Think about it … fifteen minutes from now, you could be writing your own blog. Five simple steps will get you there, and I’ll walk you through them. No technical skills required. I’ve really enjoyed doing my own outdoor blog. I’ve equally enjoyed learning from other blogs. It’s this knowledge-sharing that makes our community so […]| Ramblin' Jim
Ever since the Affordable Care Act passed, my health insurance premium has been climbing faster than a Titan rocket, which should have prepared me for this year’s rate jump. It still managed to catch me off guard. To give a little background, before the Affordable Care Act I paid $423/month to insure a family of […]| Ramblin' Jim
My Grandpa could re-purpose anything. He would take the discarded, broken down trash of the world and shape it back into something not just useful, but so visibly valuable that you’d stop and wonder why anyone would have thrown it out to begin with. I couldn’t help but think of my Grandpa as I started […]| Ramblin' Jim
What’s your favorite blade? A big chopper? A nimble bushcrafter? A small axe? Or maybe you prefer a saw blade to a knife blade? Or a multitool to everything else? In this article, I reveal my favorite blades and wood-processing tools, from small to large. These are the tools that my hand wants to grab, […]| Ramblin' Jim
Wetterlings. Gränsfors Bruk. Hults Bruk. Hultafors. Husqvarna. Somehow Sweden has managed to carve out a place for itself as the world’s preeminent axe maker — hand-forged axes known for their distinctive style and legendary for their balance and quality, pounded into existence in some of the oldest forges on earth. Wetterlings played a major role […]| Ramblin' Jim
Some bushcrafters feel like the Bark River Golok approaches that fictitious Nirvana of a single-tool solution. Whether the Golok deserves that level of praise is up to you to decide. We can safely say, however, that if you’re looking for a lightweight woods tool to fill the gap between your belt knife and your axe, […]| Ramblin' Jim
Drop me in the middle of the wilderness and tell me I can only have one edged tool, I’ll probably grab the Wetterlings Bushcraft Axe. I call my Wetterlings Bushcraft Axe “the little axe that could” because this guy defies his size. I’ve heard this axe referred to as a “rucksack axe” because you could […]| Ramblin' Jim
When I was in South America a few decades ago, I noticed how the men there had no problem using a satchel and it made me a little jealous. I think I grew up with too much echoing around in my head. These days, I’m glad to see that satchels and messenger bags have found […]| Ramblin' Jim
Paracord is popping up everywhere. Once an obscure favorite of the ex-military and survival communities, now 550 cord has even found its way to craft store shelves — a sure sign that it has penetrated every stratum of society. And with popularity comes the buzz: “My brother knows a guy who used 550 cord to […]| Ramblin' Jim
You can’t miss the Bahco Laplander reviews. They’re spread all over the bushcraft forums. That’s what I found a couple of years ago when I decided it was time to get a folding saw. So I dove into the reviews, read nothing but the highest praise imaginable for the Laplander, saw little to no mention about any other saw, and came to the logical conclusion that the Bahco would be the perfect saw for my upcoming hike. I grabbed one off of Amazon, and two days later put it to a 2×4. Here’...| Ramblin' Jim