Bushcraft: How did we acquire it?

[tsitenha]

Where did your bushcraft knowledge come from?
Books?
Fathers?
Grandfathers?
Elders?
Trial and error?
Combination of all??

[DOGMAN]

Combo of all. Mainly practice, practice, practice and lots of repeated use and time in the field. Being taught or learning something is one thing, but truley mastering the skill is another thing.

Also, teaching a skill really helps you master it. As long as you have a little more knowledge than the person your teaching- you can share your skill. Explaining it, demonstrating it and trying to relate it to other activities really makes your brain firmly grasp the skill.

I look at mastery of a skill as, when a situation arises- you can automatically do the skill as if its instinctual or second nature....no thinking- just doing. When you've mastered a skill you can do it in the dark, in the rain, in the snow with frozen fingers, or in stressful situations with no troubles

[pocomoonskyeyes]

Ok My sources were:
Books
Elders (uncles,scoutmasters,and such)
Trial and error (mainly with both of the above sources)


Both my Grandfathers had passed on before I even started school. My parents were divorced about the same time as school starting age,and he lived a couple of states away.

I have to agree with Jason about teaching a skill really Making you master it. You really have to have a good grasp on something if you are going to teach it. In Preparation to teach, you will do more research(if Needed) and more practice as well.

[Rick]

I've had some good mentors. I've picked up a lot from books and the internet. A lot of trial and error. Like everything else, you just have to practice if you want to get it right.

[crashdive123]

All of the above for the knowledge. Use and practice for the skill.

[Old GI]

All of the above plus military for some. Special Forces training will finely hone any abilities you have going in (and then some).

[NightShade]

For me, the initial introduction usually will come from family, friends, books or internet. From there its trial and error, practice, practice, practice to get it right, and get good.
Anything worth doing, is worth doing right.

[finallyME]

Definitely a combo of all. Plus internet mixed with practice. As a scoutmaster, I am constantly trying to make sure someone is learning what I know.

[preachtheWORD]

My dad had a big influence on me. He, in turn, was mentored by his grandfather. I am still learning things from the Old Man, especially in bush medicine. I am teaching him a few things about wild edibles. Both of us learn from books and try it out in the field. Nothing beats practical experience.

I think NightShade summed it up best.

[gryffynklm]

Books (internet sources)
Elders (Friends with similar interest)
Trial and error

I would say that these three would be the main source for acquiring what I have learned. Trial and Error would be a close second to reading and books.

They say "necessity is the mother of invention" or in my case curiosity is the mother of re-invention. Curiosity plays heavily, my interests in reenacting I do a lot of demonstrating, I get asked some great questions and keep them in a note book. The ones I can't answer go to the look up list.

There is never enough time to put into practice the things that I am interested in, like Wild Edibles.

[pocomoonskyeyes]

Karl, Might I suggest the next time you take a stroll in your neighborhood take a wild edible book with you. You might be surprised at what you find.

[rwc1969]

my limited knowledge came from a cry deep within me that that could not be silenced. A cry that wouldn't let me sleep at night. It told me I must get back and learn the ways my forefathers and acknowledge all those before me and the trials and tribulations they've been thru so that I could be here.

I've always, since before I can remember, had a great interest in all things natural, an interest in being at one with nature, an interest in knowing the glory and dangers of nature and understanding her in a very basic way. I learned most of what I know from being in the woods and enjoying nature. The rest is just a refinement of those skills thru internet, books, family, friends, etc. But, if it weren't for that initial and undying cry I would have learned nothing.

[trax]

My big brother, other elders, going out and trying and I've picked up a lot of really cool stuff right here.

[hunter63]

They say "necessity is the mother of invention" or in my case curiosity is the mother of re-invention. Curiosity plays heavily, my interests in reenacting I do a lot of demonstrating, I get asked some great questions and keep them in a note book. The ones I can't answer go to the look up list.

There is never enough time to put into practice the things that I am interested in, like Wild Edibles.

Well said.
You hit upon a major player.
Interest and curiosity have to there first, before anything can help you.

My sources are many and varied: books, elders, mentors, trial and error (lots of error) all play a important part.
But with out the curiosity and interest....
I wonder what would happen if?...
I wonder how they did that?...
I wonder where this goes...?
I wonder where that came from....?
The other parts aren't much use.

10 years ago I would have said, library, and kinda sadly, today the Internet.
It blows my mind to have this much information available at what ever speed your connection happens to be.
At the same time, you can't just be a knowledge "collector"...(I book marked it, so now I'll always have it)
You gotta do it.

I did agree with the Apocalypse Man heading for the library......Lots of stuff there.
I kinda miss going, but I guess I'm spoiled in not being able to get instant results.....
Picking thru the card catalog, (now like the search engine from he[[) then finding your book in the vast array of stacks, then finding out it's been checked out, aaaay!!!

[Batch]

Combination of all. But, I definitely ask more questions than I get answered. I read a lot books, magazines and articles online. I google all kinds of stuff as well.

[gryffynklm]

The result of not getting answers and looking for them.

The question: What did a printing press in the 16th century look like and how did it work?

In researching this subject I learned some blacksmithing, paper making, book binding and timber framing.

The bushcraft was side topics like Black smith to early medical instruments to Barber surgery to herbal remedies. Printing to book binding to paper making to fibrous plants twined to make cordage. Timber framing to log buildings to primitive shelter building. From the root subject there was on occasion some cool distractions that i find myself returning to.

Here is the result of curiosity and a good bit of trial and error. A 16th century printing press.

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[hunter63]

The result of not getting answers and looking for them.

The question: What did a printing press in the 16th century look like and how did it work?

In researching this subject I learned some blacksmithing, paper making, book binding and timber framing.

The bushcraft was side topics like Black smith to early medical instruments to Barber surgery to herbal remedies. Printing to book binding to paper making to fibrous plants twined to make cordage. Timber framing to log buildings to primitive shelter building. From the root subject there was on occasion some cool distractions that i find myself returning to.

Here is the result of curiosity and a good bit of trial and error. A 16th century printing press.

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Out standing!

You really hit the thought progression on the head.
Watching Davy Crockett as a kid, to wondering the woods and streams, w/ w/out dad, uncle, to camping in the back yard, lusting after better equipment, (gun, boat), to scouts (kinda structured for me, but hey), to hunting and gathering, (following old lady picking stuff along the road), to making money so as to afford my "hobbies" (hanging out with the old guys at the old railroad guy home on Sat afternoons, listening to their stories, after collection for their paper), and on and on, Whew

Grizz,"Come far, Pilgrim".
Jeremiah, "seems far".


Caution for all those thinking about a muzzleloading rifle, well that was the cheap part........

We do tend to get carried away.
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[Rick]

Karl - Did you make that press?! That is uber cool!! Most folks don't know that the terms upper case and lower case come from where the type actually sat. The larger letters were stored in an upper case and the small letters in a lower case beneath the larger letters.

Now....have you made your own type? And did you create the image you are holding?

That one device has probably changed the world more than any other single item. It changed the way men think.

As I said, uber cool!!


Very nice setup, Hunter. Looks like you two go in style and comfort. By the way, the coffee is perking.

[Ted]

Books, magazines, and lots and lots of practice!

I read every survival book I could find, really frustating how the the same stuff is repeated over and over , I'd say after the first one, you might read ten before getting any new information. Anyone expirience this?

[gryffynklm]

Yes, I built the press over a period of five years. I was was surprised by the cross over information I found while researching blacksmithing and fariers 20 years ago. I found resources on veterinary medicine. And have read, though I can't find the sources now some farriers also treated humans. Here is an article about a 1942 incident on a battle ship that required the ship smith to fabricate a surgical implement.

A seaman on a British destroyer recently suffered a face wound which threatened to leave him grotesquely scarred for life. A surgeon on the battleship Rodney heard about it, remembered that he had once seen famed Plastic Surgeon Sir Harold Gillies demonstrate a technique which might avoid the disfigurement. There was one big hitch: the operation required an unusual surgical instrument known only in a few hospitals. The surgeon drew a rough sketch of the instrument, gave it to blacksmiths from the Rodney's engine rooms. Within 45 minutes (on their third try) the blacksmiths successfully forged the instrument—which looked like a small tire iron—out of a steel rod. The ship's coppersmiths plated it with tin. Two days later the wounded sailor returned unscarred to his destroyer.

A seaman on a British destroyer recently suffered a face wound which threatened to leave him grotesquely scarred for life. A surgeon on the battleship Rodney heard about it, remembered that he had once seen famed Plastic Surgeon Sir Harold Gillies demonstrate a technique which might avoid the disfigurement. There was one big hitch: the operation required an unusual surgical instrument known only in a few hospitals. The surgeon drew a rough sketch of the instrument, gave it to blacksmiths from the Rodney's engine rooms. Within 45 minutes (on their third try) the blacksmiths successfully forged the instrument—which looked like a small tire iron—out of a steel rod. The ship's coppersmiths plated it with tin. Two days later the wounded sailor returned unscarred to his destroyer.

I guess my point is that I some times search on line form a different direction when the direct route gives little answers. Look outside of the box when researching.

The best book I have on printing was printed by some who wrote about blacksmithing Joseph Moxon's "Mechanics Exercises and the whole and complete art of printing" I found it looking up blacksmithing not printing.