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Woodsmans Gear of the 20th Century Part 10

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Video Transcription

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afternoon folks I'm Dave Canterbury with self-reliance Outfitters in the Pathfinder school back in another video in our series gear of the 20th century woodsman and today we're going to talk about the Woodman pile and this was a tool that was carried by forestry people by military people as well and woodsmen throughout the mid 20th century we're going to discuss this tool and its uses as well as military applications today stay with me so for a minute let's discuss this tool in and of itself this Woodman's POW and again

it's wood months not woodsman's it's not plural the word woodsman as we use it today he's actually a plural for multiple men in the woods this was called the woodlands pal using the old English version of Woodman which means a single person or single man in the woods so this is called the Woodman's pal again it was patented in 1943 created in 1941 it is still made to this day in the United States in Pennsylvania it's made from 1075 cold-rolled steel our rockwell of about 47 so it can't maintain a good edge but it's also can take a lot of abuse because it is a spring steel also because of the fact that it's a softer steel like 1075 as compared to a 1095 101 it's easier to resharpen in the field and if you were to ding it up those things are easier to remove or to readjust I guess is the word for it to repro file in the woods if you're to damage the tool the tool was made to number one that has a guard not all of these tools had a guard on them the military versus all had this D guard on the hand grip but it has several things on this tool that make it multifunctional it has a winning blade up here at the top for the hook very similar to European billhook style pool that was made for lemming and if you look at this tool so we just created this really a right-handed tool it was made for living right-handed and then it's only beveled on one side of the tool not both sides so it was actually made for the right-handed person although I have used my left hand in several times it has a good area here that you can use to baton the blade and a long flat straight blade here bevel on both sides that can be used for chopping land clearing and things like that which let it into being a good tool for the military it also has a blade on the front that can be used for digging as a shovel or also for cutting but mainly it was a digging type implement on the front so you had the billhook for Leming you had a digging tool for exposing roots and things like that and you also had a chopping tool all in one tool which made it very conducive for land clearing for surveyors prospectors agricultural people forestry people and things like that but it also had very good application for the military this was noticed in 1944 and from 1944 World War two up until Desert Storm this tool was used by the US military issued to the US military especially within the Signal Corps for clearing the lanes and things like that for communications but also there was a version of this created which I have here and that is a shorter version of the LCB 14 or 15 excuse me the LCB LC 14 b this shorter version was made for the pilots survival kit and it's got a little bit shorter blade and it came with a couple implements it also came with several booklets and we'll talk about those real quick because it also showed in these booklets how to use this as a survival tool as well as a fighting implement and it came with some survival necessities in this case and this is an original vietnam era pilot survival case here with the clip and the zippered canvas pouch for the tools so let's take a closer look at that so as I said this military version here came with a metal scabbard that the tool slid into could be snapped into with a leather wrap here with a snap device and then it had a metal guard sheath for it and a place that they could be slipped over a belt for the military for military use you can see this one is says Woodman tile 280 trademark patent number Victor Tool Company Reading Pennsylvania and that was the original manufacturing company of the Woodman Powell when it was patented in 1943 was the Victor Tool Company now this other tool the shorter version was actually made by another contract company and it hangs up a little bit right here at the top where that bill hook is so it can be a little difficult to get out of there and that could be because it's fairly new this is new old stock and you can see this one still has a marking on here Frank and Warren incorporated survival axe type for military spec eight six four two C alright this was the shorter version of the Woodman pal but it was made in exactly the same specifications just with a little shorter blade and it came with a sheet that was made from canvas that also had a metal belt clip on it and some of these were stamped Signal Corps but that sheath I believe was the same length as this one inside this and these have been these are replacements inside here these are not what came with it originally but there was a sharpening stone on one side which actually had a hole drilled through it and a chain so that you can hang on to it in one pocket inside here like this and the other pocket contain a magnification lens and again this is a replacement so that you could start fire so that it was a survival use tool and all of those things came inside this pouch and it also came with some manuals to tell you how to use the tool for different applications and again like I said it's kind of difficult to get this thing in this case and I don't know if that's just a function of it being brand-new with this top billhook right here there's sometimes tedious to get on the top of that zipper but it's a nice tool you had some manuals here that came with it depending on which version you were issued you have one here that's a Karen use manual and these are duplicates or replications of the originals this is not an original set of manuals you can buy these online if you get one of these woodlands pals and you want to get the original paperwork that came whether you can get reproductions of these online so you had a Karen use manual that showed different ways to use the tool and then ways to maintain the tool as well talks about the implements and tools that came inside the pouch and talks about the tool itself and it has several black and white pictures inside of it of the tool in use as well you also had a fighting manual that came with one version of this that was issued during the Vietnam War that showed how to use this as a fighting implement with the D guard different stances and postures disarming postures things like that in this manual you had a jungle living in the jungle with the US Army Elsie 14b this was kind of a jungle survival manual that came with one of the Vietnam issued ones that talked about the tool and how it could be used to affect your survival from building shelters to processing different types of materials coconuts and things of that nature and then you had a survival Airmen's toolkit manual that came with the airman survival kit version like this that was just a small survival manual again talking about the components that came with the kit talking about the stone and the sharpening or the magnifying glass talking about the Woodman pal itself showing how to utilize it and talking about some of the versions that were issued and what they were used for in the jungle showing how to split roofing material from farms and things like that with the tool and then another survival soft kit that came with a Woodman pal that was also a military spec and I don't have that I haven't seen one of those for sale anywhere other than one I saw on eBay for about two hundred fifty five dollars I saw an example of in a separate post somewhere but I think it's interesting for us to look at tools like this because these tools have been used by woodsmen they have been used by the military and a lot of military type gear has been used across that that border it's been used in the military has also been used by the woodsmen especially in the 1940s 1950s 1960s all the way back into if you look at books like camping out by Gould who was a Civil War soldier who wrote that book in the late 1800s he talks about camping out and he talks about walking around and using different things that were available in the Civil War as gear if you look further across history into things like books by Kephart and Warren Miller Hyatt Verrill and some of those folks they also speak to using military surplus as their woodsman type gear so this type gear has been used both in the military and by woodsmen all through the 20th century so I think it's important that we look at each of these tools as well because while this is not a common tool for Woodman's used today there are quite a few people I've seen on different posts and things that I've put out where I've posted pictures of these and say oh I have one of those in my ATV I carried all the time when I'm deer hunting things like that for clearing shooting lanes so it is still a viable tool even to this day even though you don't see them as prevalent today as you did back in the 40s to the 60s per say alright guys I'm Dave Canterbury with self-reliance out there's a bath fire school I appreciate you join me today for this quick look at the Woodman's pal a tool that I think is very versatile it's a little bit lost in history right now but I think it's a tool that's still relevant to our bushcraft survival and what

needs today I appreciate your views I appreciate your support I thank you for everything you do for our school for our family and for business problem our sponsored instructors affiliates and Friends I'll be back to another video as soon as I can thanks guys

About the Author

wildernessoutfitters

wildernessoutfitters

From the lore of bushcraft to all things related to self-sustainability, the Pathfinder vision is to pass on the knowledge of outdoor self-reliance. Providing basic to advanced self-reliance training and survival gear, our goal is to offer both practical knowledge and survival gear that will stand the test of time. From emergency preparedness to sustainability, the Pathfinder way is to share and educate.

Here you can explore the world of survival knives, survival kits and simple tips on outdoor self-reliance. We are always learning and enjoy passing on the knowledge we acquire.

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