Paul Smith Primitive Bushcraft

Paul Smith Primitive Bushcraft welcome! Paul

I'm an ancestral skills teacher from Scotland, with a background focused on experimental archaeology using various techniques ranging from flint knapping, pottery, fire amongst other things, I hope you enjoy my journey as I share it.

25/05/2026

Following on from the previous post, here is how she sounds! 🙂🎶🦢

Not very often I'm pleased with myself, but this is a contender! 🦢🎶Bone flutes have always been somthing I've enjoyed ma...
25/05/2026

Not very often I'm pleased with myself, but this is a contender! 🦢🎶

Bone flutes have always been somthing I've enjoyed making, and something I've always been pretty mediocre at at best.

But when I came across the mangled carcass of a swan by a loch.. me being me only one thought came to mind.. JACKPOT! 😅

Bird bones in general I've found to be the best for making flutes, swan being the premium!

So I set about making this, the flute is swan bone, the 'bird' or bone that channels air is deer, and it's put together with pine pitch, all handmade, no drills power tools or tuning.

The sheath for it, is made from a grey a squirrel I tanned, and decorated with my own fired clay beads, and finally a feather and the talon from a barn owl.

I love music, I love listening to it, trying to play it, trying to understand it.

And I'm not alone in that, one of the reasons for my love of swan bones for flutes is the result of an archeological discovery made in The Geißenklösterle cave in southwestern Germany.. two separate bone flutes were found, both different species of swan, one made 43,000 years ago the other 33,000!

All that time ago, someone sat and dreamt up a world In which music exists, who knows what it meant to them, but I certainly couldn't be without it, and to be able to make and play music using what nature provides is truly special, not just utilizing the nature but playing in it too!

Anyways..

Video to follow soon of how it sings
Much love folks!

(Ps. this may by looking for a home 😉)

Stocking up on some of my favorite material, amadou! I decided to head out in search of some fresh amadou for the tinder...
18/04/2026

Stocking up on some of my favorite material, amadou!

I decided to head out in search of some fresh amadou for the tinder pouch and potentially a piece to craft with (hoof allowing)

But instead of going out with a regular knife I thought it would make for an interesting opportunity to try and process some material using stone tools! It's easy to get lost in just seeing the flashy skills primitive or otherwise in the outdoors (particularly fire)

But for me it's using the tools to make the tools, the lesser seen, more fundamental and sometimes rewarding part of the process.

Sitting in a field, quietly tinkering with bits of stone to work out what works best! Its in those moments I would argue we get closest to that way of life, or certainly the headspace it created, while some might see it as the boring bit before the fun and flames, is the unsung necessary abilities That get lost.

Another productive day in the sticks! Stocking up on the ol' pine pitch primitive glue, there are various methods and th...
08/04/2026

Another productive day in the sticks!

Stocking up on the ol' pine pitch primitive glue, there are various methods and thoughts, I personally don't have a set perfect recipe, I tend to just melt stuff together until it looks like it should 😅

What I will say though, and somthing I'd strongly recommend if you find yourself using this stuff a lot is to move to working with it from a container/pot (in this case a clay one I fired yesterday)

It negates the risk of dripping na**lm (basically) from a stick and setting everything around you (and you) on fire, I find the clay holds the heat, so the resin stays liquid and you can apply it with various tools without constant re heating and subsequent dripping

Anyway unsolicited advice aside, I went on too use the glue to help decorate a clay candle I was making at the same time, by using it too attach a clay face.

Pine pitch, is up there in my list of primitive must haves, an unbelievably useful recourse! Anyway, hope all is well!

Much love folks 🤜🏻

Long over due, but at long last, some clay through the fire, A few of the more experimental and unusual pieces of potter...
07/04/2026

Long over due, but at long last, some clay through the fire,

A few of the more experimental and unusual pieces of pottery I've been working on too!

My first time working with this clay, and I'm quite pleased! A few small cracks and one total failure, but with pottery fired in this way that's to be expected to some extent!

Nice to get a few things finished that will go into the more long term kit and have purpose, bowls for eating and processing things, candles for when the ball in the sky is not present, and containers for things like pine pitch glue.

Back on the clay! One of the things I enjoy most about moving around a lot is the access it grants me to materials, clay...
23/03/2026

Back on the clay!

One of the things I enjoy most about moving around a lot is the access it grants me to materials, clay is one of those materials I don't play enough with, and it's been nice to get it back in the hands!

I've got a few things still to make bowls, containers etc.. but one of the things I particularly enjoy is the process of trying to replicate pots that's I find interesting from prehistory.

Which brings me to the thinker of yehud, a clay vessel made in the neolithic some 4000 years ago!

The joy isn't necessarily accomplishing somthing that (in this case loosely) resembles the original, but undergoing all the same processes and steps that the person that made it all that time ago took in its creation, it really gives you a different kind of appreciation for the work and thought!.. will it survive the fire?

Time will tell!

Speaking of time, I've been filling much of the gaps in between clay drying with some Knapping, a couple of recent arrowheads and a rough animal 'effigy'alos pictured!

Hope all is well
Much love! 🙂🔥

How goes folks! Just wanted to hop on and say thank you for all the birthday wishes and messages! ♥️As ever I appreciate...
23/03/2026

How goes folks! Just wanted to hop on and say thank you for all the birthday wishes and messages! ♥️

As ever I appreciate every single one of you that took the time, it's not lost on me how fortunate I am to have so many people supporting and encouraging me to keep on keeping on, so thank you!

I spent it as I spend most days at the moment, coming up with ideas and making things!

Which leads me onto my current fascination, prehistoric sculpture, I've been trying my hand at being a bit more artsy and less functional with my creations (although arguably creative thought is a function unto itself)

I recently tried my hand at replicating the thinker of yahud as some of you may have seen, but this time I wanted to follow my own creative flow, making somthing that I imbued with my own meaning and well.. voila 🤌🏻

A sculpture of a person with a cage for a head and a brain rolling around freely inside it!😅

It was an idea that came to me quite randomly one evening and I thought it profound enough that it should see physical reality..

the making itself was a good challenge and required the practice of some new techniques particularly too make and attach a cage, with a decorated bead moving freely inside it to a sculpted body was a refreshing challenge!

The whole thing as I see it is a sort of embodiment or physical reminder that we create the cages we trap ourselves in, wether that be in clay or our day to day thoughts and patterns.

It leads me to think about the idea of soul and body, which in many circles are seen to be two separate things entwined together, again another facet of what I wanted to depict within its creation.

Ultimately though as with the real primitive sculpture and effigies of the past, the interpretation is yours to create, I know what it means to me, the beauty is that may be something entirely different for someone else.

It's yet to be fired and I'm sure I could write more about the parallels of surving the fire and being caged in the body, but I'll save that for another ramble I'm sure!

Much love folks! ♥️

Another stunning trip home to Scotland! I won't lie I had plans of grandeur on this trip, the hope was to go out and tes...
22/01/2026

Another stunning trip home to Scotland!

I won't lie I had plans of grandeur on this trip, the hope was to go out and test a lot of the primitive kit I've been making for some bigger upcoming adventures.

While I did get to test and make new kit while I was there, I found myself moreso just enjoying the company of good friends and having access to my woods again was such a joy.

The more places I've seen the more I come to realize just how lucky we are north of the wall in terms of our recourses and our freedom to utilize them.

There wasnt the need to rush I had placed on my own shoulders, and if anything it's taught to me too slow down again, play the long game, a balance I find myself assessing often.. it's easy to get carried away with things and going balls to the wall trying to achieve things Usually leads to frustration and a lack of fulfillment.. slow is smooth smooth is fast after all.

So now I'm back in Ireland my goals remain much the same, but I'm going to relax a bit allow myself to make what I want and need out of passion not purely just persuit. It's the cliche of the journey being the adventure not the destination.

Planning is something I struggle with as many of you know, a result of some real hard times... But there's a lesson in everything, and as much as my difficult experiences have taught me to live in the moment, as time goes on I realize the importance of making space for those moments, be that through planning or being open to new adventures outside of the train tracks a towards a goal we've set ourselves on in our head..

I've made lots of new kit I've not shared with you yet, and I look forward to doing so soon.

In the meantime here is a picture I captured while I was in my element, the spot in this picture has been a home to me for almost 10 years now, almost everything I've learnt taught or shared has been here, shelters, videos, crafts, and prehistoric (mesolithic) finds it's a strange coincidence to have landed on such a spot, a spot that was also a stopping point for our ancestors, sometimes things as coincidental as they are appear like fate.

Much love😁

Spruce bark bowls! 🥣🌲🙂One of those ideas that comes almost at random.. my favourite ideas.. the unexpected ones!.For me ...
10/06/2025

Spruce bark bowls! 🥣🌲🙂

One of those ideas that comes almost at random.. my favourite ideas.. the unexpected ones!.

For me I typically have ideas like that/this when I'm working on something, and when I'm in a bit of a flow state, when my mind is busy making.. and my subconscious is busy thinking, and the part of my mind that im present in and aware of has been totally silenced by the process..

A sort of stepping out of your own way..

I've worked a lot with primitive clay bowls in the past and as I've shared now and again they do explode from time to time..

They are also quite bulky, fragile and the time and recourses involved to produce them quite vast.. I absolutely love them.. but when I encounter something like that there is a problem solving part of my mind (the lazy part perhaps? 😅) that looks for faster easier and as effective solutions.

And here we are.. spruce bark bowls, stitched with long lengths of processed ground ivy, with freshly harvested bark from my local woods, these bowls when they dry become hard and robust!.. they can also be made to be watertight, allowing for the potential for stone boiling with water, something I've done before with bark containers.. they also have the added bonus of being nice and light and very packable!

Compared to the weeks that it takes time go from clay to fired pottery, these can be made in a single day, (if your fingers can take the stitching 😅) and with recourses that are found right next to eachother!

And very easily done with nothing more than stone tools!.. and when they come to the end of their life, being 100% natural and made of biodegradable materials they can be left to nature..

And there's a beauty to that, eating from nature, in nature to return to nature it feels appropriately cyclical.

I have made 3 of these and if you would like to purchase one feel free to drop me a message!

My spruce bark pondering continues and I have one last idea I want to try out, before I pull myself out of this rabbit hole.. more on that soon!

Much love folks ❤️🌲

I always enjoy getting commissions! Particuly when they are something that may not have crossed my mind! 😁🌲This one is a...
22/05/2025

I always enjoy getting commissions! Particuly when they are something that may not have crossed my mind! 😁🌲

This one is a spruce bark backpack! Not something I've made before, but a project I really enjoyed getting stuck into! Spruce bark as a material never fails to amaze me in it's versatility, from cooking containers to carrying and storage options it really does offer a lot!

For the backpack I tried a few new things, the main one being stitching with ground Ivy, typically i go for spruce roots but as I was digging to get to them I came across an amazing length of ground ivy and applied some of the same basic tests I apply for any potential cordage, ( wrapping, knotting and twisting) and it surpassed them all.. while having the benefit of not having to disturb as much ground as chasing spruce roots.

The length of them means that in this backpack there are only 3 pieces of long Cordage!

The other thing was lining the inside of the backpack to protect it from whatever the contents may be, I did that with some felted wool sheets stitched Into place.

Once I had the bulk of the thing made I went for some decoration in the form of leaves made from the inner spruce bark, as well as some pigeon feathers on some leather, I like the idea that everything surrounding the tree that gave up it's bark sort of becomes part of it's story, be that the ivy growing at its base, or the pigeons roosting in it's branches!

Pleased with this one, and I don't say it often because I'm usually busy with orders anyway, but if you have an idea in mind for something you'd like me to make for you feel free to drop me a line!

These backpacks can be made to order so if you like like the look of this one get in touch! 😁

Much love folks! 😁♥️

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