The first item in the December Apocabox is the first item in the Aboriginal Wood Shop series.
It is a hand forged willow leaf knife.
It's referred to as a spoon knife because of its curved spoon like shape
It came with pine pitch glue to seal the metal implement into the wooden tool handle (otherwise you could make your own handle).
This glue held on extremely well for me. To me, it worked as well as a modern day epoxy.
Each tool from the Aboriginal Wood Shop Series comes with a unique project so you can use the tool for the first time and hone your skills with it. This month they challenge you to carve your own spoon. I started off with a video, and then finished up with photos.
First I made a line to indicate where I wanted the "edge" of the spoon to be with a pencil. Then I began scooping out the wood to make a spoon.
I didn't get it carved all the way out, but once i got a good spoon shaped hole I sanded it down a bit with a piece of sandcloth.
Then I started carving around the outside edge of the spoon.
Once that was completed I just needed to carve out the handle I slowly whittled away that the back and at the handle until the reached the desired shape.
I made the back side of the spoon curve downward so it won't be so bulky when one puts it in their mouth.
Here is my finished Spoon!
You will notice my finished spoon is a darker color. I advise coating your finished spoon lightly with linseed oil for protection and shine! Only do this on the finished spoon.
Creek includes a lot of patches with the Apocaboxes. This month is a mountain top high patch with our favorite saying "Not if, but when." As always, they are velco and easy to stick or sew - whatever your preference.
All of my Bug out bags have notebooks and pencils. Having a way to make notes is CRUCIAL in a bug out situation and with all the other important life saving tools we always think about it's such an easy thing to forget. This months apocabox has The Pocket Notebook and Pencil Set.
Any good prepper should have a knife or at the very least know how to make a knife if they are in a dire situation without one. It is a CRUCIAL survival tool. One of the most crucial I would say. All you need to sharpen these pencils is a knife.
We all know how much creek loves his scarves and accessories. :) That's something Creek and I have in common! I just LOVE LOVE LOVE this Handy Hankie that came with this month's Apocabox. It's stretchy and AWESOME. Here is just a few uses for this awesome accessory:
Every bug out bag of mine contains hard candies. They are easy and light to carry and they make great energy boosters because they are packed with sugar. This month's Apocabox also packs an extra punch of protein with none other than INSECTS! 10 ants have 1 gram of protein and are 20 calories.
If you don't have a bug out medical kit by now, I highly suggest that you get one going. Just putting a few things together that you might need for critical first aid situations in a small pack may mean the difference between life and death! The Bug Out Splint that was included with this month's kit is so perfect. It is high quality, light, durable, and includes pictures on the splint of how to use it for common injuries.
Under normal circumstances tinder for fire isn't difficult to collect. However, In bad weather conditions it can be difficult to find. I will be splitting the Dragon Fire Extreme Tinder up between our bug out bags.
It comes in a mylar pouch that is useful in an of itself because it can be used for waterproof storage even after the tender is gone! in can also be used for stone boiling.
The dragon fire tender is composed of moss, twigs, wood shavings, pretty much anything that a bird could make a nest from. This is a really great product and I highly recommend it!
Knowing certain knots can really make a HUGE difference in a survival situation. Everything from snares, to tents and shelter, to anchoring a raft in stormy weather knots can come in handy. They have for me over and over. This months kit contains a useful knot tying game. I think this is genius because not only do you have to worry about survival in a bug out situation, but once everything's all sorted and settled, it runs the risk of getting boring. A knot tying game will hone survival skills and keep you from going stir crazy.
I will also be purchasing one of these for my bug IN kits. We live within 50 miles of a power plant and may need to be evacuated, but we also live near enough to the coast line and get hit with both hurricanes and tornadoes on a regular basis. Power outages are nothing new to us and board games and card games are a must!
This month's Apocabox contained a Holiday gift from Creek! It's two scarfs sewn together with a drawstring. I made a video about it below.
December's Apocabox also includes a fatwood stick and ferro rod. You only need drill a hole in the fatwood and glue the ferro rod down in the fatwood with pine pitch glue.
I just shaved mine down a bit to shape it to my hand. i put the extra fatwood shavings in with my dragon tender because it is extremely flammable.
If applied properly pine pitch glue should act like an epoxy. It is very strong.
In This month's apocabox we also make pine pitch glue. I will be making a separate post about that.
