Testing Fire Starters

This afternoon after it had rained steady for about an  hour, I figured it was a great time to test the fire starters we are about to start carrying on Primal Gear Unlimited's website. It is important to practice and hone your survival skills and this was a great opportunity with everything wet and seventy two percent humidity so nothing was drying out quick . I could go out in the back yard in a controlled environment and practice skills. I urge everyone to use their back yard to practice their skills rather than wait until they find themselves in an emergency situation. You don't have to hike out into the wilderness to practice survival. The best time to practice is when you don't have to worry about finding yourself in a survival situation.
I went out and began to gather tinder. Everything was still wet, so I started picking up pine straws one at a time that were on top of the ground and were the driest.I stacked them up in a small tepee, then picked all of the very small twigs from the ground that had fallen out of the trees from rain and squirrels running and playing in the branches. I formed them around the straw then put a good  pile of the twigs on top so the rising heat would dry them out quickly. Another blanket of pine straw without all of the effort of picking them up one by one, but I did lightly rake them from the top of the debris that has fallen to the ground to avoid decaying wetter stuff. then more smaller limbs and twigs with a layer of a little larger stuff around that.
I then pulled out the Aurora Fire Starter in silver with the 440 c blade like the one in the picture. I do like the fact that is seals in the case with an o-ring at the top so you can take it with you in and around salt water.

I created a little pocket in the center of the pile and put the cotton ball tinder on a stick. One quick swipe of the scraper on the base of the Aurora, and the cotton lit up. I moved the cotton ball inside of the opening I had made and it started to catch. I let it go just long enough to know it would work and took a stick and put the fire out, as I had two more fire starters to test. I made sure there were no more coals or embers left burning to help the next test along.
It was time to test the Strike Force fire rod by Ultimate survival technologies. It is mostly made in the USA, but unlike the Aurora which is completely an American made product, It is assembled in the US with American made and Chinese parts. I do like the plastic cove that allows a little room to carry tinder in the case with the fire rod on the side with the striker as you can see in the picture.

Once again I put a cotton ball down kind of snagged onto a stick. One smooth swipe of the striker down the rod, the cotton lit up, and I moved it into the hollow in the base of the fire pile. everything caught and began to burn. Most of the inner layer of the pine straw burnt out and I had to push the top of the pile down to put the fire out.
Now the prepared fire pile was't nearly as neat, and I had one more fire starter to test.  I kind of roughly bundled it up again and pulled out another cotton ball. I pulled out the Blast Match designed by Ultimate Survival Technologies for one handed use, which could be very convenient if you found yourself in a survival situation, injured, with only one usable hand. This one is assembled in the US from foreign parts, but the one handed operation feature is just too hard to pass on. We chose the black version of the Blast Match as pictured. It is also available in orange.

 I flipped the cover around to the rear as in the picture, pushed down on the thumb tab you can see on the bottom left of the handle to press the striker to the fire rod. I put the tinder on a little larger stick, put the Blast Match against the bottom of the tinder, pushed down while applying pressure to the thumb tab, and the cotton ball lit right up. I let the cotton ball burn up, then I pulled out the Wet Fire that came with this particular Blast Match. I opened the little candy like wrapper, and put the little white cube of solid fuel into the fork of a small stick. I applied pressure to the thumb tab, pressed down on the Blast Match, and the little cube began to burn. I put it under the fire pile with its now lack of straw tinder, and it took about 45 seconds to a minute and the small twigs started to catch and it wasn't long before I had a roaring camp fire.
As in an earlier post, I have now made fire in the safety of my back yard with a bow drill, a magnesium bar (which I didn't write about), and the Aurora Fire Starter, Strike Force, and the Blast Match.

I am confident that I could make fire in a survival situation in a variety of ways. I would leave the bow drill, or the fire plow method as a last resort if I found myself without any other method on me. When I go into the woods I try to have a lighter, some matches and a fire rod, and/or magnesium bar on me, and I also have several methods in my go bag.

I recommend that not only do you carry fire starters, but dry tinder in you kits as well. Cotton balls work great and are cheap. I also have cotton in my first aid kit, along with petroleum based triple antibiotic ointment and gel hand sanitizer with has a high alcohol content, and it is easy to get the gel to stick to surfaces unlike plain alcohol.

It is a good idea to pick up natural dry tinder like long dry grass etc.. as you travel and stuff it in your ditty bag. It is also a good idea to carry several cotton bandannas that you can use to make char cloth if you need to. Another great fire starter that can also be used medically as a high capacity bandage to stop blood flow is a tampon.
The key points to remember are, 1) be prepared and carry the right equipment, 2) practice with and know how to use your equipment, and 3) do not rely on one single method.

Primal Gear Unlimited has worked hard and now has the Compact Folding Survival Bow in stock again. Along with the original collapsible bow, Primal Gear has just released the CFSB G13 Limited Edition. It is the same great bow as the CFSB but with a hole drilled and threaded for a fishing attachment (fishing attachment not included), and the riser is powder coated in Pine Bark Brown.
Check out the video release:

Along with the release of the G13 and having the original Compact Folding Survival bow in stock, Primal Gear Unlimited is debuting the Paracord shoulder strap for the folding bow. Available in O.D. Green, Black, and Coyote Tan, the cobra braided shoulder strap will extend to work as a back sling, and can be easily slid back down to shoulder strap length with a convenient quick release buckle.
Take a look at the video.

Primal Gear Unlimited will continue to work diligently to bring you innovative and exciting American Made products. Check our site often for new products.

R. Murphy Skinner and Skinner T Knife Review

Sunday, yeah a day off, kind of. After spending time with the family and visiting some today, I decided it would be a good day, at only 90 degrees and about 70 percent humidity,

R. Murphy Skinner knife Chop Test

to hone some skills and test a knife. I have carried the R, Murphy Skinner the past couple of days, using it for household chores, breaking down boxes from shipments of supplies that came in etc.. I figured after a couple of days wonderful performance it was time to do some bushcraft testing.
First up the chop test. I personally like to carry a hatchet, so this usually wouldn't apply to me, but if I got caught in a situation with only the knife on me, it is nice to know how it would perform.
The knife performed well, although with its lighter weight I backed my hand up on the handle, and the knife butt hit about the center of my closed palm. I would want to round the corners of the handle around the butt if it were going to be used for very much chopping. About an inch longer handle and blade and it would've performed a little better.
NEXT; The Baton Test.

Canadian belt knife during the baton test.

Skinner from the handle side.

 Once again, a hatchet would come in handy, but the R, Murphy "Herters" style Canadian belt knife performed like it was made for splitting wood. The full tang blade held up well under the hammering of the baton against the top of the blade and it slid through the wood with minimal resistance.

Three Quarter inch plank for the fire board beside the  Skinner  knife.

3/4 plank and knife from the opposite side.

Hammering the knife down the other side to give me a fairly flat piece of wood for a fire board was as effortless as the first time the knife was beat down through the wood.
After the baton test was over, it was time to cut a spindle. After choosing, shaping and trying two pieces that just were too short or just not straight enough, I finally got a good spindle chopped. I whittled the end for the resistance against the fire board and for the carving and short strokes it took for that and the sharper end for the hand hold I was very pleased with how the knife handled. For the finer more precise work after the abuse I had already put it through, it was like using an old trusted tool. I could tell while doing the finer work that this knife would make an awesome skinning knife. The ridges on the top of the blade right against the handle for my thumb gave added stability and control when I needed it.
Once I got the spindle, I went and chopped off a piece of wood for the bow, then carve the notches around each end and strung it up. I used the knife to give me a decent start to the hollow in the fire board and the hand hold, then cut the notch in the fire board. After all of the cutting, chopping, whittling, and carving, I decided a good test to see how the blades sharpness really held up was to cut the ends off of the 550 para cord I used for the bow string. Without hesitation the blade sliced right through with a nice clean cut, as seen in the next picture.

Finished Bow Drill made with the R. Murphy Skinner.

It has been raining here everyday for about a week and I didn't expect much in the way of a coal, but after burning the spindle into the fire board and hand hold, of course lubricating the end of the spindle for the hand hold with good old sweat and oils from my skin, I decided to see if I could get an ember, and after about 45 seconds smoke was pouring, I withdrew the spindle and lightly blew on the smoking dust pile and saw a glowing little ember. I hadn't gathered up a tinder bundle or prepped for a fire since I was just testing the knife, but I was very please with the results of my first bow drill. I was overall very happy with the performance of the R, Murphy Skinner and in all of the tasks it felt very good in the hand.The ergonomic design of the knife only fell short when chopping with it, but even then no real inconvenience and no blisters. It is a very awesome American made knife that falls well below the fifty dollar mark. If you were to compare it to the higher priced Moras like the Bushcraft Series Force or Triflex, you would be very pleased with the purchase of this knife. The difference between the Skinner and the Skinner T is just the lanyard hole on the butt of the knife as seen in the following pictures.

I would carry this knife into the bush without hesitation. It may not be my first choice, but I wouldn't shy away from it either. If you are looking for an American made knife on a budget, the R. Murphy Skinner, and Skinner T is a winner. All in all not a bad way to spend an hour on a Sunday. I will be back soon with the next knife review.

Bush Craft Survival Knives

PRIMAL GEAR UNLIMITED has been working overtime to catch up on all orders and we are almost there. As soon as we get caught up we will be able to continue the research and development on a case for the bow and take down arrows, a quiver that can carry the bow along with long and take-down arrows. We will also continue to develop a grip for the bow and adding a place for attaching a fishing reel.
In the mean time, while we are doing everyday tasks using knives, we have decided to begin researching affordable survival knives. There are plenty of knives available for under 100 dollars, but finding a quality bush craft survival knife around 50 dollars seems to be a chore, especially if you are interested in buying American Made knives.
We have began to research knives and as we research each individual knife, we will post a new review.

Of all of the knives on the table only four are American Made. The two hatchets are American Made, produced by Estwing. Estwing has a few more offerings including a hawk that appears like it would compete with any hawk on the market at the 45-60 dollar price range. To support American Made, I can see no reason to consider any other line than Estwing when  it comes to hatchets and hawks, especially with their affordable competitive pricing.
We decided to research Mora, a Swedish made knife, which seems to be a very affordable and popular option for bush craft today.
Condor is made in El Salvador, and makes carbon steel blade knives with bush craft in mind, and although not quite as inexpensive as the Mora, they seem to be a very quality knife with a comfortable wood handle, and there is a little more steel on each knife than the Mora.
Although not American made, neither the Condor or the Mora are Chinese made, and are quality inexpensive knives.
The R. Murphy Skinner, and Sknner T seem to be an affordable option. Modeled after the "Herters" Canadian Belt Knife are to be considered, but upon inspection straight from the box I thing the Hunter will go straight into the kitchen knife drawer where it will probably be a valued and  appreciated kitchen utensil for many years.
The legendary KA-BAR is definitely to be in full consideration. In order to keep the review in line, we chose the Ka-Bar Mark 1, with a blade much like a bush craft knife and made from carbon steel, it has a nice quality feel when you pick it up and a very comfortable grip. The Ka-Bar Little Finn, Hunter, and Skinner looked like they would be good stainless steel choices thinking they were American Made, but upon arrival, we found they were made in Taiwan with leather sheaths from Mexico. They are still from an American company, but we are looking for American made from Ka-Bar.
Here is a Picture of the Mora Bushcraft Series Force, Classic #1 and Classic#2.

The next photo is of the R. Murphy Skinner T, Skinner, and Hunter.

Here is a photo of the Condor Bushlore, Survival Craft, Mini Bushlore, and Fidelis neck knife.

The Ka-Bar Mark 1, the Skinner, Hunter, and Little Finn are pictured next.

The Estwing Sportsman Axe 1 and Sportsman Axe 2 are the final photo of the cutting tools selected for testing and review.

 As we go through and test these knives individually we will post a review and pictures of each individual knife. Straight out of the box with nothing to go on other than the feel of the knife and the comfort of the handle, I am very impressed with the Ka-Bar Mark 1, the Condor Bushlore, and the Mora Bushcraft Series Force. The R. Murphy feels comfortable to the hand, and the design is very ergonomic. I am looking forward to testing it to see how it performs as a bush craft knife. I will use the Estwing hatchets so I can decide whether I like to carry the Sportsman Axe 1 or Sportsman Axe 2 considering weight versus work load and ease of cutting with each. I look forward to testing the Estwing Blackhawk after these first reviews are done. Look for the individual reviews coming soon.