Amethyst Deceiver

These lovely little mushrooms appear in forests at this time of year..



And although edible most people don't regard them very highly, luckily I'm not most people. I've had them in omelettes quite often and I really like them, but then as purple is my favourite colour it's no wonder I like them.

Purple is the colour of magic and royalty and Irish legend had it that these little mushrooms got their purple colour when Iubdán, king of the fairies of Ulster, touched the stem of a white mushroom when he sheltered underneath one in a heavy rainstorm, being fairy royalty and a possessor of fairy magic the mushroom turned purple and they have remained so ever since.

Chaga meme

A very special lady in my life bought me a very special shirt, I hope you like it. Lol

Broc Knives - Wee Ruby

Davy recently commissioned something special from Broc Knives of Banbridge, Northern Ireland. It wasn't just another knife, this one was a memorial piece dedicated to his mother, Ruby, who had unfortunately passed away a little before hand.
 Davy asked that a vial of his mother's ashes be incorporated into the tang and enclosed by the micarta scales, this was done very sensitively by the maker and the resultant knife can be seen below.

The knife came in a beautiful presentation box with a birth certificate and a certificate of authenticity, it carries a lifetime guarantee to the original owner.

And the knife itself, aside from the incredibly personal attachment it has for Davy is something rather beautiful in itself. The knife is made from O1 tool steel and the heat treatment is carried out in house at the Broc knives workshop, it comes clothed in a beautifully made 3mm thick leather sheath with removable dangler, both sheath and blade are stamped with the Broc logo.

The tang has a cut out to house the ashes and the handle is a micarta and fibre 4 layer composite, the outer being a lovely ivory bone colour, the handle is secured with epoxy and corby rivets and a brass lanyard hole. It's fit and finish is superb, beautiful contours and an incredibly ergonomic grip that defies the worry of hot spots with prolonged use. It is beautifully finished.

The plunge and the bevels are perfectly symmetrical and a testament to the skill of the maker, rarely if ever have I seen a grind as meticulously finished as this one, a remarkable feat of craftsmanship.

Although a knife is an incredibly personal item I believe that the sign of a well designed cutting tool is one that can be used comfortably by a multitude of users regardless of hand size or skill level and this blade proved itself to be just that. I started by carving a small jam spoon then moved on to the ubiquitous feather sticks

Davy also did this

The spine is perfectly square and throws great sparks of a Ferro rod

And the one thing we all use our knives for more than wood carving is food prep and this tool excels at this also

All in all this is a remarkable knife and one of the most perfectly finished knives I have ever handled, after 3 months of use it hasn't had to go near a stone as a strop takes care of edge reconditioning easily and brings it up to hair popping sharp again. The knife is a complete work of art and a delectable item to hold and use, the fact of its personal connection just makes it all the more heart warming to the owner. A magnificent blade, exemplary craftsmanship and a heart felt momento to always help Davy remember his mother and to have her close by.. a fitting tribute to a lovely lady from a true craftsman,

From Broc Knives we give you - Wee Ruby.

Fidget spinner bowdrill

One of the main stumbling blocks to good bowdrill technique is a decent bearing block. Now you're not going to find fidget spinners growing off a tree but for practise and muscle memory they are worth using..

Use which ever shape of spinner you like and shape the spindle to fit the bearing

Get your kit together and practise.. we are trying to develop a way to help people with joint problems do bow drill as assuming the form is very difficult if you have bad knees or a bad back..

The ember isn't hard to get..you can also go slightly more traditional by putting the bearing in a piece of antler

Top one was hazel on lime by Davy, second one was me with willow on willow..

Preserving chanterelles

I was hoping for the usual glut of chanterelles this year but it's been quite dry and the harvest was poor though I did get some..

Chanterelles don't dehydrate well and can end up rubbery so the best thing to do with them is fry them up in a little oil

Once they release their water keep frying them till it evaporates then put them on a plate to cool

Once cool put them in a bag and freeze them, this way you can always have a few on hand as you need them.

Wild marjoram

I went out for a walk recently and came across a great little herb, wild marjoram.
Not always easy to find but when you do find it then it can be quite abundant..



Should have picked a lot of it and dried it out for cooking.. might just have to go back thete for another walk.

Spinning time

Its at that time of year again when my thoughts turn to spinning for small game fish like perch and trout..they are now well used to feeding on this year's fry so spinning is a good way to target them.so out came the spinner making box



And within an hour I had 15 gorgeous little lures made thst will do serious damage to the trout population!



Looking forward to the next couple of months !