Saturday, November 22, 2008

My Satchel and my kit

Here is the satchel I have carried everyday for 7 or 8 years now. It is tin cloth, but not Filson. I picked it up from Piragis Northwoods in Ely, MN when I was a Wilderness Ranger there.

















In it I carry:
small belt pouch w/ 6 nails, German army folding knife, magnesium fire starter, p-chord, small note pad & pencil

RX bottle with cotton batton covered in bag balm

Sewing awl

Silva Ranger compass (do you know what the mirror is for?)

Metal water bottle

Large enamel mug w/detachable wire bail

Tea in a flip top glass jar

Large stainless steel screen tea infuse

Bar of mexican chocolate

Carved wooden spoon (black locust)

Small sharpening steel

Mini-mag w/replacement LED head

Scharade vise-grip

2 dogwood fids

Crooked knife (aka hoof knife)

Small ruler

Blank journal w/pencil, mech. eraser, 360 degree protractor

New Testament (you never know how bad it will get!)

A week from now what I carry will probably change, but not by much. Let me know if you have any suggestions, or if you would like to know more about why I carry certain things.

16 comments:

Albert A Rasch said...

Norseman,

Came by your sit via Suburban Bushwacker. Great stuff you have here. I can tell already I'll be perusing your archives. Great work tou are doing, keep it up!

Regards,
Albert A Rasch
The Rasch Outdoor Chronicles

Iowa Woodsman said...

It's about time you posted what you carry around. I think I'm going to have to get one of those curved knives.

Anonymous said...

AAR,
Thanks for your kind comments. I'm glad you like my blog. I've have been enjoying reading yours today.

Barnislavia,
I have been meaning to post on my kit, just haven't gotten around to it yet. The crooked (hoof) knives are dirt cheap at most farm supply stores. I think I'll do a quick post on them.

Iowa Woodsman said...

A farm supply store you say. Very sly. Yes do a post.

Pablo said...

Hi, The mirror is part of the sighting system. You point the sight at the "target" by brigning the compass to eye level, adjust the bevel(reflected in the mirror) so that that the magnetic North needle is in line with the North lines on the bevel and read off the bearing to your target. It saves you losing sight of the target and thereby gives an accurate bearing. Hope this helps.
Great blog by the way. Regards, Pablo.
Pablo's Woodlife

Anonymous said...

Pablo,
Thanks for the comment. I am a regular at you site. How's the ATL?

Actually that is a very common misconception about the mirror. It is actually ther so you can see who is lost...

That is the only compass joke I know and I use it whenever I can.

Pablo said...

Sorry, I've just realised it's like teaching Gran to suck eggs! My apologies.
The ATL is comming along fine. Two weeks until the plaster comes off. Can't wait! Pablo
Pablo's Woodlife

Anonymous said...

Pablo,
I am so glad someone stepped into the joke here.

You'll have to translate for me. What's a Gran?

Pablo said...

Gran, Granny, Grandma, Grandmother.
Pablo
Pablo's Woodlife

Noel said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Noel said...

My stupid question is what have you used the nails for?

Anonymous said...

I use the nails for a variety of tasks. The most common being as a pot stand over either my wax stove, or my alcohol stove. I set the stove on the ground than I push four of the nails into the ground vertically around the stove with the heads just clearing the stove. Once I have the nail heads fairly level I light my stove and place my billy can, or enamel mug on the nails and cook away. A nail can also be put into a inserted into the end of a short section of split sapling and used to drill wood etc. with as a bow drill. Another use is in a leister type fishing spear. To make a short story long, there are tons of uses.

Rabid Outdoorsman said...

NM,
You present some very interesting considerations as I modify my "survival" kit that accompanies me into the woods during hunting season.

I like the fact that in the comments you took the time to explain all the various reasoning behind and functions of the included items.

"New Testament" comment is great . . . much more fitting to a survival situation then that old testament stuff! LOL!

Take Care and Happy New Year!

Anonymous said...

RO,
Glad you like it.

juliecache said...

Thanks for posting your comment on my blog. I will definitely share your kit post with my kids.

Home on the Range said...

I liked that you carried the New Testament. Not to knock the whole book, but the old Testament is much "so and so begat so and so". The New Testament, when you are down to the elements of life remaining, is the heart and soul of what you need to read to move onward and upward.

I am not educated enough in the craft to offer much comment, but I much enjoy reading.