5 Multi-purpose Items to Keep In Your Camping Kit

Howdy Guys! Today I have a neat article for you on five multi-purpose items to keep in your camping kit. I tried to stay away from obvious things like paracord and knives and give y'all some new information. I hope you learn something!

1) Tinfoil

Tinfoil is a very multi-purpose item to keep with you. First off, you can wrap food in it and cook directly in the coal bed of your fire. You can use it as a makeshift plate, or to wrap food in it for ease of carrying. Another potential use for the stuff is as a very makeshift trout/bass spoon lure.

2) Ziploc bags
I carry Ziploc bags in my camping kit mainly to put skinned small game into when I am hunting, but they have many other uses! First off, you can store food or water in them and it stays clean. But they are also waterproof when sealed, so you can put things like fire tinder or even your phone in them to keep them dry. And lastly you can use them to keep sections of your kit together and dry.  


3) Carmex
I carry Carmex in my kit as a fire starter (with cotton balls) because of the petroleum, methanol and beeswax in it, but obviously you can use it to keep your lips unchapped! I'll give you a little tip here; when you are camping in cold weather, keep the Carmex in your pocket during the day, and in your sleeping bag at night. This will keep it from solidifying. 


4) Handkerchief
There actually are quite a few ways to use a handkerchief in the woods! You can use it to wipe your dirty dishes out with, then wash it out. You can soak it in hot or cold water and put it on your neck for soothing purposes, or ( if its relatively clean) use it to pre-filter water in a dire situation! Think of it as a reusable paper towel and use it accordingly.

5) Good pliers
Pliers are useful for so many things. I prefer good strong needle-nose pliers because of the versatility. you can use them to get a hook from a fish's mouth, to move coals around in the fire, or to grab a hot pan. They will also help with basic maintenance such as bending a wire cup handle back into place, etc. Make sure they have wire cutters!


Well, there you have five multipurpose items and some of the ways you can use them. 
Thanks for reading and have fun!

-Caleb

Caleb’s Custom Knives

 In this article I hope to do two things; tell you about my knives, and tell you about how their made. With that said, let’s get to it! My name is Caleb Steck, and I am 14 years old. I have been actually making knives for a little over two years now, but it started with my wonderful grandma taking me to a bladesmithing class for my birthday in summer of 2015. The class was in Arkansas, with a master bladesmith, Jim Crowell.
Jim was a great teacher and I learned so much from that class, but I know there things he taught me that I have had to re-learn. Take center-scribing a blade, for example. It wasn’t until about last October that I began doing that, and I was taught to do it two years prior!  Well, after the class, it was December until I got a forge started up, and then I really began learning!
From the very get-go I learned that wood would not get hot enough, and that charcoal briquettes would work in a pinch, but that lump charcoal was the way to go. 

                                                       (here I am working my old forge) 

My anvil was a counterweight from a train, my hammer was a garage-sale ball-peen, and my metal was rebar. (I also had a bench grinder, hacksaw, torch and a vice) My first knife was a flattened hunk of rebar, hardened, but not tempered. Later on, I started using good metal like trapsprings, got a good anvil, better forge, good hammer, and on until I get to today. I currently have a great charcoal forge with electric billows, a good anvil on a stand, many hammers and tongs, a belt sander, and many different kinds of metal and handle material. 

                                               (and here I am working at my current forge)

There are two different ways that I make knives; stock removal and forging. Stock removal I take a file, anneal (soften) it and grind away. With the forging process, I will heat it up in my forge, and hammer the rough shape, do my best to get it flat, then anneal it and grind from there. I use this method when I have something like a chisel that I want to use. 

After the knife is shaped, I will heat it up to critical temperature in my forge, and quench the cutting edge in canola oil, trying to let the spine remain soft. This hardens the blade, making it extremely hard to work with also, so I wrap the knife in foil, and put it in the oven for 2 hours at 400 degrees. Now the knife is workable, and I finish the blade and move on to handles. 
On the handle side of things, I use a variety of woods and phelonic. I have curly maple, walnut and oak, and I have red heart, cedar burl, micarta and antler.  Out of all of those, micarta is probably my favorite, because of its durability. For those of you who don’t now, micarta is canvas, paper or linen that is epoxied together and compressed. 

I usually make my knives full tang, but I am starting to play around with some hidden tank knives as well, mainly so I can use some of the antler I’ve got. My most recent knife is a hidden tang bushcraft knife with curly maple handles and a walnut accent piece. The blade is from a file. I played around with handle contouring on this knife as well. 

After the knife is completed, I sharpen it using a SpyderCo TriAngle system. This is a great system that works well for me. 

And last and least I will sometimes make a leather sheath for the knife. Now guys, sheath making is really not my thing. I am too busy making the knives to mess with sheaths! (so if you know anybody that does leather, let me talk to ‘em!)

Well, now you know some about my knives and some about how they’re made. Tell your friends!
Thank you,

-Caleb