Bumbling Bushcraft Comic: Another Annoying Hole

The Cargo Tape King: Reviewing Gorilla Glue Products

Okay guys, this week the unthinkable has happened; I've broken my axe handle. Now I could drop down and use it the way it is, but I am not going to get any work done. The best course of action would be to replace or repair the handle using Gorilla tape, and maybe even a little Gorilla glue. I wanted to test and see if something like this happened, if I could repair it or if I would have to completely rehang it. Would this be the end of my camp, or could I get this tool to hang on just a bit longer until I could properly repair it? Now this isn't going to be like other reviews we have done in the past. This review is not just on one product, but instead on the Gorilla brand itself and how its products work together.

The products I will be using are the Gorilla Crystal Clear Tape, Gorilla Glue (the same glue I used in the fire starting video), and some black Gorilla Tape for grip. What I am going to do is use the glue to bond the handle back to itself. The bottle states that this glue will bond to wood which is what we need it to do so I am going to be careful to follow the instructions on the bottle.After having it set, I am going to bind the handle with the clear tape about to inches above and two inches below the fracture, similar to when I make sewing repairs. Lastly, I will use the black tape and a grip where my hands will hold the axe to prevent it from slipping while I am working.

To apply the glue you first wet the area that you will be applying the glue to and spread it thin. I did this for the axe handle and spread the glue with a stick. After making sure the two pieces of handle adequately fit together I used to crystal clear tape to bind it in three places across the fracture; the top, middle, and bottom. By doing this it helps clamp the two sides together so they can bond together. I also took apart my chair (which will be featured another time) and laid one piece on the ground, sandwiched the axe between it and the top piece, and used a large rock (though you could use any significantly weighted object like your pack, a large branch, etc...) to place on top of it, again to clamp the two broken pieces together. After letting this sit for two hours, I will come back to check on it.

After two hours, I notice that some of the Gorilla glue has come out of the sides of the break. This is a good thing.  What this means is that the handle had enough pressure on it for the glue to spread out inside the fracture. At this point I wrap the Gorilla crystal clear tape in one continuous wrap from two inches above the break to two inches below. Afterward, and this is an optional step, I used my mini cargo tape roll (the black tape) to create a nonslip grip for my hands. After a few good test swings on a very sturdy tree, I'm convinced that the Gorilla products have done their job.

And that does it for this week. I want to thank everyone reading this for going through this with me and I would also like to think Gorilla brand products. They did not sponsor me or ask me to do this review, but without them I don't think this repair would have been possible. Next week we will be starting on our last C: cotton, and you won't want to miss it! As always feel free to comment by clicking the comment link at the end of the blog, hit the follow button in the top right corner, share this blog, and check back next week for a new one on Sunday 10pm (est). If you want to keep up with me and what I’m doing, Follow me on Facebook: @BPackBushcraft and on Twitter @BPackBushCraft. Lastly if video is more your style check out my YouTube Channel backpack bushcraft where there is a video version of this with the same title. Until next time, keep those fires burning and put another log on for me.

Sealing the Deal: Making Repairs With Cargo Tape

Last week we talked about the fire starting abilities of cargo tape and this week we will be moving on to the true reason that it is a part of the 10 C's. That reason is its ability to repair in the field. We are still using Gorilla brand cargo tape and that is the only brand of cargo tape that I will use.




Whether you are repairing your tarp, there is something wrong with your pack such as a broken strap, or turned it into a rope like Kirk Miller did (link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgJ0z...), or even if your shirt got a rip, you could repair it really quickly with cargo tape. I'll show you how.

You want to start by getting a length of cargo tape that is roughly a quarter of an inch longer above and below the rip; this can be longer depending on your preference. This actually works really well with denim, but because I didn't want to rip my good pants, we will just be working with a cotton t-shirt. So all I am going to do is pull the fabric taut, fold the tear over on itself, and seal it with the cargo tape being sure to smooth out any wrinkles as this will weaken the bond. Now the tape does not stick to my skin and no wind is able to get through the fabric. Of course we can all agree that this is a temporary fix, but this can be a quick solution to the problem until you have time to sit down and repair the fabric with needle and thread.

Now let's say you got injured.What I have seen some people do is take a small section of cargo tape and tear it in half. They will start on one side of the wound and pull over to the other side and seal it down. Then taking the other half of the cargo tape start on the opposite side than what you started on with the other piece of tape and repeat the process. I have even seen some people take a larger section of tape and cover up the the smaller pieces of tape and the entire wound. On the contrary I have also seen people saying not to do this because the wound needs to breathe. I am not an expert by any means so you may want to do more research into this topic. If there is a way you prefer to do it, leave me a comment and tell me!

We have now repaired our shirt, we've repaired ourselves, and my pack currently does not need repairs. Now we are going to move on to the reason I carry cargo tape the most; repairing the tarp. So I have just cut a small hole near the corner of my tarp. I am going to do this the same way that I repaired my shirt. I am going to get a piece of cargo tape long enough to go about a quarter of an inch above and below the tear and seal it down. I am now going to go onto the back side of  the tarp and do the same thing. Now if you happen to do what I did and did not get a long enough piece of tape, no worries. Just get another section of tape and overlap where the previous piece stopped and pull it the rest of the way over the tear. This should  make it water type and we will test it out. All I have done to test is to stake the corner near the rip up so I can see the ground beneath it and poured water directly over the cargo tape. After doing this, the ground beneath the tarp was still dry as was the inside of the tarp, making this a successful repair.

That does it for this week! Next week we will be doing a cargo tape review and you won't want to miss it! As always feel free to comment by clicking the comment link at the end of the blog, hit the follow button in the top right corner, share this blog, and check back next week for a new one on Sunday 10pm (est). If you want to keep up with me and what I’m doing, Follow me on Facebook: @BPackBushcraft and on Twitter @BPackBushCraft. Lastly if video is more your style check out my YouTube Channel backpack bushcraft where there is a video version of this with the same title. Until next time, keep those fires burning and put another log on for me.

Burning up the Supplies: Using Cargo Tape for Fire

Last week we talked about making our own raw hide glue. This week I wanted to actually break out the cargo tape. Now, I love cargo tape. It was one of the first C's I started packing with me everywhere I went and it's one of things that I see a lot of people skip on and I never understood why because of all of the benefits you get from packing it with you. It can do so much for you. In today's blog I want to specifically demo its uses in fire making. Now cargo tape can be used for a lot of things like dressing wounds, making repairs, and I have even seen some make rope out of it. We will try some of that next week, but for now I will just demonstrate it's power in a fire kit.

Gorilla brand cargo tape; it is my favorite brand of cargo tape. I think it does an excellent job of bonding things together. I also have Gorilla glue which we will be working with as well. On the bottle it says that it bonds to wood, stone, foam. metal, ceramic, glass, and more. This could be your skin if you really needed it in that sort of situation. Now I have what I call the cargo tape match. I have taken a strip of cargo tape, found the center of it lengthwise and folded one side in half so that the adhesive bonds to itself and left the other side open so that the adhesive is exposed. Now with a lighter and five seconds of flame, the cargo tape is now ablaze. This flame will last you for a while because it will take the cargo tape some time to burn down, but you do want to be cautious holding it because bits of flaming tape will melt off of it. With one quick breath I am able to put this flame out. I have read online where people say that this is a windproof flame. If I am able to blow it out that easily, it is not a windproof flame. This is an extender for your fire. It is not a wind or bad weather match, it is just an extender. If you just can't get your fire to start, this is what you want. Now I have tried catching it with a spark and just couldn't get it to catch, so if you are going to pack this with you, it is best to assume that you are going to need to have direct flame as well.

The next thing I want to show you is the Gorilla glue. I put a dab of it on a wood sliver and much like the cargo tape, with only five seconds of direct flame I have a match. The adhesive in both the cargo tape and the gorilla glue are hydrocarbon which means they want to burn much like fuel. Now what you can do with this when starting a fire is set this burning wood into your bird's nest, place some dry kindling on top, and you are good to go.

Now if I have any one out there who is doing ultra light backpacking, send me a message at bpackbushcraft@gmail.com. What I wanted to show you was that some people prefer to take the Gorilla Tape to Go. In comparison to the cargo tape we used early, it is roughly half the size. But similar to the larger tape it catches a flame all the same.


I hope you enjoyed looking at cargo tape in just a fire kit mentality. If you are wondering how to pack your cargo tape for your fire kit, if you use the Altoids tin that I am so fond of you could wrap your cargo tape around the tin or some people I have seen will just take some and roll it up and store it in the tin. Either way gets an A. Next week we will be looking at the repair and patching side of cargo tape and you know you won't want to miss it! As always feel free to comment by clicking the comment link at the end of the blog, hit the follow button in the top right corner, share this blog, and check back next week for a new one on Sunday 10pm (est). If you want to keep up with me and what I’m doing, Follow me on Facebook: @BPackBushcraft and on Twitter @BPackBushCraft. Lastly if video is more your style check out my YouTube Channel backpack bushcraft where there is a video version of this with the same title. Until next time, keep those fires burning and put another log on for me.

Cooking the Fat: Making Hide Glue

Last week as we wrapped up our review on our W. Smith and Sons canvas needles, I said we were going to start this week on cargo tape. However, this week we are not going to be focusing on traditional cargo tape or duct tape, we are instead going to be focusing on making our own glue out of raw hide chew toys.




The first thing I did was place the raw hide chew toy into the bottom of a 5 gallon bucket, filled the bucket with enough water to fully submerge the chew toy, and placed a mason jar over top of it to keep it from floating to the surface.

After a few hours, the raw hide toy was soft enough to be unrolled into a flat piece which is much easier to work with. At this point I laid it out on a cutting board and cut it into small strips keeping in mind that they all need to fit into a pot.





After making sure all of the small pieces of raw hide fit sufficiently in the pot, I am going to take
them out and place them elsewhere. In the mean time I am going to add water to my pot, let it come to a boil, and then turn it down to simmer and re add the raw hide strips. At this point I am going to let it cook for about an hour and a half being cautious not to let the water boil. The higher temperature will cause the glue to weaken. I also want to be sure to stir occasionally with a chop stick.

After the cooking process finished, I tested the liquid on the chop stick I was stirring with and it definitely wanted to bind to my fingers. I will say that I didn't do the best job keeping the water from boiling, but I tried to manage it the best I could. Now I want to remove the large piece of raw hide from the pot so that all that is left is the liquid, which is our glue. Using a flour sack towel, I am going to strain  the glue into a small mason jar that I am going to store the glue in.

It is also worth noting to make sure you leave a divet in the center of your flour sack towel so that glue doesn't spill everywhere as you are pouring it in the jar. The glue did leave some residue on the top of my towel, but it's nothing I shouldn't be able to clean up. The mason jars I used were $6-$7 at Walmart, however if you had a metal container to store the glue in that would be preferable. I just like to use something that should be cheap and easy for anyone to find and purchase. After about 6-8 hours, the glue has cooled and set.

You can tell the glue is finished if you tap it and it jiggles. In my experience I tried scraping a piece out and rolling it between my fingers to activate it, but it didn't work. It's unfortunate because I didn't want to have to heat it up since I did store it in a glass jar, however it's not big deal. Just set the glass jar into boiling water and the glue will return to it's liquid state, ready to use. I hope you guys learned enough to try this out for yourselves, and I would love to hear your results. Next week we will be talking about cargo tape. I'll be showing you my favorite brand and some super glue from that brand as well. You won't want to miss it! As always feel free to comment by clicking the comment link at the end of the blog, hit the follow button in the top right corner, share this blog, and check back next week for a new one on Sunday 10pm (est). If you want to keep up with me and what I’m doing, Follow me on Facebook: @BPackBushcraft and on Twitter @BPackBushCraft. Lastly if video is more your style check out my YouTube Channel backpack bushcraft where there is a video version of this with the same title. Until next time, keep those fires burning and put another log on for me.