Stripped willow turns red

It's one of those unusual anomalies that sometimes happen. We know that boiling willow bark turns the fibres red but sometimes you don't even have to boil them.



I cut some willow recently as I need the bark and the wood



And as usual I stripped the bark carefully from the branch. Now in the past when I've done this there is often a red tinge taken by the wood surface as it dries but this time just overnight the change was remarkable



And here's a close up of where I scored the bark to take it from the branch



A lovely colour if only it stained the wood that colour permanently.

Sweet woodruff

This is a lovely little plant often ignored or even just missed when it grows on the forest floor..

Though not so much edible as more useful as a bush tea, it has been used in Germany to flavour wine. It is also slightly antiseptic so if other more medicinal plants can't be found it is useful for a wound wash.

Easily recognisable due to it's leaves as they circle the stem and also it's little white flowers, it's most traditional use was as a strewing herb. It's scent, of fresh hay, increases as it dries and it stays rather well over time.

It's very effective as a moth repellent so was often put in drawers to keep the cloth nibbling varmints at bay.

It was once hung in churches to ward off evil and it is often used to symbolise humility and coyness.

Elder shavings for your tinder box

I was doing a little work with elder recently and when you do a lot of fine carving you end up with a lot of fine shavings..

It's a shame to waste these as they can be stuffed in a tin and used for fire starting as they take a spark from a Ferro rod rather well, just sort them into a pile and light them with your Ferro rod..

Real easy.

Killrathi Northman Knife

I got this beauty just recently, roughly 9 inches long with a blade of L2 steel and a stabilised birch handle..it's a bigger knife in the hand than it actually looks in the picture but is comfortable to use and has an edge well though is harder to sharpen than other more simple carbon steels. It came in a nice leather sheath and it hangs well on the belt. This is another nice knife to add to the collection from a very decent maker.

Gnarly Stump

It's rare to see very large Holly trees but when they do get big their trunks take on a life of their own and they configure into wild and wonderful shapes, just like this beauty..

Wildwoods Open Day

Buzzard is now closely affiliated with the biggest and best known bushcraft and Wilderness living academy in the country, Wildwoods.

Last weekend we had an open day to let people see just how much talent and skill is nurtured between the people involved. Literally hundreds of people turned up and each and every one had a brilliant day if the comments are anything to go by!

We put on a series of stalls, participatory events and educational workshops so people could see for themselves just what is entailed within the realm of bushcraft..
from primitive shelters..

To luxurious ones

From birds of prey

(especially our signature bird, the Buzzard, seen here)

To a hog roast

We also laid on basket and willow weaving, foraging, medicinal herbs, forging and blade making, a craft village and backwoods cooking..there was just so much to see that everybody wanted to come back for more or stay longer!

So a big thankyou to all who came along and especially to all the team who helped out specifically Ciaran who built the spit for the hog roast, Gareth and Torie, also Darren, Gavin, Brendan, Deccy, Jane, Little Aaron, Ryan, Amy, Dillon, Conrad and Ciaran and especially Tammy who went above and beyond..

Thankyou so much, your buns were gorgeous and a real big hit with everyone..

Bushgear blog of the year 2017

Bushgear are again running their survival and outdoor blog of the year, and this year Buzzard Bushcraft are in the running, so if you could find a few spare minutes to vote for us here we would greatly appreciate it.

voting page click here!