Devin Lavign

pollinator

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since May 01, 2015

Biography

uggg...I hate trying to describe myself. * last updated spring 2019 *
I moved to 40 acres of raw land with an existing pond in the WA Okanogan Highlands 3 yrs ago. I have been busy observing and making trails.
I am planning to start building a house this year. Though I am probably going to hold off on planting anything until I finish building a house and just work on infrastructure.
I am looking forward to finally put into practice the ideas I have without having to compromise due to it being someone else's land.
Some history and background about me.
I have traveled and lived most of the continental US. So have a decent grasp of the different areas of the US. As a kid I preferred going into the woods to play over going to a park or friend's house. Still I will almost always pick nature if given the choice.
I worked trail maintenance in the Cascades and that was likely my most favorite job ever. I lived, worked, and played in the forests of the Pac NWet. I learned a massive respect for pack goats during this. As they hauled the majority of our gear up the trail every day. Amazing smart animals and I can't wait to get my own goats to enjoy.
I lived and worked at Arcosanti for 4 yrs in AZ. Including managing their 15 1/2 acres of edible and medicinal landscaping. A fun place to meet lots of wonderful people and pick up skills. I have spotted at least one other Arco alum here who I know. Who lived there previous to my time, but who I did meet and hang out with several times both at Arco and to go see him in Prescott.

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Pac Northwest, east of the Cascades

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Recent posts by Devin Lavign

Cool Tools, lesser known tools that can improve your life

I also learned about Roller Cam & Rope Roller. When you don't need a ratchet strap but still want to hold something.

can be found on Amazon here https://www.amazon.com/Roperoller-Tightening-Rollercam-Technology-Accessory/dp/B0D9PB2X2N
or from the company here https://rollercam.com/collections

7 hours ago

gear

Cool Tools, lesser known tools that can improve your life

I just learned about these and haven't tried them yet, but they look revolutionary. It's a ratcheting strap where the strap isn't fixed, so you can use any webbing and you can move the ratcheting system to where you want it.

found here https://niteize.com/camjam-ratchet-strap-system-large

7 hours ago

gear

Interesting new fire method

Nancy Troutman wrote:Thank you Devin & Todd! I printed your post on axes - went outside and discovered that I didn't have the right axe head for splitting wood.

A lot of people don't realize how import the shape of their axe head is Torn Wood Forge in the UK recently came out with an axe that doesn't get stuck in wood when chopping by studding old axe head to see how they did it.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/UCd9nATiSfs

This cross cut video talks about the shape of the head
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/vxp6o6xmi_U

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gr_LbJEPUIQ

* edit, the youtube links weren't working so I just made the urls

2 weeks ago

wood burning stoves

Cool Tools, lesser known tools that can improve your life

Speaking of buckets, I really like Bucket Grips.

They are grip handles that easily attach to standard 5 gallon buckets. Which makes carrying them a lot easier.

They can be found here https://www.bucketgrips.com/

4 weeks ago

gear

Questions About Starting a Permaculture Project

Lauren Pfaff wrote:* Once you start building permanent structures, what first? Is there a logical order to go in? Does it matter? Does it vary based on personal goals?

As others said observe

As for buildings, if your going with raw land then water is first. All life needs water and everything revolves around that. So getting your water system squared away is important. This means pump houses (for a well), water lines, hydrants, etc.

2nd I would recommend some sort of workshop. You're going to need to build and work on things. Having a good place to do that is important since you're not planning to live there right away.

3rd I would recommend a greenhouse so you can start seeds earlier in the year.

4th i would say fencing. If you plan on animals or want to keep your neighbor's animals out, then fences are super important.

* edit to add context

1 month ago

projects

Cool Tools, lesser known tools that can improve your life

Pearl Sutton wrote:

Pearl Sutton wrote:

David Wieland wrote:My favourite tool for sharpening bladed tools, at least those used outdoors is the Speedy Sharp (speedysharp.com/). Although the company touts it for kitchen knives as well, I think it's a little too aggressive for those and prefer a diamond stick or water stone. But a Speedy Sharp can't be beat for pruners, loppers, axes and the like.

Thank you! I just ordered one. I'm very interested to see if I get along with it!

Update:
For assorted reasons I ended up getting two of a different brand of the same type of thing.
I haven't used it for my outdoor tools yet, but what I have tried it on, and absolutely LOVE it for, is my scissors! INCLUDING my sewing scissors, and those have to be perfect or they snag the fabric. I was not sure it was wise to try that tool on them, but ooooh, it worked nice!
I'm debating more of them so I have them in various places in the house for use.
Thank you! I am VERY pleased with them!

I'm involved in the bushcraft and sword community and for sharpening stuff I use a Worksharp MK2 knife and tool sharper that sort of resembles a belt sander. They have since replaced it with the Ken Onion Edition Elite Sharpener which is more than twice the price because he's sort of a celebrity in the knife community. The original works great and I never needed to upgrade to the Ken Onion. It works on swords, knives, axes, shovels, scissors, pruners, and so much more.

Worksharp MK2 knife and tool sharper

Ken Onion Edition Elite Sharpener version

1 month ago

gear

Cool Tools, lesser known tools that can improve your life

Devin Lavign wrote:

Edward Lye wrote:
I am talking about an extra pair of arms.

So useful when climbing trees/ladders/mountains.

Hands down, these would improve my life.

If I get to heaven, I expect to grow a pair.

I know they are working on extra arms I recently saw a video about developing extra arm exosketlton

I just found the video, it is 4 extra arms! They also have an extra thumb in development.

1 month ago

gear

Cool Tools, lesser known tools that can improve your life

Edward Lye wrote:
I am talking about an extra pair of arms.

So useful when climbing trees/ladders/mountains.

Hands down, these would improve my life.

If I get to heaven, I expect to grow a pair.

They just came out with an exoskeleton for legs commercially

I know they are working on extra arms I recently saw a video about developing extra arm exosketlton

1 month ago

gear

Where do different natural fibers shine?

Sad part in clothing it is hard to find 100% natural fibers in clothes. Often cuffs, tags, and stitching are synthetic without them saying. If a cuff is stretchy it is likely synthetic rather than natural no mater what the tag says. This happens in "wool" socks a lot of times.

Wool, in all it's forms, is one of the best and highly looked for in the bushcraft community. Alpaca wool is not only hypoallergenic, but lighter and warmer than sheep wool. Possum wool (Invasive in Austrian and not the same as Opossum) is super warm. Buffalo wool is I think the warmest wool out there.

Other uses.

Hemp can be made into a concrete, even in blocks like legos.

Wool makes a good insulation. As can straw if sealed well against critters.

Straw bales are used for walls and work well.

And of course cob can be made with straw or any natural fiber that isn't too smooth.

2 months ago

clothing

Cool Tools, lesser known tools that can improve your life

William Bronson wrote:Oh, yeah!
Id always heard about these from other electricians that swore by them, so when they showed up at the reuse Hub.
Now they live in my purse, along with the 6 in one screwdriver!

I think those are the Cobra's, the ones I pointed out act more like a crescent wrench replacement. They have a different jaw that has no teeth so it won't mar things, but they way they work is supper strong.

3 months ago

gear