Bushcraft skills is extremely usefull in case of an emergency, doing the right thing or having the right knowledge could make the difference between life and death. It can save your life or someone else’s life.

Few tools in a bushman’s pack are as versatile as a quality survival knife.  It has to be sharp, functional, strong and durable.

Knife serve a lot of different purposes:

• Cutting
• Digging
• Self Defense
• Poking Holes
• Splitting or Batoning
• Perforating
• Shaving
• Using As A Utensil For Eating
• Skinning
• Flathead Screwdriver

Knives come in all shapes and sizes. It all depends on what you’re looking for from your bushcraft knife, to decides which one is the best for you.

A good solid small knife (fixed-blade or folding) from an American made knife store is going to provide you with years of use. Just like AR-10 upper’s is the best for hunting, in the same way, this knife is the best for the activity. Having two separate blades, a large one and a small one, is far better than getting a medium knife that you think will do it all. A medium knife will be able to handle many of the jobs a small or large knife can handle, but will not do it as well. That means you will lose efficiency and/or accuracy.

When Hunting for ducks it doesn’t have to be difficult if you have the right equipment. The best duck call for beginners would be a mouth call which can make sounds that sound like a duck’s quack or wings beating. These calls are inexpensive and easy to use, so if you want to test out your hunting skills before going all in with other types of calls, this may be the best option for you!

An axe or a survival hatchet is another must-have for any serious bushcrafter.  A good bushcraft axe should be effective enough to do the job, yet small enough to fit in your pack.  You can do a lot of things with an axe and it can handle some of the heavier jobs of which a knife is capable. Axes are used to:

• Fell trees
• Chop wood
• Cut notches in wood to build a structure
• Butcher large game
• Dig
• Hammer posts and stakes

In a pinch you can use a large knife for axe-worthy jobs, but it won’t be easy.  Axe must be portable, small enough to be used single-handedly but tough enough to take heavier two handled operation. Axe heads are generally made of steel. Get the right kind of steel that can hold up to the tasks you need that axe to perform but sharpen easily enough not to be a drag.

The most important thing you will need for your survival is a fire. You will use this to keep warm, purify water, and cook your food.

Recommended fire starters:

• lighters (bic, zippo)
• ferro rod fire starters
• magnesium fire-starters
• flint and striker

Unlike a  knife or a axe, you can find the materials for a flint and striker laying around. Find two rocks that spark when banging them together. And then get banging, or use a piece of metal to strike against a stone at an angle to generate some sparks.

Not all stone will work, so you may have to try a couple different types. But sparks are possible to make in nature without any man-made supplies.

Fundamental bushcraft skills that are most related to survival:

• Food Foraging
• Trapping and Hunting Game
• Water Gathering and Purification
• Shelter Building
• Fire Building

Each of these bushcraft skills have many smaller subsets of tasks and abilities that make them up.

Food Foraging

• Knowledge of local plants
• Camp cooking
• Avoidance of toxic plants
• How to efficiently harvest

Trapping and Hunting

• Tracking and stalking game
• Reading animal signs
• Building snares
• Using lures
• Hiding human scent
• Tying knots
• Making cordage
• Cleaning and cooking game

Water Gathering and Purification

• Foraging for water
• Making a water filter
• Purifying water
• Fire building (for boiling)
• Container making (for carrying water)

Shelter Building

• Felling trees
• Batoning branches
• Harvesting other materials
• Thatching or weaving grass or bark
• Knot tying
• Making cordage
• Natural insulation and waterproofing

Fire Building

• Collecting wood
• Gathering tinder
• Batoning branches
• Building a bow drill, or other device
• Building a fire pit

As you can see there is a lot to learn!  While becoming a bushcraft master can take several years or longer the good news in that there are many small skills that can be quickly learned to get you started.