I always thought Tolkien did the names on purpose as they are pulled from norse texts, and his dwarves were heavily influenced from the norse area in the viking Era.
Being a big norse history fan found it to be one of the reasons to portray my persona as a Dwarven person.

My hygiene kit for the trail is simple, lye based bar of soap, wash rag and towel of linen, toothbrush ( currently bamboo, but in future I hope to try and make a willow one), baking soda tooth powder, salve of some varity, boar bristle brush and a homemade deodorant paste. To use I just take a simpl...

Pack frame update... I started this thinking it would be easier than it turned out to be. First I started with an oak log. That was way to hard to be a first time carving project. Second I underestimated how hard precision carving would be, nevertheless I have found ways to keep going. Here's the cu...

You may be interested in this video. Crimber Bushcraft. Making a Viking packframe. I started the pack frame idea off of his frame and coalcracker bushcraft on YouTube. I really enjoy Crimbers videos, he gave me the idea to start from felled trees instead of milled lumber. I think I may watch his vi...

Finally getting back to creating and enjoying nature. As I venture back to middle earth I have been thinking on my persona and how I want to rebuild my kit. Currently working with the idea of fleeing the Lonely Mountain after smaug arrived, and working as a traveling blacksmith that works with jewel...

OK, but look at our corvid friends. They love shining things (gold, silver, pretty rocks), remember and hold grudges, mourn the looses of kin, and come to each other's aid... Oh, and don't forget they get loud at gatherings. A murder of crow can be heard for miles in the mountains when they find a g...

Wow! That came out beautifully.

Now I have more ideas as I get back to my kit building. I have a knife with a loose handle and this would be a way to save the blade and give it new life.

My vote is for Raven or crows... as a mountain dweller, crows alert you of danger, incoming people ect.
All the wild boars do is wreck shit, muck up the watering holes and cause general mayhem.

Personally, I think that it would be more widely spread. If memory serves, one of the dwarves in the Hobbit asked for coffee, leading me to believe that it would be a wider drink than just the Shire as dwarves are in many areas. Just my opinion, hope more chime in.

Well, I'm hoping to get my gear finished up to a functioning kit this year, and make at least one over night trail ride with my horse. This was the goal last year but one broken foot and ankle later, the horse is fat and sassy, all my sewing projects packed up and my gear spread all over. One thing ...

I also have a s hook that i hang in the bottom of the chain to make it easy to get the pot on and off with out having to re-thread the chain through the handle area... Unfortunately where i live now open fires are very seasonal with fire bans and on restrictions on where to have fires on the trails....

My bushcraft chain is 2ft 6inches... With a large o ring on one end and a toggle on the other. The o ring is for making a tri pod out of sticks and the toggle can move the pot higher or lower as needed to heat whatever is in the pot... Will have to see if i can dig it out. I never got to use mine, b...

All however seem to require belt keepers of some kind to keep the tail from flopping about.,,, which for whatever reason looks rather modern to me. With the big mountain man style I wouldn't see the belt being much longer than needed. Or this is how i have seen them at rendezvous fairs, and then th...

These look great Iodo...
Getting lots of ideas for my Dwarven kit from yours!
Keep up the good work.

What process did you use for the coffee dying? Brian I made really strong coffee and just dipped the leather bit into it. My coffee mix was half of my jar coffee grounds and then brewed with hot water, let stand till luke warm and used it. Currently mixing the Hibiscus into a coffee mix to make a n...