I recently sent Kevin Kelly some info on going light and he replied:
“The premier site is Backpacking LIght, which is a paid subscription site! Backpackinglight.com
Also good is Brian Green’s. He is very creative.
https://www.briangreen.net/
https://www.briangreen.net/2012/09/roundup-of-my-posts-on-lifehackercom.html
But the granddaddy of ultralights is Ray Jardine. Look at his trips! Applachian Trail 7 times, Pacific Crest 3 times, Divide Trail, 3 ties, bike across America 3 times, row across ocean, ski to north pole, he’s insane. He makes his own gear super lightweight gear and recommends you do the same.
https://www.rayjardine.com/index.shtml”
Also, check out an excellent in-depth review of rental tools on Kevin’s Cool Tools site (stump grinder $100/day, posthole digger $80/day, log splitter $100/day, etc.): https://kk.org/cooltools/archives/7072
Maybe a quarter of the way from Duluth to Grand Marais, yesterday, in a drizzling rain, I stopped in at this place (5797 N. Shore Dr.), and bingo! The trading post is filled with stuffed animals, old tools, guns, and skins on the walls, plus a ton of trinkets, moccasins, Native American-oriented stuff, what have you. I talked to one of the owners, Bill Weckman, about a bunch of things and we were on the same page, as they say. After a while, he said, “Have you got 10 minutes?” “Well — yeah,” and he took me out in the back where there are a number of buildings with old logging tools, a blacksmith shop, a sauna (Finnish loggers), all giving you a clear idea of what life was like right here back in the day. Also a beautiful flock of chickens and two mystical black llamas. Below are some pics. (Wish I didn’t have to do this kind of dumb layout; such is the fate of a non-programmer.)
The Big Horned Sheep was huge. As was the buffalo; look at the mystery and majesty and power of that head. Cattle are so lame by comparison.
The horse contraption holds a horse immobile while it is beings shoed. That’s a wooden (horse-drawn) school bus.
Godfrey’s friend Cos is getting ready to build a wooden 58′ cruising ketch, based on plans from 1926. The hull will be Douglas Fir milled by Cos and joints will be caulked with oakum — old school. Above is a huge ship’s saw. The old table saw below has two blades, either of which can be cranked into position. It operate smoothly.
Hi Lloyd and friends!
This is the only email address I could find for you; thought you’d like to add this to the blog. It’s simply exquisite.
-Dawn Owens
“This is a short documentary movie that shows the whole process of how the John Neeman tools are being hand crafted.
‘It is a tragedy of the first magnitude that millions of people have ceased to use their hands as hands. Nature has bestowed upon us this great gift which is our hands. If the craze for machinery methods continues, it is highly likely that a time will come when we shall be so incapacitated and weak that we shall begin to curse ourselves for having forgotten the use of the living machines given to us by God.’
Mahathma Ghandi”
https://www.neemantools.com/
This is the single most useful site/blog on the web for me. I can’t say how many useful things this blog has turned me on to. It’s like the electronic Whole Earth Catalog, but what’s better is that it uses no paper, and it’s daily.
Kevin Kelly, ex-Whole Earth Review editor, founding editor at Wired mag, author, photographer, explorer, runs this operation, with daily reviews of useful stuff.
“Cool tools really work. A cool tool can be any book, gadget, software, video, map, hardware, material, or website that is tried and true. All reviews on this site are written by readers who have actually used the tool and others like it. Items can be either old or new as long as they are wonderful. We only post things we like and ignore the rest. Suggestions for tools much better than what is recommended here are always wanted. Tell us what you love.”
Easiest way to get there is to go to kk.org, then click on “Cool Tools” at the left.
Tags: bikes, books, cameras, chickens, cinema, computers, photography, publishing, science, solar, technology, tools This came in last week:
Hello-
I’m a longtime fan of your books (and more recently, your blog) and wanted to let you know about my current project, as you are partly to thank. Largely because of discovering Shelter in the early 90s, I’ve had a deep interest in traditional woodworking. Combined with with Eric Sloane and Roy Underhill, my appreciation for the older, time-tested styles has been maturing all this time. We moved out to Coastal Oregon a couple years ago, and I’ve been delighted to find some examples (few and far between as they are) of “Sheltery” structures, and have tried my hand at making some small ones (chicken coops and the like). I dream of building a small off-grid cabin on our house and spend hours late at night tinkering with the design… it started as a cluster of drydocked VW Vanagon campers, but as my woodworking skills improved, I am thinking more and more Gypsy Vardo. But I digress!
I wanted to let you know about a project I have going on, which I hope you will enjoy. I want to preface it by saying that I am NOT seeking backing or contributions (I have met my goal) so with that out of the way, let me tell you a little about it.
Read More …
I’ve had this little hatchet for a few weeks now. Seldom have I had a tool give me so much pleasure. I love to look at it as it sits by the fireplace. It makes me happy. And using it is a whole other hatchet experience — it’s razor sharp and cuts beautifully. It makes me want to split wood or sharpen stakes. Hey, I think I need to trim the branches on that dead oak I’m about to cut up for firewood.
Once in a while, a tool has just got it.
It’s hand forged, of Swedish steel (not made in China, by golly), by Husqvarna, the chain saw guys. They also make a larger hatchet (this is definitely smaller than a normal hatchet).
$39.95
To get to my friend Louie’s house, you ride a cable 500 feet across a river. Here’s a short video of me walking down the road, climbing up to the 30′ high platform, attaching the bosun’s chair, and rolling across the river. On the other side there’s another platform and another cable to get back. It’s a thrill every time. Not for the faint hearted.
This Saturday, 11/6, I’m giving a short talk (with slides) in San Francisco titled “The Half-Acre Homestead in the 21st Century.” It’s from 2:00 PM to 2:45 PM. I went around and shot a bunch of photos around home and garden (below is living room). The idea is to show people what I’ve learned in 50 years of building, gardening, maintenance, and useful tools.
On Sunday, from 1PM to 1:45 PM, I’m doing a presentation titled: “Creative Carpentry: Builders of the Pacific Coast,” which chronicles my 2 years shooting photos and interviewing carpenters in the Pacific Northwest.
The SF Green Festival is this weekend, Nov. 6-7, at the SF Concourse Exhibition Center (a cool building), 635 8th St (at Brannan), San Francisco, CA 94103. It’s usually jam packed, a good-vibes event. We’ll have a booth and be selling books.
https://www.greenfestivals.org/sf/updates/
