Category: Traditional Skills/Fieldcraft

The Joys of Canning, by St. Funogas

It was one of those intolerably hot and muggy days of August. My sister in the Redoubt called to say they could see the smoke from the big fires in California and the Northwest and how hot the weather had gotten even near the Tetons. She said in no uncertain terms, “Only a fool would be trying to get any work done today instead of lounging in a hammock with some lemonade!” And there I was slaving over a hot stove canning three-bean salad before the beans got overripe, the steam making the muggy day even muggier. And yet, I …


Seed Harvesting Tips for Survival – Part 2, by R.B.

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) How Do I Store Seeds Inexpensively and Efficiently? During the summer, save empty envelopes from mail received and carefully cut one end open to remove the contents. If it is an envelope with a cellophane window, slice open the end closest to the window. (There is now a reason to open some of that unwanted junk mail you receive.) Also accumulate empty pill and vitamin bottles and save any *tiny* jewelry-size zip-lock bags. Large mouth jugs with screw-top lids that held three to five pounds of food (parmesan cheese, dried onions, etc) …


Seed Harvesting Tips for Survival – Part 1, by R.B.

As I’m writing this, we are in the full swing of seed gathering here in zone 6 of the northern South. The purpose of this article is to help people in any section of the country learn some easy and inexpensive ways to gather and save seed for now and for harder times to come. Consider the following. Will seed always be available for each type of vegetable, fruit, grain, or flower that you want to grow? Truth be told there are already shortages due to skyrocketing orders following concerns about potential food production failures. What about current price inflation …


SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

Today we are presenting a special edition of this column, highlighting woodworking companies, all around the American Redoubt region. (Idaho, Montana, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and Wyoming.) Pictured is a set of custom cabinets by Hughes Woodworks in Huson, Montana. Idaho In Boise: Idaho Custom Woodwork is a custom-made furniture and full-service repair and restoration shop that specializes in “…all types of furniture repair and total antique restoration. We specialize in building outdoor and indoor furniture, Farmhouse style, live wood edge, live edge river tables and modern.” o  o  o In Coeur d’Alene: The Joinery Custom Cabinetmakers crafts high-end custom …


Clocks And Glocks Need Oil, by A.J.S.

This brief article is about the lubrication requirements of some everyday mechanical objects including clocks, sewing machines, and guns. It is surprising how little oil is needed but it has to be in the right places. A clock is a good example. Your mechanical watch or clock may run just fine for years without maintenance. But one day it will stop running before the next wind-up time and you will probably realize it needs oiling. This happened with one of my old pocket watches. It was made in 1899 and is an outstanding example of advanced watch production of the …


Gear Review: LogOX Forester Package, by The Novice

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a cant hook is: “A hinged metal hook at the end of a long handle, used for gripping and rolling logs.” One refinement of the cant hook is the timberjack, which attaches a stand to a cant hook, enabling the user to turn and elevate smaller logs, thus allowing the user to cut those logs without the saw coming in contact with the ground. I own a 48-inch Ironton Wooden Handle Timberjack. It is an extremely useful tool. It allows me to roll larger logs and elevate smaller logs that I would otherwise have …


The Tao of Cordage – Part 2 , by J.M.

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) Paracord As I’ve mentioned several times, 550 paracord is the granddaddy of prepper cordage. Virtually every survival-related blog, forum, book and other information source has recommendations to include 550 paracord in your preps. 550 paracord was originally developed to use as lines on parachutes, so it’s strong and stretches a lot (up to 30%) to absorb the shock of the parachute deploying. From a survival perspective, it’s a kernmantle style, so you can extract the internal strands and use those for fishing line, sewing thread, etc. and still use the external sheath …


The Tao of Cordage – Part 1 , by J.M.

If you ask anyone involved in preparedness ‘what are five things I should always include in my kit?’, the one item that is guaranteed to appear near the top in every list is ‘cordage’, or more specifically, parachute cord {“paracord”). The idea of including cordage as part of your survival preps and everyday carry kits makes a lot of sense, as it has dozens of uses in survival situations, including: Making a shelter Making a splint Make a sling Fishing line Restraining someone Making traps Attaching gear Making repairs Raising and lowering things Grip wrapping Climbing Bundling Pulling/towing These are …


For the Love of Bread, by Autumn D.

I grew up in the kitchen, with both parents very capable in the kitchen and spending time with my dad in the restaurant he worked in for much of my life. Though my mom did not “love” me doing my own thing in “her” kitchen, she was always happy with me helping, which taught me a lot. Once I had my own kitchen, I would experiment with many a variety of dishes for breakfast (homemade waffles and apple turnovers), lunch (homemade vegetable sushi), dinner (eggplant, parmesan, and chili), and dessert (homemade cheesecake and cookies). Though I felt comfortable with all …


Preparedness and Homesteading as a Middle-Aged Woman, by P.B.

This is what I know, but I am no expert.  This is what I do and I am sometimes successful….most times half successful. I know about preparing for emergencies and learning to homestead.  I live a small homesteading life with my husband of almost 27 years while working a full-time medical job and caring for my sister who is wheelchair-bound and completely dependent.  We raise turkeys for meat as well as meat and laying chickens. I was inspired back in the 1970s by the television show The Waltons.  Living a simpler, self-sufficient life seemed the best.  Surrounded by a large family …


The Science: Reusing Canning Jar Lids – Part 2, by St. Funogas

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) #4. “Tempered less than Mason jars.” Nearly every book, website, and blog discussing this subject insists that Mason jars are tempered. They’re definitely, absolutely, NOT tempered. Glass has three basic hardening options: tempering, heat strengthening, and annealing. All commercial and home-canning jars are annealed, not tempered. Annealing is a process where jars are cooled down very slowly after production to make them more consistent and to minimize stresses. Whenever glass breaks into the sharp jagged pieces seen when we break a jar or window it’s merely annealed, not tempered or heat strengthened. …


The Science: Reusing Canning Jar Lids – Part 1, by St. Funogas

I’ve been on an incredible journey since submitting my last article Reusing Canning Jar Lids to SurvivalBlog. That article was based on my personal experience reusing 1,000+ canning jar lids. Many other home canners bear similar testimony about successfully reusing lids. My article specifically mentioned ignoring all the blogs, the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning, and even my own experience mentioned in the article. Since the best teacher is personal experience, I then challenged the reader to do a simple test themselves by canning some water with used canning jar lids. In this follow-up article, I have researched and …


My Quest for Waterproof Tinder, by The Novice

In the past, I have generally used a cotton ball with a dab of petroleum jelly as my preferred tinder. During some recent testing, I accidentally got the cotton ball damp. I found out that damp cotton performs very poorly as tinder. This was grounds for some serious thought, since wet conditions are often experienced in the field. I decided it would be wise to try to make a waterproof tinder that could be easily ignited with a ferrocerium rod. The First Attempt: Cotton in Paraffin I first tried waterproofing the cotton ball with paraffin. I took a coffee can …


Frog & Co. Tough Tesla Lighter 2.0, by The Novice

Recently, the Senior Pastor of my church gave me a gift. It is a Frog & Co. Tough Tesla Lighter 2.0. It is a great blessing to have a Senior Pastor who faithfully teaches the word of God. It is a bonus that he also recognizes that we live in a dangerous world, and tries to help his flock to be prepared. This lighter was my first experience with a product from Survivalfrog.com. I visited their website, and noticed that they have many interesting items for sale. My first impression was that some of the items seemed to be priced …


Realistic Team Training Events, by Joe Dolio

When talking about survival in a Without Rule of Law (WROL) situation, you are going to need a team. This can be a dedicated preparedness group, your family, a collection of friends, or whomever. But you absolutely need a team to survive in the coming chaos. This team needs to train together in order to be effective. The problem is that most training events go something like this: On Friday night, everyone meets at the location, has a big BBQ dinner and hangs out around the campfire. Tents and shelters are placed in a wide-open area, spread out over a …