10 Bushcraft Gift Ideas For People Who Like Using Their Hands
Bushcraft Gift Ideas for People Who Like Using Their Hands
Check out these Original Bushcraft Gift Ideas. Everyone knows that one person who just loves using their hands, whether it is building shelters or fires, they are the first to get stuck in and get their hands dirty. I love these kinds of people because their creativity inspires me, plus they are easy to buy original gifts for.
The art of living outdoors and learning bushcraft skills to create handmade items is an age-old tradition that should be encouraged. No matter what age bracket you are shopping for, these kinds of gifts always go down well with outdoor people and are likely to last a lifetime.
10 Bushcraft Gift Ideas For People Who Like Using Their Hands
Remember, these are just ideas. There are so many ways you can go with Bushcraft Gift Ideas that you should always consider the person receiving the gift first and foremost. If you are buying for a 10-year-old, then a machete or axe isn’t going to be very appropriate from a parent’s perspective. If you are buying for a serious survivalist, then it is worth knowing that they probably already have all the tools they would ever need. Try and get them something more personalized (i.e. initials engraved in something), or a miniature version of something they already have.
Ideas for Bushcraft Gifts
Knife Making Kit
A knife-making kit is a great bushcraft gift idea for anyone who likes working with their hands in the woods. Yes, knives are sharp, that’s the point, but they are not dangerous when used safely and given the respect they deserve. For bushcrafters, the fascination and appreciation of a good knife is deeply engrained in their DNA.
Giving someone the opportunity to create their own knife is one of the best bushcraft gift ideas for someone coming of age or just getting into bushcraft.
Check out these Knife Making Kits for some precut blade designs like the skinner (above) as well as some nice blank handle blocks to work with (wood / buffalo horn etc).
Related: Top 10 Pocket Knife Sharpeners
Axe or Just the Head
An axe is a piece of outdoor gear that no true woodsman would be without in the woods, and it can be bought in lots of different sizes. Hatchets are one of the smallest and also one of the best tools for heavy-handed bushcraft. These are also generally the cheapest type of axe, but by no means ‘cheap’, and so they are ideal for gift giving.
I like the idea of giving the axe head without a handle, as it adds an extra layer to the gift. By this, I mean that it teaches them the important and useful skill of making a new handle. Most commonly, though, you will find that axes come with the handle included.
Gränsfors make very good quality axes in all sizes, but I especially like the Gränsfors Bruks Hand Hatchet (left image) for bushcraft and it fits right in your bushcrafting bag. The Hand Hatchet is still part of the current Gränsfors range and remains specifically designed as a compact camping and outdoor axe.
The Husqvarna 13-Inch Hatchet (right image) was the cheaper option I originally recommended and still represents the sort of simple wooden-handled hatchet I like for bushcraft. Husqvarna’s wooden hatchet range has changed since this article was first written, so don’t be surprised if the current model you find has slightly different dimensions, materials or specifications from the older 13-inch version pictured here.
Related: Fiskars X-Series Axes
Folding Camp Saw
When you need to cut more than a couple of branches or small pieces of timber, using a small hatchet can take a lot of time and effort, whereas with a saw as well, you will be done in no time. Obviously, a standard DIY saw isn’t the easiest or most convenient item to keep in your backpack.
So the better alternative for camping and bushcraft is a Bahco Laplander Folding Saw. This one has aged particularly well: the 396-LAP is still in Bahco’s current range, with a 190 mm blade, 7 TPI teeth, a locking folding blade and a low-friction, rust-resistant coating. Bahco also still sells the Laplander saw and knife set like the one pictured above.
Read our Full Review of the Bahco Laplander Here!
Related: Best Folding Saw for Camping
Fire Starter
There are loads of different pocket tools that can, in one way or another, create fire better than the other. I am not here to decide which is best but I will recommend three different ideas.
The first is a traditional Flint Steel Striker which can be used with a suitable piece of flint. The second is a Fire Piston which can ignite an ember through the rapid compression of air. The third is a Ferro Rod Fire Starter, which you have probably seen a hundred times before, but this one is 1/2 inch thick!
Related: Basics: How to Start a Fire Without Matches or a Lighter
Belt Making Kit
How does the saying go, “if you give a man a belt it will keep his trousers up for a month, give a man a belt making kit and he will never go without a belt again”? Something like that.
But seriously, the tools to make a belt can also be used to make other things like wallets and leather axe sheaths for sharp tools. Something most bushcrafters enjoy is making their own gear, and leather is a great material to do that with. Another good skill to have.
Check out the Angelakerry Leathercraft Kit for the tools and Springfield Leather Company Belt Strip for the leather (they can recycle the buckle off an old belt).
Wood Carving Tools
If you have ever seen Ray Mears carve a spoon out of a piece of tree then you know how easy he makes it look. If you haven’t seen it then give him a search on YouTube. Despite how easy it looks, it isn’t at first. But it is a skill that anyone can learn with just a little bit of practice and the right tools.
A spoon or bowl carving knife is a great bushcraft gift idea for any camping enthusiast, as well as some more detailed carving tools for making patterns.
Kelly Kettle
While Kelly Kettles and Cooking Pots aren’t the most glamorous of gifts, they are very cool, and on most people’s camping gear wishlist. The Kelly Kettle is a handy portable kettle and stove system that uses small bits of wood, twigs, bark and other natural fuel.
The large Base Camp model pictured here now has a stated capacity of 1.6 litres, which is roughly 6 to 7 cups of water, so my original figure still stacks up pretty well. With the appropriate pot support and cookware, you can also heat small amounts of food above the chimney while the water boils. Great bit of kit and if you like that then you should also check out these top 10 wood burning stoves for backpacking.
Compact Fishing Kit
Unless the person you are buying for is already a keen angler, a compact fishing kit makes a great gift idea for someone who thinks of themselves as a bit of a Bear Grylls. Instead of carrying a big pole and a box full of tackle, the idea is to have the smallest possible rod with minimal fishing gear.
You can get what is sometimes known as a Hobo Fishing Kit which keeps all the tackle inside and is very compact.
The other rod pictured above is the Wormy Compact Fishing Rod. When I first wrote this article it was a new Kickstarter-funded design. It didn’t disappear: the concept has since developed into the wor.my Compact Fishing System, with modular spring poles, interchangeable components and several current packages. You can see the modern version on the wor.my website.
Big Roll of Paracord
There is nothing more useful than having a big roll of paracord at home or base camp to replenish your backpack supply. Paracord is one of the most useful items to have when building shelters in the wild, apart from having a rain tarp of course. It is strong, compact and can be opened up to reveal multiple inner strands that can be useful for finer jobs.
Standard 550-style paracord is brilliant for shelter building, lashing gear and a hundred camp jobs, but it isn’t climbing rope or certified life-safety equipment, so don’t take the “550” in the name as permission to start rappelling off a cliff with it.
You can get it in short lengths but it works out quite expensive so you are much better off getting a 1000 ft roll. Alternatively, you can get the much cleverer TITAN SurvivorCord, which adds fishing line, fire tinder and utility wire inside the cord. See the article below.
Related: TITAN SurvivorCord Review – 550 Paracord, Fishing Line, Waxed Jute, and Copper Wire All in One
Personalized or Handmade Items
Things like engraved whiskey flasks and customized leather knife sheaths always make nice personalized gifts for anyone, regardless of how much time they spend outdoors. Etsy is a great place for handmade and personalized gifts as well as just getting some inspiration.
You can get some awesome little hand-forged chopping tools and I am sure that if you asked the sellers, they could customize them for you.
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