Category: Traditional Skills/Fieldcraft

Survival Fishing 101, by Captain T.

Many of us have, within our Bug Out Bag some kind of basic survival fishing rig (like those sold at Ready Made Resources or Camping Survival) be it a simple hook, line, and sinker tucked away in a plastic case, in the handle of a survival knife, a pill bottle, plastic pack or metal tin, or a slightly more elaborate setup that might include a small fishing reel and telescopic rod or a small Yo-Yo fishing reel.  Regardless of what rig you possess at the time TSHTF, it is important to have some general knowledge and ability in order to …


Wildcrafting Healing, by Peggy S.

When TEOTWAWKI comes, there isn’t going to be a CVS or Walgreen’s pharmacy open and stocked for very long afterward. So, what to do when you get a nasty cut, burn or some other infection? First, as common sense tells us, wash it off with soap and water or use some stashed vodka to kill any possible germs or even the old time remedy of kerosene. The kerosene was also an old time remedy to keep fleas off your dogs, just pour a thin line of it down their backs like you do with modern flea drops. Just remember to …


Letter Re: Keeping Honey Bees for Survival

I just read the SurvivalBlog writing contest article on keeping honeybees.  It was an excellent primer for someone to read and get started working with honeybees.  I have a few tidbits of information from my experience keeping bees.  We have had bees at our home for three years now, and it’s been one of the most amazing things I have ever done.  We got started with a local supplier, and stood up two full size langstroth hives, and then brought the two “nucs” home (driving with 30,000 bees in a minivan for an hour and a half is exhilarating to say the …


Keeping Honey Bees for Survival, by Michael J.

Why Keep Honey Bees? Wandering into the woods and staying lost for months is something I love to do. I have been an Urban Guerrilla Survivalist for 24 years, and have been keeping bees for more than 10 of those years. With these experiences under my belt, I have begun to teach people how to be a survivalist, and one subject I focus on is the art of beekeeping. Before I tell you the benefits of having bees and some cheap ways to keep them, I suggest that you find a book about beekeeping to help you understand the terms …


Letter Re: Holly as a Substitute Caffeine Source

James, Many people in North America wonder how they would survive in a world without caffeine [since coffee and cocoa are both imported].  An alternative to coffee could be Yaupon holly tea.  The Yaupon holly is used as a tea by various Indian tribes, and it has been studied as a commercial herbal tea drink. According to my local colonial history book, colonists also raised Yaupon tea leaves for trade. It is related to yerba mate, a holly used to make a caffeinated tea in South America.   The Wikipedia article is rather confused on this point, but it is believed …


Subsistence Fishing After TEOTWAWKI by, CentOre

Introductory Disclaimer: Many ideas expressed within this article may not be legal in all jurisdictions.  Items covered and methods discussed are strictly theoretical in nature unless otherwise stated. Many people have a love of fishing.  Take a pole, and maybe a youngster, down to the shore, or a dock, baiting up, casting out, and waiting for a bite.  It’s a great time to just sit, talk, and enjoy nature.  Right? Not after TEOTWAWKI!  There will not be many ‘restful’ days, or nights for that matter.  Our group has a saying that: “Sportsman-ship goes out the window when Survival-ship comes in …


Off Grid Waste Management and Sanitation, by Brother A.

Recently, due to financial considerations, we decided to end our garbage collection service. It wasn’t a large expense, but our budget is tighter than ever these days and with some planning we realized that it was actually a luxury, not a necessity. Besides, those of us who are preparing for the likely future of a breakdown in society shouldn’t really expect to have convenient curb waste disposal services, now should we? How were you planning on handling that day when it comes? You have 500 trash bags and you’re just going to stack bags of trash in some out-of-the-way corner …


Letter Re: Learning More Than Just Weak Hand and Shooting

James Wesley: Regarding the recent letter, “Learning More Than Just Weak Hand and Shooting”: As one who has been on crutches several times due to surgery, had my left arm in a cast three times, a broken ankle, had a concussion, and many sprains throughout my athletic years, I tell people that you don’t realize how much you do without thinking about it, and to think about it every day. Brushing your teeth, getting up and down from a toilet, taking a shower, going up and down stairs, working with tools, caring for your family (children, dogs, spouse) and friends, …


Horse and Rider, by D.O.

After reading “Survivors: A Novel of the Coming Collapse”, I thought I would share a few experiences with horse ownership. I really enjoyed the book, a real page turner. And I wanted to weigh in on the techniques and experiences outlined in the book concerning horses. Let me first say that what was portrayed in Survivors is indeed real and doable, however the techniques and experiences in the book require a good deal of experience and training. For the beginning first time horse owner who isn’t sure how tight to cinch a saddle, I would say getting a horse to …


Letter Re: Learning More Than Just Weak Hand and Shooting

Mr. Rawles,  In many of your posts, and the posts on other sites, I see a recurring theme to practice with weapons using your “off-hand”, but I don’t see this same advice put out for any other activity. All right, so a bit of background: I’m a pretty hard-wired preparedness guy, I prep, I practice, and I thought I was pretty well covered for just about anything until just recently.   I was at work and while transiting from one area to another I slipped and slammed my hand in a large steel latching mechanism on one of the blast …


Letter Re: How to Make Lye Soap

As a former soap company owner and operator, I enjoyed the article on soap making (How to Make Lye Soap, posted on November 30, 201.) However, for safety’s sake, I would like to caution your readers regarding some of the statements made in the article: 1. The author’s instructions say to “Heat the water to 110° F. Add the lye to the water.” This is a dangerous suggestion. The chemical reaction caused when lye combines with water causes even room temperature water to heat up almost to the boiling point. Starting with overly-warm water could (and probably would, depending on …


Lime and its Uses in Survival Scenarios

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In JWR’s book “How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It” , item number 11 on the Bartering and Charity List is “50 pound sacks of lime (for outhouses”). My first thought on reading this was, “Why would I barter away my precious lime?” More than just an odor eliminator, lime is a very helpful material used for countless applications in its various forms across various industries ranging from use in the production of glass to use as a calcium supplement in Tropicana brand orange juice. My initial research was designed to discover which type of …


How to Make Lye Soap, by Masquita

WARNING: Lye is highly caustic and will degrade organic tissue. Do not allow lye to touch your skin, breathe in the fumes or be taken internally in any way. It will cause chemical burns, permanent scarring or blindness. Do not ever combine lye with aluminum, magnesium, zinc, tin, chromium, brass or bronze. When using or making lye, always wear protective equipment including safety glasses and chemical resistant gloves, and have adequate ventilation.     Basic homemade lye soap is useful for so much more than cleaning up the language of wayward children. Grandma used to rub it on dirty stains …


Letter Re: Rawhide and Brain Tanning

Mr. Rawles, Regarding the use of rawhide, I would recommend the short film “Lige: Portrait of a Rawhide Braider” (1985), that can be found at Folkstreams.net. The film is just under half an hour in length and is fascinating for both the people portrayed and the information it contains about the traditional working of rawhide in “the region known as the Sagebrush Corner of northeastern California and northwestern Nevada”. The site contains many additional short films (free and licensed for individual viewing) that would interest readers of your blog – rural and traditional crafts, music, lifestyles are examined. Fascinating shorts …


Three Letters Re: Need a Power Source? Got Water?

JWR: Regarding the recent article by CentOre, titled: Need a Power Source?  Got Water?: There is good info on the waterwheelplace.com web site for the do-it-yourselfer to calculate potential horsepower and watts from any given wheel configuration. Pa in Pennsylvania James; I won’t claim to be an expert on hydro power generation, but would advise against two non-durable materials mentioned: Instead of aluminum pipe for a shaft, get some steel pump shafting from an industrial metals supply or a well supply. Aluminum won’t hold up. Another is Teflon. While very slick, it will not last at all. I would suggest …