St Johns Wort

It's one of those plants that everyone has heard of and everyone knows it's got a long history of very effective medicinal use but most people would walk past it without being able to recognise it if they saw it growing wild, which it often does.

 

 

I've found it growing in a lot of places and it's one of those herbs that I often pick and keep dried should anyone ever need some.

It's quite easy to distinguish with it's woody base, bright yellow flowers and oval opposite leaves and if you look very closely little dots on the leaves.

It's medicinal uses include a cure for diahorrea, bladder complaints, nervous disorders and depression.

The fresh or an infusion of the dried plant can be used to treat infected wounds and ulcers, also swellings and bruising, however side effects have been noted with this herb including some as severe as anaphylaxis and foetal abortion so never use this plant unless you know what you are doing, and even then use in moderation.

Legends about this plant say that it can keep away the devil, evil spirits and apparitions, being named after St John the Baptist this holy plant was often thrust into the mouths of witches to make them confess.

Paracelsus said the plant should be picked early in the morning as the first rays of sun touched the petals, it was this plant that was most effective in creating the potion called the blood of Christ.

 

 

Elder pith for flint and steel.

I've wondered about using this for a while but never seen any other articles on using it so I thought I'd see if it works..

So I found a few pieces of dead elder (sambucus nigra) and took the pith out of the center

put it in the usual char tin and in the fire just for a few seconds as it chars incredibly quickly

then into the tinder box, I broke some of the pieces up to increase the surface area and create a better chance of getting a successful spark though this may ultimately not have been a good idea, the steel was struck with a piece of flint onto the charred pith

and as you can see it took very easily.. However there are a few downsides, if you put the tinder bundle into your tinder box to blow to flame the charred pith blows out everywhere as it is so incredibly light, the slightest movement of air scatters all the pieces so be gentle.

Also putting the embers into a 'birdsnest' tinder bundle and blowing it to flame is tricky, it's hard to keep all the little pieces together so the ember spreads as they have a tendency to separate and the ember then only spreads along one piece, so if using this method use the biggest single piece of charred pith in your pile.

Opinel Explore No 12 - New Knife

The traditional opinel has been an iconic outdoor knife for years and we all love them and I'm sure have more than one, well wanting to expand the range into a more upmarket outdoor scene they've brought out a very nice number 12 in modern materials.

A 12c27 blade with polymer handle containing a ferro rod and a guthook/lanyard hole, although I don't need another knife I am tempted, it should be available in stores very soon.

The Blusher Mushroom - Amanita Rubescens

The Amanita family of fungi are really difficult to identify and potentially life threatening if you get it wrong, this one however is edible but to be on the safe side I've never tried it as I'm too worried about getting it mixed up with the Panther cap! However I'm getting there and my ID is getting better and I got this one right even from a distance!

 

 

 

 

Called the blusher because they blush pink. I have often read that they do this when bruised but after a chat with an expert mycologist he said they rarely do this but will turn pink when broken and exposed to air. Anyway above you can see the defining features of this fungi, examine the cap, ring and base and whatever you do don't mix it up with the panther cap!!

 

Many thanks to Geoff Dann for the help with the ID.

The Importance of Distinction

Here are two inflorescences from two different plants, one is edible one is not..can you tell the difference between them and what they are?

 

 

It's relatively easy to differentiate between whole plants but it's much more difficult when you only have part of a flower, even more so when you have to choose between them for a particular reason.. Make sure you know your stuff, don't guess.. if you're not sure then don't use them.

Mora Garberg UK release

The much anticipated Morakniv Garberg has just been released in the UK at a cost of £110, that's roughly $160 !!!! Are you kidding me Morakniv???, that's the same price as a fully made custom knife, as a matter of fact it's dearer than some custom makers! I've always been a supporter of Mora knives but that price is just crazy, Mora can take a long walk off a short pier.. stick to the Mora companion!

Hultafors Bushcraft Outdoor Knife - the OK4

Davy gave me a great present during the week, the new Bushcraft knife from Hultafors. As Mora has been saturating the market with outdoor and bushcraft knives lately it was only a matter of time before Hultafors got in on the action too and their new Outdoor knife is superb.

 

They refer to it as the OK4

 

 

It's carbon steel at 59-60 RC, it's 8 1/2 inches long with a 3 3/4 inch blade which is 3mm thick

 

 

here you can see the really beefy blade, I'm sure comparisons will be made with this knife and the new version of the mora robust with the shorter fatter blade.

 

 

the handle is very comfortable in a number of grips and is plastic covered with a textured rubber.

 

 

it weighs in at 109.2 grams or about 3.84 ounces.

 

It's got an electrophoretic coating ( whatever that means !) on the blade to protect from rust but the bevel coating will wear once it's sharpened. The sheath is the standard plastic sheath but it comes also with a Cordura belt loop that will fit belts up to 80mm or about 3 inches, it also has a woven elastic ferro rod holder that will take rods up to 8mm diameter, although you DON'T get a rod with it you will need to add your own. the price is very competitive and I'm hopeful that Hultafors will develop new designs of outdoor knives and expand the range as Mora have done.

 

 

By the way ... A very happy and peaceful independence day to all our American freinds.