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]

👌👌👌👌👍👍👍👍🔥🔥🔥🐇🐇🐇🦌🦌🦌🐂🐂🐸🐸🐸

[@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.)

[@paulrevere2379]

Fair enough comment about survival, assuming of course that the person in question had only the intention to visit. There is another kind, quite rare I think (and I reckon they do not tend to make videos) which lives on the fringe of what we call society. These individuals practice a kind of indefinite sustainment/survival where sometimes bushcraft is featured prominently and sometimes scavenging is more readily apparent. There is a substantial amount of overlap with those two things. One of the worst things we can do is to insist that everyone conform to some conventional norm as a way of life. Anyone who does this is a tyrant by definition. Just as freedom of speech means getting to state things that others do not like, freedom of being means the ability to live differently than the social norm and still be a responsible human being. I'm not at all referring to wackos who deny the nature of human biology, but instead to those who embrace a life that is somewhat more primitive, which might even be called living closer to nature.

[@SirPraiseSun]

which includes living there for a certain time, sometimes.

[@WhiteBreadThunder-op6in]

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

[@darb4091]

Nah, it's not overlanding unless you are in a $4000 tent on your roof. 😂

[@paulrevere2379]

​@@darb4091Car camping version of Glamping?

[@alainlefebvre9860]

​@@darb4091😂😂😂

[@DoloresVillatoro-ho5jg]

I can hear the Karens & Kevins screaming; "I can survive in my modded out van that has gas stove & fridge & my flat screen TV with internet router!!!" At least we'll know what they have so when shtf in the cities, we'll know who to pay a surprise visit to in a life or death situation! Up it puppet!!

[@squirrelcovers6340]

💯

[@dinosilone7613]

I thought bushcraft was all about being prepared with the necessary skills to build a fire and make your own wooden spoon and bowl if you find yourself filming out in your backyard and suddenly have an irresistible craving for a bowl of soup…

[@indigowendigo8464]

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

[@DoloresVillatoro-ho5jg]

I prefer to read through books and put those theories to the test out in the woods so that I'll be prepared if the shtf in the city.

[@WR3ND]

I haven't really watched TV for about 25 years. Loony Toons is a better education.

[@tamatoa8261]

Wow finally a video on KZbin about bush crafting that makes sense. I'm not a hunter, bush crafter or survivalist and even I think batoning wood is the dumbest thing. Especially when they baton wood with a folder. Thank you for a dose of reality.

[@lycosa2000]

Call it stupid, call it necessary, makes no difference to me. Life is short. Do what makes you happy. To be honest the same argument can be made about the tacticool crowd. The people that focus on mimicking a ‘Navy Seal’ loadout for long term survival. Does it matter though, really? You mentioned a title that fits perfectly, ‘outdoor enthusiast’. That’s what we all are. Nobody is going into unknown territory and living off the land because there’s so little of it left. We’re going out into woods to have fun. If you want to use a bow drill to start a fire, do that. If you to practice CQB, do that. Float your boat because at least you’re outdoors doing things you love. Bushcraft as a practical skill isn’t necessary. In fact, here in the US, being out in the forest permanently is against the law. I really appreciate the historical walk-through of bushcraft, but the evolution exists because society changed. Corporations ruined homesteading. It rather seems the government had more to do with the evolution of survival skills being turned into weekend activities than anything. That’s a whole other topic though.

[@MikhailProskalov]

Bushcraft and tactic things are just a simple way to be gay

[@sentientprogram9699]

hell yeah

[@Swearengen1980]

Basically what I said. It's not stupid, it's just a hobby for (mostly) city folk. Although I'd argue many of the bushcraft crowd practice because they're also preppers and believe in the potential collapse of society (hard not to look around and see the possibility); they're just fooling themselves if they think these skills make them survivalists. Rednecks will wipe out the weekenders 😂

[@fraglsnitz]

Well said.

[@chrisinf-11b10]

Couldn’t be said any better than this.

[@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".

[@drchilapastrosodrlasmacas438]

Them metro sexual city billies dressing up like lumber jocks with fancy waxed mustaches and tiny expreso cups, talking about roughing it in the woods

[@brocknspectre1221]

I liked log larpers

[@brocknspectre1221]

When I read the title of your video, my immediate response was YES, bushcraft is stupid. It seems like it’s largely for armchair mountain men. I stopped using bushcraft as a search term some time ago, because I tended to get unrealistic or pretentious advice. Liked and subbed👍

[@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.

[@drvoxmentat]

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

[@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

[@vuzereusazureus2245]

Depends on geography/environment, my area machete worth more than axe.

[@Meskarune]

I use a small folding saw. 😂

[@mattjack3983]

I take both. A 24" inch long 2 1/4 pound boy's axe, and a fixed blade tracker knife with 6" blade, 1095 steel. And a folding saw. It's all very easy to carry, weighs practically nothing, and I can accomplish basically any task I need to accomplish. Can't really even remember a time I really "needed" to actually baton firewood.

[@mattjack3983]

​@@MeskaruneFolding saw is perfect and will work for almost anything wood or fire related.

[@scarecrowzero84]

I think Outdoor boys is more realistic. He mixes backpacking with survival skills. He uses axes and saws when needed.

[@OpenAirOutdoors]

I'm happy I checked out this video! Had a few chuckles along the way, thanks. The number one reason I started YouTubing is I wanted to show how it really is in the back country after watching all these "bushcraft" channels teaching how its done. And no I don't beat on knives. I axe my way everywhere 😆. I am 56 with 45 years in the Canadian bush and my most reached for knife when I head out is Buck 110. Keep up the great work✌️

[@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.

[@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

[@WR3ND]

@@BeefT-Sq The harm is in thinking it is more relevant and reliable than it really is. Busting up a knife and wasting your energy using it to make kindling isn't an issue when you're not actually needing or wanting to live in the wilderness for long durations or indefinitely. Not many people are paratroopers stuck behind enemy lines with only a knife to survive to try and get out nor wackos shooting up police stations and living on the lamb. It's basically the man version of playing make believe. Just part of our instincts, like cats playing with balls of yarn.

[@mikelundrigan2285]

Very well done and no bs here! Spent a lot of time in the outdoors in my 70 + years hunting, fishing, canoeing, camping and imo, this guy knows what he is talking about! Follow his advice and you won’t go wrong! Nothing fake here!

[@chadcolton528]

I learned “bushcraft” in the Boy Scouts in the 80’s, aka camp craft or simply “making stuff with knives, saws, axes, and lashing.” It’s a way to teach the basics of carpentry, arts, engineering, things that form the basis of civilization. Camp craft skills aren’t stupid, but “bushcraft culture” sure is 👍

[@mx.notyourbusiness8693]

"It’s a way to teach the basics of carpentry, arts, engineering, things that form the basis of civilization. " I love that :)

[@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.

[@_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!

[@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.

[@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

[@alainlefebvre9860]

Shakes*

[@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!

[@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.

[@СмертьРашизму-э5ф]

Mega- irony!😂😂😂😂

[@TheUnhousedWanderer]

You should check out the channel Bushcraft Bullshit. He has videos explaining what's wrong with many of these videos

[@alainlefebvre9860]

​@@TheUnhousedWandererran across his channel last night. He's bang on about all the BS "Bushcraft" channels. Good humour too. 👍

[@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.

[@Swearengen1980]

The edge retention also sucks, so you're stopping to touch up the blade repeatedly. My primary EDC is 28n, but to think that could ever compete with 3V or magnacut for a hunting knife is laughably absurd. It's ok to just say you can't afford a better knife than to pretend it's just as good as clearly superior products.

[@jisley7371]

Of the stainless steels it is indeed extremely high value for the money. Am knife maker. Its only cheap because its used in so many real world industries and is therefore made in high volumes compared to rare delicatessen steels. Its forerunner AEB-L is also excellent with cryo and very tough even at high hardness.

[@sharkfinnigan]

You know after watching this video I kinda started to feel like i had marked out for a lot of this Bush craft stuff and that i had perhaps wasted time and effort developing a lot of the skills that are associated with bushcraft. Then i remembered that I had a lot of fun doing this kind of stuff with my little boy and realized that it might not have really been a waste of time after all. You make some excellent points in your video and this is good content.

[@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. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@Swearengen1980]

Buck knives are generally a bitch to sharpen, so no. 1095 dulls absurdly fast and it's definitely horrendous for skinning game. There's no reason, other than being broke, to not get a skinner and camp knife in 3V or magnacut from a good company. I'm a 'neck, grew up in the woods, do primitive camping, backpacking, hunting, etc and I can easily say that it's made a lot easier with magnacut and 3V. Infinitely better edge retention, still easy to touch up in the woods. It's absolutely worth the price to make the tasks easier if you know the right company to buy from. If you think your budget steel is good enough with the right blade geometry and heat treatment, what do you think it's like using magnacut or 3V with those same qualities? Better, the answer is a lot better.

[@mattsweet7918]

@@Swearengen1980Most Buck knives; 110, 112, are currently made of 420HC stainless steel. My Buck 110, that I got back in the late 70’s is made of 440C SS. I can sharpen my 110 to a razor’s edge in about 5 minutes with an EZ Lap Diamond rod and my grandfather’s ceramic razor stone. I have field dressed many deer with it, including cutting through the brisket, and it was still sharp enough to cut. If you can’t sharpen a Buck you’re not doing it right. Also don’t know where you got the idea that Buck knives were made of 1095 CS. Maybe the cheap Chinese ones are.

[@mattsweet7918]

60 years ago when I was a 10 year old Boy Scout we made many campfires during overnight camp outs, without using a knife or hatchet. Once in a great while we used a hatchet to cut longer dead branches, that we couldn’t break, into shorter lengths. I never heard of batonning wood until I started watching KZbin about 5 years ago.

[@Swearengen1980]

@@mattsweet7918 They are different statements. 1095 was referring to ESEE, which was in the original post. 440 is in fact harder to sharpen than many modern steels was the point. Yes, diamond stones help greatly...30 years ago learning to sharpen, I never even heard of a diamond stone. They sure weren't common. Regardless, you can justify it however you want, that doesn't change the simple fact that 440 and many Buck designs are outdated and inferior to many modern knives.

[@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

[@Swearengen1980]

@@BeefT-Sq Tops is absurdly overrated and overpriced for basic 1095. Not much sense in choosing a Kukri to use as a hatchet when you can just carry a hatchet. A good kukri weighs as (or almost as) much, so you're not really cutting weight. Ultimate the decision to use a kukri vs. hatchet depends on your environment.

[@croakingtoad4472]

60+ outdoorsman here. I never really bought into the modern use of the word "bushcraft". I learned, at my father's side, and the side of what I consider to be true experts in outdoor survival what we called "field craft". It's also the term that was used in the Canadian military, where I also learned "survival craft". Many of the "bushcrafters" and "survival trainers" we see on KZbin today, the so called "influencers" are practicing their craft on private land, (often just a short walk from their vehicle) and not really "wild country" camping/surviving. I learned most of the techniques and skills they talk about before I hit the ripe old age of 17. I didn't learn these by watching a computer screen, or reading a book, but through years of practical application, learnt in the wilds, from men I consider to be of the last generation of real outdoorsmen. Their names are not listed as authors on books because they preferred to teach and do, not talk. They were true mentors, not silly cyber mentors. I've walked away from hunt camps, on what was supposed to be a "day hike/hunt" only to shelter in place because the light dropped faster than I anticipated and it was safer to hunker in and wait til dawn. (BTW we're talking November in Ontario's near north with overnight temperatures around 10 to 14F . Even on those basic "walkabouts" I was eqipeed. I had my firearm, daypack, my small hatchet, folding saw, hunting knife, pocket knife, compass and map with me (ALWAYS). In my pack was an old military poncho, small first aid kit, a few snacks, canteen of water, small thermos with coffee, small hank of paracord, and a few fire starting tools. I never once used my knife to baton wood for firewood processing. I live up north where Birch are aplenty, so I never made feather sticks, and although I've know how to use a flint and steel since my adolescent days in scouting, my trusty zippo and its Bic backup (used to smoke back in those days) was almost exclusively used to start up a bundle of birch bark for fire. Even though building a poncho hooch, field cover (yes including a primitive igloo) was learned from my father, in scouting, cadets, and in the military, I would not consider doing so unless I knew I was really screwed and was going to have to wait several days before rescue arrived. Even then, if possible, I'd opt to walk out, and NOT hunker down for more than a might or two. Here's MY take on the modern day "survival" vs "bushcraft" debate. Pure "survival is about "enduring" the wilds and short term hunkering down for rescue or moving through the bush in a self rescue effort. Modern "bushcraft" is a more basic form of "camping". More about "enjoying" being at one's destination, in the wild, with the intention of remaining in one place for an extended period. From a pure survival aspect, the concept of "staying put and living there for an extended period of time" is misguided as eventually you'll deplete the area of resources, chill the bush (as wildlife adapt to your presence) and have to move on. It's a beautiful fantasy, but not based in reality. Why to do think the indigenous of old were seasonally nomadic in nature? Neither group of practitioners and their focuses are "stupid", just different in nature. There is a lot of crossover skills from each group that can help an avid outdoorsperson survive and thrive if needed. There is "gear hawking", "school/service hawking" and "useless" surplus information (even misinformation) floating around on both sides as well. The pursuit of the almighty dollar, has created a new breed of TV and internet frauds. If any presenter/influencer has a "shopping list" or sales based web site, or plugs a gear sponsor, I immediately start to doubt their intentions, and the validity of the information they are presenting. But that's just jaded old me. Instead of throwing stones at each other, why not just encourage all those who want to wander about in the wilds to learn all they can from each group. Acquiring knowledge is never a waste of time. Here's a final thought. I said earlier, I learned from men who I held up as real experts in field craft. What they passed on to me was not theory, but first hand, practical knowledge, transferred to me while practicing those skills in the bush. Their names will never appear as some random author, user account in some internet forum, or on some KZbin channel". They were men who spent their tome walking the path, not sitting around talking about it.

[@dennisleighton2812]

Excellent post! I agree with what you say. In particular, the concept of "living off the land" in a modern context is fraught with danger and very likely life-threatening. In the days of the "mountain men" or "frontiersman", there were generally far fewer people around, and very many more wild animals than there are today. Generally, these folk had access to some sort of transport (self and goods), like a horse, mule or often a donkey. Thus more equipment-carrying capacity was available, not just a backpack. Also, these days access to tools, equipment etc is far simpler, and often cheaper. One can therefore equip oneself (as you describe above) quite easily and be in a much better position to "survive" and get back to civilisation. I liked your approach, which is very practical yet simple enough. Cheers mate!

[@PhilCherry3]

Excellent points! I also grew up in a rural setting with people whose knowledge of the woods traced back generations. My brothers and I learned from our grandparents, great aunts and great uncles and their peers. What all of these elders instilled in us was a comfort with the nature around us as well as a respect for that nature and the creatures that inhabited our environment. We regularly trekked into the deep woods for both hunting and the sheer joy of exploration. We did not carry a lot of gear. But we knew how to use what we had to its fullest potential. We did not carry tarps but we knew which trees gave the best rain coverage and we copied the methods of sheltering we saw with farm animals. If we needed to build a fire we didn’t play around with fancy friction-fire techniques. We pulled out our lighters or matches and quickly found whatever natural material would burn. We used axes and hatchets for “real chopping/cutting and knives for light cutting and game processing. The 10-year old stock butcher knife was just as respected as a fancy Bowie knife or high-grade folding knife. We did not romanticized rustic or subsistence living; but saw it for what it really is-various levels of hardship/discomfort softened by whatever niceties the family could bring to the situation! Because of this I recognize bush crafting for what it is; namely cos-play by people who can readily go back to the comforts of middle class living whenever they choose!

[@croakingtoad4472]

@PhilCherry3 I wouldn't classify bushcrafters and bushcrafting as cosplayers and cosplay. Most of the base skills they've learned and practice are valuable skills. Where I sometimes discount the practioners is when the stage a video for a KZbin channel that is not entirely forthright when telling about setting their stage. When they give the impression that they are a day's walk back in the wilds, while only an hours walk from the parking lot, they are being disingenuous. When they spent 20 minutes prepping starters and starting a basic fire, instead of 5 mins with a lighter, all for "content," they are being disingenuous. For example, many European bushcrafter go out into the bush for a weekender, and don't talk about food and camp security and potential predator interaction. They can do this because many European countries have hunted their big predators to extinction. A North American apprentice might look at those videos and think that they don't have to police their camp, bear proof their food and supplies, and inadvertently put themselves at unnecessary risk. By the same extent, "survivalist" in the bush channels talk way too much about SHTF scenarios, OPSec, and militaristicsty, behavior, most of which have little to do with pure bush survival. I would not call those guys cosplayers, cosplayers either just coming at bushskills from their unique perspective. Basically, I appreciate both sides' knowledge transfer videos but prefer to leave the hype out of it.

[@croakingtoad4472]

@dennisleighton2812 about five generations ago, tough men and women ventured into an untamed frontier. Most did so with little experience and foreknowledge, but they were tough-minded, physically strong, adaptable, and driven by a spirit following generations seemed to have lost. While they had all those attributes, they were also somewhat equipped. Most also had guides who knew how to live in the bush and survive. Those skills and confidence is what we need to teach and leave the hype out of it.

[@PhilCherry3]

@ I’ve also participated in a few bush craft gatherings. While attending these events I’ve oftentimes seen behaviors & approaches to outdoor life that left me torn between appreciation for anachronistic methodologies to outdoor living and bewilderment about the earnestness with which some people presented solutions/approaches/techniques that would quickly endanger a person if used in real life situations. For example the same person who can show master flint knapping proficiency will also go barefoot through the woods & sleep on just a tarp under a lean-to in tick & snake infested areas. Then the person is shocked they get Lyme disease. In another example, Bushcraft diehards may demand “materials authenticity” for shelter building and spend precious time building structures out of wood, dirt, felled logs, leaves etc. while making zero efforts to learn how to quickly build shelter out of a plain tarp & cordage. So in their education sessions they are really demonstrating how to increase one’s risk of adverse effects from unnecessary exposure in severe weather situations. I believe Bushcrafting teaches & helps recover useful skills & knowledge about outdoor living. But just like so many other things in American life, the zealots take things too far and create nearly comical distortions of what bushcrafting is all about.

[@dennisthompson9420]

This has to be the best video I have ever watched on the historical and proper use of a knife. Great job for sure. Thanks for opening a lot of people's eyes.

[@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.

[@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.

[@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 😂

[@vinceb4380]

@@JonathanMacleod-s8k If you know the Post Code you can order Pizza!🍕😱

[@ob1856]

Most people just want to decompress and get outside, so elaborate plush camping seems like an entertaining and relaxing pastime. That said, buying sausages from the store instead of getting a hunting slot, butchering your kill, and processing it into sausage seems like an okay substitute for non-hunters.

[@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

[@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?

[@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.

[@renemosca4285]

@@christopherhill1678 coward? We all have opinions, we do not often share. Why would you call me a coward about such things? Surely you are not one of those "experts" that likes to fight to impress his girlfriend/boyfriend? Peace be with you.

[@renemosca4285]

@christopherhill1678 You started by calling me a coward. Not the most fruitful way to start a conversation. When I said someone had the guts . It's a figure of speech. One who dares to break with the norm. Your insult is very telling. You like to judge. I'm not engaging. Happy New Year

[@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.

[@Swearengen1980]

People should listen to rednecks and hunters more. The dumbest thing I've seen is a big YT guy (who does have amazing knowledge and skill) that has his own line of knives. All 1095 and every single model is scandi. What moron would choose a scandi for a skinner? A 1095 scandi is possible the worst combination to choose for a skinner that could possible exist beyond plastic. Scandi - Excellent at carving up wood, poor at literally everything else. I don't begrudge someone a 3"-4" scandi to sit around the campfire and whittle to pass the time, but to pretend it's a good survival option is absurd. The only non-flat grind blade I have is a Reiff F6 3V, which is a saber.

[@ChrisvilleUSA]

Its not stupid. But its not necessary. We did all this growing up in the woods. Bushcraft is the selling point. I don't need 90% of bushcraft junk. Survival isnt fun, but bushcrafting is. Thats the difference.

[@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’.

[@gregwhit4032]

Stouts, porters and hefe are the best in my opinion

[@polandsilver3419]

The biggest scam in my opinion is making elaborate sheleters without looking for dry tree branches above that can fall, with complete lack of knowledge how to spot an animal path, or assay if certain terrain will flood ;)

[@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.

[@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.

[@artinfluence]

@@timber4560 judging a television character's character....you should grow up

[@timber4560]

@@artinfluence I generally agree Art. In this instance I have met and talked with multiple people that have been instructors at Dave’s school and have known him personally for years. FWIW I actually loved his Character on tv.

[@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.

[@nevercommentnotevenonce9334]

Gross

[@Lunarpreparedness]

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

[@polandsilver3419]

The biggest scam is making complicated sheleters without knowledge how to spot a natural animal path, looking for half-dead tree branch above or assay how easily would a tarrain flood :)

[@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

[@bangalorebobbel]

Very well explained. I think a lot of this knife mania has also very much to do with the kit mania - means, from a military survival kit point of view one wanted to have a kit as small as possible yet as useful as possible, and there was clearly no way to add a hatchet. So the use of a knife was automatically coming into focus, and it swapped over from the survival to the bushcraft movement. These modern bushcraft and survival (even funny to have this as a common term which included totally different things as you perfectly explained) trends focus on knives which you can use during a weekend (and nobody has more than a weekend at a time to practise that hobby) without sharpening, and many focus also on kits (which contain whatever you want as long as there is a ferrorod, paracord and a fishing hook inside), and at the end everything turns around making money selling that stuff online to amateurs who are under the illusion to be professionals after having binge watched youtube videos. ah, almost forgot, there is also a focus on stoves - usually folding stoves or such which have to be ikea-assembled when it is about bushcraft, and jet gas systems when it is about hiking. And one more about LED torches which are according to the marketing gurus as better as more lumens they can produce for 20 seconds before shutting down automatically due to overheating to a more realistic and useful 200 lumens output ... Yet I see all of that very relaxed. Many people living in modern cities or their suburbs love to go out and have kind of a weekend adventure, whatever that might be, and that is absolutely ok. In former time it was fishing, now it is sitting anywhere in a forest and practising cutting wood even if there are perfectly right sized sticks laying around which do not need even a bit of processing. I always laugh when I see these videos, I feel it is very funny. In real life there is almost nobody living the livestyle of a bushcrafter 24/7 or 365 days a year, and also all that survival things and prepping etc. is just a time pass and money spending (resp. money making) affair and not anything what has to do with real life. All these bushcraft knives and survival kits and bugout bags and MREs etc. sold make the consumers happy and the producers and influencers rich, and one can basically accept that as ok, as long as nobody is really harmed. Well, and after all that said I just wanted to mention, that there are huge regions on our planet where neither fancy knives nor hatchets or machetes are used to process firewood and to perform plenty of tasks during work in fields and forests, but other tools like parangs, khukuris or billhooks. I love especially billhooks which are IMHO maybe the best tool for a lot of tasks, but that is a mere personal preference which I share with actually at least 1,4 billion people here around ... and more than 2000 years of history of using these tools also in Western culture, before they got there widely forgotten.

[@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!

[@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.

[@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.

[@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.”

[@WutangPham]

I agree, everyone wants a knife that they can hammer through a log. Those types of knives don’t cut!

[@paulrevere2379]

One of the few I respect makes it clear that it is primarily a hobby. Lots of hobbies out there, so why not have one that compliments other hobbies like hiking and camping.

[@Swearengen1980]

@@WutangPham While I don't baton, you would be wrong. There are absolutely some knives that can baton and still slice nicely afterwards. They'll be made of 3V or magnacut and they'll cost you $350-$400 though and only some companies get it right. To the OP's comment though, big knives are not good skinners. You need room to maneuver. These days I typically use a blade around 3", although for larger game and doing the full hide, my favorite is MKC's Stonewall Skinner in magnacut. Easiest skinning job ever.

[@WutangPham]

@@Swearengen1980 Im not talking about a knifes ability to retain an edge after use. Im talking about the blade geometry affecting how well the blade slices. A thinner blade with a high grind and a thin edge will cut better than a thick knife with a low grind and a thick edge. The characteristics that makes a knife durable for batonning makes the knife bad at cutting. It doesnt matter what the steel is. the montana knife blade you mentioned is thin in blade stock, a full flat grind, and a thin edge profile.

[@Swearengen1980]

@@WutangPham I know what you meant and my point is that if all things are equal, steel does make a difference. People (usually broke ones) try to say magnacut is an overpriced waste of money and that any steel is just as good and throw out the "proper blade geometry". Well these $300-$400 knives clearly have proper blade geometry. It's an irrelevant point that relies on an assertion that these companies that use "super steels" don't know how to do blade geometry to justify their statement and it's simply absurd.

[@gvines]

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

[@h8uall66]

I've watched a lot of bushcraft videos and this is probably the most informative one I've ever seen. And you're largely being critical of the whole idea of bushcraft, lol! Amazing stuff, well done.

[@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!

[@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

[@glos7569]

Saws are actually much more efficient for cutting larger firewood than hatchets

[@SirPraiseSun]

@@glos7569 it all depends if you need a machete and a chopper and dont wanna carry 50 tools a sharp throwing/chopping hatchet can do both and maybe a folding saw to compliment it, stop making absolute statements depends what size wood you need to process.

[@SirPraiseSun]

@@darb4091 at what? what about chopping twigs and bushes you wanna carry a saw over a hatchet or a machete?

[@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.?

[@rayleewayne9109]

@@desertdogoutdoors1113 Yeah, we always just gathered up downed wood to make a fire. Then, we laid longer, larger lengths across the fire to burn them into 2 sections. Didn't need to use any steel tools at all to do that. I watch these Bush-crap videos & wonder how in hell these tenderfoot types would actually manage to survive in the wild during SHF. These Bush-crap vids are indeed dangerous. They're teaching people not how to survive, but how to perish. If you're out there in the wild for an extended period of time, you need to take very good care of what tools you have. And here these clowns are damaging their most valuable bits of kit. Darwin award material.

[@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

[@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.

[@threeriversforge1997]

This is one reason why I recommend the Ashley Book of Knots. Too many people have gotten away from the "crafting" part when that's actually the most important. Even if it's something as oddball as making a copper funnel to fill your hurricane lanterns, being able to make simple things on your own is an essential part of getting around in the woods. Just saw a video where a guy made a wood pack frame and canvas bag for it. Wonderful stuff, even if he did use machine sewing and such, because it demonstrated an old way of being relatively self-reliant. That gear will be prized more and more as the patina of the years builds up - every stain and tear a memory.

[@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

[@tianikane3312]

We only had to watch Bear Grylls once to know he was full of it.

[@got2kittys]

Some of Bear Grylls show sets, not only a nightly hotel, but ordering pizzas and other things.

[@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.

[@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.

[@tianikane3312]

In a word, yup!

[@Swearengen1980]

Well duh, most of them are grifters. But if you see someone who builds a log structure, it is on their land they're going back to use it regularly. It's a camp that's put to use. It's not like they chop down a bunch of trees, build a lean-to or whatever, then abandon it after an afternoon. It's just an illustration of long term survival, especially since most of those people live where it'll eventually snow on you and your tarp isn't keeping you warm. I think you just wanted to go on some tree hugging environmentalist rant and didn't exhibit one once of critical thinking skills or see more than 3 minutes of an episode to have full context.

[@TheRichtaber]

@ yeah, with my Masters degree in Forestry,and a Game of Logging graduate, and owner of several chainsaws, a sawmill, and firewood user, I’m a real tree hugger!

[@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...

[@nathanjames7030]

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

[@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.

[@greywindLOSP]

Sir, I thank you for your time and dedication! Well done sir, well done......ATB

[@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.

[@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.

[@WutangPham]

I completely agree. Belt knife should be for slicing and all your whittling should be done with a jack knife.

[@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.

[@DrewBoswell]

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

[@Englishman-Abroad]

I’ve never found a knife that stays sharp after cutting 100 tomatoes so good luck with chopping wood. Also, take a lighter out with you - the SAS do.

[@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. 👍

[@4ager505]

I've watched a lot of these bushcrap "influencers"...my overall opinion...how can they make such a big operation out of something as simple a starting a fire? Proper size firewood grows on sides of trees, so does kindling and tender, all can be gathered without tools. Wood too long for handy use? Break it on a rock, or over another log, or against the ground. Get on with it! Oh, and pick up some of those smaller downed logs you keep walking over, bring 'em back to camp, and I'll show you how to get good use out of 'em.

[@bakters]

I very rarely even try to break big logs. I just feed them to the fire as they burn down. With that said, a modern folding saw can come handy if you need those perfectly sized logs.

[@jimbusmaximus4624]

When someone says Bushcraft I think about primitive shelters, crafting a long-bow, how to process plants for fish and bird traps etc. I wouldn't call gathering firewood "Bushcraft."

[@bakters]

@@jimbusmaximus4624 Longbow survival is also a fantasy, though. Yes, people used to be able to do it, but those were different people in a different environment. It seems, that most of us can't even survive for long term primarily on lean meat, not even talking about being able to harvest enough of it throughout the year, especially with a longbow. From this point of view, being able to build some sort of a shelter and start a fire might actually come handy in our reality, and it gets people into the woods, Not too bad overall. As long as they do not teach stupid stuff that does not even work! Go out with the tools, practice with them, don't be silly, have a backup plan. And a backup plan for that.

[@sosteve9113]

The one that died recently is a fellow countryman of mine

[@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.

[@petrotmyrcz308]

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

[@Doomgel]

It seems these days most "bushcraft influencers" are just salesmen for outdoor equipment of various qualities.

[@jimstratford4577]

I thought I was doing something wrong because I never have baton wood or made feathers stick in my 45 years of making fires. I appreciate your dose of reality in assuring me I am not the only one

[@paulrevere2379]

A person gets sick and by virture of knowing folk remedies they are able to make themselves well again. This is a good thing all sensible people would agree. That same person has a brother who eats right, exercises and practices excellent hygeine. That brother never gets sick. It can be argued that this brother is better than the one who got sick. Both of these brothers are exceptional for not having to call a doctor and being chronic dependents on pharmaceuticals. It's good to be the brother who never gets sick, but don't be too hard on the guy who knows how to use the folk remedies.

[@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

[@chris_2413]

Ray mears was always good to watch. Les stroud was also a good resource and neither tried to make things extreme. Just good knowledge and showing it to us in an easy format. I do enjoy Dave Canterbury as well even through all the drama.

[@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.

[@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?

[@cosmicgregg]

This was a good view on this topic imho. I'm an ex knife maker and i cant tell you how many people came to me to make "bushcraft" knives. I used very simple logic and my knowledge of steel to change their minds on what kind of knife they wanted with an axe. Never had any complaints about my view and mostly thanks. Everything gets exploited over time and people forget to keep it simple and keep it safe.

[@Matt-416]

Bushcraft is a valid skill, but not exactly practical. A hatchet is heavier and burns substantially more calories than a quality saw. Not to mention, the illogical weight of many Bushcraft kits. Waxed canvas, tool steel, wool, food etc. Modern options are far superior, especially considering that 99% of bushcraters rarely spend more than 48 hours in the wood line at a time. It's not realistic. A long weekend is far different than an entire season or more. While there is definite value in some of the skills acquired in bushcrafting, it's just not practical in today's environment. We don't have the game numbers, remote areas, nor the inherent skill as they did a century ago. As an avid hunter primary using primitive arms, I can easily say, it's not easy. If your life and/or the life of others depend upon Bushcraft... It's not going to end well.

[@GasolineBoots]

I tuned in thinking i was going to disagree with you. Sadly(but also fortunately) you opened my eyes to the fact that i guess i am a hipster of the woods and the hobby really has been seriously infected with consumerism (like everything else in todays era). But i think you made some excellent points, provided some good history and some good facts. And you have successfully changed the way i look at bushcraft. I appreciate it. You just got yourself a new subscriber.

[@godoit3795]

What the #$!! Is this? Truth on the internet..... amazing! Looking forward to your knife vids.

[@dfdfbseflsd4444]

Well analysed, well presented. Lot of wisdom, like always. Thanks for that.

[@threeriversforge1997]

I've been saying this for years, and folks just don't want to believe it. It's actually one of the reasons why I stopped making knives as folks were abusing the snot out of them and then blaming me for "shoddy craftsmanship" even though I told them that knives were for slicing not pretending they're an axe! Last guy broke one of my blades trying to hammer it through a knot-filled piece of oak. Good 1095 with a soft spine and keen edge. Took me days to make, and I was very proud of it. And pissed when it brought it back ruined! Being something of an historian of the days gone by, it's always been important for me to learn from the people of those days.... and that means shedding my ego and thinking I know better. If Kephart didn't use a knife to split wood, and he was living in the wildlands with gobs more experience than me.... who am I to say that my way is the right way and he just didn't know better? That kind of arrogance really fills the outdoors space, imo. Aside from the Founding Fathers of Bushcraft, I'd add Clifford Ashley as a critical author for every outdoorsman's library. The Ashley Book of Knots is a grand tome full of knowledge that outdoorsmen should familiarize themselves with. And it's a classic example of folks judging a book by its cover as I know quite a few people who have eschewed the book, thinking that they know enough knots to get by! I think too many in the bushcraft and primitive skills circles don't do much. Lots of feather sticks are carved, but not many "try sticks". Lots of wood gets batonned into kindling, but rare is it to find someone who can weave a basket. The gear becomes and umbilical cord back to civilization rather than a key that unlocks the possibilities in wild places. Who do you know that's made a pack frame and hand-sewn a canvas bag for it? Between Kephart, Kochanski, and Ashley, that's entirely possible.... and it takes your experience to an entirely new level. Making your own gear used to be part and parcel with traveling in the woods because stores were expensive. Look at what Nessmuk had and compare it to the tonnage carried by outdoorsmen today. He managed to survive in the wood with wool and canvas, but somehow we need a ton of plastic and store-bought everything, our pockets full of doodads made in china. We've lost something here, and knowing the difference between a knife and an axe is just the beginning.

[@vinceb4380]

@@threeriversforge1997 Get yourself some more Chinese Doodads before they run out! 🤡

[@filaptv]

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

[@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.

[@Swearengen1980]

@@yakinsea Yeah I'm calling bullshit. Living in Oregon has melted your brain from all the left wing stupidity. First, I'm calling bullshit that you counted all the rings. Second, I'll point out that you have zero context for any of it. You literally think someone spent what sounds like days or weeks of work to spend just one night in it? Are f'n stupid? That is a massive amount of work and you ignorantly declare that someone did all that "all for one night". FFS, you're a great example of why the rest of the country wishes the entire west coast would drop into the Pacific.

[@fuzzle9392]

@@Swearengen1980 Here, have a tissue, wipe your chin.

[@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.

[@toms_dayoff]

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

[@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 😂❤

[@jimmiv5449]

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

[@HellYeahBigKev]

interesting, in the woods I carry , axe, coldsteel hunter knife and swiss army knife. After years of carrying all manner of big knives and not much else, it's crazy how I've chosen almost the same kit as mentioned in the book.

[@tianikane3312]

Yep, we've had the same swiss army knife for 30 years and it's still going strong. Don't process firewood with it..... Lost the tweezers though dagnabbit.

[@HellYeahBigKev]

@@tianikane3312 the toothpick is the most used tool lololol

[@steverose3318]

As an old school hunter, our outdoor skills were the bare basics to the extended hunting trips. We never even gave our "survival" skills a second thought. We knew what we had to do and we prepared for it. Preparation kept the situation from becoming a survival situation. The hunt was the primary fixation. This guy is 100% correct.

[@AnthSchaef73]

Because of the common sense that you have shared in this video I subbed. Every time I see someone splitting wood with a knife I’m reminded of the old phrase the right tool for the job.

[@2adamast]

It’s more complicated as those bushcrafters probably used felling axes set around 15 degrees

[@StefanBMWTraveller]

wunderbares Video, sehr gut erklärt was da passiert mit modern bushcraft. Ist ein großer kommerzieller Zweig geworden, mit dem spielen im Wald der Influencer Experten. Vielen Dank für das Video 👍👍

[@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.

[@TheLarsPlay]

Now that's a great name for a bushcraft channel! "Larping on logs" love it.

[@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.

[@papajeff5486]

Men playing, “fires and forts”, out in the woods…did it from the age of 6-16. Never used a knife to baton firewood. Never carved a spoon or a kuksa. Learned to start a fire with two matches, without a feather stick. Made lots of different kinds of forts, on e ground and in trees…heh, heh…10 years later came calculators, then computers, then portable phones, then iPads. After I retired from the army came the, “bushcrafting”, grown men playing, “fires and forts”, in the woods. Oh, and then came the fine steels, crapamoly!…thanks for an honest opinion

[@nevercommentnotevenonce9334]

Cool story, gramps. Go to bed now

[@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

[@longrider42]

I have over 60 knives of all shapes and sizes in my collection. And not a single one of them was ever tagged as being a Bushcraft knife. My favorite field knife is my Becker BK16. It can do all the knife tasks I need it to do. As for chopping wood, I carry a Cold Steel Hudson Bay Hawk. I also carry a file, and diamond file for keeping every thing sharp.

[@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 😂

[@jacksutherland846]

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

[@pegasusbridge7282]

Bushcraft influencers scoff at firestarting with matches or lighters. Of course they use the old school native ferro rod, which clearly never existed back in the day. Flint and steel would be more appropriate if modern matches and lighters are to be shunned. Batoning and firestarting seem an obsession on KZbin. Thanks for calling out the stupidity of the industry that woodcraft has sadly evolved into.

[@bakters]

Starting fire with flint and steel was a chancy business, until the invention of gunpowder. Before that, you needed to pack a portable Vestal virgin into your backpack, so she could tend to your fire while you are out of camp batoning trees.

[@Steve-ev6vx]

I grew up hunting and fishing. These guys basically go out camping just to build fires and baton logs. 😂

[@chriskola3822]

I enjoy watching programs like "Alone". Seems as close to "real" as you can get and it is certainly a litmus test for a lot of bushcraft skills. Always interesting to see people try to make things like fish traps that look exactly like what you would see in a survival manual, throw it in a lake expecting that some fish is actually going to swim into it and fail repeatedly. I took a winter survival course when I was younger with Mors Kochanski and did a lot of hiking and camping where I developed a lot of bushcraft skills. Not for the intent of surviving by living off the land (because I know that if it ever came to that it is going to be unbelievably rough out there) but just to make working and recreating in the bush easier. Bushcraft isn't "stupid" although a lot of what you see on tv certainly is. It is a bit of a niche and not super useful (day to day for most people) set of skills though.