GUN SLING.
Cutlery.
Knives.
Tools.
Do not be induced to encumber yourself with one of those ornamented, highly polished, useless abominations popularly known as hunting knives; they are worse than useless, and only serve to exasperate the owner. For general rough and ready work, nothing is better than a strong well-made butcher’s knife. The blade should be continued through the handle, which is formed by pinning two cheeks of hard wood or horn together. The hand grip should be long, and the steel sufficiently soft to be cut by a common hand saw file; and we strongly recommend our readers to apply the file test to every cutting tool they provide themselves with, as the hard woods of tropical countries cause endless breakages and notchings when highly-tempered instruments are made use of. In the purchase of a pocket knife, choose one that is small enough to be a constant companion; one, or at most two blades will be found sufficient for one handle. A very convenient description of knife is to be met with in most hardware shops. The handle is straight and flat. A stout stick-cutting blade is at one end of the haft, and a strong scalpel-shaped pen blade at the other. The miniature tool chests sold under the name of pocket knives to emigrants are jacks of all trades in their way, having all sorts of supposed capabilities, associated with a general tendency to uselessness. A pair of stout large bowed scissors will be found very useful, as well as a small piece of Turkey or Washita oilstone. This should have a little wooden box with a slide cover made for it, in order to preserve it from breakage. A few tools, well selected, can scarcely be dispensed with. Tools. The following list we can recommend, but our readers must of course be guided as to the number they will take by the purposes of their proposed journey:—
- Small hand axe, felling axe (American pattern).
- Belt tomahawk.
- Hand saw (medium size).
- Three chisels (¾in., ½in., and ¼in.), and one cold chisel.
- Three gouges (of the same sizes as the chisels).
- Three gimblets (from ten-penny nail size downwards).
- Six bradawls (assorted), to fit in one boxwood handle.
- Six saddler’s awls, ditto ditto.
- Six shoemaker’s awls, ditto ditto.
- One ½in. shell auger (without handle).
- One screw driver (½in).
- One engineer’s riveting hammer (½lb).
- One pair of carpenter’s pincers.
- One pair of strong pliers (bell-hanger’s pattern).
- Three hand-saw files (one rat-tail; one flat; one half-round).
- One rasp, one soldering bolt, one pair of tin snips, ingot of solder, a lump of resin, and small ladle for lead melting.
- A few nails, screws, pump tacks, and coils of copper and iron wire, will be found useful.
- Billhook, as in illustration.
Billhooks.