[tomtom]

#cleanfaster

[Oldmanmatt]

 

What are we going to do if he ever actually ticks it?

I don’t know if it really counts as “Owt for Nowt”, but I really enjoy making my own stuff, if not always well.

For instance, yesterday I wanted to take out the new wetsuit for a spin. Normally, with wetsuits, I glue pockets on the thighs (which I stitch up myself on my trusty old Singer).
However, this time opted to splash out on a pair of holsters. This meant my knife sheath in the pocket wouldn’t be there and I’d used my spare sheath to rig the kids equipment last summer. So, I made a new one. Takes 10minutes.



I’ve had that Remora knife for a couple of decades, but it’s really too expensive and I shouldn’t use it. Expensive means I might worry too much about losing it, so for many years, I just used Ikea steak knives with the blade ground back blunt and about 2” long. That way I won’t chase it if I drop it, because I have another three boxes of them at home. Good steel in those knives and the serrations keep them painfully sharp.

Anyway, cut a piece of 50mm webbing around twice the length of the blade. Heat seal the cuts. Lay the knife on it, fold up enough to cover the blade, with a little room below and pin the fold.




Flip the excess down behind the handle, there should be around an inch of overlap, to give three layers, if you will. Pin that fold too.




Then, using some waxed thread (whipping twine) and upholstery needles, blanket stitch the edges next to the blade, leaving the loop behind that handle as a belt loop. I usually leave about 5mm at the bottom to assist drainage.





Lastly, a loop of bungee, tied and stitched, to keep the knife in place. Just tight enough.



Slip the knot into the belt loop and stitch in place.

 

It goes in my right leg pocket, on the lanyard of my nav board/ wet notes and hopefully never gets used.



Oh, and Dave will like this, my favourite pin/needle tidy, is the padding from an old bra...



Have used variations on that theme for a large variety of different carrying needs, at sea and in the mountains. Even made a rucksack frame with 50mm webbing and a couple bits of Aluminium flat bar pulled off some old kitchen cupboard fittings.

[DAVETHOMAS90]

*for the record I own two Henry’s..

Got that 2H   

[DAVETHOMAS90]

Matt, I think that's fabulous.

The real "Owt fer Nowt" is that it doesn't cost anything to look at things differently, to see the value in things. That's the joy of it.

What we make of things is where the real value is.

 

[Oldmanmatt]

Matt, I think that's fabulous.

The real "Owt fer Nowt" is that it doesn't cost anything to look at things differently, to see the value in things. That's the joy of it.

What we make of things is where the real value is.

 

I just like it when things “fit” really. I’m the kind of person that has a tape measure in my wallet. The Mrs wanted to go into GoOutdoors a couple of weeks ago and I went for a wander.
I’ve been toying with replacing my 30 year old Camping Gaz hiking stove (one that pierces the bottle and is actually really quite heavy, I was just way too cheap to fork out on an MSR or similar. Plus, I have a little Hexi/Wood burner that I like to use when camping and cheapo mess tins I made by cutting up two old aluminium water bottles that happened to nest).

Anyway, there was a sale on the OEX Etna mini stove, £13, and I spotted another couple of details on nearby shelves (EuroHike solo mess tins £10) and:
















Exact fit, no rattle!











My old stove, which I would normally use for three days to one week outings, weighed in at 1.2kg plus mess tins, plus AeroPress and around double the bulk. This slips into a 9ltr rocket pocket exactly or straps nicely onto the Molle of my 40ltr. 

[steveri]

Ace work - few grams to be saved on those buckles too

As a side note, can I recommend giving a few things away on Facebook marketplace for an insight into the human condition? eg free small TV - "I don't have a car, can you deliver 20 miles"

[SA Chris]

Ace work - few grams to be saved on those buckles too

As a side note, can I recommend giving a few things away on Facebook marketplace for an insight into the human condition? eg free small TV - "I don't have a car, can you deliver 20 miles"

Yeah, it dismays me. We've practically given away stuff, someone says interested, when can you drop it to me, I'm not going your way any time soon.

[Paul B]

We had this when moving house recently. It's amazing how many people suddenly have arising issues with various degrees of fantasy attached. Although I had to laugh (when I realised nobody was hurt of course) when Nat tripped on our front step and literally threw the microwave at the person who was picking it up (after having delayed repeatedly until the morning we were moving out).

[Fultonius]

Matt, I think that's fabulous.

The real "Owt fer Nowt" is that it doesn't cost anything to look at things differently, to see the value in things. That's the joy of it.

What we make of things is where the real value is.

 

I just like it when things “fit” really. I’m the kind of person that has a tape measure in my wallet. The Mrs wanted to go into GoOutdoors a couple of weeks ago and I went for a wander.
I’ve been toying with replacing my 30 year old Camping Gaz hiking stove (one that pierces the bottle and is actually really quite heavy, I was just way too cheap to fork out on an MSR or similar. Plus, I have a little Hexi/Wood burner that I like to use when camping and cheapo mess tins I made by cutting up two old aluminium water bottles that happened to nest).

Anyway, there was a sale on the OEX Etna mini stove, £13, and I spotted another couple of details on nearby shelves (EuroHike solo mess tins £10) and:
















Exact fit, no rattle!











My old stove, which I would normally use for three days to one week outings, weighed in at 1.2kg plus mess tins, plus AeroPress and around double the bulk. This slips into a 9ltr rocket pocket exactly or straps nicely onto the Molle of my 40ltr.

But Matt, where will you fit the grinder? 

[tomtom]

Grind the beans between two pieces of gritstone. True London Climber style

[DAVETHOMAS90]

Matt, that's ace 

Ironically James Hoffman did a review of the compact Aeropress, asking exactly what you have Fultonious, about storing a hand grinder in it.

[mark20]

Thanks DT90 for the matched betting info. It's something I've been meaning to spend some time researching for a while now as I know a couple of people who have made a bit of money with it. I'm about 1 week in, spending an hour each morning, and about halfway through the listed 'sign up offers' on the Profit Accumulator website and about £250 up.The Profit Accumulator website seems pretty good, with some neat videos explaining how it all works, odds finding page for the best bets and some very good calculators. I have a £20 off discount code if anyone wants it, after getting to grips with the free trial stuff. Just be prepared for loads of spam emails (set up a  new gmail account for it) and targetted social media ads.

In more traditional Owt-for-Nowt news, I picked up a pushchair that had been abandoned up the road, cleared off the leaves, cleaned down with fabric cleaner, pumped up the tyres and WD-40d moving parts, all in good working order, got £50 on collection on ebay  Satisfying and good for an hours work. Sorry DT90, S7 ain't big enough both of us 

[SA Chris]

Something out of landfill, and a few quid for you, winner.

I hate going to the municipal dump, some of the stuff that gets chucked is ridiculous. If I was allowed, I'd leave with a van as full as when I arrived. Instead I just nick magnets out of fridge doors where no-one is watching.

[SamT]

We broke the glass spinning plate from our microwave.  Happened to be up the tip the day after, lots of chucked mircowaves with glass plates in.  Bingo! problem solved.

[DAVETHOMAS90]

Mark20, that's brilliant 

OK, do here's the deal.
You keep to your pushchairs, and I'll keep to old vacuum cleaners 

I sold five vacuums last month - all from skips, but the pushchairs sound like a better yield.

If we end up in a Robot Wars style territorial combat situation, it'll be my firepower with the Dysons vs your manoeuvrability in the pushchairs 

Great to hear the matched betting is going OK. Because I can, I've invested a lot of time, but I think a good strategy is to budget a certain amount of time, for an optimum rate, picking things up - new strategies etc - along the way.

Nice write up about the Profit Accumulator site too 

Re the municipal dump etc, Sam, Chris, yes, it can be a bit maddening. I passed on one of my old coffee machines yesterday. Sold on Gumtree. Just really nice to meet a couple of new folk too, looking for second hand appliances for their new home 

[Will Hunt]

I've a friend who grew up in Sheffield and, during his gap year, he dreamed of running away to work for a year on Scottish fishing boats - sailing the high seas and seeking his fortune by honest labour. His mum forbad it and he ended up doing a less romantic stint working at the Sheffield tip.

The landfill was surrounded by a fence into which loose rubbish would blow. His job was to walk endlessly around the perimeter fence, removing the flotsam and stuffing it into bin bags, before throwing the full bags back onto the dump. There were other people doing this, though only one grabber between them. He said the best days were the days when it was your turn with the grabber.

He did, however, tell us of another occasion that would cause a ripple of excitement to go through the staff. The day that the bins from the local prison were delivered would yield a fine crop of contraband letters, which had been confiscated before delivery and disposed of due to their obscene nature. Some of the prisoners' wives and sweethearts would enclose photos of themselves with "all sorts up 'em", much to the delight of our hero and his comrades.

Halcyon days.

[DAVETHOMAS90]

Very funny! 

The funniest line was the one about the grabber 

[DAVETHOMAS90]

Local skips are still churning out the odd gem.



This Powerbar had just been left out, along with a Mountain Equipment jacket, and some other bits and bobs:



Always love having the excuse to buy clotted cream when the Strawberries ripen. It's been a bumper crop. Someone once said that Strawberries fruit for two seasons, and then that's it, which is clearly a load of rubbish.

[Oldmanmatt]

Local skips are still churning out the odd gem.



This Powerbar had just been left out, along with a Mountain Equipment jacket, and some other bits and bobs:



Always love having the excuse to buy clotted cream when the Strawberries ripen. It's been a bumper crop. Someone once said that Strawberries fruit for two seasons, and then that's it, which is clearly a load of rubbish.

As a kid, the lane which I lived on (Tremeer Lane, St Tudy), was lined with wild Strawberries, Blackberries, Hazel and Sloe. We ate like kings for most of the year and all of the village kids would come home with fingers stained the appropriate colour for the season. Cracking Hazel nuts with our teeth! Pretty sure my teeth would crack before the nut these days.
We also used to purse net a rabbit, fairly frequently (you find a warren, net up as many holes as you can find, light a small, smokey, fire at one and waft the smoke into the warren. Keep one rabbit and release the rest) and roast it over a fire with plenty of smokey Oak or Beech leaves. Sunny Saturday picnic and better than going home for lunch. Don’t tell the Vegans.

[DAVETHOMAS90]

What's the App for that Matt. I've looked for it under "games" but can't find it. 

Re teeth - funnily, I had to have one removed yesterday. Had left a chip/fracture too long.

[lagerstarfish]

 Someone once said that Strawberries fruit for two seasons, and then that's it, which is clearly a load of rubbish.

five years and then they get less productive - that's my experience

[DAVETHOMAS90]

 Someone once said that Strawberries fruit for two seasons, and then that's it, which is clearly a load of rubbish.

five years and then they get less productive - that's my experience

They sprout off new plants each year though Lagers, don't they. Maybe they're the ones producing the crop.

I found some barbecue lighter fuel amongst my skip haul of booze. You're welcome to that, but I think I'll drink the Jack Daniels 

.. Oh. It's that time already!
 

[lagerstarfish]

 Someone once said that Strawberries fruit for two seasons, and then that's it, which is clearly a load of rubbish.

five years and then they get less productive - that's my experience

They sprout off new plants each year though Lagers, don't they. Maybe they're the ones producing the crop.

No. Original plants do okay for five years. Always worth cultivating the new ones ready for future years.

[DAVETHOMAS90]

Pulled this little fella from a skip earlier 

[steveri]

Womble like, very meta