AMERICAN FRONTIERSMAN magazine. . .making a James Gibson Bushcraft Ulu

Let's learn together! Well, I said Ulu because that's what it reminded me of, but basically, it's a primitive knife. It's a fun and easy skill to learn.

I really enjoy AMERICAN FRONTIERSMAN magazine. I love the mix of history, Frontier skills, and modern skills. So, I was very pleased to read the excellent article by Craig Haney entitled, THE CORE FIVE, which is a discussion with survival expert James Gibson about the critical skills anyone going outdoors should possess.

I also believe that it is not enough to simply read articles, but that it is advisable to perform and learn those skills. . . this is how we learn [EDIP - Explain, Demonstrate, Imitate, Practice]. I was interested in the photograph of the tin can Ulu knife and decided to try my hand at making one. . .or two! I crafted a Gibson Primitive Ulu and also a Hoko-style knife.

Fortunately, our recycle bin always has bean cans, so I had access to material, and sticks are abundant on the local trails. But what did I learn?

1.) A green sapling is probably easier to process/split into a handle/carve notches, than seasoned wood. A softwood would be a good choice. In my area Arroyo Willow thrives and there are always straight, green shoots.

2.) Have some good cordage with you. Military grade 550 paracord inner strand is the only way to go. But natural cordage coated with pine resin will suffice for binding the split stick-handle.

3.) Wood processing is not the way to go. The can lid goes dull FAST. Have a sharpening stone handy and plan on using it a lot, both to sharpen and hammer the soft tin can blade back into shape - it will bend often. I tried making shavings and it was tough work.

4.) Cutting meat, cleaning fish, or light cordage is probably this tool's specialty.

5.) Cannot reliably spark a ferro rod. Have a sharp rock handy or a scraper attached to your ferro rod.

6.) To quote Mr. Gibson , "I always carry three knives. . .Two is one and one is none." His lesson here is simple - Have a knife! You don't want to go down the tin can path unless you have to!

Anyway, a fun afternoon learning, and my sincere thanks to Mr. Gibson for sharing his knowledge!

- W D - -