder, small knife, big knife, kukri, machete, hatchet and an axe!! Game processing knife is important!! Why limit your tools....? "...A man is only as good as his tools..." - Bruce Lee

[@NaeMuckle]

The obsession with knives in bushcraft always confused me. An axe is far more important but they will die on a hill arguing that an axe is unnecessary. An axe is a force multiplyer.

[@thewildmanoutdoors]

I just recorded a video on this yesterday, a hatchet is by far the most important tool. Easier with the big tasks like splitting wood, just as useful for the small tasks like carving trap notches

[@derick4774]

I agree with you 100%. They have commercialized everything in the name of “bushcraft” unfortunately.

[@toms_dayoff]

If something isn't selling well, label it bushcraft or survival, or claim that you can use it to sharpen drills. Then any piece of crap will sell like freshly sliced ​​bread.

[@BeefT-Sq]

"Critics have a lock on the cheap seats." -Unknown- Blackie Thomas, Dave Canterbury, Coalcracker and Waypoint Survival all have valuable info and are no joke.

[@oldbloke204]

And yet here we are on YT discussing it and this channel making money from it?

[@toms_dayoff]

@@oldbloke204 Yes, the days when you could chat at the bar or at the hairdresser or around the campfire are over. Nowadays you sit around a "laptop fire" and tell young people what great times they used to be and what you experienced and did. 😁

[@oldbloke204]

@@toms_dayoff Depends on how you choose to live really. Clinging on to the past and trying to set the rules for how we should do things is a bit pointless really as the world has changed. Plenty of the places that used to be wilderness are now suburbs.

[@donaldfeeney2076]

Thanks so much for this video. I fully agree with you. I am retired now, yet I spent over 50 years as a registered guide and a forester. I guided in Maine mostly during fall through spring seasons. No batoning, no feather sticks, always had wood fires. The most useful tool for this was a simple bow saw to cut dead and down wood to campfire size.

[@TheMightybasstone]

You are all wrong!! My 24 inch Bowie knife can baton a 30 inch log and chop down redwood trees!!! Its made from Magnamantium!!!! I sharpen it on the bottom of my coffee cup afterwards..... Then i skin some squirrels with it and cut potatoes so thin you would think it was rice paper..... HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE This video is golden... Yes i have fallen for some of the bushcraft bullshit... But i always get second and third opinions ... There was a video on you tube from a guy who i think was from Canada.. He said there is NEVER any need to baton with a knife in the woods. And very seldom any need to baton at all.. He walked around the woods and picked up sticks, twigs and branches off the ground and broke them by hand and started a nice fire... no feathersticks... GREAT VIDEO

[@BeefT-Sq]

I saw that guy too ! He said you can find such wood except in a campground where every twig has already ben gathered up and burned. Unless you are unexpectedly stranded with only a knife, you should have a folding saw for processing wood.

[@george344]

Still have a Mora from the ‘90’s. Finnish and Swedish troops I worked with had them. Cool knives, ordered mine online.

[@firestorm8471]

Bushcraft....navigating a room full of beautiful drunk women at the end of a party ...Bushcraft. oh wait, you mean roughing it in the woods, My bad.

[@desertdogoutdoors1113]

I fully support your first rendition of bushcraft.

[@FrictionFire-q5z]

😂👍🏻

[@David-James]

Beautiful drunk women, yes! Bush, nooo!

[@tekknorat]

@@David-James You can always shave some bush with that supersteel bushcraft knife. Just.. don't baton it.

[@David-James]

@@tekknorat 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@gcvrsa]

One of the things that I dislike about the contemporary fetish for "bushcraft" is that it's a very high impact activity. The population of the planet in the 21st Century is much higher than in was in the late 19th Century, and the impact of a single "bushcrafter" in the wilderness may not sound like a big deal, until you realize that unless you are doing this stuff on your own land (which, admittedly, most of the KZbinrs out there are doing just that), a surprisingly large number of people are drawn to the same patches of wilderness, and the impact that these activities have on the land increases rapidly and isn't erased as quickly as people believe by Nature. While it's a good thing to know that you can employ traiditonal woodcraft skills in unforeseen circumstances, no one but no one should be going into the backcountry in the 21st Century without being prepared to Leave No Trace. Stop building campfires-especially direct on organic soils!-and stop cutting down trees.

[@yakinsea]

I was on a search then body recovery on an Oregon mountain with a small explorer scout support. We came down through clouds after the first day only to find a large, two to three dozen small trees cut down in this wilderness area and made into a shelter. I counted tree rings finding that these small trees were 75 years old! All for one night and needing more weight carried in than light tents or tarps. Through thousands of miles of backpacking/climbing and thousands of miles of self-supported sea kayaking, I have NEVER NEEDED BUSHCRAFTING skills that I have repeatedly seen on youtube! This man knows what he is talking about.

[@joshjspice]

Alone cold-called me to apply for season 8. It was early March and I live in Interior Alaska. I was like, well, it's literally 30 below zero right now and there's over 3ft of snow on the ground. They said go show us building a shelter and all the other things. Even though i live in a very natural, wooded, wild area, it's not even legal to cut trees. I would've essentially had to go out into the real wilderness to replicate the show, but at 30 below. And film it all. Lol, ok. So unrealistic.

[@mihovildanicic5305]

Yeah, I was thinking kind of the same thing. I watch bushcraft/woodworking/rough camping videos for entertainment and to kill time after work, lots of it doesn't even get to my brain, I like the sounds and environment in such videos. But when it does get to my brain I start to think: 1: That's a lot of money to spend just to live like a bum for 10 days a year 2: Where could I do this? This is Balkan, every square meter is owned and paid by a cubic meter of blood under it - I'm not participating in this. 3: Imagine civilization switched off: we'd all be starving in a few days and if we all went to do "survival/bushcraft" BS we'd find each other and murder each other in a matter of hours, gangs would roam around and you'd have no chance. Plus if there is some wildlife around you could eat it would go extinct in a week. Your fire would be more a beacon to others then a heat source to you. It's in everybody's interest to get back to civilized life (even gangs like electricity, clean running tap water, refrigeration, meat they don't have to hunt, clean and butcher, vegetables they don't have to grow, air conditioning, bed, working showers and toilets, shoes, clothes, dentists etc) 4: These are neat things and tricks to know, useful, although I, a man living in town in Croatia in 21st century, almost certainly will never use them. I said "almost certainly" because in last 500 years there's a war every 30 years on average around here (grandpa lived through 3 of them), so once in a lifetime for a short while - you don't do bushcrafting in wartime as a small child (I didn't and nobody I know didn't) and you don't do this when you're over 65, I don't care what reasons someone might come up with. So, yeah, what you said stands, what the man in the video said stands and I stand for what I said.

[@tonycorgliano6905]

For the most part I agree.. i actually live in a cabin in the Alaska interior. I built my own cabin from 8 inch logs. I heat my home with wood. I live in a dry cabin, which means i do not have running water, or an indoor toilet. I do have a couple generators to run power tools and vharge batteries.. also not one time ever have made feather sticks or batoned wood with a small knife. I fo use a council hatchet ans a couple fifferent hawks for splitting kindling. And a log splitter for bigger wood. Im old so i use a 20 inch husky chain saw...and a gas powered log 24:07 splitter. For a belt knife I prefer bigger knives. So my main knife is a O1 cold steel trailmaster. That plus my small camilus neck knife and forest axe, work well. I also carry a leatherman surge on my belt and a ferro rod as backup to my Bic lighter..i have built many shelters, but they require to much time and effort so i use a 10x10 cotton canvas tarp that i hot waxed myself. It far superior on moose hunts. It sets up fast. Does not leak, and keeps me warm even on snow days.

[@tonycorgliano6905]

Sorry for the typos.small keys do not work well for me

[@wardrm5598]

Respect sir.

[@ruggerogrottanelli3655]

If I may, how do you set your tarp to stay dry when it rains? I've tried it and didn't succeed

[@drchilapastrosodrlasmacas438]

Amazing, I want to have the option to live like that, like you do, if I had to. Right now I'm homeless, but it's been super duper easy because I am sober and have practiced native American family lore of "sasquatching" my entire life already. I also spent 20 years honing my special talent and special interest of ropes and knots. I basically made a hammock bed/tarp shelter that can set up anywhere with trees, inside a big tree, 50ft up in a tree, on hills, over creeks, etc, and it fits into a 40 liter bed roll, which I can easily carry with my bike-camping bicycle. And the hammock ting sets up in literally 5 minutes. I made it up.

[@christinamoneyhan5688]

Dave Canterbury has the most useful information about the outdoors . Whether you want to hunt , trap , or survive if in a difficult situation. I do not think it is for the weekend warrior. It is true ,useful information should you ever need it. I prefer regular carbon steel knives and was taught how to use them properly, that a knife is for cutting only. Axes are for felling trees, processing fire wood next to saws.

[@W_H_K]

Actually, bushcraft is an Australian term.

[@madtownangler]

Yeah I would never use a knife to split wood when I can borrow a log splitting ax or a gas powered log splitter from my dad

[@timber4560]

Dave started his career on a lie. He is almost universally disliked in the community because he will step on anyone’s neck to get an inch closer to more fame and fortune. While I agree that he is knowledgeable, one way or another, there are lots of great options and just better humans.

[@ROE1300]

👍 Most realistic video on “Bushcraft” I have seen in the 21st Century. I particularly liked your very true comment about going into the wilderness unprepared is stupid. A shelter and water (or, water purification) on you is as important as your cutting tools. I have always agreed with you that knives are for slicing and cutting while hatchets, machetes, and saws are for chopping and generally reducing big sticks to small sticks. Buck, Ka Bar, Esee, Victorinox, and Mora are examples of companies who for years have made very useable and long lasting knives from simple steels with proper blade geometry and heat treat. If I had to choose between a proper knife or a proper hatchet for time in the wilderness, I would choose the hatchet. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@rockymountainlockpicker9606]

Knives for slicing, axes for chopping, saws for when you need to be precise or quiet

[@darb4091]

Saws are much more efficient cutting tools.

[@Mark-l6k5g]

@@darb4091 lighter as well

[@johna6291]

I’ve deliberately “roughed it” a few times in my youth and discovered pretty quick that no one has the time to engage in bushcraft hobbyist when you’re just trying to survive, stay warm and hydrated, and not be devoured by insects.

[@robertpetersson5655]

As a swede I am proud that you have a gränsfors axe and a mora knife.

[@slomo1562]

The Gränsfors axes are too expensive. Far less costly axes work just as well. The Mora knives I've seen are good and inexpensive. I'd prefer a drop point but the clip points are so affordable.

[@dustydesertdisciple6290]

My mora kansbol is the best knife Ive ever owned, absolutely awsome knife.

[@robertpetersson5655]

@slomo1562 yes but they are made the old fashion way.

[@ZaryaTheLaika]

The real ones have Billnas axes though. They don't make them anymore and Americans are always surprised you can get them for free or for less than 50 euros

[@Ingeb91]

​@@robertpetersson5655I have a ton of moras, and I have a large forest axe from gransfors. The axe is fantastic.,but yeah it's expensive as shit. To us scandis, we should go for hultafors, and in the US they should by Council axes.

[@Bat-Fool]

I know some very old Northwoods trappers and they all universally agree that bringing an axe to the North woods is a necessity for them.

[@WhiteBreadThunder-op6in]

Yeah, I don’t carry an axe anymore. Those Silky arborist pro saws are way more useful and safer. But, I actually live in the AK bush. If I ever move to the north woods, I’ll for sure get an artisan hand made Swedish axe.

[@Bat-Fool]

@WhiteBreadThunder-op6in For me personally an axe as a more useful tool, but I like both. Really both tools can do some of the same things but they do a lot of things that each other can't do. If I had to cut through a big thick log I would want the saw. If I had to pound something into the ground like a stake I would want the axe, and if I had to defend myself versus a wild animal the axe would be the better choice. And one more point I would add is that I have seen some very gruesome wounds with a saw, so both tools can harm you very badly. With the utmost respect.

[@WhiteBreadThunder-op6in]

Especially, a full sized single bit.

[@greywuuf]

I find an axe being used extensively in the winter for chopping ice and clearing the suspension on my sled and also pounding stakes for traps. Which I also make with an axe. A saw? Yeah I don't use them much.

[@inregionecaecorum]

@@Bat-Fool Depends what you are doing, saws certainly waste less wood and cut more precisely, but if you are just clearing dead lumber an axe has it's uses.

[@OTG414]

I prefer 14c28n steel in my outdoor/hunting knives. It’s a great all around stainless steel with a lot of toughness. It’s super easy to sharpen and takes a very fine edge. Plus, it’s really cheap and available in lots of great knife designs.

[@gregwhit4032]

I never in my life thought someone would call me a hipster and agree with them. I don’t know if I should laugh or cry. But what ever I do. It will be over craft beer. 🍺

[@george344]

Ah, so you’re a ‘beer crafter’.

[@ketodad]

I hung out with Mors Kochanski a few times back in the day , and I'm telling you that he didn't go with 90 % of the Bushcraft BS that is going on. He showed me his knife collection also...very modest and old school. Axe proficiency is a must up here in the Canadian north for firewood , winter or summer. No need to beat the shit out of your knife when the axe works better and generally won't break. Thanks for the vid. Good perspective.

[@gregavanessian4846]

Finally someone put an end to all the BS.

[@warrenpolidori5541]

I used to be a large collector of a very popular brand of knives I shall not name. There was a member of the community forum who pretended to play bushcrafter, only time and again to beat his knives to destruction. I used to ask why he would baton wood when an axe or a hatchet was needed? Just SMH and your video brought this guy to mind. For those of us who were Boy Scouts, we were taught basic survival skills but didn't make us survivalists. Thanks for another great presentation.

[@BeefT-Sq]

Simple answers : 1) Make wooden wedges for splitting . 2) Scrounge dead wood that you can break up by hand 3) Carry a folding saw ( Silky, Bahco etc. ) 4) If weight isn't a problem, carry a good ax. 5) Carry a wood-burning stove and a bag of pellets. 6) Carry a big knife : KaBar Kukri or a Tops SXB to use as a hatchet.

[@Jafarmarar]

Agreed (especially on point 6). I got a parang and it’s plenty for just about anything. For firewood, I usually just use two trees that grew close to each other to lever large dead branches into breaking. I never understood putting in so much effort to saw firewood for a campfire.

[@drchilapastrosodrlasmacas438]

You know that person too? Yikes. My parents tried getting me into boy scouts but I was rejected. I am native American and "sasquatching" is built into my family lore, for at least millennia. Now as an adult, I find it ironic I didn't get in. I remember my first axe

[@renemosca4285]

It's about time someone had the guts to speak up. I've felt this way since 1981. There is a solid difference between wilderness living and building forts in the woods like young boys. Well done. Rene

[@christopherhill1678]

If you had felt this way since the 80s, why didn't you speak up? If you are too much of a coward to voice your ''expert" opinion on what survival or bushcraft is after over 40 years, why should anyone take your advice?

[@renemosca4285]

@christopherhill1678 I was lead instructor for Thera Trex Wilderness, I taught my students respect and stewardship. Not kids games. Unfortunately KZbin wasn't around then. BTW why are you so defensive?

[@christopherhill1678]

@renemosca4285 This entire pretentious video and the arrogant comments are why I am defensive. I am tired of seeing this " well ackchyually " mouth breather type idea that there is only one set way of doing things. You need this knife type, with this blade geometry, only sharpen it on whetstones because diamond stones are untraditional, don't wear jeans, but don't wear nylon because those are untraditional and so on. I have witnessed this tribal mentality my entire life, and it does nothing good for any community. I mean, who doesn't baton firewood with their fixed blade, but the pioneers didn't, so it's not bushcraft? Did they use folding saws? I also use modern paper maps with GPS, is wrong to use modern tech along side old tech. I hike and camp out of my bag in Florida. It is hot, the terrain is not like the woods up north, and you can't just jump in the water to cool off. I don't have room to carry a knife for each job and an axe. Even if I did, I'm not carrying that extra unnecessary weight for 10, 15, or 20 miles ( one way ). Not all faro rods come a striker and " sharpened spines are rough on the hands"? Toughen up a little come on. I will use my spine to strike a rod or prepare tinder. This is more gate keeping BS. In scouts, we were learning how to rely on ourselves and have confidence in our own capabilities. It wasn't just about the particular skill, but learning confidence as a whole. This video and others like it are trash. They deter people from venturing in the woods because " they don't know what they are doing." We as craftsmen used to look down on society's demand for degrees and certifications for traditional " low skill " careers. Now, we not only shun the self-taught in industry, but we also do it the woods, because why? I will be out in the woods being a "hipster" when you guys are done circle jerking about how you think things should be done.

[@renemosca4285]

@christopherhill1678 I agree with much of what you say. KZbin has made everyone a star, given them an audience. I hope people who have actual hands on knowledge can see through the bull. In a strange way it's ok to have neophyte lecturers on YT. They stick out like a roach on a wedding cake. Happy Holidays

[@ZaryaTheLaika]

​​@@christopherhill1678I am assuming the uploader was referring to DBK channel since he keeps showing thumbnails from them. I rolled my eye when Maartens said he doesn't want to carry an axe if he's hiking 20 km in Norway. In a hypothetical situation insteaf of speaking from experience. First off, if you don't need an axe, your hiking gears are good enough that you don't need a knife to begin with. And if you do need an axe, most folks have a pulk or have a partner to share the loads; and a lot of campsites usually have a communal axe. And if you choose to baton, then you're doing that with a 5 euros knife everyone has lying around on their work benches. You're not doing it with your 200 euros knife.

[@TheRichtaber]

This video is spot on! I cringe when I watch a KZbin video of some guy building an elaborate survival structure out of small logs and trees. They cut down more wood than a colony of beavers! And where in the USA can you even whack that much wood, other than land that you might own? In a survival scenario you won’t have the time and energy to build a wooden castle! Ever think of carrying a tarp, or a 1-2 person tent? This way you wouldn’t be deforesting an entire woodland! Also, many of the KZbin gurus have direct links to their online stores where you can spend gobs of money on things you don’t need!

[@BackcountryShooter]

Exactly. One point for me is that the most likely scenario I am going to face that will strand me out on a dayhike is a lower limb injury. Going to be pretty hard to gather enough wood for a night long fire and build a shelter outta sticks when I can barely walk. Warm clothing and an easily rigable tarp is what I will need to survive. Sure, I carry firestarter and a couple lighters in case I randomly did get lost, but my life cannot hang on my ability to process the forest.

[@BeefT-Sq]

Watch the good KZbin channels and scrap the silly ones. Kill your T.V. set too. Lilly, Dave Canterbury, Black Thomas, Coalcracker and Bender of Waypoint Survival are sometimes practical and fun.

[@_jk_3516]

It is nice to watch a well prepared, honest, and objective speech in the old fashioned (taking the time, going trough the origins of bushcraft) way about this topic. It was refreshing, entertaining, and highly informative. Thank you!

[@OnTheRiver66]

You are 100% correct on every point and what you say matches exactly what I have used in my experience. I remember the time when a “survival” knife had to be at least 1/4” thick, too thick for most camp uses, too thick for people who skin and butcher animals. The YT bushcraft groups have become a kind of cult for many of the channels, who only want people to do things “their way.”

[@drvoxmentat]

Best video I’ve watched in a while. Carefully crafted and well-supported arguments.

[@artawhirler]

I gave this video a "like" just for the title alone!! 😂

[@bss6357]

As a fellow middle-aged man, I wholeheartedly agree. I was bushcrafting as a child before I knew it was called bushcrafting. Then I found an Australian bushcraft book which fueled my desire even more. Several years ago I got sucked into the whole scandi-grind knife craze. I'm still bitter about spending so much money on a stupid knife design. It reminds me of when I was twelve and saved my money for a cool Gerber boot dagger, only to learn that it sucked at everything other than stabbing. Hipsters,,,,take heed to wisdom, not fads!

[@docmcgee3483]

Bro, hear you tell it, hero! Growing up in Alaska, I found the same Australian book, Kochanski, and of course Angier. Scandi grind is for chip carving. I carry butcher knives now, cause skinning moose and caribou is way easier with those.

[@drchilapastrosodrlasmacas438]

I guess I fell for it too. I have an Irish dirk dagger (or was it Scottish?) that has a double edge. One edge has a ground for skinning, the other has an edge for cutting vegetables. I just stab it into some log, and use a stick to push the veg into it, if you're curious. The stabbing ability is quite nice.

[@wardrm5598]

Short story. My 8 & 11 year old sons had absolutely no bushcraft training before my family and I set up a homestead near the woods. Not but a few weeks later after their mother and I told them to go out and play in the woods, they soon built solid wood teepee structures and campsites using simple tools on their own. No stress or pressure. Just boys learning through experience and play. They continue to 'bushcraft' on their own. This is the kind of practical bushcraft advice I've been looking for. Subscribed.

[@allenzophy4262]

Glad I found your channel. I particularly appreciate the historical knowledge and how the tools/weapons have evolved and the difference between practical changes, and modern commercialism nonsense.

[@JeepsterDave]

I enjoyed that. You make interesting and very valid points. I suspect a lot of us knew that all along, but kept it quiet!

[@NCWoodlandRoamer]

Good video Desert Dog. Bottom line is the world has become dumber and not smarter since the internet came along. On another note, holy shit! You must own an actual museum worth of outdoor equipment! It never ceases to amaze me at the gear you pull out for any video that you do! 😂 Have a great weekend!

[@BeefT-Sq]

"I watched the first half of Naked and Afraid."🤪 -Unknown- "Reality T.V. isn't."😴 -Anon.- This guy's laugh indicates deception. What is suitable Bushcraft may not apply to survival skills and vice-versa.

[@vadim3060]

Totally agree. I have the same point of view. I've been watching hundreds of videos of bush-crafting and practically all of them just staged to impress, having nothing common with real life. 👍

[@firestorm8471]

You may find this odd, but there was a tool called a shingle froe that was sometimes carried by backwoods explorers. They needed it to make shingles when they found an appropriate place to build a small cabin to winter in. Some had holes drilled in them for making various sized wood pegs as well to "nail" things together. That FROE is the ultimate wood splitting tool as well. It served as a draw knife, a picaroon if the blade tip was sharp. And it could be a nasty weapon I suppose. Shingles could be made with a wide blade axe as well but those are HEAVY . A froe was actually a practical piece of kit

[@kenibnanak5554]

They are still around. Lehman's and some others still have them for sale.

[@fredsmythe4731]

I was a"shake rat" splitting shakes in the woods.

[@drchilapastrosodrlasmacas438]

Yes, I own a froe like that! They're rare, people don't know jack smidtch now a days, just some city billy lumber jocks

[@zacktaylor3441]

Modern bushcraft= helping metro kids feel cool about building a fire in their moms backyard

[@dansmidwestangling]

Totally agree. To me, true bushcraft is accomplishing the task in the simplest way possible. Most of what you see online these days is just overly complicating camp tasks into time and resource consuming nonsense.

[@SlasherSociety09]

Stupidity is in general highly valued these days but you've done a video here that brings up some really good points. Thank you

[@AroundTheCabin]

I would like to see some knives that do the skinning and slicing well. NOT wood work. I always thought a general knife was made to cut with. NOT made to chop or do wood working

[@alberttresslevic914]

I was gifted a $400 bushcraft knife and whilst I appreciate the thought I'm going to sell it, I tried it on small game and a deer and it was useless, why the hell do I need a $400 knife that can't break down an animal and chops wood worse than a $20 hatchet

[@desertdogoutdoors1113]

Stay tuned during the first week of January. I'm releasing a video in the Russell Green River Knife.

[@drchilapastrosodrlasmacas438]

My favorite one to use is the one I made out of obsidian, there's a source of obsidian like 75 miles north of me. I bike-pack there once a year. I don't know how to describe the metal knife I use for skinning game, it's just the knife.

[@themaskedhobo]

Boy Scouts in the late 90s early 00s never taught me about batoning with a knife so I dont need it.

[@deltabravo1811]

The western mountain man had access to relatively inexpensive and plentiful supplies for camp due to the industrial revolution. The OGs were the Appalachian mountain men who lived freely and held territory against Indians/colonial armies. Appalachian old timers still living the traditional way of life were mostly gone by the 1970s. Those were truly tough, self-sufficient men. At least the western mountain man could spend his life savings buying from a supplier to try his hand at trapping or prospecting and maybe make a living. These namby pamby dandy wanna-bees just want to get clicks and sell $500 knives to afford their comfortable lifestyle. The 'daddy, I graduated college and want to be an influencer now' career path. Modern bushcraft is stupid. Thanks DD!

[@Lunarpreparedness]

I couldn’t agree more, sir. It’s become a little ridiculous. “Playing with firewood” literally sums up the entire bushcraft market.

[@sirparksalot2461]

You just summed up what I learned in the last 6 years. A $20 trail hawk is light weight and does wood tasks better than any knife. And a knife processes meat better than a hawk or an axe.

[@Muhammad_Rashdan]

I started watching with a smile. When you picked up a hatchet, I just burst out laughing.. 😂

[@filaptv]

Excellent video as always. This channel is the real deal.

[@aaronchilds4279]

Bushcraft, as it is presented online, is mostly an aesthetic. Don't get me wrong, it's an aesthetic I enjoy, with all of the waxed canvas and leather and carved wooden kuksa and whatnot. There is enjoyment in the ritual and practice of making and crafting things out in the woods. How practical the practice might be is debatable. I have always thought batoning wood is just silly though.

[@drchilapastrosodrlasmacas438]

You're right. My favorite Bushcraft aesthetic is the cook videos because I'm homeless so I often do actual gourmet cooking with "bUsHcRaFt" type of things.

[@henchy3rd]

It always brings a smile to my face when a video pops up, like.. I survived 24 hours or a night in the woods🤣

[@inregionecaecorum]

Yep you can survive a night in the woods with a packet of sandwiches, a flask of tea and a plastic bag to sit on, it is not rocket science :)

[@jacksutherland846]

Always nice to hear truthful wisdom. The word hipster makes my skin crawl.

[@wolfgang6719]

Thank you for this video. I couldn't make sense of bushcraft. All I know is that there are endless knife recommendations on youtube. I couldn't use any of these knives. I make fires with a lighter. My grandfather used matches. He was born in 1900 and served in both world wars. He ended the first as a French prisoner of war and the second as an American prisoner of war. He got a fire going in the heaviest rain. His matches were enough for him.

[@BeefT-Sq]

Technology progresses. There's good, better and best. And if you lose your supplies, you improvise. Knowledge never hurts, A Bic lighter, a big ferro rod, Zippo emergency matches, a magnesium block and dry tinder make for redundancy.

[@3putter3]

It's fun to play boyscout

[@gregwillis7767]

Thanks a lot pal! I stopped the video half way through and ordered a custom handled Russell, with fitted sheath because of your video! I'm 65 and own over 200 knives already (collecting since childhood). I'll die broke (but happy)!

[@inregionecaecorum]

Custom handled Russell? What is one of those, I have a custom handled butcher knife too, made he handle myself and blade made to order in Sheffield to the old pattern.

[@gregwillis7767]

@inregionecaecorum I can ship it to you, after it arrives for you to review if you like. Actually, I always buy myself a Christmas gift each year, and am still feeding a lifetime addiction for knife collecting. Seriously, if you'd like to review my purchase (on or off camera) I'd enjoy your take - even if you tell me it was an "unworthy purchase".

[@cocovasquez1]

Get an Adventure Sworn Classic, You won’t go back to anything else after

[@gregwillis7767]

@@cocovasquez1 They look pretty awesome, thanks for the suggestion!

[@paul7754]

Great history lesson! I don't live in or near the woods so most 'bushcraft' doesn't apply. I'm in the desert so different set of rules and priorities. I appreciate your distinct definitions of 'bushcraft' and 'survival' - they are indeed two different entities.

[@drchilapastrosodrlasmacas438]

Cactuscraft 😂❤

[@gordonmacdowell8117]

Good video. We used to call it camping and a lot of what I see online is larping. I learned to use an axe as a kid and have never batoned with a knife, because it just seems wrong in every way. They've ruined knife manufacturing because now most fixed blades are full tang, nasty sharpened spines, and thick as a brick to baton with, when I just need a knife to cut stuff with. I always liked Ray Mears because he had real skills and didn't do stupid stuff.

[@BeefT-Sq]

Quit complaining and buy a Mora or a BPS. They are cheap and thin enough. Problem solved !

[@gordonmacdowell8117]

@@BeefT-Sq I've already got a bunch of Moraknivs stashed around the property in sheds and work stations, so there's always a knife handy and they're ones I don't mind other people using because they can be easily replaced.

[@coldsmoker9387]

My cousin lives in whitehorse he told me when bear grills was filming a survival show there he stayed in the hotel every night lol

[@richardkramer1094]

One of our more modern ‘Outdoorsmen’ and ‘Woodcrafter’ was Clyde Ormond of Idaho who wrote half a dozen or more books on woodcraft and hunting. Quite a humble guy. I never understood why you would hammer on a knife or baton wood, just go and gather some smaller sticks, you’d burn less energy and save your gear from abuse that is totally idiotic! Luckily I learned woodcraft from my grandfather back in the 1960’s. Great video @DD!

[@darb4091]

The whole movement is largely driven by marketing, videos and FOMO, nothing more.

[@nco_gets_it]

I bought a combat knife when I joined the Army back in 86. rubberized handle, thick blade, holds an edge, good for the field uses of a soldier. From stabbing to cutting to processing small game. It is NOT a hatchet. I bought a steel handled hatchet back in the 70s...still cuts wood just fine. I did, however, spend the 40 bucks for a swiss army knife so that I would have a few "extras" like scissors and pliers. Carried them on every deployment and camping/hunting/fishing trip since and have never replaced any of them.

[@bradfieldrich]

Didn’t you just use your bayonet?

[@JRTRAPP1]

Modern bushcraft knives usually only see duty making feathersticks and can be found in their natural habitat on an impromptu instragram photoshoot.

[@drchilapastrosodrlasmacas438]

I'll never forget the time I used my bush knife to open 2 cans of food cause I was hungry. I didn't have a lighter, so I made a bow drill, had a wooden case pen and used that to make the char, lit a Dakota fire hole, lit my tobacco pipe, and ate. Thank God I didn't forget the cooking pot. No feather sticks

[@willhall640]

It's become a hobby for people who don't actually or have never lived that way. I grew up in WV. We were poor. We fished, hunted, dug roots, picked berries, grew gardens, canned, etc.. I'm 53 now. Growing up in the 70's we would go to visit my mothers family in the middle of the state. They had outhouses and wells and burned wood for heat. No electricity. To this day some of them still live like this. My wife's family is from the eastern panhandle. Her mother has no running water and still uses an outhouse. Bushcraft is a hobby the same as knitting or painting. Plain and simple. It's a form of entertainment. Most who practice it couldn't actually live that way. Frankly, I wouldn't want to. But I could if I had to. Maybe?

[@BeefT-Sq]

I'll wager that Coalcracker, Dave Canterbury, Lilly, Blackie Thomas and John Bender would survive in the wilderness.

[@willhall640]

@@BeefT-Sqall those named are legit. I go back and forth with Lilly a good bit. She’s the real deal. I have one of her APO1 knives from the first batch. It’s carbon steel. It’s a great knife. No doubt she’d do fine in a real survival situation.

[@assis77555]

I had never seen a KZbin channel that expressed current bushcraft so well... when I lived in the Amazon region I would go to the forest to fish and camp, using practically a 1.1/2 lb axe, a knife, a pocketknife, a Tramontina Latin machete (forest credit card) was enough... reading the book Nesmuck I saw that I carried what was necessary...

[@jrhunt414]

My favorite bushcraft tool is a Milwaukee M18 Sawzall.

[@LETME-kl9jg]

I want one of those drill sized chain saws,... if the price ever comes down.

[@user-re3qq7pi7i]

Bring extra blades and battery. Broke the single blade I had cutting a Christmas tree. Thankfully I had my Swiss Tool with saw to finish the cut. This year I just brought my Stanley hand saw (and my swiss.)😅

[@WhiteBreadThunder-op6in]

It’s how I disassembled my moose this year.

[@jrhunt414]

@ cut the pelvis on our moose this year with it too. Didn’t have to saw the sternum this time, was able to just get my whole arm in there to cut the windpipe. Used it all week to cut camp wood. Used 2 6.0 HO batteries. A small axe was also needed to split wood. All that little knife stuff just wastes your time and energy. M18 sawzall is the best tool I own. Just charge and go. Swap any blade in seconds to cut almost anything with one tool that requires zero maintenance and doesn’t leak oil.

[@johnbelmore1178]

My favorite is the bk9

[@Khemtime]

This is a great video. It goes so much deeper than knives. My parents are from Cambodia and I lived there for a few years. It’s not like I grew up living in primitive conditions or anything like that but the way my parents and I do many things is still the way people live in Cambodia. It’s nothing special to us but many people find it interesting. There’s so many hobbies and lifestyles that get a big fancy name and then people start gate-keeping them. Bushcrafting, lightweight backpacking, overlanding, van life, minimalist living, etc. It’s all stupid. I’ll never understand why so many people are so quick to box themselves in as any of those categories. Just do whatever you want, learn what you can from them all (because I still think there is some useful information from them all) and ignore the rest.

[@indigowendigo8464]

This is why Alone is my favorite show. It will quickly demonstrate what works and what does not

[@theoriginalshotgunoutdoors3269]

Best video I have seen in a while! I could never understand why people wanted to split firewood with a knife! Or even worry about starting a fire with a ferro rod. Fun stuff, but I was taught as a Boy Scout 50 years ago to "Be Prepared!" An ax and a saw for cutting wood. A lighter or matches along with a fire starter get things going pretty quick. I only started watching this "bushcraft and survival" stuff as a result of being sick and recovering for six months. I just take it for what the majority of it is. Entertainment. You made perfect sense to this old boy scout

[@SurvivalistMedia]

I think the best part about some “bushcraft” is that it makes you see the wilderness as a playground. It doesn’t help with skill set as much as it make people a prepared apocaloptimist which is someone excited and exuberant about type three fun, which is 1000 times better than being frightened into apathy. Having been lost together with both types on many an adventure I’d surely take the optimistic over prepared jackass with the wrong tool.

[@DrewBoswell]

What a well-made and well-presented video, very common sense and needed. I hope more people discover and watch this video.

[@johnpetry6753]

I believe the concept of batoning wood was developed around military survival schools. Most of which focused on the downed pilot scenario. Batoning was just a way to maximize their knife with reduced time/energy used. Kinda hard to bail out of a plane with an axe. Same can be said for ground poundet units. Mors Kochanski also taught military survival schools.

[@desertdogoutdoors1113]

You need to realize that you don't need to baton wood at all to make a fire. Nobody does that in real life. Why would you purposely mistreat and dull your knife in a survival situation.?

[@michaelidarecis]

Totally agree! My favorite is the bow divot on Bushcraft knives that are too shallow and someone will slip and potentially stab their leg

[@markhenderson2896]

Man someone finally said it out loud. Don't bring a knife to a wood cutting. I'm so tired of these want to be woods men. And there bug out bags.

[@drchilapastrosodrlasmacas438]

The "if the world ends, I will grab ONE backpack and head to Yosemite, and never die." Sort of nonsense.

[@mickgately5423]

well said been lucky enough to travel to remote places and see how it's done and you are spot on.

[@Gandalf-The-Green]

So true what you said about the fancy steels modern bushcrafters use and sharpening in the field. I have grown very fond of the plain and simple Opinel carbone folding knives, you can sharpen them so effortlessly and they hold a mean edge. I just use an old timey whetstone for scythe blades and it sharpens these blades so fast. I don't baton wood, but if I had to because I really needed to split wood for a project, I would even baton with these. They are of course not made for this kind of abuse, but hey, I can always buy a new one for around $ 30. At home in the kitchen I use the carbon steel versions of German "Windmühlen" knives. Very thin blades that hold a mean edge, also quite inexpensive. I sharpen every time before I do bigger tasks like processing poultry, cutting meat off the bone etc.

[@cccmmm1234]

In some ways everything is stupid. Bushcraft, camping and other off grid living helps teach you how little you really need. Empowering.

[@RandallRosser]

Thank you! Finally someone said it! I have always felt that batoning a knife was the stupidest thing ever. As you said; use the proper tools for the job. It's cringe worthy to watch someone beating the snot out of an expensive knife! STOP IT! For the love of all that is holy, just stop!

[@jimmiv5449]

Finally ! A truthful video on KZbin about this subject.😀 Thank You.👍

[@raducuflorin5234]

So much truth in a single video! Thank you from the bottom of my heart! It is the same rotten approach in archery! I'm a professional archer who spends a lot of time in the wild and all I see on the net is pure brainwashing marketing and consumerism! Gratitude for this valuable lesson! 🙏🙏🙏

[@nicholasshotwell5340]

Best knife video I have seen in a decade.

[@petrotmyrcz308]

Oh yeah, Nesmuk. Haven't heard his name in decades. Perhaps I'll read that book this winter. Very interesting video DD. Thanks.

[@ElektroMoog]

The best explanation ever!! Thank you Sir!! 👍👍👍👍👍

[@tubulzr]

Shout out from NL. Was wondering what the title would be covering. Been 'bushcrafting' since the early 80's, then a kid, although it was called scouting at the time. I still covet my Eka knife from that time, 44 yrs old now. Got a great Malanika 'Bushcrafter' knife much later on, Cruwear and Desert Ironwood, beautiful. Not afraid to actually use it. But it's definitely not an axe. That's why we also learned how to use an axe, as scouts. Completely different tools. That clip of chopping a tree with a knife and a wooden stick was hilarious. Camping in the woods/forests, knowing how to make a fire, also when it rains and everything is very wet, is great. Living in the woods, is something completely different though. That requires an extensive, almost expert skill set. A lot of 'bushcrafting' videos are more about romanticism or escapism, than actual skillsets and wanting to live in the woods, completely self sufficient, old school way. I'd imagine it was effin hard, even for experts, they might thrive but not because they could lead some chill out/ASMR lifestyle...

[@miketranfaglia3986]

Thank you for saying what needed to be said! Also, thank you for pointing out that a machete can be an incredibly useful (and surprisingly light weight) tool out in the bush. I've done a fair amount of wilderness backpacking, and I always carry a machete (standard, cheap, Latin American style, 18" blade, 24" overall). I've cut down pretty large trees with my machete, making nice "Siberian Log Fires" even in the wettest conditions with relatively little effort. They're usually easy to sharpen, too.

[@Justacook74]

Nothing wrong with an Old Hickory carbon steel knife of any sort,,,it’ll rust quick when wet but they’re strong and full tang and easy to sharpen.

[@yesh3]

As a long time fan of pocket knives, I really appreciate this video. So many fads out there.

[@najroe]

having grown up with grandparents who where alive because of the skills they had in hunting, fishing, foraging and building sgelters. my grandmother lost a sister to starvation becausevshe got sick and couldn't forage, she survived the depression and the war, many of their neighbours survived the finish/soviet war by using bushcraft, they all taught me everything they knew as I showed interest, so I have had a VERY thorough education with living from the land. bushcraft is a part, but some things are just never done to live of the land, like splitting firewood beyond firestarting kindling.

[@drchilapastrosodrlasmacas438]

Respect, my grandma taught me that, and my many uncles taught me that ❤ then I met some lovely colonial oregonians, descendents of the fur trapper pioneers, and they taught me that

[@nathanjames7030]

"a perverse infatuation with doing unnecessary things to firewood with a small knife" -- so funny!

[@sphandengraving5691]

Best video I’ve seen in a long time

[@tecmissle9256]

Thanks for the distinction between survival and "bushcraft". The distinction between the tools. The consumerism is mad and you should know it. I am backpacking a lot and I fell for gear that I thought that the people who created it only watched youtube videos and them put a price tag on it never tested it. Have on of those bushcraft knives as well. You can recognize the frauds. Do not take risks that you cannot cover. Thanks for your video ! Makes so much sense. I need to remind myself what is what ...

[@desertdogoutdoors1113]

I have been a victim of the backpacking gear game for sure. 2 years ago, I bought a $600 tent that weighed only 1lb. It fell apart on a 3-day backcountry fishing trip to the Golden Trout Wilderness. I went back to my trusty old Tarptent Stratosphire that I bought for $200, even though it weighs 2.5Lbs. Backpacking and hunting is the WORST when it comes to consumerism.

[@jamesmooney5348]

Yo dog, Ewes didn't even mention Rambo's survival knife .... cant even count how many times that saved my neck out in da big woulds.....

[@drchilapastrosodrlasmacas438]

I have a Scottish dagger dirk and it's double edged. It works for cutting up veg, skinning and stabbing 😂 it's Scottish Rambo knife 😂

[@toms_dayoff]

👏👏👏👏👏👏 Six times clapping hands, my highest grade that I give for outstanding videos.

[@sle2721]

Haha, you just saved me $100 on a new ''scandi-full tang-drop point-sharp edge-wooden scale-leather sheath-fero rod bushcraft knife''. 🤣🤣 I also make fire with an axe, newspaper and a BIC lighter ! And I felt a bit alone with my old Opinel ...

[@MikaelREALE-Indeed]

Thank you from France for this great video !

[@gvines]

Great video! I mean really great job! Can’t wait for your knife video. Also I will like and subscribe. You nailed it!

[@bigb0r3]

Humorous. I've done some camping and never batoned wood either, but I wanted to try it. Thanks for talking me out of it.

[@PassivePortfolios]

Yes. How about survival in a city with limited resources. That is more realistic.

[@drchilapastrosodrlasmacas438]

That's what I do. I became homeless a year ago (gangs tried to get me) and it's been easy. First, the gangs tried stalking me. I went to the woods, turned into guillue suit Rambo during the climax of first blood, they soon gave up and I was dubbed the wizard of the woods. I levitate when I sleep, turn invisible, fly and can move without making noises. It's all because I am native American and my family taught me well. And I'm in the city. A coyote, basically

[@sunday2474]

"Bushcraft Hipsters" made my day 🤣

[@vrolsh]

He didn't even mention the destruction of knives doing the 'torture tests'. Like what idiot needs to see if a knife batons through nails and stones before he can buy a knife.

[@cristianfuentes69]

I totally share your point of view, we are immersed in Marketing, I was able to prove it with the company Esee and its model 4, which I compared with a fake (the fake outperformed the original edge to edge) ... Jeff Randall responded telling me to do stronger tests of the leverage type and I replied that my channel reviews and tests knives, not levers. End of discussion. Excellent work exposing the stupidity of Bushcraft in regards to Batoning ... cordial greetings from Chile

[@swkohnle08]

Excellent review of "bush crafting". I love 1095 steel for my hunting knives and find that a small hatchet works best for me to process wood. As a hunter, fisherman, and hiker, camper, I have never tried using my 1095 hunting knife for processing wood. It seems all the "bush crafter" videos are about selling gear. Really enjoyed your videos.

[@gordonsmith4039]

When i go bushcrafting, i firmly believe in caloric retention. Thusly, my trusty Stihl chainsaw comes in damned handy, as does my log splitter for firewood. Knives are for cutting steak, and, if I'm roughing it, unsliced bacon.

[@shadowcastre]

Bushcraft is: Crafting the things you need from the landscape. No more, no less and especially not the garbage that its thought to be.