Essentials and trinkets

As promised, today's post is about the mushroom hunting kit. There are many things that can be useful on a trip to the forest, and it's only too easy to get carried away and end up looking like a guerilla fighter. It may look cool, but is usually unnecessary.

Fortunately, this early in mushrooming year there is no need to carry much. The only quarry to be found are early chanterelles; the spots I am planning to visit are all on the verge on the forest, easily accessible and the round trip is only 5 km or so. The whole yield will fit in a small plastic fridge container. Therefore, the only essential bit of equipment this time will be a mushroom knife.

Lakota knife, say no more

I took out my knives last night to check that they are ready for this weekend. Over the years I have accumulated quite a collection, as my friends and relatives are aware of my obsession, and most of them think that a knife makes for a great Christmas or birthday gift. Not that I disagree in principle, but their ideas of what constitutes a good mushrooming knife are vague and occasionally bizarre, so my knife drawer contains a few monstrosities that are better suited for hunting bears. Luckily, some gifts turn out to be reasonable, and two such items have served me well over the years.

Lakota Rostfrei mark on the blade

Lakota knife. Bought by my father for a dollar in a car boot sale in the US in 1998. Amazingly comfortable handle, very light, high quality steel that I never needed to sharpen. It accompanied me on all my hunting expeditions as first choice. Its only downside is that it is a lock knife, so I have to remember to take it out of the bag after each mushrooming expedition, as despite the small blade size (2.5") it is not legal to carry in public without reasonable cause (a list of guidelines can be found on the GOV.UK web site). How fortunate that I do not suffer from memory lapses.

Swiss knife: mundane but useful

Swiss pen knife. I was presented this about 8 years ago, and it cost about £10. It has a 3" blade and it's light and compact. I bring it out occasionally, when someone else asks to be taken along for a foray. It does a reasonable job, but can be hard to clean because sand and grit tend to get into the folds for additional blades and utilities.

Heavy, but impressive features

Mushroom knife. I was presented this contraption a couple of months ago and haven't yet tested it out in the field. It features a specialised blade which looks like it will be good for cutting ceps, although I am not so sure about smaller prey, such as slippery jacks or chanterelles. The brush and jagged back of the blade should be very useful for cleaning the finds. It's quite heavy though, and I am not convinced that the screwdriver and can opener would serve a good purpose, but I'll give it a try.

I'd better wrap up here. This post is already too long, and what's more, has little to do with fungi proper. So the plan for tomorrow is to remedy this and present a new topic in this blog: cooking with mushrooms. See you soon!