Cool Tools

[RichardKing]

On thar Arbtalk website there is talk of a new handy multitool for chainsaws. Its got all the types of spanners, plug spanners, screwdrivers, hex keys etc & can act as a handle for a chainsaw file.

Anyone got one ?

or seen one ?

[MartreCycle]

Not exactly a cool tool - though a great item to take to wood at every opportunity... a kelly kettle -

for those not familiar - a metal item which boils water by having a fire 'in a tube' -water is stored around the 'tube' and heats up

cost 45-ish pounds -

ideal entertainment - provides hot water - up to 1 litre -

record to date: 1 litre boiling in 7 minutes

[Landpikey]

We just had our first cuppa in our wood and that was provided courtesy of a friend's kelly kettle. We were so impressed I've just ordered one for ourselves.

The cuppa was very well deserved and one of the tastiest ever - but then we are extremely biased

[Landpikey]

After a few trips to the woods in our time off I can report back that the kelly kettle worked great. 1.5 litres boiled in a little over 7 minutes and although the sausages took a while to cook (we will go with bacon next time, much quicker) they were superb in a sandwich (brown sauce for sausage, red for bacon of course....... hmmm that could stir things up a little ).

The secrets we found are;
1. dry small twigs and adding ones about the thickness of your little finger once there is some heat in it.
2. firelighter seems better than sheets of paper
3. point the base hole into the wind or fan it to get it roaring.
Well, they worked for us anyway. I'd be very willing to hear other hints and tips for them.

[SimonFisher]

The secrets we found are;
1. dry small twigs and adding ones about the thickness of your little finger once there is some heat in it.
2. firelighter seems better than sheets of paper

I tend to keep a bag/box of small pieces of wood fuel with my kettle which I know are dry. This avoids the problem of trying to light it with twigs etc that even if slightly damp can make the task harder than it need be. I usually have some really small pieces of wood, often not much thicker than matchsticks that I use as kindling and which will catch easily from a piece of lit newspaper. If I'm chopping kindling for lighting the log burner at home, I'll often cleave a few thin pieces (flat pieces maybe 3-5 mm thick) and put them with the kettle from which I can easily split off a few of these thin sticks with a knife. Also, as with lighting the log burner at home I find that old newspaper burns more ferrociously than fresh and the kindling catches more easily. I assume fresh newspaper isn't as quite as dry?

I also keep firelighters with my kit, just in case. I prefer not to use them as I don't like the smell they give off. For me it's about getting the kettle going easily, quickly and reliably rather than an insistence that it has to be lit using whatever's lying around. Amusing watching Ray Mears on TV a couple of days ago. He was trying to get a fire going rubbing a stick between his palms with the end of it in a hole he'd made in another stick. He'd not tried this particular type of wood before and knew it was challenging. He gave up after a few minutes and showed his palms to the camera - skin hanging off where he'd blistered it

[Landpikey]

I think taking the dry stuff to at least start the kettle going is a good idea and one I'll use from now on. We'd left some newspaper in the woods under cover but there was definitely some dampness present when we went back a few days later. But I'm really pleased with the kettle and the tea is far hotter than if we'd taken a flask .

I was looking at the fire starting steels and one day I would indeed like to start a fire this way, but until then the instant impact of a match will be our way forward. I'd also like to start a fire using a bow and a notched piece of wood but we have far toooooo many jobs to even try this.

[SimonFisher]

I was looking at the fire starting steels and one day I would indeed like to start a fire this way, but until then the instant impact of a match will be our way forward.

Matches can be tricky in the wind. There are some very good gas powered lighters with flame-protection available now. I use a Turboflame Turbostick - http://www.turboflame.co.uk/turbostick.php

[Andy M]

Try thesefirelighters - they hardly smell at all http://www.cheap-coal.co.uk/winter-fuel ... ghter.html