Tagak is a Tagalog word for heron. It is a large fish-eating wading bird with long legs, a long S-shaped neck, and a long pointed bill. In my childhood town of San Jose, I often see them in swampy area usually perched at the back of carabaos that wallow in the muddy water. We have a saying in Tagalog when we want to describe the impossible "Pag puti ng uwak, pag itim ng tagak". Roughly translated it means, "When the crow turns white, when the heron turns black".
Would you believe a carving like this sells for $20+ at Etsy?
My mother has a place of her own. After living for a long time with my eldest brother, she finally moved out which made her sad. To cheer her up I made her a wooden birdie to decorate her shelf in the living room.
This birdie was whittled from a Weeping Willow using Mora 120.
Which comes first, the chicken or the egg? One of the trick question I've been pondering about and seems to have no logical answer. Until modern science comes to the rescue:
"Prior to the first true chicken, there were non-chickens. The DNA changes came about in cells housed in the egg. So the egg came first. In July 2010, British scientists, using a supercomputer, claimed to have come up with the final and definitive answer."
A couple of years ago we went on a long road trip to North Dakota. I was awed by the vast empty spaces of the Great Plains that stretched as far as the eye can see. The Badlands that are exposed surfaces of stone and clay that erosion has shaped into striking formations was a sight to behold and the Red River Valley which is the remnant lake bed of the ancient Lake Agassiz were a few of the most famous spots we visited. It was also there that I fist saw a bison.
The American bison and the European bison (wisent) are the largest terrestrial animals in North America and Europe. Bison are good swimmers and can cross rivers over half a mile (800 meters) wide. They are nomadic grazers and travel in herds. The bulls leave the herds of females at two or three years of age, and join a male herd, which are generally smaller than female herds.
Here is my rendition of a bison done in basswood.
That's all folks! Thanks for reading.
Experience is the best teacher. Generally speaking this is true, especially if we talk about survival. That is why we are always advised to practice with our gears. Go into the woods and do some dirt time. And do it as often as you can.
Some of the stuff I know about survival like making fire for one, I learned out of necessity. As far as I can remember in 1957 there was no electricity in my hometown San Jose. There were no television sets then and the sole entertainment of people at night is going to a movie theater powered by an electric generator. Not everybody have transistor radio that run on batteries, in fact you would be considered rich if you have one.
Electric stoves are non existent too. There are some people who own kerosene stove but most cook their food using firewood. There was no garbage collection system in place either so people burn their garbage instead especially the leaves raked from the backyard. In the morning and at dusk you would see in the neighborhood heaps of leaves smoking under the fruit trees so it would blossom and bear fruit.
(Photo courtesy of Low-Tech Magazine)
I learned how to make fire at an early age by just watching people do so at first and then doing it by myself later. I learned how to stack the firewood the right way so it would easily catch fire using a match and only a piece of paper as tinder. I also learned how to blow or use ihip to make the fire bloom and how to arrange 3 stone cooking fire. I became adept at these skills by repetition since it is a part of my daily chore. Only around the 60's that the town was energized.
That's all folks! Thanks for reading.
I've read about this Cold Steel Mini Tuff Lite in blade forums being used to carve ball in a cage or ball in a ball and wondered if it is really is capable of what was claimed it can do. My friend who is fast becoming a blade addict bought one and showed it to me. I was hooked and bought one too.
I whittled a fox out of 1" x 1" basswood and the CS Mini Tuff Lite really can carve no doubt. But whether it can do ball in a cage or ball in a ball remains to be seen. I have to try it myself because I think the width of the blade can be difficult to use on tight corners specially when freeing the ball.
Blade Length: 2"
Blade Thickness: 2.5 mm
Overall Length:5"
Steel: Japanese AUS 8A Stainless
Weight:1.7 oz
Handle:3" Long Grivory
Pocket Clip: Stainless Pocket / Belt Clip
The fox which my grandson said looks like a pig.
That's all folks! Thanks for reading.
A friend gave me an old Schrade with a broken blade tip. It's a small knife but it has a liner lock which make it ideal for whittling small wood figures.
Right now it has 4 3/4" OAL length and is 2 3/4" closed.
After 10 minutes with a bastard file. Originally, it has a 2" blade now the blade length is 1 3/4".
And after 5 minutes with a carpenter's sharpening stone. It is sharp at this stage and would be sharp enough if this is just a utility knife but it is not quite sharp enough for wood work. It has to undergo honing with a finer grit stone and leather stropped. The knife must be cleaned too as you can see it is rusty.
You can buy a knife like this at Amazon (Old Timer 18OT Mighty Mite 2 3/4") for $13.25 and free shipping. But the new ones are made in China. It is not that I have issue with China made knives but this one is a vintage knife and made in the USA.
That's all folks! Thanks for reading.
We have been having single digit temperature these past few days with below zero wind chill.
This video was taken after the first significant snowfall of 2016. And precisely the reason why there is a need to winterize the car and include a means of staring a fire in the emergency kit.
That's all folks! Thanks for reading.
I found this knife while visiting the camping section of Walmart selling for $9.82. It was listed at Amazon for $16.18 so it was like $6.36 cheaper. Needless to say I bought it, although I already have a gazillion of these pointed toys.
I made 2 modifications on the knife. First, I didn't like the Katana style orange cord wrap so I just made a simple 550 cord wrap on the handle. I am thinking of using an olive drab colored 550 cord instead. Second, I removed the serrated edge. I've never been a fan of serrated edge especially for my wood working knives. But I know a serrated edge has its own merits.
This how the knife looks like after the modifications. The blade is 3mm thick made from 440 steel.
This is the original. I think the Katana style cord wrap looks much better but the snap button on the sheath won't close because the cord wrap is bulky. I think there's something wrong with the sheath I got. Well, what you get for what you pay.
P.S.
It comes with a ferro rod attached to a magnesium rod.
That's all folks! Thanks for reading.
