2nd Class Knife Axe Fire
Fuzz-Stick Whittling Contest ] Contact Wood-Splitting Contest ] String Burning Contest ] Water Boiling Contest ] Fire Rubbing Stick Contest ]

 

 

 

Search  Inquiry Net

Back ] Home ] Up ] Next ]

Fuzz-Stick Whittling Contest
Contact Wood-Splitting Contest
String Burning Contest
Water Boiling Contest
Fire Rubbing Stick Contest

How to Use This Book
Scout Ways
Tenderfoot Requirements
Scout Knots
2nd Class Knife Axe Fire
2nd Class Wildlife
Compass Treasure Hunts
First Class Wood Love
First Aid Games
Signaling Games

Scout Books

Site Contents

Think of two words that spell fun for young Scouts. Hike Cooking! Right! That's what they'd like to be doing before they even become Tenderfoot - and know what? It isn't hard for them. They have fun while learning. The saying, "Show me a Troop with some good outdoor cooks and I'll show you a good Troop," is usually true, so if you are interested in developing a good Troop teach your Scouts the six parts of the Cooking Requirement in the order given in the Handbook for Boys:

  1. Sharpen knife and whittle.
  2. Sharpen axe and chop.
  3. Clear site, lay and light fire.
  4. Cook meal.
  5. Clean up.
  6. Also important, put out fire!

Of the six, a Scout thinks principally of building the fire and cooking the meal - and of eating it. That's why the Handbook for Boys suggests operations Nos. 1 and 2 being done in advance.

Fire-Building Important

The Yankee pioneer put the whole thing in a nutshell when he said, "Well the most important part of cookin' is the durned fire-buildin' anyway."

A One-Month Program

When making your Troop Program for the month, consider the following indoor and outdoor items which are described in this chapter:

  1. (In or Outdoors) Knife and Axe Sharpening.
  2. (Indoors) Passing a Knife and an Axe.
  3. (Indoors) Fire-Lighter Whittling Practice.
  4. (Indoors) Fuzz-Stick Whittling contest.
  5. (In or Outdoors) Contact Wood- Splitting Contest.
  6. (Outdoors) Axe Practice.
  7. (Outdoors) String Burning Contest.
  8. (Outdoors) Water-Boiling Contest.
  9. (Outdoors) Fire-Building Instruction and Practice.
  10. (Indoors) Fire-Building by Rubbing Sticks and Flint and Steel.

Indoor Knife and Axe Sharpening

Why not give instruction and demonstration in this subject at an indoor Troop meeting? To demonstrate axe sharpening indoors make a wooden gadget to hold a short-handled Scout axe in place while filing it. The instructor can give all instruction needed while he is sharpening a knife and axe if he demonstrates the methods described and illustrated in the Handbook for Boys.

Following the instructions urge the Scouts to learn Knife and Axe Sharpening and Passing as soon as possible by working in Patrol Meetings or at home with the help of their dads. A reasonably new, clean, sharp file is required for axe filing.

Knife and Axe Passing Practice

To prepare for this contest conclude knife and axe instruction with a demonstration of correct methods of passing such sharp tools.

If desired, conduct contests, but absolutely eliminate speed and running For example, let Scouts take turns receiving and passing a knife and axe from one to another. Have a First Class Scout or Explorer judge each Patrol.

Passing Axe

When passing the axe, pass by the handle with the head down and the edge outward. The receiver grasps it with his right hand. See instructions above.

Whittling Instruction

Let someone who knows how, demonstrate the whittling of a fuzz-stick. It would be most unusual for an eleven-year-old boy to produce his first fuzz-stick with shavings at least 3 inches long all remaining on the stick. With this in mind demonstrate the easiest way to whittle a fuzz-stick, and then tell the Scouts:

  1. The knife must be sharp.
  2. Use native materials, free from knots (white pine is excellent).
  3. Keep the first three or four shavings very long, stopping about 1/2 inch from the end of the stick.
  4. After a good start hold the knife still and pull the stick while holding it against the leg, turning the blade in a trifle at the very end of the pull.

At the conclusion of the whittling instruction and demonstration announce a Fuzz-Stick Contest for the next meeting. Arrange for one Scout from each Patrol, who knows he has the soft wood at home, to split and bring it, instead of depending upon each Scout to bring his own to the next meeting.

Fire-Lighter Whittling Practice

Demonstrate the making of a simple fire-lighter which is designed for lighting a fire in the wind.

To make a fire-lighter whittle 5 or 6 thin shavings 4 or 5 inches long on the end of a soft wood stick, and when making the last cut pass the knife on through the stick, cutting off the bundle of shavings.

Members of each Patrol drop down on their knees in a circle. Scouts who have a knife and a stick practice this and as soon as they succeed they pass on their knives and sticks, and other Scouts take a turn. After everyone has had a turn at practicing start the contest described below.

Fuzz-Stick Whittling Contest
Contact Wood-Splitting Contest
String Burning Contest
Water Boiling Contest
Fire Rubbing Stick Contest

Boy Scout Games

 

 

   

 

 


Additional Information:

Fuzz-Stick Whittling Contest ] Contact Wood-Splitting Contest ] String Burning Contest ] Water Boiling Contest ] Fire Rubbing Stick Contest ]

Peer- Level Topic Links:
How to Use This Book ] Scout Ways ] Tenderfoot Requirements ] Scout Knots ] [ 2nd Class Knife Axe Fire ] 2nd Class Wildlife ] Compass Treasure Hunts ] First Class Wood Love ] First Aid Games ] Signaling Games ]

Parent- Level Topic Links:
Baden-Powell's  Games ] B-P's Adult Military Games ] Dan Beard's Games ] A. Mackenzie's Games ] G. S. Ripley's Games ] Ernest Seton's Games ] J. Thurman's Games ] Smith's Advancement Games ] Wide Games ] Relay Games ] Special Needs Boys' Games ] Politically Incorrect Scout Games ] Game Leadership ] Compass Training Games ] Highland Games ]

The Inquiry Net Main Topic Links:
 [Outdoor Skills]  [Patrol Method [Old-School]  [Adults [Advancement]  [Ideals]  [Leadership]  [Uniforms]

Search This Site:

Search Amazon.Com:

When you place an order with Amazon.Com using the search box below, a small referral fee is returned to The Inquiry Net to help defer the expense of keeping us online.  Thank you for your consideration!

Search:

Keywords:

Amazon Logo

 

 

Scout Books Trading Post

Dead Bugs, Blow Guns, Sharp Knives, & Snakes:
What More Could A Boy Want?

Old School Scouting:
What to Do, and How to Do It!

To Email me, replace "(at)" below with "@"
Rick(at)Kudu.Net

If you have questions about one of my 2,000 pages here, you must send me the "URL" of the page!
This "URL" is sometimes called the "Address" and it is usually found in a little box near the top of your screen.  Most URLs start with the letters "http://"

The Kudu Net is a backup "mirror" of The Inquiry Net.  

©2003, 2011 The Inquiry Net, http://inquiry.net  In addition to any Copyright still held by the original authors, the Scans, Optical Character Recognition, extensive Editing,  and HTML Coding on this Website are the property of the Webmaster.   My work may be used by individuals for non-commercial, non-web-based activities, such as Scouting, research, teaching, and personal use so long as this copyright statement and a URL to my material is included in the text
The purpose of this Website is to provide access  to hard to find, out-of-print documents.  Much of the content has been edited to be of practical use in today's world and is not intended as historical preservation.   I will be happy to provide scans of specific short passages in the original documents for people involved in academic research.  

 

Last modified: October 15, 2016.