How to Build an A-frame Shelter

An A-frame shelter in heavily timbered areas will stand up to lots of snow and wind if you build it right, and could even be a permanent shelter option for a place that you camp often. Here's how to build one.

          Step one:  Draw out the plans. Will it have A-frames on the back and front end or will it have trees supporting the main beam? Also work out how tall the main beam will be and how wide it will be. You will also need to find two trees suitable as ridgepoles and they will have to be the right distance apart, at least big enough for you to be able to lay in between them.  

Side view A-Frame Shelter built with Fiskars axes

                               

         Step two:  Gather materials. This is the longest part of the process of constructing an A-frame. You will need rafters, pine needles, leaves, dirt or mulch. You will also need lots of firm, thick bark for shingles. Preferably the main beam will be a green pole. A dead one will do though if it is not going to snow and you are only staying for a night or two. Otherwise you will need a green pole for the strength.  To obtain a green pole, chop down a sapling or small to medium tree depending on how big your a frame will be. It should be thick enough that it should be able to support the roof even when it is covered in 1.5 feet of snow. Any more then this should be scooped of periodically.You will also need a good amount of stones to put around the base. You will also need lots of rafter of the right length and thickness. These, however, do not need to be green wood, so it is best that you only use green wood for the rafters in an emergency or survival situation where you need wood fast. Otherwise just use dead wood or trees that are bent over and will die soon anyway. You will need the leaves, pine needles, and mulch for your insulation, and you will need lots of it.

         Step three:  After gathering all of the materials you need, you will need to start constructing. Once you have found 2 ridgepole trees or made your own supporting A-frames you will need to put the main supporting beam of the shelter in between them. You will need a good amount of rope or cord to make strong lashings. Now start laying on the rafters. The rafters do not have to be debarked, nor do they have to be green wood. After you are finished with the rafters, you will want to start covering them with the pine needles, leaves, or mulch. Make a nice thick layer over the rafters. After this, you will want those bark shingles to make it more waterproof. Then make some wooden stakes. Each of them should be about as tall as the shelter. Drive them into the ground in front and to the rear of the shelter. Then, stack thick loads of pine needles and green boughs up in and against the poles. Open a way for the door. To cover the door, you can use a blanket, tarp, or pine boughs. Put stones around the perimeter of the shelter floor. Then make one or two bough beds for comfort. Now your shelter is ready!

Front view of shelter:
From here you can see the main beam, 
the rafters holding up the pine needles and leaves, and the bough bed.
This an A-frame with an open front. You can also see the
Fiskars X15 and the Fiskars X7 Hatchet and Ax that I
used to build it. Lots of chopping! 

Thank you for reading, please comment below and watch for more posts!

Morakniv Companion sandvik stainless steel military green review

This is quite a good knife for the price. It is good for bushcraft on a budget but in no way is this a beginners knife. This is one of those penny knives and it is also a great knife for anyone from the weekend woodsman to the advanced bushcrafter. The sandvik stainless steel makes it great for wet environments and it won't be as hard to maintain for the beginner. This knife also comes with a beautiful smoky mirror finish. However, the back edge of the knife will need to be filed with a mill file because it has a smooth finish and that won't be good for throwing sparks off a ferro rod. Other than that, this knife comes perfect.

Making kindling with the Morakniv Companion

Here are the specs-
Cost: $12
Steel: sandvik stainless steel
Length: about 9 inches
Handle material: synthetic
Overall rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Country of origin: Sweden

Here's how it does these specific tasks:

Feathering: This knife is a great featherer and carver due to its Scandinavian grind. It has a very thin edge, which makes it a great slicer and cutter; it will carve and feather better than any knife that I own now; the smoky mirror finish also makes it very smooth which makes it slice through wood and other materials with ease. My favorite thing to do with it is carving green wood but it will also cut dry, hardwood very well.

Batoning: Some people say this can't baton due to its short tang. It is about 3/4ths tang. It has kind of a rat-tail tang. Every time I make a fire, I use this to make the kindling. It can baton kindling at least.

A small notch chopped out of a 2x4 with the Morakniv Companion

Chopping: This isn't a giant survival knife, however, it can chop through green wood to a certain extent if need be, or if you're just getting a really slender stick to make something. If you're cutting pine boughs, this will do the job if you need some for your shelter or your bough bed. What I'm saying is it can chop small branches and baton in a pinch if need be in a survival situation.

Throwing Sparks: This knife is stainless steel so you wouldn't expect it to throw sparks very well. It may not be as good as a carbon steel knife, but it is a very good close second from my comparisons at least. I filed the back edge to make it sharp so I could hit it against a ferro rod and I also hit it with a piece of sharp quartz rock and it did produce sparks. Overall it is good for fire-making.

The sheath: the hard plastic sheath is not very secure. It comes decent though. However, it is very strong and durable. And I like the clip because you don't have to have a belt, you can just clip it onto your waist. It also has a drain hole drilled in the bottom so if it gets wet or rains it can drain. The good thing about the plastic is that it won't soak up water. I have the military green one so it also helps it blend in to the outdoor environment. The rubber handle is comfortable and it fits the hand.

Lastly, you can go to High Carbon Steel Love on you tube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ca7ooM1RBvI and watch his video about the Morakniv heavy duty knife. He explains how to keep your Morakniv and sheath more secure so the knife doesn't fall out.

Thank you for reading. Subscribe and comment below.

Fiskars X15 Chopping Axe

Hello fellow bushcrafters and thanks for coming to my new blog for a review.

Here is what I would consider a fine axe for the price. So far it has been serving me well. Here are the specs on my wilderness companion, the Fiskars X15 chopping axe:

• country of origin: made in Finland
• length: 23.5 inches
• handle: fiberglass
• steel: medium carbon steel
• overall rating: 5 stars

This is a compact bushcraft axe which will make it easier to pack up. The steel is of good quality but you need to sharpen it before use because of the soft steel left over from the drop forging process. Like they said at Rocky Mountain Bushcraft.

Chopping:

As far as chopping goes, this is a great axe. Since it says it is a chopping axe in the description, it definitely lives up to its name. I used this to cut down a ponderosa pine tree that was about a foot thick in only 8 minutes. I then bucked it into fourths. It was quite easy to take off the limbs as well. I also used it chop through lots of dead wood, which it also excelled at. It cuts through punky wood very well. It felt comfortable mid-swing. The 23-inch length makes it a perfect mid-sized axe and makes packing it up easy as well. Overall, this is a great chopping axe.