Dog House

I've been wanting to build a dog house for Daphne (my dog...obviously). I was originally thinking I would just find old fence boards and 2x4's that people have been throwing out since hurricane Ike, but today I was looking at mud ovens online and I thought, "why don't I make her a dog house that's a mix between a mud oven and a wigwam?". So that's what I'm doing now. I went out and got some saplings, cut them to the right lengths and sharpened the ends.Next I started making the main frame by sticking the saplings into the ground at an angle so that they wouldn't pop out, Bending them to meet each other and lashing them together.What I have so far is the main support sapplings creating the dome shape.What I plan on doing next is lacing the whole thing with smaller branches, leaving a doorway, and then spackling the whole thing with "survival cement".

As a side note, I used my Gerber Big Rock Camp Knife to cut the sapplings, de-branch them and sharpen the ends. Unlike my Benchmade, the Gerber is still sharp and intact. So far I'm still a Gerber fan.

Thanksgiving

I spent Thanksgiving with my girlfriend Krysta at her grandparent's house in Llano, Tx. The Colorado river runs straight through their backyard, so we hung out down there and skipped some rocks.

We also tried to break some rock and make discoidal knives...not much luck there though.

Where I live and where I grew up, there are literally NO rocks. So my knapping skills are really really lacking. I guy named Bill Metcalf teaches knapping in Killeen, Tx, which is several hours from where I live, but I hope to go and learn from him sometime soon.

We saw quite a bit of wildlife, but the only things I got pictures of were some moths and a bee on some asters growing near the river.

I made some nice hand-drill stalks from yucca, but they mysteriously dissappeared when all the children started showing up. Oh well.

New Knife

After my knife broke last night, I decided to buy a new one. I don't have the money for The Scout right now, so I went to Academy and bought the Gerber Big Rock Camp Knife.I've always had good luck with Gerber knives and it was only $34.99, so I figured I'd give it a try. I'll take it to the woods tomorrow and try it out. Hopefully I'll return with my opinion of Gerber intact.

Knife Recommendation

I called this post "Knife Recommendation" because I recently bought a knife that I recommend that you NEVER USE. The knife I'm talking about is the Benchmade Model 10505 RANT DPT by Mel Pardue. Earlier this evening I decided to go to my sit spot to test myself and see if I could make a bow drill kit and start a fire with it in the dark. I grabbed a few dead branches off the ground and started to carve all the pieces. I finished all the carving except for the "V" notch in the hearth board. At that point I needed to make the bow so that I could burn the holes in. I quickly found a good branch and proceeded to hack off the smaller twigs and branchlettes. I think I got three good wacks in before part of my blade literally snapped off!I used to have a Gerber knife that I would love to recommend, but I can't seem to even find a picture of it online. I suppose they discontinued the model and I don't remember the name of it. It lasted me years and only cost about 20 dollars or so. Hopefully in the somewhat near future I'll be able to buy The Scout knife by Tom Brown Jr.. I have The Tracker, and if I knew I was going into a survival situation, it's definitely the knife I would choose to bring. However, for every day use, it's far too bulky. If The Scout has even half the quality of The Tracker then I have no doubt it's worth the money.