Greetings from Finland with bruised hands
As I am writing this, my hands are all bruised up from attempting to start an ember with a hand drill. I never imagined I would be able to do it, but I got smoke! I will have to stop trying for now until my hands are feeling better. In the mean time, I am researching materials for a bowstring for a fire drill.
I have always been a fascinated by the way that we make tools from other tools, and how it all get started. It is amazing how we got all the way from stone tools to artificial intelligence by making tools to make tools to make more and more advanced tools. From that line of thinking, I have a bit of a purist point of view in bushcraft, so I suppose I am more interested in using primitive technology than in practical survival. That is, I want to use less advanced tools to make more a advanced tools. I prefer materials that are easy to acquire in my immediate surroundings. Even though sedimentary and metamorphic rock is hard to find in Finland, I would not like to use flint imported from Great Britain or Belgium, and I am not prepared to take down a moose just to make a gut bowstring. We have lots of stinging nettles, so I will probably go after those next for making a functional bow drill.
Why do I keep seeing modern knifes in those [strikethrough]bushcraft[/strikethrough] primitive technology demonstrations on YouTube? I guess I'll just have to learn to be a more tolerant person. I am happy to join and excited to learn from your experiences. :)
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BTW proper recognition and respect to you folks who simply love to be outdoors as much as possible, regardless of technological philosophy. I really do admire your attitude. :)
