What are parachutes made from?

Parachutes are a very popular pastime because it allows people to feel free. They are flown up to 30,000 feet and jump out of a plane. They are usually strapped into parachutes when they do this, although sometimes people do what's called bonsai parachuting and it's where they throw the parachute out before they jump out of the plane.

Parachutes are made from silk, which is found from the silk worm. The silk is produced from the egg of the silk worm, and they spin it into the raw silk. This is then refined and made into silk fabric. To get a pound of silk, it usually requires the death of about 2500 worms. A parachute is usually 11kgs, so this requires about 60,000 silk worm eggs. These are usually produced in asia or eastern Europe.

.-information about production of silk is from todayifoundout.com

How Does Gore-tex Work?

Gore Tex is an essential item for people who enjoy going hiking, camping, hammocking or any of the above. It keeps you dry while also being breathable to allow perspiration to evaporate from your body and escape through the material. This is important so that the sweat produced from exercise is gone away otherwise you would be wet from your sweat and it would be pointless. Without gore tex there would be no way of keeping dry without having excess perspiration. Gore-tex is a mixture of materials. It has one wicking material to put the perspiration to the outside and it has 2 layers of a material that doesn't allow water to pass through. These layers are sandwiched together. It is usually made all over the world and is the most common wicking system, used all over the world universally in hiking boots, rain jackets and waterproof trousers

How Knives are Made

Knives are an everyday essential for every scout anywhere around the world, they are universally useful from eating your breakfast in the morning on camp, to making shelters and gutting fish. there are many different types of knives, from pocket knives to Machetes, and they all have a different purpose. the most common knife used is a fixed blade, which is usually kept in a sheath on your belt.

All knives are usually made from stainless steel, which is usually found in China or Turkey. this is cut into very rough moulds depending on the shape of the knife. 

Then the handle is made. this is usually made out of wood, although bone is quite often used for custom knives. this is very dependant on personal preference. the material is cut to the exact shape of the knife and then it is attached to the base using small metal rods. this ensures it is the exact right dimensions and it wont slip off.

 

then it is ground down using a belt grinder. This makes the knife fairly sharp. this is finished off by grinding it on a whetstone or knife sharpened to get it as sharp as possible. a general test to see how sharp a knife is by running it across a piece of paper. if it cuts the paper straight through, it is very sharp. this is called the paper test.

Thanks to Phil Reilly from instructables for the information and pictures.
thank you to John Heisz for the video.


***Don't Try this unless you are a Trained Professional with experience***

Geography of Waterproof Matches.

The geography of waterproof matches is very interesting as there's a lot involved in the making of these matches. You have to have the right chemicals to stay smouldering even if it is submerged in water or covered in sand. This uses a magnesium compound to help keep the fire going even if it doesn't have oxygen, as the oxygen is created by the magnesium reacting with the heat. The match returns to being lit after it has come out from the water. many people use these in their survival kits, and they are very useful  if it is very windy as these matches will rarely go out. mostly these matches are safety matches but sometimes they are strike everywhere matches. these are usually made in china, with the materials coming from all over the world.

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