THE CORE FIVE. . .making the Gibson Ulu!

I really enjoy AMERICAN FRONTIERSMAN magazine. I love the mix of history, Frontier skills, and modern skills. So, I was very pleased read the excellent article by Craig Haney entitled, THE CORE FIVE, which is a discussion with 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.

2.) 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." Have a knife! You don't want to go down the tin can path unless you have to!



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


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Very nice! Now I want even more to read that magazine!

 

It's a good one! Stay healthy & well my brother!

 

Vid on the project:

 

Glad you enjoyed it. It was a very fun experiment!

 

Ah, okay I have seen his channel. That young man is on FIRE for outdoor skills. Does a great job on his vids. I suspect he might even end up a SERE Instructor someday. You have a fine young man there Dad - good job!