never thought that knife making could be so trashy.

Recently my personal need for steel took another leap, oddly this time it was into the junk heap! It happened while we were filming a video about primitive knife making with two of the leaders of the Neo-Tribal Metalsmiths, Tai Goo and Tim Lively. What I learned from them about the process of converting junk into not only serviceable but beautiful, durable and functional blades, made me rethink a lot of what I have held as gospel for years. I also yearned to try to use their primitive metalsmithing techniques under wilderness survival conditions. I should say that I think most knife collectors have seen or used blades made by Uncle Jasper who created knives from old files or busted saws. Some of us even own a few of these ancestral blades. Most of these old blades were created by stock removal methods, grinding away anything that doesnt look like a knife. The Neo-Tribal folk on the other hand rely primarily on forging techniques...heating and then hammering the old steel into shape. They then harden and temper the resulting blade using a variety of methodologies. What I learned from the Neo-tribal masters seemed like something that could be accomplished under field conditions. Mid June Y2K my wife Karen, Rob Simonich and myself led a gang of 12 wilderness folks into the River of No Return Wilderness of central Idaho. The participants carried every conceivable make and model of modern blade but for the first time I left behind all of my modern cutlery and carried only my primitive hand forged Lively and Tai Goo blades. Made of truck springs, the hardening and tempering on these blades had been performed with transmission oil, vegetable oil, barbecues and red-hot tongs. (Their construction can be seen in our primitive knifemaking video.) The blades look primitive by modern standards but then they should, after all, they were hammered into shape in a few hours with less than 3% stock removal! One of the objectives of the trip was to see if we could apply the techniques of the NeoTribal metalsmiths as shown in the video, to the field, using only natural and manmade materials we found in our travels and the materials we carried in our survival kits. I made one concession to the process... We brought along a fencing tool. Whats a fencing tool? It goes by a variety of names but out here it is a multipurpose

tool incorporating a hammer, pliers, nail lifter, wire cutter and if used correctly, a can opener. It is probably the ancestor of all multipurpose tools as variations of this tool have been around since before the prairies were fenced. I was confident that we would be able to locate plenty of material for use in a camp built forge. Ive learned over many years of wilderness teaching and trekking that some people act like pigs when they head for the woods. When they are finished with something these two-legged trash trucks would rather toss it aside than carry it back out. Our plan depended on locating old hunting camps and the junk left behind by the human dump trucks. Find them we did. We identified four steps in the wilderness metalsmithing process; 1) Locate and transport materials to the worksite 2) Construct a charcoal kiln. 3) Construct a bellows and forge. 4) Test the forge and make something Step one: Locate and transport materials to the worksite. Three days into the trip I sent the Tractors (Our motto for the group... We eat more dirt than a tractor) off on a daylong gathering expedition. Within 6 hours we had collected the bottom third of a 30 gallon drum, two 1 Gallon Coleman fuel cans, one empty propane cylinder, two fiberglass ribs, a pair of rotted fatigues, two elk leg bones, some cans, four large steel spikes, a handful of smaller ten penny nails, a steel rod, a horseshoe, some wire and some other bits and pieces. We had a veritable treasure trove of materials to work with... Step two: Construct a charcoal kiln. Charcoal is virtually essential to a wood-fired primitive forge. While forging temperatures can be reached with hard wood fires and a good bellows, we had only Ponderosa and Lodgepole pine, woods that are too soft to get the really hot fire we needed. Our first objective was to create a charcoal kiln with the 30-gallon drum. To do this, our initial step required a trench over which we would set the drum. We used our .45 ACP drills to ventilate the bottom of the drum. With the drum thusly ventilated and placed over the trench we should be able to get a good air draw into the drum from the bottom and the wood should char quickly. Ideally, after the wood was reduced to red-hot embers we would close off air to the bottom of the drum, cover the embers with dirt and douse the fire with water. In the morning we would have our charcoal. As the kiln fire burned and the hair on my legs started to char I realized how hot the coals were getting so, in the interests of science, we tossed in the rusty horseshoe. In a short while it was red-hot but not the cherry, non-magnetic, hot we needed for forging. Still, by using a stout piece of Lodgepole pine as a cudgel it was hot enough for us to beat the steel into a straight piece of metal suitable for use as a spear tip. Just for the heck of it Rob Simonich battered one of his Nordooh blades through the red-hot steel with the heavy wooden club. I should add that by doing so he violated the warranty in his own blade. The blade survived as a mildly serrated Nordooh. No one else was willing to offer a blade to the gods of fire and steel. Step three: Construct a bellows and Forge. Airflow is crucial to a forge. Air, fuel and fire create heat and we needed lots of air to make our camp-made charcoal into a viable heat generator. The closer we got to fission

the happier we would be. One of our members, Ray, came up with the ideal solution. Using a heavy-duty trash bag and a flexible fiberglass rib found at a hunters camp, he made a huge bellows. Attached to the bottom of the bag and held in place with junk wire was a hollow Elk leg bone. That bone was connected in turn to a piece of the fatigue pants leg and then to another piece of bone. The pants leg gave us a flexible connection between the two pieces of bone pipe and acted incidentally as a valve to restrict airflow from the fire back into the bellows. The resulting bellows blew so hard it put a smile on everyones face. Our initial use for the bellows involved the charcoal kiln where the additional air helped to speed the charring process.

The forge didnt need to be large for our purposes. We were planning to test the theory and application of a technique seen in our video but this time in a wilderness setting. Our forge was made of one of the old Coleman cans with one side removed. The pour spout became the air inlet and the interior was lined with mud taken from a nearby stream. To make our fire mud Eric, our forge meister, collected mud, mixed it with wood ashes from our fire and added dried sedge grass to give it strength. After forming, the resulting forge box was dried in the sun. One of the old beer cans was sliced open and rolled into a tube to function as a Tuyere (Pronounced TWEER... an air inlet for a forge or blast furnace) and inserted through the fuel can pour spout. Ray connected the bone bellows outlet pipe to the Tuyere tube and we had our forge. Step Four: Test the forge and make something. The group accomplished all of the steps above in a single day. The following day we would test the assembly and the overnight rest would give the mud some time to cure. We started a fire in the little forge the next morning and there was a short cheer when the first rush of air came blasting into the forge chamber. The bellows worked like a charm and the homemade charcoal glowed a ferocious white/red when the air growled into the hot coals. First into the fire was one of the 10 penny nails. Five minutes after hitting the heat and with a piece of granite as an anvil I had finished shaping and hardening a primitive paddle drill. Nothing sophisticated here. I heated the nail till it was cherry red then smashed the tip flat with the hammer on the fencing tool. I sharpened the edges with a smooth stone then reheated the nail and plunged it into cold water to harden (quench) the steel. The drill made clean little holes easily. The first tool was finished. Later this nail

drill was used to make holes in bone buttons, lanyard holes in wooden spoons and for many other tasks. Next we heated one of the large steel spikes. With roughly a inch diameter we figured it would make a fine chisel. It was a bit too long so we heated it till it was soft, whacked a couple of dents in it then broke it in half. Several more heats and we had our hammer forged chisel. We stone ground it to shape and then water hardened it. We had made a steel-working tool. Now we could cut other hot steel.

We could have continued the forging process and made knives, tongs or other tools but my point was made. A primitive forge is a do-able project.... Primitive steel knives, tools and weapons can be made in a wilderness setting. Next time Im going to turn the remainder of that steel spike into a spearhead, the heavy bolt will become a knife and the wilderness will hear the dull think of my hammer as it turns trash into goods. Oh! And the Lively and Tai Goo blades... Howd they stack up? I wouldnt hesitate a moment to recommend them to anyone. They may look primitive but their performance, balance and feel is very modern. The primitive appearance is beguiling and grows on you as you understand and appreciate the expert skill of the metalsmiths who made the blades. Now Im gonna go search for grandpas old hammer forged knife... the one he made from a file, I heard tell he never had to sharpen it and it was so sharp he cut all the way back to the 4th century...

The Mini Kit

If you have questions about these kits contact Allen Jensen at ajensen@mail.ida.net A good friend of ours, Allen Jensen, reviewed a number of sources and offered up his version of a couple of nice little and very practical, miniature survival kits. The entire kit contents fit in mint tins or small plastic bags. For more information on survival kit construction take a look at our Woodsmaster Volume 3 Click HERE to see the Becker contest with a variety of new kit designs and the results of

the contest to win the Becker BK-7 Knife. The contest was to see who could make the best use of the pouch on the Knife sheath. You can purchase the mini plastic bags and Ferrocerium firestarter (metal match) in our on-line store.

CONTENTS USED FOR

5 Wind / Waterproof Matches Fire Match Striker Flint Paper, For Matches 1 Metal Match Fire 1 Hacksaw Blade Striker 2 For Metal Match 1 Wire Saw w/ 2 Rings ( Zip Saw) Cutting Wood, Snare, Garrote

2 Cotton & Vaseline Tinder In W.P. Capsules, Fire Starter 1 Button Compass (15mm) Direction Finding 9 feet 550 Parachute Cord Repairs, Fishing, Snares 5 feet Heavy Nylon Cord Repairs, Fishing, Snares 25 feet 10# Monofilament Line Fishing, Sewing, on Vinyl Reel 3 Small Swivels Fishing, Snares 4 Split Shot Sinkers Fishing, Writing 5 Small Brass Safety Pins Repairs, Gigging, + 1 Large S.P. 6 Small Trout Hooks Fishing, Trapping 1 Extra Large Hook Tie to Stick & Use as Gaff 15 feet .025 SS Wire Repairs, Snares 1 Needle & 1 E -Awl Repairs, First Aid 10 feet Nylon Thread Repairs, Fishing, on Vinyl Reel 3 feet Adhesive Tape First-Aid, Repairs 1 Gauze Pad (2 x 2) First-Aid, Fire Starter 1 Band-Aid w/ Antibiotic First-Aid, Fire Starter 1 Disposable Vet Glove Water Carrier 6 Purification Tabs Water Purification 3 sq. ft. Aluminum Foil Cup to Boil Water, Cooking 2 sheets Paper (2 x 3) Rite in the Rain 1 Wood Pencil 1 Writing, Tinder Two Piece Tinned Container Use Inside Cover for Signal Mirror 2 feet Electrical Tape

Seal Case, Repairs ,First-Aid 3 Ranger Bands (Bike Tube) 1 Rubber, Fire Starter, Slingshot We can assume that the first real forge of ancient times was a hole in the ground with a way to draft the fire from below. Of course, the first metalsmiths probably didnt work in iron (black-metal) but rather copper and its alloy, bronze - and so there developed the bronze age. Later came the iron age - and the blacksmith. In order to accomplish their work, the smiths need the metal very hot. Hot metal is much more malleable. Coal and charcoal were the fuels of choice (depending on availability). In order to make the fires hot enough, smiths found that drafting the fire with air (oxygen) from below, the heat could be intensified. During the fourth century AD, a single chamber bellows along with the air valve was developed. During the seventeen century, a second chamber was added to the bellows, creating the Great Bellows. The bellows was used throughout Americas colonial period and beyond. The industrial revolution brought about the blower, an encased fan, which would direct air to the fire in an efficient manner. These blowers were hand cranked but for the larger industrial shops they could be adapted to a plenum (air chamber) and the output controlled by a valve. The drive for these adapted blowers were leather belts, driven by steam engines. In later times, the steam driven belts were replaced by electric motors. Today, there are the very portable propane forges which require no blowers and are used in small shops and by farriers. Some come with ports at each end so long bar stock may be inserted into the forge. A more effective way to setup the propane forge is with two propane tanks. Oxyacetylene and oxygen-propane torches are also used by modern blacksmiths to heat only a very small areas of metal (like bar stock). Then, with twists and reverse twists, effects like the bar just below can be achieved.

This design is hundreds, maybe thousands of years old. It is quite efficient and once you establish a rhythm it is less tiring than you would expect. It is valved so that you get airflow on the push and the pull stroke. Kind of like circular breathing. This is the design sword smiths use for all of their work, including welding during folding. It will supply enough air to heat large cross sections of metal The key is to make everything slide smoothly so that you do not have to overcome friction as well as air pressure. The one shown in the pictures is my portable box. It is not as well made as the one I had in my shop previously. But it will give you the idea. The other one is in storage and very heavy. I made it out of 3/4" lumber core plywood. I just about need help to move it. Here is a 3-D view. It shows you all the elements. The piston, shaft and handle are blue. The flap valves are red and the stop blocks are magenta. The box itself is in green

This view show some important elements. 1) The flap is simply tied with cord at the corners and the cord run through holes in the end and tied off. 2) There is a 3" diameter hole in the box itself and then a smaller gasketed hole in the outside block. This is so at assembly you can adjust the outside block to the right height. You want the shaft to travel in a straight line and not bind as it slides in and out. 3) There is a stop block to keep the piston from hitting the valve. In the drawing I show it set at the bottom but halfway up the side is better. The valve can just be seen in the lower left

Another shot on the other end showing both the upper and lower flap valve

A top view showing the stop block and the piston covered with a cheap bath mat.

So how could this be better. 1) Cut a piece of glass to sit in the bottom of the box for the piston to slide on. 2) Put Formica on the sides and top to help the piston slide. 3) Use something really slick to gasket the piston and the shaft. The Japanese use raccoon fur. The only tricky part is sizing the piston so that when you put the wrap on it seals as it slides but is not too tight. All you need to do now is cut a hole, insert the 2" pipe and seal it with furnace cement or even clay will work. The forge building pictures show this hole clearly.