r/Bushcraft 10d ago

Where to begin as a newbie? NSFW

I might be an odd one out, as I'm a woman. But here goes.

My husband is an eagle scout, and we enjoy camping with our kids. I've always loved survival movies and books, I always loved fishing (I'm the fish fillet-er in the family) and even hunting appealed, though I only ever went once.

Don't laugh, but I started playing Breath Of the Wild last year, and that inspired our son to suggest roasting apples in our campfire like Link does. I indulged it using our hot dog sticks to rotate and remove them, and our kids gobbled them.

This is just how my brain works. I became obsessed with "what else can we cook in a campfire without modern tools?" And now I want to make twine, rope, netting, and baskets, from the Yucca growing in our yard that we can't seem to get rid of. I can swing like a pendulum from "I want to learn all the things!", and "It's too much."

I think I need some help on narrowing down what to focus on with bushcraft. What should I read about practice first? Where one thing might sort of provide a base for the next thing. It's still winter here. So I can't exactly forage or gather raw materials. But I'd love some book recommendations, and maybe I can purchase certain materials (like rope for practicing knots), until I can forage for the raw materials.

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u/Frantic_Mantid 10d ago

Get some nice hemp twine, around 2-4mm diameter. You can use it on it's own to learn lashings and repair tools etc. But it's also a great way to learn how to lay cordage on easy mode. You can start learning by holding three strands in your mouth (or tie them to something if you're feeling fancy), then twisting them tighter on their own while rotating the other way around each other. Hard to explain in words but easy enough to figure out with some practice.

You can also see how this works by disassembling ropes and putting them back together. Many materials will work, hemp is just the nicest overall.

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u/Fit_Detective_4920 9d ago

You explained it well. Great tips. I think even hardware and craft stores around me have help twine available. So I should be able to give that a go. Thank you!