Recent content by Jonas Sjöblom

I usually drink directly from the river or lake. But it has happened that I got sick so nowadays I'm a little careful, especially if there are beavers around.. But I make fire for both lunch and dinner so I can just put a pot on it while eating.

Thank you everyone, I appreciate you taking the time. Unfortunately I've had a change of plans due to expensive flight tickets. So I'll be staying here. But I still intend to go there one day so I will keep your advices in mind!

Thanks a lot everyone for all the advice you have given! I really appreciate it! We have contacted a few builders now and are waiting for reply. If you have more advice please let me know!

Hello everyone! We are a Swedish couple (me and Sigrid), going to Canada this fall (september to december) and intend to volunteer with something we enjoy. We're 29 and 23. My biggest interests are canoes and paddles. I've built my own wood canvas canoe and lots of paddles. I've studied...

Thanks everyone! Great to hear that you appreciate the blog! Yes tump_lion. It's the same. I used a brand that's called "Hälsingetjära" here in Sweden. It's pine tar mixed with some pine oil to get thinner. But it works well with ordinary pine tar too (the stuff for skis), it's just a bit...

Hello, some people have asked me to tell more about myself and the bushcraft/canoeing course I took in Sweden. So I've written an article about the course (not so much about myself). If you're interested you can find it here, and I'm happy to answer any questions...

Really? I have some socks in tricot which have held for a really long time. But what I'm mainly interested in is the properties of the canvas. If it wells like cotton and the drying times and wear resistance.

So I was browsing some bamboo clothes today. But it's all soft clothes and mostly underwear. But I started thinking, it dries faster than cotton so wouldn't it be good for a jacket or anorak? Maybe even for a backpack or a canoe. Anyone tried some bamboo canvas? I don't know a lot about the...

Thats great! I love seeing new creative solutions. What I'm thinking though is if water somehow gets inside the shoe it won't get out and will eat up the wood real quick. But it looks like you did a very good job sealing it.

No Title Robin, I varnished all spruce parts (planking, ribs, seat and inner gunwales). I've just oiled the thwarts, decks and outer gunwales which are in ash. So far this seems like a very good combination. But I do have a friend with a non-varnished canoe. It had been sitting unused last 50...

I just use raw oxidated linseed oil (boiled works too) And it works very well. I usually put one coat in spring and one in fall if needed.

Well back on topic. I took it's virginity yesterday. Had a wonderful warm day with sun and no wind at all. Already my first impression when I put it in the water was that I'm really gonna like this paddle. I tried the different grips and it seemed to me that they were more comfortable the higher...

Glenn, my biggest interest is paddling, woodworking is just a sub hobby, though I am atm taking a 1 year woodworing course. Those paddles you mentioned are all competition paddles. if I was competing I'd chose one too. But there is a huge difference between paddling at a leisure and paddling to...

Mema, I agree the tools and materials available probably affected the paddle design greatly. But I don't mean the natives did it the best way because they are the original inventors. It's because they had thousands of years to fine tune their canoes and paddles. Now bikes have only existed for...

I can buy that sugar islands are faster and better in shallow water. But I would never use one for a long distance on open water. The wider blade makes them heavier to paddle, putting more strain on the body. Like cycling in high gears for hours. That's not gonna work if you're going far. And...