Gathering Honey.

 This past Sunday I had the pleasure of helping my Brother, whom is a Hobby Apiarist (beekeeper) gather some honey.  Having never been around this many bees at once, I was a tad nervous.  As we gathered the equipment and suits my brother assured me there was no problem as they are more interested in the honey than me.  Arriving at the hives my brother explained many of the interesting small details about how the bees work as a community and how everything is very naturally organized and their lives are quite expendable depending on the season.  As he put put it " the drones are kicked out before winter like a idiot at a bar", literally tossed out or killed.   As we collected two "supers", the bees were surprising calm.  Don't get me wrong, they were landing and crawling on my face mask but no one got stung! I really loved the drone of them buzzing around.  what a wild sound!  As we arrived back at his home, we decapped the board and dropped them in the extractor collecting easily over 100lbs of honey! Mind you as we had to do this outside, the amount of bees in the honey was hilarious.  This morning I spent about an hour putting the honey through a jelly bag making it crystal clear.  It was so much fun to take part in the gathering of the honey and can't wait for next year, and hopefully a larger harvest.


MORE PICTURES HERE.

Ropp Cherry-wood Pipes.

 

Let me start off by saying smoking is not healthy, and this post is not a promotion for smoking, but merely a showing of a beautiful pipe manufacturer.

Ropp Pipes was started by Eugène-Léon Ropp in 1869 and continued production until 1991.  The mainstay of Ropp was manufacturing pipes from solid cherry wood.

The main purpose of the cherry wood pipe is to preserve the rugged, woodsy apperance of the pipe.  Ropps are made with the limbs of a cherry tree that are cut straight across one end and diagonally on the other, typically the bark is left on. The flat end is hollowed out to form the bowl, while the diagonal end is polished, stamped with the Ropp logo and forms a flat bottom to rest the pipe on.  The shank is also made from a smaller cherry limb, and the stem and bit are vulcanite.

Some people complain that the bowl is to small, but for people who smoke a pipe every now and then, they are the perfect size for a cool night around the campfire.

Swiss Salt and Pepper Rucksack.

Used from the mid 50's to the late 60's this pack is absolutely bombproof. Solid leather construction, with unique "salt and pepper" coloured canvas that is so thick and tight it makes Duluth, Frost River, and even Filson seem like cheese cloth. The leather is about 6-7oz. tooling leather and tough aluminum hardware. This pack has two closures the main draw string, but being used in a snowy region there is a thinner canvas closer inside, that a string wraps around to keep completely sealed. Classically styled, they are getting harder to come by. They used to be cheap like $20, now typically $100 and up. Perfectly sized for a weekend away, and I guarantee* it'll last a lifetime of any abuse you can bestow on to it.


* not a actual guarantee!

[images via etsy & The Noisy West]

Along The Trail in Algonquin Park with Ralph Bice.

I just recently started reading this book by Mr. Bice.  Ralph was born and raised in Kearney, Ontario.  Where he lived his entire life.  His Grandfather, Father, and Uncle were all trappers in Algonquin before the park was established in 1893.  At the time the idea of sanctuary for the animals of the park was hard to take by trappers, and Ralph's Grandfather was one of the first poachers arrested in Algonquin.  Born in 1900, he had spent all 97 years of his life in and about the park, making the history that we know today of Algonquin.  His Father was one of the first Park Rangers and took Ralph on his first trip deep into the woods to Build a Rangers Cabin when he was 12, and by 17 Ralph was being asked to guide trips for Fishermen, Hunters, and Vacationers alike. 


Ralph, frequenting the park so much new some Canadian outdoors celebrities.  Two Highlights were famous Group of Seven artist Tom Thomson,  that Ralph confirmed had a "drinking problem." It is well known he didn't have many close friends in the park area, and although he spent so much time in the park, "didn't have many skills as a woodsman." History has us believe Tom's death might have been from foul play, but Ralph's knew that the undertakers informed the local public there were no marks on the body. As for the fishing line wrapped around Thomson's leg, "it was thought he sprained his ankle and wrapped a compress around it for protection."  Mr. Bice says that many guides and tourist operators from the Algonquin area think Tom Thomson was simply drunk, fell out of his canoe and drowned.

Ralph also knew the great Archie Belaney A.K.A. Grey Owl, as he was a close friend of Ralph's brother Arthur. They fought together in the First World War and both had saved each others life on different occasions.  Ralph says Grey Owl also had a problem with alcohol. Because of his moodiness he really didn't get along with people and he remembers the time when Grey Owl set off the local Minister

"Archie climbed up the nearby hill in Bisco and during the Sunday service proceeded to ring the church bell with his expert marksmanship which he was known for. We knew he was only having his own sort of fun, but it was enough for the local residents to send for the police and force Archie to take a self-imposed exile into the woods until everything cooled off!"


This book reads very much like Ralph is telling you the stories himself.  The small details in his writing make you feel like you could very easily retrace some of his trips from the early 1900's.  Visiting the sites he stayed  and find some relics from the old camps.  If you are longing for the woods, even reading 2 or 3 pages will gives the feeling your sitting around a campfire listening to these incredible stories.  In the early chapters of the book he refers to Eagle Lake a lot, which was Butt Lake, and is now, in his honor Ralph Bice Lake.  I got this book via E-Books, but you can still find hard copies around and I suggest you find one and add it to your collection!

Peter Atwood - Knife and Tool Maker.

Peter Atwood has been making micro tools and knives 2000, and has quite the following.  His tools are quite interesting pieces of art.  Highly sought after, they often sell out in mere minutes.  They have become a hot item in the EDC world, which is where I first heard of him.  His tools often include bottle openers, wrenches, pry bar, and drivers.  His names for the tools are unique, Poltergeist, Pest, Prybaby, brewdriver, and larva to name a few.  Peter also make great whistles, lanyard slides, and great shot glasses.   He works wonders with the anodizing, making the tools look like lighting flashes or oils spills.   Peter has a unique way of selling his handy work.  He puts its as:

"New folks email me every week unable to figure out how to buy my tools. How it works is very simple. I make batches of tools and post them for sale on my blog in one of three ways:

1. If the batch is large I post a link from Planet Pocket Tool to a sale page on atwoodknives.com. The page is invisible to casual visitors to the website and can only be accessed through the blog posting. When the sale is over I remove the link.

2. If the sale is for One of a Kind or limited edition type items where there are only a few available (such as knives) I post a Sign Up Sale on the blog. When the Sign Up Sale is over I remove the sign up link and pick the Sign Up Sale winners.

3. I sell items directly to customers via email now and again. If I have something in stock I'm happy to sell it to you anytime, just email me."

I was able to score a Poltergeist about 7 months ago, and use it quite a bit.  Handy little buggers!

Link: Planet Pocket Tool.

Canadian Air & Space Museum.

Hey Everyone,

Head over to www.tinder.ca to sign a petition to help save the Canadian Air & Space Museum, and keep it open and in its rightful place.

The Swanndri Bushshirt.

 

 

I am sure most of you have heard of Swanndri, the New Zealand Wool company.  For those not, here is a bit of history.  In 1913 New Plymouth tailor William Broome registered the trademark ‘Swanndri’ for a weatherproof woollen shirt.  Broom, born in Staffordshire, England, immigrated to New Zealand at age 21 and established a clothier and outfitters business, The Palatine.  The characteristics of the “swanny” design include its heavy dark fabric, often in a tartan pattern and ties up around the neck. In more recent "Ranger" shirt, a zipper has replaced the ties.  The original design was short sleeved, long in the back, and would be worn on top of farmers work clothes for warmth and shower proofing.  The "secret of Swanndri was that during production, these garments were dipped into a mixture of dissolved chemicals and then dried.  It is not known if Broome was taught this method for shower proofing the fabric or he developed the formula himself.  Unfortunately, the mixture caused the garments to shrink, making it difficult to determine size. Consequently they were sold as one size fits all.  The name was because the rain would literally run off the back of the garment as it does on a swan.

These Garments are now being produced with more "urban" styling line, but rest assured their heritage styles are still the most popular, and Bushcrafters around the world have adapted the bushshirt as their go to uniform, so I don't think its going anywhere.


Check out their site here:  Swanndri NZ