Smoking, Baking & Whittling
Fire is the very basis of both primitive and industrialised society, and is the most obvious thing that separates us from apes. Having a reliable means of making fire can be considered essential, but now I’ve stopped smoking I often find I don’t have one just when I need it to light a fire, Storm Kettle or BBQ. This is just annoying if you are at home but much more of a problem if you are somewhere remote, so I decided to look for a reliable emergency fire starting.
I have Ray Mears’ Essential Bushcraft which shows you how to make fire with a friction drill. This is very purist but even he recommends using the flint and steel method. I have been trying this using a MagFire Pro Magnesium Firestarter which produces 3,000ºC hot sparks. MagFires consist of a composite metal rod and a striker, which should last for around 12,000 strikes and will light paper, natural tinder, fire lighters and of course gas appliances.
There is a knack to using these fire-starters. Basically get the end of the rod as close to the ignition point as possible and strike forcefully down the rod taking care not to hit the tinder itself. This will result in a big bundle of hot sparks and hopefully ignition. MagFires are water resistant and once mastered make ideal companions to Storm Kettles, etc.
Maddy has been trailing a Cob Oven which is a type of portable BBQ that is hugely versatile, has low fuel use, is weather resistant and really just amazing.
“For years I have been looking for an oven equivalent to the Storm Kettle – a device that is portable, light and works well in all weathers. I was delighted to discover the Cobb Oven, a portable oven, smoker, stove or barbecue that is really well designed. It is a simple system: the bottom half has a small fire pit holding just a few coals surrounded by a reservoir. This reservoir can either be oiled and used for roasting vegetables or filled with plonk to flavour a roast and keep it moist. This whole lower assembly is encased in perforated metal which greatly reduces the heat transfer to the surface you have set up on. The Cobb comes with a non stick grill plate, domed lid, carry bag and recipe book. There is a wide range of accessories and spares available to cater for specific needs. It can also be used with a wok or frying pan.
I decided to test it with a roast chicken (sorry non-meat eaters – skip this paragraph – but this oven can also be used for pizza, nut roasts, bread, roasted veg, fry ups, stirfries… the possibilities are endless). I dutifully read the instructions, greased the lid and reservoir with olive oil (for ease of cleaning afterwards) and lit 10 briquettes at the bottom (thinking this will never cook the chicken and last for 1 hours!). I placed the bird, stuffed with rosemary, sage and wild garlic leaves on the tray. The kids watched me warily. Would I ruin a roast dinner with my madcap contraption? After 40 minutes I lifted the domed lid and turned the 1.5kg bird. I did this one more time, therefore only opening the oven twice during cooking. The result was a perfectly cooked and moist chicken, and coals that could have also cooked an apple pie during the first course. The oven was easy to clean afterwards.
Time to test its capacity to barbecue, cook pizza and stir fry. I decided to forego the proprietary firelighter (very good and not smelly) and use a little paper and twigs with six pieces of charcoal instead of briquettes to see how it would work. The barbecue lit well and even with a small quan-tity produced good heat but on reflection I will load up the firebox with a few more coals next time. Cooking with the lid on to retain heat and moisture resulted in succulent meat and vegetables.
Generally, the Cobb lights well and is an excellent oven with great flexibility. Not only will it roast, cook dough and barbecue, it will also convert to a stove for stir fries and conventional fry ups. It can be used in windy weather, is safe on decking and is highly portable, coming with a handy carry bag. For a bit more than a Storm Kettle set, you get its big brother – a lightweight highly efficient outdoor cooker. It’s defin-itely going camping with us this year.”
Maddy has also been using a Sheath Knife HK1022 from the famous Spanish knifemaker, Nieto. This particular knife has most of the qualities one would want in a bushcraft or survival knife. It is strong, well balanced, comfortable to use, has finger grips to prevent slipping when wet and takes a good edge.
“I am keen on whittling and have long coveted a handmade bushcraft knife but could never justify the £150 plus needed for the honour of owning one. It was with some excitement then that I discovered this much more modestly priced knife. The Nieto HK1022 has a short stainless steel blade, a sturdy olive wood handle and a leather sheath. I tried it on hazel, apple and even a piece of mahogany I picked up from a nearby beach. It takes an edge well and the long handle makes it comfortable to hold, even when used on a weathered piece of hardwood. Overall the Nieto is the best, most affordable whittling knife I have yet encountered.”
Back in the office a whole raft of new products litter my desk. These include the latest addition to the Freeplay range, the Freeplay Indigo Lantern. Like all Freeplay products this can be charged up by winding the crank on the back or by using the mains adaptor. Basically this is a neat compact lantern ideally suited to camping but also useful for power cuts, etc. It has a top lantern containing seven ultrabright LEDs which are controlled by a dimmer. A fully charged battery will give 2.75 hours light at full power or an amazing 70 hours in night light mode. It also has an independently switched LED torch on one side which will run for up to 40 hours and makes a good reading light. The lantern freestands or can be suspended by its built in hanging loop which also serves as a carry handle.
Note: This product is no longer available but similar products can be found here.
The Little Experience have extended their range of creative kits for young children. We particularly liked the Build-it Bird Café. Designed for 5-14 year olds this wooden bird feeder comes with everything you need to make and decorate it, right down to the plastic sheet to protect your table and even the cardboard box it comes in recycles into a bird mobile.
Meanwhile I have been trying out some US sharpening tools, a Super Sharpener No1 and an Axe and Tool Sharpener. Both of these products employ pieces of diamond carbide set in a plastic handle. The Super Sharpener will sharpen knives both plain and serrated, scissors, meat cleavers, etc. I have tried it on a number of knives and was particularly impressed with the ease with which it sharpened my kitchen knives and my Chinese meat cleaver which I have never managed to sharpen before.
The Axe and Tool Sharpener has a two handed grip for control and will sharpen axes, hatchets, mower blades, shears and even hoes and spades. I was amazed at how easily it put an edge on a felling axe, a spade and a machete which, like the meat cleaver, I have never managed to get really sharp.
John Adams
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Cob BBQ shown used as a smoker, barbeque & roaster.
Whittling with a Nieto Sheath Knife
Build-It Bird Cafe in use
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