so, slingbadger informed me the other day that i have an article published in backwoodsman magazine.   :o

i sent it in february i think, and i guess they just published it in this issue.  kinda exciting being published and all.. ::)

its an article basically going over the "more you know, the less you carry"  doctrine that i like.  reading it now i realize that i wrote the same thing like ten times with different words, but they used it so i guess its good enough eh?

just thought i would let you guys know in case you are interested...

ps...i have it in PDF...is there a way to upload one to the internet without having a website?  if anyone is interested in reading it, send me your email and i can send it to you as an attached file.

bung me the pdf and I'll host it for you :-)

I'm guessing there are lots of tips on knife sharpening ;-)

hehe nope that's going to be the next article.

i'm thinking about doing one on basic field sharpening in a variety of different methods...

PM enroute

Marc


siguy wrote on Jul 21^st, 2008 at 10:27pm:

so, slingbadger informed me the other day that i have an article published in backwoodsman magazine.   :o i sent it in february i think, and i guess they just published it in this issue.  kinda exciting being published and all.. ::) its an article basically going over the "more you know, the less you carry"  doctrine that i like.  reading it now i realize that i wrote the same thing like ten times with different words, but they used it so i guess its good enough eh? just thought i would let you guys know in case you are interested... ps...i have it in PDF...is there a way to upload one to the internet without having a website?  if anyone is interested in reading it, send me your email and i can send it to you as an attached file.

You just joined the pool of authors, Siguy.

lol yeah welocme to the club.
Mind you after a while you actually want to get paid for getting stuff published. That's the hard bit :-)

They get free subscriptions to the magazine. That's a money saver.

siguy wrote on Jul 22^nd, 2008 at 11:39am:

hehe nope that's going to be the next article. i'm thinking about doing one on basic field sharpening in a variety of different methods...

So might it include items like Viking whetstones? (excuse to post picture  ;D )

http://img92.imageshack.us/img92/9547/vikingwhetstoneswbrownojz0.jpg

Is the article by siguy PDF available yet?

ooooh, pretty. ..... what is the "Viking whetstones" very attractive material .... I'm familiar with the Arkansas (U.S. state)  Whetstone (Noviculite (forms around hot springs from dissolved minerals)) which I've seen in the shades of white to black and some times pink to red.

donald, i don't have any of those (but i aim to get one some day... ::) )
but probably a pocket stone similar to that.

Steven, according to the Ragnar's catalog page http://ragweedforge.com/SharpeningCatalog.html they are made of jasper and I believe that to be correct, but I'm not an expert.

There is also some lighter colored packaging that says found in York, England on it, but here is one shot of packaging that I took to which I have the link.

http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/8051/vikingwhetstones6403sv.jpg

Siguy, right now apparently Ragnar, according to the page linked above, only has less attractive ones left and so has marked them down from $10 to $7. They are very fine grain so one might have mixed feelings about them. With a dull knife they don't seem to do anything, at least not unless one is extraordinarily patient. With a sharp knife that just needs a touch up or the equivalent more or less to a steeling, they work great either to refine or bring up that final edge.

congrats SIGUY
the hiker saying is farther you hike the less you carry any way congrats on the article

speaking of the article - siguy you going to email me the pdf for uploading or what ?

wonder if you can get those stones at the jorvik museum in york ?
Sounds like that's where they were found.

Curious Aardvark wrote on Aug 8^th, 2008 at 6:48am:

wonder if you can get those stones at the jorvik museum in york ? Sounds like that's where they were found.

Well - I think you maybe know the answer ;) For those who havn't seen the site

 http://www.jorvik-viking-centre.co.uk/acatalog/Children_s_Jewellery.html

Yours for 8 (Great) British pounds (Tax included).

Anyone visiting Britain with the slightest interest in archaeology ought to visit York. A lot nicer than London, and the capital city when London was still a swamp ;D.
 http://www.jorvik-viking-centre.co.uk/

C_A, i emailed it to you under the address i found on your webpage, curiousaardvark at something dot net...

maybe it didn't go through?

Wanderer, thanks for the links to the Jorvik Viking Centre.  :)

Here is the other type of packaging for the Viking whetstones. I don't know if they alternate or if this is a later type. I do know that I received this type of packaging on a later order.

http://img329.imageshack.us/img329/1959/vikingwhetstonefoundinyid9.jpg

http://img527.imageshack.us/img527/3352/vikingwhetstonefoundinydb2.jpg

here is the PDF hosted on the web, i realized with Dale's help that i could host it on my own site:

http://www.freewebs.com/sfaknives/Backwoodsman.pdf

Thanks siguy, after enjoying the opening ceremonies of the Olympics, I enjoyed your article!  :)

I don't see your matchsafe in the pictures, although it may be there. I have a small 1/8" x 2" ferrocerium rod covered with black shrink-wrap in mine, which being a bit long and therefore bent over, keeps it from rattling. In the spirit of multiple uses, the shrink-wrap could also supplement tinder as it burns. After learning that Mors Kochanski carries a needle in his, I thought that was a good idea and added an awl needle which is visible, but not obvious, in the picture on the bottom right of the matches. I also have a regular needle with large eye in the same small fragment of cork. I'll probably add a glover's needle now that I finished repairing my old deerskin gloves. A minimalist work in progress. There is a bit of tinder (tinder-quik) in the bottom which serves to cushion the matches. Now underneath the black protective cap which protects the compass, I have two disks of birch bark (all I had that was uniform enough). I intend on taking a stitch in the middle, using them as a small bobbin and wrapping some Kevlar thread or Spectra fishing line around them. Meanwhile if scraped they will take a spark and/or act as tinder.

http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/9657/saksalkmpelicancr640zu4.jpg

Nice article,siguy.
Myself, I alveys try to pack as minimalistic as possible.  But even if I make weeding-out-improvements each time I pack, I end up carrying a bit to much. There is a few things that must come along, just in case.
Small axe=tradition.  8`` same knife=an different tradition. Whitling knife+ folder.  Flashlite(s). Extra batterys.  LOTS of thin rope, for tarp lean-to, securing dog, etc.  Tent, only if wife come along.  Guess who must carry it :)  Myself, I prefer stars above me, if possible.

Add a picture of my son, early in the morning.  Glimpse of my wife.
Please enjoy my creative use of dry sticks :D
timann

---

Another thing, siguy.  The knife sharpening thing. Does people send in knives?  Will they have it done for free?  In my part of the woods, I am the knife sharpener, and recently my mother convinced a neighbor wife/family friend, to let me sharpen 3 kitchen knives for her.  She loved being able to cut  tomatoes instead of squishing them.  But in the end she sendt over her daughter with 3 islandic licorice-scholate bars, she felt she HAD to pay something.  
I told her of my new 2-for-1 policy, that this was pay for 3 more knives,too :)
timann

nice article.
I agree with this being i have been living outof a ultra light back pack the last four monthslol

liquorice chocolate ?
What's that like I love both liquorice and chcocolate :-)

Tell you what C_A, it is a great combination.  Taste, flawor, everything...aaaah( btw, thanks for the bbq pics ;D)
Some flat, small things exist here in norway, too,but as told, these bigger ones was brought home from knife owner from Iceland, she gave me the knives, and left for a weeks wacation.  Later she felt that obligation to give me some...
timann

donald, good looking mini kit there.  i think in those photos i left the matchsafe in my pocket by accident... ::)  i have switched to a lighter for every day carry, but i always pack some matches and a ferro rod in my pack for backup.  also, i think its easier to start a fire with a match than a lighter, since you can poke the match in there without sticking your whole hand in the tinder bundle.

in my bag i carry a small zipper pouch that i got from someone (he told me it came from a little sanitary travel kit) with a pencil stick refill container with some needles and a spool of heavy upholstery thread...has come in handy more than once!  also a small pair of  needle nose pliers, a roll of athletic tape, and a tube of super glue make up my repair and first aid kits.

lobo, good to hear the trip is coming well.  curious to know what your sleeping setup is (tent, tarp, bivvy bag?)...

timann, i also often end up carrying a bit too much...last hike it was too much water.  it was justified in my case though since i didn't know how long the hike was and i wanted to be ready for everything...so i carried 2 litres and drank 1/4 of a litre on the whole hike...i would have been glad to have it on a hotter, drier day though.

about sharpening, you can visit my site to see what i charge...but for people that come over to visit i tell them to bring their knives and i sharpen them up for them for free, since they are usually my friends and i enjoy it.
http://www.freewebs.com/sfaknives/

thanks for the kind comments everyone!