James, Here are some shoe and boot making resources that I’ve book marked: http://www.simpleshoemaking.com/index.html http://www.walrusshoe.com/books_home.htm http://www.thehcc.org/ http://home.earthlink.net/~lizjones429/shoe-advice.html http://www.florilegium.org/ (See “Clothing”) http://www.bootmaker.com/dwswb.htm Regards, – Parmenio
One of the most used high skill medical interventions is suturing. In times of disaster when qualified medical practitioners are not available, suturing can be performed easily as long as it is not in nerve rich areas such as the face and hands. (Sutures in these areas could cause debilitating nerve damage and should only be attempted by a person that is specially trained.) 1- Suture. I will not attempt to describe the knot in writing but practice with forceps and pre-threaded suture packs on raw chicken or turkey skin on the bird (sew then eat). Keep Ethylon 5 and …
Mr. Rawles: The two links listed below provide good basic information to supplement the low cost medical kits previously discussed on your site. This information is available free for downloading and printing. This link is to the Virtual Naval Hospital which is being discontinued due to a lack of funding. It was set up for use by military medical personnel: http://www.vnh.org/ The link below is another free link that was mainly for use where there is no doctor and pharmacy available and would be helpful in an emergency situation. One example of a good source of information is Chapter 7 …
In regard to Matt’s statement in his letter on survival footgear: “BUT, you cannot fake or approximate footwear!” Don’t be so sure about that. See: http://www.indigenouspeople.net/tarafeat.htm I have yet to scale a 10,000 foot peak in tire sandals or moccasins, but I’m going to give it a try one of these days: http://www.hollowtop.com/sandals.htm Less along the lines of “field expedient footwear” and more along the lines of “Post-TEOTWAWKI skills,” here’s a link to a site that deals with making “medieval style” shoes: http://www.personal.utulsa.edu/~marc-carlson/shoe/SHOEHOME.HTM If things ever get bad, having the skills to make well-fitted shoes could make one a welcome …
I have been watching the U.S. Government surplus auctions for ultra-cold medical storage freezers. This one (“KELVINATOR, MDL: UC50RFMS, LAB REFRIGERATOR”) recently sold for just three hundred bucks. See: http://cgi.govliquidation.com/auction/view?id=743367&convertTo=USD Not a bad price at all. I hope that it went to some frugal individual who will be using it for long-term storage in the event of TEOTWAWKI! I’ve become hopelessly addicted to the govliquidation.com site. Keep up the good work. A 10 Cent Challenge check is headed your way. – T.K.
Mr. Rawles, I enjoy reading your blog. It is full of useful information. I have a couple of suggestions to add to the 1-13-06 letter by EMT J.N. Alacer (the makers of “Emer’gen-C”) has an prepackaged instant electrolyte mix available. Just mix with water and drink. ‘Electromix‘ is available at most health food store. It costs about 35 cents per packet. I also would not want to be without aloe vera for burns. Small tubes or bottles are not that much, but it is amazing stuff!! Some Aloe vera products have colorings and such in them; the ones without are …
Sir: I thought I would let you also know that Sambucol works incredibly well. My youngest daughter started feeling bad last Wednesday night. It was the situation where she remarked that she felt a bit more tired than usual. Her physical activity is very good, and swim team practice was a bit more rigorous than usual because of an upcoming swim meet that was scheduled for Saturday. When she woke up Thursday morning she was running a fever and listless. Wednesday night I had talked to a friend who had used Sambucol and it helped his case of the flu. …
Mr. Rawles, I wanted to run a few observations of mine by you and then pose a question. I am working in Afghanistan as a security contractor. I don’t have a normal security contractor job (i.e. doing PSD work for dignitaries), and I get to see a lot more of the country, frequently by myself. I see things turning in the wrong direction here, and while we could take the upper hand again, I don’t think the powers that be will make the right decisions. The U.S. will be turning over control of the violent south and east to ISAF …
Spices The original use for spices was to take out the funky flavor from spoiled food. As you remember, Columbus sailed in search of a shortcut to these spice which were considered a treasure on par with gold and jewels. Common sense will dictate how to stew, boil, or overcook foods to a safe level. Spices and salt will make this still nourishing food edible. Of course spices will be a valuable barter item if international trade is stopped. Charcoal Medicine Charcoal is a great first line treatment for loose stools. For example, a slice of bread burned over flame …
Overview After the Katrina fiasco, a lot of my friends started to get interested in preparedness. Having some experience as an EMT and SAR volunteer, I decided to take the initiative and organize a group buy on medical supplies. This article is intended to help others who would like to put together low-cost, practical medical kits, particularly for a group. For the short version, skip down to The Kit: Part I. Otherwise, read on. Background For any kind of preparedness project, it’s best to have a set of goals in mind at the outset. The goals I came up with …
I was recently doing some relocation research for a consulting client, and I came across a pretty amazing 960 acre ranch in the south-east corner of Montana. It looked quite promising, but unfortunately it is down-wind of Yellowstone (with a remote chance of becoming a super caldera) downwind of Montana’s missile fields, and just a bit up wind of South Dakota’s missile fields. The client decided to pass on this one–given its locale, and his personal TEOTWAWKI scenario. Thus, it put me at liberty to mention it here in SurvivalBlog. If you are not concerned about a full scale tit-for-tat …
Sir: I may have something to add concerning Washington’s [retreat potential] ranking. I just left there last year and my experience has shown it have not only the Cali- syndrome but a lot of [liberal out-of-staters that have moved there are] are “Washingtonians In Name Only” (WINOs.) For married folks who have a relationship that is faltering, it is not good to be a man in Washington right now. The recent Brame shooting has given a wonderful opportunity for immature, greedy spouses to dump their hubbies into the prison system on trumped up domestic violence charges. Finding conventional work and …
Skill and etiquette in the process of bartering can be a plus today or in a future time when the world could be completely different. In that future time your local mass marketing chain may not be in business. You may have to resort to barter. I loved the scene in Mr. Rawles’s book, “Patriots”, when the group goes to the local barter faire with a handful of .22 cartridges and some pre-1965 dimes. I can’t recall everything they got, but for their initial, pre-TEOTWAWKI investment, they came out way ahead. I have to confess to being a flea market …
As reported at NewsMax.com, the Bush Administration had just issued a Guide to Pandemic Preparedness. See: http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2006/1/5/215956.shtml It is interesting that they mentioned both self-quarantine and home schooling. What radicals! They musta been reading SurvivalBlog or sumthen’… OBTW, why do I get the feeling that if John Kerry had been elected that the message on this topic wouldn’t be quite the same?
Great site Mr. Rawles! I view it most every day. Have also passed your book (“Patriots”) on to two friends after having my two sons read it. I have a general question for your readers. I just purchased a Bushmaster .223 [AR-15 clone] with Eotech site system. I am wondering during a TSHTF scenario what parts to this weapon should I have in backstock? [JWR’s replies are in-line, in bold.] Ideally, it would be best to a have a complete spare carrier assembly, to provide a quick “in the heat of battle” replacement in case you break a firing pin …