So today, I had the day off. I decided to go out and do my first hike of this New Year 2016. I decided to hike the Coon Creek Trail, which is a favorite of mine. It is not too far from home, but is also a trail I spent a good part of Summer 1976 on as a member of the United States Youth Conservation Corps [Y.C.C., forerunner of the California Conservation Corps]. We maintained the trail and built several foot bridges over the creek before they were washed away by an El Nino' in 1995.
It was raining on and off during today's hike, and at one point I had to shelter up under some Oaks when a big squall passed over. Once I reached the end of the trail I used a 5X7 tarp to set up a hasty shelter and make something hot to eat. It was a great outing!
About a year ago, I received a Mykel Hawke designed "Hawkechete" [hawkebrand.com] as a gift. Mykel Hawke is a former Captain in the U.S. Army's Special Forces, a survival skills instructor, author, and host of television programs such as DISCOVERY CHANNEL's "Man-Woman-Wild". He has brought his experience and outdoors knowledge to the table and designed some unique and unconventional woods tools, the Hawkchete being one.
"Hawkechete" processing kindling
The Hawkchete is, as it's name implies, a machete. It is constructed of carbon steel and weighs a little under 2 lbs. The blade has a black epoxy coating and is about 18" in length, with an overall length of about 23.5" including handle. the handle is a black rubber material and is "Universal" in shape, meaning it is the same shape in the hand regardless how it is held. It incorporates a lanyard hole and a short double guard to prevent the hand from sliding forward onto the blade.
The blade stock is 5/64" thick by my measure and is somewhat flexible, like any machete. The Hawkebrand.com website states the machete is built by CONDOR, a very reputable tool and knife company located in El Salvador.
The most unique feature of the machete is it's unusual shape and cutting angles. It offers the user two choices...held in one way it presents as a Khukuri stye blade. Reverse it and it presents as a Parang style machete blade. The cutting edge of the Khukuri measures at about 17" while the Parang measures 13" of cutting edge.
All edges are razor-sharp. No, I don't mean very sharp; I mean RAZOR-BE-EXTREMELY-CAREFUL-SHARP! The Hawkechete has cutting edges both top and bottom and if you are using one you must be aware that it will cut in two directions, forward and backswing, so extreme care must be used when working with it. This is especially true if the blade becomes stuck in wood; if you try to free it forcefully, it can suddenly come free and a sharp edge come at you or someone beside you. This is not a criticism of the design! Just an advisement to slow down and plan cuts and think your actions through, just as we should with any edged tool....the last thing one needs is a serious laceration when one is far afield and immediate medical care is not an option.
Since I was planning a camping trip for next week, I decided to get a jump on it and use the Hawkechete to make kindling for starting my campfires. Since the Hawkechete is double-edged, batoning isn't an option, so I used it like a small splitting camp axe, biting into the wooden log and then pounding the log on a stump and driving it up through the blade. Oak, Eucalyptus, it didn't matter....the Hawkechete split them all and maintained it's edge throughout. I managed to fill a 5 gallon bucket with split kindling.
After an hour of banging away with the blade and annoying the neighborhood mutts, I found no loosening in the handle. For the most part the blade was unharmed except for two very small dents which may've been inadvertent contact with the concrete pad below my stump anvil.
I then decided to try making some curled shavings. Near the handle the blade becomes narrow-waisted and slightly curved with a straight 3" section. It is only sharpened on the inside and is ideal for use as a draw knife or for carving. Using this section I was able to produce curls for a tinder nest. Unfortunately, I was unable to ignite the curls using my ferro rod, buts was able to do so after adding some shredded jute to the nest. One could easily craft a feather stick using this feature.
In conclusion, I would opine that the Hawkchete is a unique, unconventional, and useful woods tool, but that it must be used with the caution due any double-edged blade. I would recommend that anyone considering purchase of a machete try as many different patterns and sizes as they can access and find that which best suits their purposes.
Below, I have placed two videos made today using the Hawkechete and discussing it's features, and making fire with wood shavings processed using the Hawkechete. I hope you find them useful and informative.
Had the day off so I took a dayhike on the Coon Creek Trail in Montana de Oro State Park. Carried gear in my Kilimanjaro Gear deployment bag and used the Kiligear BALLAST multi-tool on the outing. Trailhead coordinates: N 35 15' 2 8.41" W 120 53' 12.44" . A great outing, beautiful day, sunny and 79 degrees Fahrenheit. Best of all, no snakes!
A few days ago I was working at one of the park's I maintain, when I noticed a sapling laying on the ground. Upon closer inspection I discovered it was a Sycamore and had been snapped off near the base. The sapling had stood in a shelter location, and it has dropped it's leaves, so I am pretty sure it was a deliberate act of vandalism and not an action of wind. I notified my supervisor and then set about cutting up and removing the tree.
Vandalized sapling
Removing the branches, I got down to the trunk and it occurred to me that the tree might be useful for a walking stick. I thought I could make it into something equally beautiful and useful, and in that way, it would have a small victory over the vandals that snapped it off. Having policed up all the branches, I put the trunk aside in the bed of my truck and went back to other duties.
Having a hiking stick on trails is very wise. It can be used to balance oneself on loose or steep terrain. You can use it to drag dropped articles back to you, rather than reaching into brush and getting snakebit or stung by nettle. Finally, it can be used as a means of defense against predators. Even the aboriginal peoples here in California understood their usefulness and made walking sticks for their elders. I have made several and been talked out of a couple by friends, so I am always looking to make extras.
Trunk before being roughed-out
Today I decided to set about making the walking stick. I began by removing the bark and roughing out the shape using a Bolo knife. This is a very useful blade. The heavy belly of the blade is an excellent chopper and it was easy to remove large, tough knots along the trunk. The narrow recurved waist makes an excellent drawknife blade for carving and shaping. The holes in the Bolo blade allow a grip for use as a scraper and removing the remaining inner bark.
Roughed out shaping complete
Having shaped it out in the rough, I set to work with a 4-in-Hand wood rasp refining shape and then smoothing the roughness out.
Having completed that I used sandpaper to smooth the stick. I like my trail stuff a little rustic, and so I do not go overboard and sand until a glass polish is achieved. After all, it's going to get dropped, nicked, scratched, and dented with use. I just want it functionally attractive.
Having sanded it to my satisfaction, I used a pencil to draw a creeping vine pattern on the stick, which I then woodburned over.
Penciling a vine pattern
The final step was to apply a coat of OLD ENGLISH wood oil, and that really brought out the glow.
The finished stick!
I am very pleased with this finished stick. It measures about 48" overall and I would place the weight at around a pound or a little over. It has a nice rounded heavy end near the top, which will serve nicely as a cudgel were I attacked by a dog or other animal on the trail.
Close up detail
Tomorrow I will seek a rubber chair tip for the end and it will be ready for the trail or street!
I enjoy watching YOUTUBE videos demonstrating wilderness survival and bushcraft skills, and sometimes I take advantage of the lesson and actually try it out. Such was the case with this excellent tutorial from SIGMA 3 SURVIVAL SCHOOL instructor Josh, instructing viewers on how to craft a "Spoke Basket":
This morning, after getting off work, I went to a nearby micro-wilderness and tried this method using a common material growing abundantly in the creek bed there, Willow. I didn't have time to craft Yucca cordage, nor was there any in this area anyways, so I opted to shortcut and tied my spokes together using Jute cordage:
Tying the spokes together
I was excited for the skill practice session and got started right away. When I was pretty far along I realized I had skipped a step and failed to cut one of the spokes off at the base and leave 9 spokes rather than the instructed 10. I also took a step not instructed and bound the spokes together at their tops, weaving the green willow pieces in between the spokes. It just made it easier for me than trying to bend and manage the spokes as I went:
Binding the spokes up
As I worked on the project, I could not help but be mindful that I was standing on ground where Aboriginal peoples had hunted and gathered starting 9,000 B.C. It was a beautiful sunny day. A frog gently croaked nearby, birds sang songs and made calls. Somewhere not too distant, a Red-Tailed hawk screeched. Maybe the real benefit of the primitive project is being outdoors, and being reminded what a precious gift the natural world is. The basket began to come together, though a little crooked here and there and somewhat porous. Nonetheless, it'd hold berries and acorns, and that was all I'd intended so it was good by me:
Basket coming together
I had some interesting experiences selecting material. New green branches or shoots fractured easily and were worthless. Too dry and they snapped too. It was necessary to choose seasoned, live Willow branches, flexible but not prone to fracture. For a cutting tool I had carved a wooden handle and fitted a steel Survival Point made by my friend Dan at HARDWOOD HOLLOW BUSHCRAFT & TACTICAL. It was easy enough to just trim the leaves off the Willow branches with just a few quick strokes of the blade.
Once I reached the size and depth of basket I wanted, I bent and tucked the spoke ends into the rim of the basket as demonstrated on the video. The final step was to craft a handle, and again I used Jute cordage as a shortcut and tied the handle on:
Finished product
I have to admit, it's a bit rough, but I was pleased with this first effort. Total time spent was maybe 2 hours. I think next time I will take my time and be a bit more careful in material selection. Seems like in spite of my efforts, branches would sometimes fracture or ends slip out of the spokes [which might be due to the missed step] but that might just be the nature of such baskets.
So, I hoped you have enjoyed this post. I close by offering my thanks and appreciation to Mr. Josh and SIGMA 3 SURVIVAL SCHOOL for sharing their knowledge. Be sure to visit the SIGMA 3 SURVIVAL SCHOOL website and their YOUTUBE channel.
