The inaugural Campcrafters Squirrel camp registration is officially open. If you are interested in historic campcraft and hunting then come and take a step back in time with us. All you need is historic clothing between 1880 and 1939, a period firearm appropriate for squirrel hunting and the shooting competition, and if you choose to hunt, an Ohio small game hunting license! You don’t need to hunt to join us, you can come and enjoy the ambiance and company of friends and campers. Let me know if you have any questions that the form does not answer! https://forms.gle/TuW7WtLn8A113khm7

Did you know Nessmuk (George Washington Sears) has a living great grandson? Did you know he followed in his grandfather’s footsteps traversing North America’s wilderness? Did you know you can join us tomorrow (5/22) at 8:15 pm EDT on the Campcrafters Guild and learn about his travels and ask him questions? Join for 5 days free and check out what the Guild has to offer by going to honorableoutfitters.com/jointheguild! We hope to see you around our campfire!Show less

Don’t miss it, you will have an opportunity to ask him your burning questions and learn all about his origins, style, and he’ll share his camping and backpacking tips and tricks with us! Join us by clicking HERE

Are you a father/stepfather or grandfather who would like a space to share and get ideas for spending time with your kids or grandkids doing outdoor adventure? This will be a community space of fatherhood promoting spending time with young ones as a parent and mentor, building relationships with them and navigating the different stages and abilities of a young person’s life. I’m considering creating one if there is enough interest! I am casting a wide net, not just here. If you know of someone outside of the Guild who would be interested please tell them about it and send them the following link so I can get their email and keep them updated: https://forms.gle/nAEXxkTcBF4qFDc4A

Time outside with friends! In case you missed it last night! TODAY IS THE LAST DAY to join the Campcrafters guild and sign up for the INCLUDED 6 week cohort course to start your own club…a $150 value but only $30 for the celebratory Campcrafters Guild kickoff! 🏕️ Don’t miss out on this exclusive opportunity to kickstart your own club and unlock endless outdoor adventures with new and current friends!

This price and package will NEVER happen again. Join today by going to www.honorableoutfitters.com/jointheguild before it’s too late!

Here’s a sneak peek of what awaits you:

✨ Crafting Your Vision: Dream big and learn how to turn your camping club dreams into reality! From setting goals to creating an engaging atmosphere, we’ll guide you every step of the way.

✨ Epic Camping Adventures: Say goodbye to boring trips and hello to unforgettable experiences! Discover the essential steps for planning epic camping trips that will leave your members craving more.

✨ Forge Lifelong Connections: Build bonds that last a lifetime as you foster a tight-knit community of outdoor enthusiasts. Get ready to make memories and friendships that go beyond the campfire!

✨ Masterful Management: Take the stress out of running your club with expert strategies for membership management and growth. From finances to communication, we’ve got you covered.

✨ Safety First, Always: Your safety is our top priority! Learn essential safety protocols and best practices for every outdoor adventure, ensuring peace of mind for you and your members.

But wait, there’s more! Joining the Campcrafters Guild unlocks a treasure trove of exclusive benefits:

🌟 Bi-weekly live streams

🌟 Exclusive Roundtable Discussions with industry experts

🌟 Invitations to exclusive in-person events

🌟 Skill-building courses to enhance your outdoor expertise

🌟 Monthly challenges to keep the adventure alive

🌟 Access to our ever-growing Resource Library

Join the Campcrafters Guild TODAY at www.honorableoutfitters.com/jointheguild and get ready to embark on the camping journey of a lifetime! The adventure begins next Thursday—don’t miss out!

Have you gazed on naked grandeur where there’s nothing else to gaze on, Set pieces and drop-curtain scenes galore, Big mountains heaved to heaven, which the blinding sunsets blazon, Black canyons where the rapids rip and roar? Have you swept the visioned valley with the green stream streaking through it, Searched the Vastness for a something you have lost? Have you strung your soul to silence? Then for God’s sake go and do it; Hear the challenge, learn the lesson, pay the cost. Have you wandered in the wilderness, the sagebrush desolation, The bunch-grass levels where the cattle graze? Have you whistled bits of rag-time at the end of all creation, And learned to know the desert’s little ways? Have you camped upon the foothills, have you galloped o’er the ranges, Have you roamed the arid sun-lands through and through? Have you chummed up with the mesa? Do you know its moods and changes? Then listen to the Wild — it’s calling you. Have you known the Great White Silence, not a snow-gemmed twig aquiver? (Eternal truths that shame our soothing lies). Have you broken trail on snowshoes? mushed your huskies up the river, Dared the unknown, led the way, and clutched the prize? Have you marked the map’s void spaces, mingled with the mongrel races, Felt the savage strength of brute in every thew? And though grim as hell the worst is, can you round it off with curses? Then hearken to the Wild — it’s wanting you. Have you suffered, starved and triumphed, groveled down, yet grasped at glory, Grown bigger in the bigness of the whole? “Done things” just for the doing, letting babblers tell the story, Seeing through the nice veneer the naked soul? Have you seen God in His splendors, heard the text that nature renders? (You’ll never hear it in the family pew). The simple things, the true things, the silent men who do things — Then listen to the Wild — it’s calling you. They have cradled you in custom, they have primed you with their preaching, They have soaked you in convention through and through; They have put you in a showcase; you’re a credit to their teaching — But can’t you hear the Wild? — it’s calling you. Let us probe the silent places, let us seek what luck betide us; Let us journey to a lonely land I know. There’s a whisper on the night-wind, there’s a star agleam to guide us, And the Wild is calling, calling. . .let us go.

There is so much going on behind the scenes currently, it is incredibly exciting! Not only is there an ongoing project between two incredible blacksmiths, Darcy Quapp and Doug Lockhart, but I was asked to try out and review a hand forged skillet from Mr. Lockhart. I am not being paid for this effort, he requested an honest review and I cannot express how honored I am, being given the opportunity. If you are a follower of my YouTube channel you are quite aware of my enthusiasm and passion for using antiques and vintage equipment. I always offer my honest opinions and I try my best to be clear of functionality and performance. I have created an unboxing video of the cookware and if for nothing else than to see the craftsmanship and professional care, I urge you to check it out. Mr. Lockhart does not disappoint!

Big things are happening in the background! This upcoming fall I am collaborating with two of North America’s BEST blacksmiths, one from Hocking Hills Ohio who has taught others on the famed show Forged in Fire and another from Southern Alberta Canada who specializes in forging early American style knives, hatchets, and tomahawks. A viewer on my channel suggested a comparison series of Nessmuk vs Kephart and what better way to start the comparison than with each of their unique woods tools?

Mr. Doug Lockheart is the patriarch of Lockheart Ironworks in Logan Ohio, he will be forging the reproduction Kephart and Nessmuk axes respectively as close as he can using primary sources. Darcy Quapp of Alberta Canada is reproducing both of the knives for the project, the Nessmuk is the one depicted in the pictures of this post and MANY more on the progression can be seen by looking on the article HERE. Both men are highly qualified craftsmen who pride themselves on their quality of work with attention to detail. Each has  more than 30 years of experience. Mr. Lockheart is a full time blacksmith who runs his own school of the trade and Mr. Quapp is a metal fabricator by trade. I hope you are as excited as I am to bring these two legends into the fold to pit two iconic outdoorsmen’s tools against each other next fall and winter! 

I am not a tremendously seasoned teacher of thirty years but in the years I have taught, I thought I had gotten pretty good at it. This may sound kind of funny but from my experience, being a good teacher is dependent on three things: knowledge of the student’s level, in-depth knowledge and understanding of the content material, and experience of presentation. If you have these three key factors then you can maintain your class’ attention and just about everyone at all skill and knowledge levels will be engaged and learn something from it. One of the cardinal sins of the classroom is to assume knowledge and the foundation knowledge of your students. This leads me to the statement above and a popular analogy, try to never “put the cart in front of the horse.”

My YouTube Channel is currently in a new rhythm to shake things up and every third Sunday I am posting a camp project or gadget. I knew that the first project should be fairly simple and as the series goes on to build on the skills and techniques of the previous project, much like any subject in school right? I started out with my plan and identified the parts and materials I was going to use and as I started cutting the parts I came to the realization, “there’s another project that would make this one and all future projects easier.” I had to course correct, which happens regularly in the classroom as you read the room or realize the majority have not mastered a certain level of knowledge or skills. This is precisely what I had to do but in a different classroom!

I started to change course and as I was making the first part of the new project I realized how good it was for me to change direction because I was noticing new foundational things I would have likely missed in the first planned project! That is the beauty of teaching, as you go along you are also learning, perhaps not the content itself but the techniques and steps that make you a better teacher. I would have put the proverbial “cart before the horse” and neglected important parts to make all future jobs easier for those I was teaching and in truth, myself.

Everything has a foundation, sometimes it is not initially clear what that foundation is or needs to be but it is rarely too late to take a step back and build one for the future. The greatest sin is to ignore the lack of one and push forward anyways, and I believe this can be applied in our every day lives and direction. Spend the time to build the foundation, the structure you want to build is worth the attention and will be much stronger, especially if that structure is your life.