My Self Reliance Journey is Getting more Primitive
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Date: 2026-01-23
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Comments and reviews: 20
shawn_james
Uh. Sorry, but that rechargeable chainsaw doesn't sound manly whatsoever. ANNND point made after it failed. Well, my husband as a full-time general contractor in California, age nearly 70, does use rechargeable everything and they work well. .. side-bar: ripped out a sizeable portion of long beard, the other day, using a drill. Ouch! Absolutely love your videos, Shawn. I wish your wife was there to be that kind of woman. The chainsaw was my best friend, until my muscles withered from menopause. A book I have is entitled, Men to Match My Mountains. You're that type of man, Shawn.
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Uh. Sorry, but that rechargeable chainsaw doesn't sound manly whatsoever. ANNND point made after it failed. Well, my husband as a full-time general contractor in California, age nearly 70, does use rechargeable everything and they work well. .. side-bar: ripped out a sizeable portion of long beard, the other day, using a drill. Ouch! Absolutely love your videos, Shawn. I wish your wife was there to be that kind of woman. The chainsaw was my best friend, until my muscles withered from menopause. A book I have is entitled, Men to Match My Mountains. You're that type of man, Shawn.
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harleyoldelk
In southern Oregon I worked for a while with a man who made arrow bolts from Port Orford cedar that he had purchased from the U. S. Forest Service. It was done with a sledge and wedges, a splitting maul and an axe. The ones with too many knots or with crooked grain became fence rails. It was a bit of an art not to turn too much good arrow bolt wood into fence rails. You have to have the hang of it. BTW, I have a very strong and heavy Osage Orange spirally-grown walking stick. It was grown that way by braiding the suckers with the stem. It is not a light wood.
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In southern Oregon I worked for a while with a man who made arrow bolts from Port Orford cedar that he had purchased from the U. S. Forest Service. It was done with a sledge and wedges, a splitting maul and an axe. The ones with too many knots or with crooked grain became fence rails. It was a bit of an art not to turn too much good arrow bolt wood into fence rails. You have to have the hang of it. BTW, I have a very strong and heavy Osage Orange spirally-grown walking stick. It was grown that way by braiding the suckers with the stem. It is not a light wood.
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jasongeiger6615
Hey Shawn. . Just a simple quick question. In this video you are crawling all around in snow and cold weather obviously. However, your pants aren't building up with snow or looking wet as the video plays out. What is your usual winter snow work pant that you wear In Ohio, we often layer up in Carhart bibs but that gets heavy and cumbersome. I'm looking for proven work wear that lasts, is warm with the right base layers and keeps me dry as well. Thanks for your time and may 2026 be a blessed year for ya.
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Hey Shawn. . Just a simple quick question. In this video you are crawling all around in snow and cold weather obviously. However, your pants aren't building up with snow or looking wet as the video plays out. What is your usual winter snow work pant that you wear In Ohio, we often layer up in Carhart bibs but that gets heavy and cumbersome. I'm looking for proven work wear that lasts, is warm with the right base layers and keeps me dry as well. Thanks for your time and may 2026 be a blessed year for ya.
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leighdf
Just an FYI, new moon is not no moon. In fact, the Moon is almost directly between you and the sun during daylight hours. That's why you don't see it: it's lost in the brilliance of the sky. If anything, the gravitational pull upwards (of the Sun and Moon combined) is more than it would be during a full moon when the Sun and Moon are opposite each other. There's no Moon above you during a new moon only in the dead of night. So yeah. it's a total myth. You might say it's busted.
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Just an FYI, new moon is not no moon. In fact, the Moon is almost directly between you and the sun during daylight hours. That's why you don't see it: it's lost in the brilliance of the sky. If anything, the gravitational pull upwards (of the Sun and Moon combined) is more than it would be during a full moon when the Sun and Moon are opposite each other. There's no Moon above you during a new moon only in the dead of night. So yeah. it's a total myth. You might say it's busted.
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beneagle5653
So excited for your bow journey! My first successful bow was from ash. Great way to try to preserve a vanishing species. Osage is unbelievable and in a league of its own. If I ever have to fight a bear with a three foot stick I'd want it to be osage. Look into the history of the ice age beasts that ate the fruits and pulled on its branches and its journey being dispersed along the Mississippi. Amazing stuff. Happy New Year!
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So excited for your bow journey! My first successful bow was from ash. Great way to try to preserve a vanishing species. Osage is unbelievable and in a league of its own. If I ever have to fight a bear with a three foot stick I'd want it to be osage. Look into the history of the ice age beasts that ate the fruits and pulled on its branches and its journey being dispersed along the Mississippi. Amazing stuff. Happy New Year!
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brianrule6085
Happy NEW YEAR ALL! That was a ROCKY 4 training montage pulling the log out. I don't who your fighting but that guy is in trouble! Splitting the wood like that blew my mind haha. Watching all these years I see logs but your mind see the finished product and I will have my mind blown by the end result as always! With all of this the very beautiful, very smart, very rare North American CALI steals the show again!
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Happy NEW YEAR ALL! That was a ROCKY 4 training montage pulling the log out. I don't who your fighting but that guy is in trouble! Splitting the wood like that blew my mind haha. Watching all these years I see logs but your mind see the finished product and I will have my mind blown by the end result as always! With all of this the very beautiful, very smart, very rare North American CALI steals the show again!
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christianniem844
I just want to tease you about that Hamilton Beach electric chain saw. Did it come with a pasta maker attachment I know I am jerk. I have always been a Stihl man myself but I have had a Husky they make a good saw no doubt. But really I worry about you felling trees alone, I know you are very competent. You have more patience then any one I know to do all that by hand. Well done and thank you.
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I just want to tease you about that Hamilton Beach electric chain saw. Did it come with a pasta maker attachment I know I am jerk. I have always been a Stihl man myself but I have had a Husky they make a good saw no doubt. But really I worry about you felling trees alone, I know you are very competent. You have more patience then any one I know to do all that by hand. Well done and thank you.
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wildnestgokbey
The patience you show while searching for the straightest ash tree in that deep snow is truly inspiring, Shawn. I’ve been dealing with a similar blizzard lately while trying to install the windows of my own cabin project, WildNest. Working against the elements makes the result so much more meaningful. Can't wait to see how that bow turns out in the spring! Respect from the mountains.
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The patience you show while searching for the straightest ash tree in that deep snow is truly inspiring, Shawn. I’ve been dealing with a similar blizzard lately while trying to install the windows of my own cabin project, WildNest. Working against the elements makes the result so much more meaningful. Can't wait to see how that bow turns out in the spring! Respect from the mountains.
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InDeathOnlyNothing
Also you probably could use a building where you can test out different materials working with stuff besides wood. Like epoxy, fiberglass, all kind of stuff. If you can gather any of materials in the wild primitively and put them in containers and pour them into molds and sand them or something I don't know. Just how many different materials are there on the land to get to use
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Also you probably could use a building where you can test out different materials working with stuff besides wood. Like epoxy, fiberglass, all kind of stuff. If you can gather any of materials in the wild primitively and put them in containers and pour them into molds and sand them or something I don't know. Just how many different materials are there on the land to get to use
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chrisanderson1515
We lost all of our ash trees due to the emerald ash bore as it rampage through the Blue Ridge here in Virginia. Big beautiful ones too. Now I have to spotted the spotted lantern fly to contend with, as it seems to be transitioning over oak trees, and our maple trees are trashy, paradise trees, which is what it came to eat in the first place. We are bracing ourselves.
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We lost all of our ash trees due to the emerald ash bore as it rampage through the Blue Ridge here in Virginia. Big beautiful ones too. Now I have to spotted the spotted lantern fly to contend with, as it seems to be transitioning over oak trees, and our maple trees are trashy, paradise trees, which is what it came to eat in the first place. We are bracing ourselves.
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keithkempenich6401
What kind of wood do you plan to use for the better bows You don't say, but I'm guessing Osage Orange Yew would be the traditional wood for medieval bows, of course. That ash would be worth hanging onto for replacement hafts for your axes and such; it was the wood of choice for medieval axes and pole weapons. I'm looking forward to watching these bow projects!
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What kind of wood do you plan to use for the better bows You don't say, but I'm guessing Osage Orange Yew would be the traditional wood for medieval bows, of course. That ash would be worth hanging onto for replacement hafts for your axes and such; it was the wood of choice for medieval axes and pole weapons. I'm looking forward to watching these bow projects!
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MaryEnea-nu4qk
Why are you keeping poor Callie out in the snow, you can see she has some health issues, be happy with what you have and stop trying to prove yourself! I’m sure your wife and girls would rather be in a more stable place, I can see you are a very stubborn man that has some real issues. Please let your dog have some rest and stop continuing with this nonsense!
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Why are you keeping poor Callie out in the snow, you can see she has some health issues, be happy with what you have and stop trying to prove yourself! I’m sure your wife and girls would rather be in a more stable place, I can see you are a very stubborn man that has some real issues. Please let your dog have some rest and stop continuing with this nonsense!
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GrillerWarfare
Osage Orange timber staves make the best bows, this timber can be found in Oklahoma. Sources cite John Bradbury noting that a bow made of Osage timber could be traded for a horse and a blanket. lso, Arrow shafts are best made from river cane or single shoots rather than from turned timber which spilt readily due to inconsistent grain.
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Osage Orange timber staves make the best bows, this timber can be found in Oklahoma. Sources cite John Bradbury noting that a bow made of Osage timber could be traded for a horse and a blanket. lso, Arrow shafts are best made from river cane or single shoots rather than from turned timber which spilt readily due to inconsistent grain.
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MsEternallyYours
I dream of a life away from all the noise and chaos of the world right now. Government taking more and more from you, bleeding you dry, in every aspect of your life, making a decent living is getting to be too difficultand they know it.
If I could, I would move somewhere my money goes further and out of Big Brother range.
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I dream of a life away from all the noise and chaos of the world right now. Government taking more and more from you, bleeding you dry, in every aspect of your life, making a decent living is getting to be too difficultand they know it.
If I could, I would move somewhere my money goes further and out of Big Brother range.
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johnhodson8839
Bro. don't beat the h out of your axes, hatchets. get some wedges or make some hardwood ones. also why would you make arrow shafts from ash when you can harvest perfectly good material from redwillow / dogwood the traditional material. Choose a tree with even, concentric bark that assures a straight tree the best for a self-bow
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Bro. don't beat the h out of your axes, hatchets. get some wedges or make some hardwood ones. also why would you make arrow shafts from ash when you can harvest perfectly good material from redwillow / dogwood the traditional material. Choose a tree with even, concentric bark that assures a straight tree the best for a self-bow
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renebergmann8017
like the idea Sean meets James Alofs, too. Think they would click together. Sean is the godfather, can show James some skills, because of his bigger experience and James learned very fast, can lough about himself and is extremely good in entertaining the viewers. I like both kind of the way they give us content
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like the idea Sean meets James Alofs, too. Think they would click together. Sean is the godfather, can show James some skills, because of his bigger experience and James learned very fast, can lough about himself and is extremely good in entertaining the viewers. I like both kind of the way they give us content
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shawn_james
Ugh, ugh! Now there's Tim the tool man Taylor! Also, can't blame you for wanting to go primitive. I like your description, but not AI's in the description. I'm not the digitized sort of person. I'm encouraged by your skills. The good life is still available in this earth. Praise the Lord!
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Ugh, ugh! Now there's Tim the tool man Taylor! Also, can't blame you for wanting to go primitive. I like your description, but not AI's in the description. I'm not the digitized sort of person. I'm encouraged by your skills. The good life is still available in this earth. Praise the Lord!
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pontan272
Shawn, thank you for another wonderful video. I love seeing you and Cali spending time together. Looking at Cali’s gentle face, I can really feel the passing of the years. I also remember when you were drinking Matcha! I hope this year is a great one for you. Greetings from Japan!
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Shawn, thank you for another wonderful video. I love seeing you and Cali spending time together. Looking at Cali’s gentle face, I can really feel the passing of the years. I also remember when you were drinking Matcha! I hope this year is a great one for you. Greetings from Japan!
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susanhamilton1822
What is that sled made out of that it doesn't crack under that abuse This is a winter and a half even here further north. I was not expecting such cold and snow. Last year was so mild compared to this. It hasn't risen higher than -15 for what seems like a month.
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What is that sled made out of that it doesn't crack under that abuse This is a winter and a half even here further north. I was not expecting such cold and snow. Last year was so mild compared to this. It hasn't risen higher than -15 for what seems like a month.
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calvinabbott6920
The Ministry of Defense made a Binary Weapon to attack every tree and shrub in the Northern Hemisphere during the Cold War, the same scientist retired to a backwoods College getting an electron microscope and photographed every Parasite used to control humanity.
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The Ministry of Defense made a Binary Weapon to attack every tree and shrub in the Northern Hemisphere during the Cold War, the same scientist retired to a backwoods College getting an electron microscope and photographed every Parasite used to control humanity.
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