Recent leatherwork...

A little update on some of my leather work…I post the majority of my work on my Facebook page Badger Claw Leatherworks.  Figured I would post more here for those folks who are not into that form of social media.

I will have a video coming up that showcases some of my favorite projects from the last year..but here are a few shots…a mixture of leather as well as some primitive deer rawhide work...

As always, thanks for looking!

2013 deer season in review

This last deer season was fantastic!  I was able to put a great deal of meat in the freezer for my family as well as some close friends.  All my hunts last year were in San Saba, TX.  By the end I filled my tag with 3 does and 2 bucks.  Mornings, evenings,  clear days, driving rains and even temps in the high teens…I got out as much as I could and even had my 5 year old son out for his first time.  On to some pictures…

The weather opening day was perfect! It doesn't get much better then hunting among

the beautiful pecan trees... 

Me and my first buck of the season…

My good friend Jerry and a buck he brought down...

No shortage of feral hogs in the hill country.

Took down this monster with my Marlin lever action 30-30.

We always eat well at deer camp...

A month later in the season things have changed quite a bit…rain and mid 30s during the day…

Had my 5 year old out for his first hunt...

and we didn't go home empty handed...

Field dressed this 9-pointer with my MP Knives "Otzi"…a hand forged, antler handled version of the knife found on the mummified iceman named Otzi (http://www.iceman.it/en/node/278)

And for the final weekend of deer season I had a huge group of guys out to the property for the first of two Hill Country Bushcraft Rendezvous' for 2014.  Temps were in the 20s at night but that didn't stop our bunch from having a great 4-day weekend at camp...

We took 3 does that weekend…field dressed and processed them on site...

Parting shot…a ring-tailed cat hiding out in the trees….

A relaxing nap and some bannock made over the fire...

Got away for the afternoon and had the opportunity to for some relaxing woods-time. 

Weather was absolutely perfect!

Got out to my usual camp spot and with the fire going I laid out my coffee and bannock fixins…

With the water on the boil it was time to kick back and relax…

Also took some time to play with my new Scott Gossman Tusker.  This is a serious piece of steel…excellent craftsmanship.  Scott builds some serious hard-use knives.

Glamour shot!

Time for some bannock!  Basic recipe of flour, baking powder, water and i add a couple spoonfuls of sugar and a handful of dried cranberries.  In a buttered cast iron pan it came out delicious!

With a full stomach of warm bread and coffee I laid back to enjoy the peace and quiet…careful its easy to…drift…off….to…..sleep……ZZZZzzzzzzz..

After a nap I took a walk down to the river before packing up.  Needed to let my grill cool down and I wanted to snap a picture of the river landscape…

Thanks for coming along!!!

(one more bannock picture….because it was THAT GOOD!)

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Follow me on Facebook!

Feel free to "Like" my Facebook page.  I post updates on my leatherwork weekly.  Here is the link to my page:  Badger Claw Leatherworks on Faecbook

I also do giveaways from time to time...FREE stuff is always good!  Thanks for your support!

-John

My Leathercraft...

I thought I would post some updated pictures of recent custom leather orders.  You can also view more detailed thread on my vendor forum at bushcraftusa.com

Hopefully by the end of the year I will have a dedicated web site that will include on-line ordering, a photo gallery, a design area with options and pricing.

belt sheath for an MP Knives Dire Wolf fixed blade.

4" fixed blade belt sheath with forged D-ring

 

Small axe mask with retention strap

 4 1/2 inch fixed blade "Survival" sheath with additional pouch for folding knife or sharpening stone

MOLLE compatible multi-carry sheath

Bushcraft style sheath with fire steel loop

Tooled MP neck knife sheath with mini BSA fire steel

Belt axe carrier

ML Knives belt sheath with braided dangler

Thanks for looking, any questions don't hesitate to contact me!

2013 Hill Country Bushcraft Rendezvous

This August a group of us got together in San Saba, TX for a little fun in the woods along the San Saba river.  We camped on my in-laws property enjoying the landscape of one of their huge pecan orchards. We started out with almost 30 people.  Several could only stay one afternoon, a few more left saturday and a dozen or so of us battled the 100 degree temps for the entire three-day weekend.

Day started out setting up our "common area" down next to the river.  Central location for a fire pit, medical supplies and most importantly...SHADE!

Next order of business was hanging hammocks and setting up tents.

New York freelance photographer and woodsman Alexander Yerks (http://theaxeisboldaslove.com) helping unload some sycamore that would be used throughout the weekend for carving spoons, kuksas, wood spirits, etc..

Even though we were basically "car camping" I got the chance to load up my new Bison Gear pack...I love this thing!  Will be my new 2-3 day pack.

Before the carving could begin steel had to be sharpened.  Here another New Yorker, blacksmith Matthew Paul (MP Knives) works on a small hatchet.

Alex doing some instruction on the differences between spoon carving knives next to a pile of his hand carved treen.

Ed working on a bowl at his carving bench                                    Some other talents being shown off..                                

                                        

While everyone else sat relaxing at the river, fishing the river, carving and telling lies I snuck off to a little hunting.  I had spotted a few Rock Squirrels fleeing the area while i was setting up my camp earlier in the day...sure enough i found them again...

(picture courtesy of Matthew Paul)

Rock Squirrel with a little garlic pan friend on my Ember-Lit wood burning stove.

Had to get creative with my hammock on the second night.  Down by the river bank the trees were dense and little air moving through.  So I moved up into the orchard where the wind was blowing more constantly.  The pecan trees are spaced too far apart in most cases for to hang properly so the front of my truck did nicely for an anchor point.

One of the guys brought a beautiful canvas tent setup...made for perfect picture with the sun just set and the glow from his lantern inside.

And of course no trip into the woods is complete with some fine hand forged American made steel...this one is my "Drifter" model by Matthew Paul, MP Knives 

MP Knives vendor forum on bushcraftusa.com

Thanks to everyone who made it out for the weekend.  I wish I had more photos but I spent more time enjoying the company then taking pictures of it.

And a huge thanks to my family for letting a bunch of hooligans and cooky woodsmen invade your land for a few days.  I hope we left it better then we found it...God bless!

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