Bushcraft Knife Skills – Practice with the Masters (Video)

Did you know I played drums in a Hollywood rock band?

I needed a creative outlet from my very intense and cerebral job as an engineer. And being a drummer in a rock band has its privileges. Some of my nerdy engineering friends questioned why I hung out with those long-haired musicians. I explained to them that I had been an engineer for three years. And no matter how good a job I did, women didn’t throw their undergarments at me! But as a mediocre rock musician…

They understood that! 🙂

Learning to Play the Drums

Playing drums in a Hollywood rock band is as far from bushcraft as you can get. Why do I bring it up?

I want to draw your attention to the way I learned to play drums. My drum teacher would demonstrate a combination of stick movements required to play a drum beat. I repeated the movements, slowly at first, until I learned them. Then I practiced on my own when my teacher wasn’t around. Over time my hesitant strokes became a rockin’ beat!

Learning Bushcraft Skills

This is also the easiest way to learn bushcraft! Find a master teacher, let him demonstrate a skill. Then try it under his supervision until you get it. Afterwards, practice on your own until you master the skill.

But most of us don’t have a master teacher at our disposal. We have a precious few books on skills and a variety of misinformation from dubious sources on the Internet (I’m looking at you, YouTube!). How can we replicate this process?

Here’s where the Internet can help. Several master bushcraft instructors make videos that specifically show practice exercises. They walk us through the exercises so we can see what they are doing. They put us in a position to demonstrate the skills ourselves. Just like my drum teacher!

The difference is that we don’t get instant feedback as we try the skill. We must become our own “master teacher!” We need to assess our performance critically each time we try the skill. What did we do well? Where can we improve? Were the results as we expected? Why or why not? You can even film yourself doing the skill to try and catch things you missed.

Once you can replicate the skill, practice, practice, practice until you “rock the beat!”

Learning to Use Your Bushcraft Knife

Trimming the ends of a tule mat with a knife.

There are two “master” bushcraft teachers whose work I admire: Mors Kochanski and Ray Mears. They’re skilled and experienced. Just as important – they are good teachers. Both make an effort to educate in their videos.

Below are two videos from these men that cover how to use your bushcraft knife. Both demonstrate various bushcraft knife skills.

Take a look at the videos and try the skills yourself. If you are just starting out, watch Ray’s video first. Intermediate and advanced knife users will enjoy trying to replicate Mors’ Try Stick. When you critique your own work, be gentle with yourself. But be honest in your assessment.

The Try Stick (Mors Kochanski)

Mors Kochanski introduces us to the “Try Stick.” The Try Stick is a device to improve your carving skill with your knife. You whittle a variety of notches and hooks into a stick. Some of the notches exercise practical skills you need to use your knife effectively. Others challenge your skills to stretch your abilities.

Basic Knife Skills (Ray Mears)

In this video, Ray Mears demonstrates basic knife grips. He shows us the forehand grip and chest-lever grip. These are two important and often used grips. He illustrates them while making tent pegs in the field.

Let Me See You Try

Have you made a try stick? Send me a picture of it and I will show the picture below. Email me using the contact form on this website and I will arrange to get the picture from you.