Category: Traditional Skills/Fieldcraft

Ropes and Rope Making, by B.E.

Disclaimer: The knowledge below is not comprehensive, but is included to the best of the authors understanding. New research is being published continuously on the subjects below and the author and/or publisher can take no responsibility in the safe or unsafe application of the knowledge included. If you are using ropes for life-support or other dangerous applications please get qualified instruction, and follow all manufacturer’s guidelines! That said… There are several items, though while not indispensable, can make living through hard times much more comfortable and safe. Ropes can make the hardest of tasks easier and safer when used correctly, …


Water Cistern Facts, by Rex X.

Cisterns have been used for water storage for thousands of years and continue to be used today.  A cistern is a large water storage container that is often underground.  Many of you will remember Masada where the Roman Legion had the Jews besieged.  This mountain top fortress was able to hold out for as log as they did, in part, because of the large cisterns where they stored rain water.  In fact without cisterns this would have been nothing other than another uninhabited mountain. These water storage tanks can range up to thousands of gallons, or liters if you prefer.  …


Wilderness Fire Making: We Have Ignition, by Brad M.

I have been a scoutmaster for 18 years. It is a lot of fun teaching scouts how to make fire using unorthodox methods.  Seeing the look in their eyes as they get their first fire built in the outdoors using no matches is a great experience.  As a matter of fact, in winter camps where the ground is not frozen I like to use a trench fire pit with rocks in it, then bury it and sleep on top for a very cozy and warm night. I too was bitten by the survival bug when I was a young scout, …


Bare Bones Survival, by Blake R.

With an endless and ever-growing supply of preparedness items and gadgets for TEOTWAWKI, it is easy to forget where we all came from.  Each and every one of us alive on this planet today is in large part due to the sheer will, strength, and survival ability of our ancestors.  We are all, literally, direct descendants of the toughest and smartest humans the world has ever seen.  Our ancestors were the ones who survived plagues and diseases of all types, hunted the largest of beasts, survived harsher conditions than most of us can imagine, always procured food, and still managed …


Automotive Preparedness by P.D. in Northern Missouri

I am a firm believer that a TEOTWAWKI situation will happen, and in my lifetime.  I consider myself a prepper, and am a daily reader of “prepping articles,” and almost always read about “bug out bags,” or “72-hour kits,” call them what you will.  I also read allot of articles devoted to bug out vehicles.  A bug out vehicle is a great concept, but is only as good as the distance it will take you, or for the length of time that it will last.  I do believe that bugging out is a necessity in prepping for a TEOTWAWKI situation, …


Letter Re: Welding, Post-TEOTWAWKI

JWR: My favorite planned substitute for welding in TEOTWAWKI is brazing. It can be done with a carbon arc torch, an oxyacetylene torch or on a old fashioned forge. The latter is particularly attractive to me as it requires no gas or electricity to accomplish. I have a charcoal fired forge and find that by sandwiching two pieces of metal together around some flattened brass rod and flux then using tie wire to hold all in position. I can place the pieces in my fire and increase the air (turn the crank) until the brass melts and flows to the …


Letter Re: The Importance of Chainsaw Spare Parts

James, I just wanted to throw this out there for general information. This past Saturday my neighbor was cutting some trees with his chainsaw. Not long after he started he was over to my house asking to borrow one of my chainsaws because he got his hung up in the tree. I grabbed one of my three saw and went over to help him out. I figured he got his hung up I did not wish him to hang up mine also. After we got his cut out, I mentioned to him if he had a spare bar and chain …


Welding, Post-TEOTWAWKI, by G.M.

I am a retired journeyman pipefitter who is a Certified Welding Inspector.  I teach at a nearby community college two days a week.   Welding encompasses such a large body of knowledge that no one person can know all there is to know and certainly cannot condense everything into a short article, but let me start with some basics. First of all, if you can’t tell the difference between steel, stainless steel, aluminum or cast iron you shouldn’t be welding.  You have to know what process to use and which filler metal to use.  Some things will hurt you or kill …


Sourdough Bread Baking, by Sarah in California

You may have a years worth of wheat (or more) stored, but will you be able to make it into bread and other baked goods after TEOTWAWKI?  Sourdough is the solution for preppers.  No need to worry about expiration dates on your commercial yeast packets, a properly cared for sourdough starter can last indefinitely, providing an unlimited source of yeast.  There are several known sourdough starters in the United States that are over 100 years old. Sourdough is a method of bread preparation that has been used for thousands of years.  It probably originated in Egypt around 1500 BC and was …


Two Letters Re: Advice on Disaster Pet Euthanasia

Hi Jim, A couple of things worth considering for painless pet euthanasia.  This is never a pleasant subject, but: 1. Carbon monoxide poisoning.  People die of this painlessly all the time.   Prepare a setup now to connect to your vehicle exhaust (or any other gas engine exhaust) to an enclosure sized to hold your pet. 2. A person can be made unconscious simply by pressing two fingers against the juggler veins in the neck without any feeling of strangling or otherwise. It’s like going to sleep (the brain is deprived of oxygen and you black out).  A prolonged application …


Letter Re: Advice on Disaster Pet Euthanasia

Mr. Rawles, I am constantly impressed by the wealth of information that I am able to find on your web site and I would like to take this opportunity to thank you and all involved for the work you do on this.  I was also wondering if you, or your readers, might be able to help me out with a certain, unsavory aspect of my preps.   Currently, our family is overseas in a country where we are required to maintain an evacuation plan and needed supplies at all time.  I am wholly on-board with this and have done this, …


Family-Scale Permaculture Gardening, by Tod P.

I started trying to grow my own food, on a small scale, about 10 years ago.  Only this year, did I really begin to see the possibility of growing most of what we need to feed our family.  I have learned to garden through a combination of books, experimentation and tips from others.  I would like to share some of my education and sources so that others can ramp up to self-sufficiency faster than the time it took me.  Permaculture.  Previous SurvivalBlog contributors have mentioned the term “permaculture”.  It is a general term that describes (mostly) self-sustaining production through diversity, …


From the Kitchen to the Garden, by G.T.

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Let’s just say I have a fair amount of time on my hands and not a whole lot of money. Add to that a curious mind with a bit of a preparedness mindset and you get someone who likes to experiment with produce and gardening. I wanted to share some of my experiences with growing plants straight out of my kitchen, often from produce bought at the grocery store that was meant to be eaten but didn’t make it to the table, or had the seeds removed first. If you’ve seen some of the propaganda out these days on our food supply, …


Wilderness Survival in a Northern Climate, by F.D.

I recently learned about wilderness survival in my northern climate. So I thought I would share some of the interesting information that was imparted to me. First off, I highly recommend everyone take a wilderness survival course offered in your area, as it is a wealth of information on the existing elements in your environment, and how to use them to your benefit. First and foremost, if you get lost and you believe someone is coming for you- stay put! Do not try to find the trail that you happened to wander off of or the road that led you …


The Useful Cattail by Brian in Pennsylvania

For those of you who are awake and aware of the fact that our current lifestyle is about to change in a big way, this information should appeal to you.  I would like to take the time to present some information that might not be known to everyone. This article is about the Cattail.  That humble plant that some people go to great lengths to rid themselves of.  That is foolish in the extreme in light of the coming collapse.  A person that had a pond with cattails growing thick around the perimeter, or access to one, should consider themselves …