Category: Traditional Skills/Fieldcraft

Letter Re: How I Made My iPhone a Useful Survival Reference

Mr. Rawles: I loved the letter on the iphone. In addition to what LC listed there are also ballistics calculators for the math-challenged like me. (iStrelok is free and works pretty well). One caveat to consider with the mighty smart phone is the fact that it could potentially be used to locate your location and perhaps even as a bug to listen in on conversations. One work-around is to buy an iPod Touch. You loose the phone and GPS features, but you can still carry God’s word and all your multimedia in your pocket! Thanks again for all you do …


Letter Re: Practical Substitutes for Anvils

Dear JWR: In article in the February 9th edition of SurvivalBlog, author JIR wrote: “There is no substitute for a good anvil. The bigger it is, the more stable it is and the more enjoyable it is to work with. But, if you need to, you can get by with using almost any heavy chunk of steel or even a big rock. My first anvil was a 16 pound sledgehammer head and it worked pretty well.” The following three links offer descriptions and some thoughts regarding the construction of anvils from short sections of former railroad rail. Though not as …


Forges, Foundries, and Factories, by JIR

While you are deciding what to store away, don’t forget about the needs of your grandchildren. They will need reference books. After TEOTWAWKI, any survivors in the USA will be living on capital. I am talking about capital in the form of basic commodities, like grain, legumes, clothes, fuels, and machines. Some of this capital needs to be replaced almost immediately, like food, for instance, but some of it will take generations to wear out completely. Until we can replace everything we use up, we will not be truly recovered. Eventually, we will need to replace our generators, tractors, firearms, …


Letter Re: Tool Maintenance and Spares

Sir: Hand tools are nearly useless if not properly maintained. This concept seems under emphasized in preparedness literature. One should have a stash of assorted files and sharpening stones, as they can be broken or worn out. Items like hacksaw blades that are nearly impossible to make at home should be acquired in quantity. People should also buy a quantity of tool steel and drill rod suitable for fashioning cutting tools. Thanks for your advice on your blog site and for your novel “Patriots” . Regards, – Jim J.


Shelter During Turbulent Times, by Alex C., Engineer

In every TEOTWAWKI circumstance shelter is of paramount concern.  It’s actually a concern every day of our lives, but we seldom think about it – we take the roof over our head almost as a given right in country.  Our houses or “castles” as some states call them are so sacred many states allow us to use deadly force – no questions asked – if someone illegally violates our home’s hallowed ground.  For a survivalist, “prepper” or even casually concerned citizen preparing for some sort of unknown future disaster, water, food, guns/ammo, fuel, backpacks, etc. are all high on the …


Finding Community, by Jim Fry

Here at the farm we had the first of a series of free and open classes on disaster preparedness on February 1st. One of the things I intend to talk about at the upcoming meetings are various options for joining a community. When discussing disaster preparations, the first thing to decide is what you think is most likely to happen. If you think the world is a friendly place where snow means skiing and flowers always bloom, then a disaster is the electricity going out for a couple days if a tree happens to fall. You’ll need a case of …


Mike Williamson’s Product Review: Dead On Tools Annihilator Demolition Hammer

A friend on an Austrian gun board introduced me to the Dead On Tools Annihilator Demolition Hammer. Just the photo was enough to convince me to pick one up for a try. The balance is a bit forward, but there’s plenty of grip surface to choke up on if needed. The hammer end made short work of a 2” concrete block, and the chisel end’s impact split them readily. Note that it will need re-sharpened with a file from time to time. After the block, I tried a chunk of sandstone with some full swings. I got sparks and chipped …


Barriers – Berries – and Bounty All Hidden in Plain Sight, by The Prudent Gardener

It seems a part of preparing for extremely hard times is acquiring knowledge and honing skills to maximize resources. SurvivalBlog has been tremendously helpful in developing exhaustive lists of needs, supplies, strategies and defenses. In addition, provision is made for faith, charity and quality of life to improve a healthy mental state. As a landscape contractor for 32 years, I am now seeing more potential for self-reliance that most property owners could develop with some planning and a better awareness of the resources they may already possess. This form of preparation could substantially improve our situation both short and long …


Letter Re: Gear and Book Recommendations

Mr. Rawles: I am a daily visitor to your site. Thank you for all that you do. Here are some products or vendors that offer exceptional value. Ragnar’s Ragweed Forge. Sells the Frost Mora, Swedish carbon steel knives. Plastic handled models about $10.00, including plastic belt sheath. K & M Industries, Inc. Heirloom quality, waterproof match cases. Machined from solid brass or aluminum, for about $20.00. Douk Douk pocket knives. Primitive little folding knives takes razor’s edge. Imported from France and overpriced everywhere on the Net. Any seller willing to take a reasonable mark-up could sell these knives by the …


Letter Re: Beekeeping and Fur Trapping at Your Retreat

Jim, I enjoyed the article by Chris on bee keeping and fur trapping. Ever since setting my first muskrat trap in 1974, I have been an avid trapper, not missing a year since, regardless of fur market prices. The knowledge one gains with respect to any furbearer that is pursued becomes very intimate if pursued successfully with passion year after year. Its not enough to just understand the general behavior of the furbearer. To successfully trap furbearers, one must know exactly where the animal will step. Close doesn’t always count in this sport. I once read where if one wants …


Beekeeping and Fur Trapping at Your Retreat, by Chris L.

I am a dentist with approximately 20 years experience.  My hobbies are eccentric by many modern people’s standards.  After reading many of the  articles on the survivor blog I thought that I might have a unique perspective to add to the wealth of undervalued information posted on the site.  While reading James Wesley Rawles book I was not surprised to find out that Honey maintains stability for years in storage. This did not surprise me as I am a hobby bee keeper myself.  This in and of itself makes long term storage of honey a wonderful glucose reserve.  Few people …


Letter Re: Clothing and Shoes, Post-TEOTWAWKI

James, Okay, a year or three goes by, [after TEOTWAWKI]. My wife can sew, but where do you get cloth and thread? I love Goretex (since I live in Western Oregon), but where do I replace those great Hi-Tec boots? No one seems to be discussing what happens when a shoelace brakes after Schumer is in session. You can hardly find them now. Cloth – one will make a spinning wheel and loom after “the fan” has become clogged! All that I can recall is an anecdote about the early Oregon Trail, when the newly arrived – skinny and starving …


A Brief Critique of the Movie “The Road”

Introductory Note: I recently wrote this critique for British newspaper. For the benefit of my readers in the US, I’m posting it to my blog. – JWR The recently released movie The Road, based on the same-titled novel by award-winning writer Cormac McCarthy illustrated some classic blunders in bushcraft and tactical movement. Doubtless, many of these gaffes were intentional–I suspect for the sake of drama, or to provide enough light for the night scenes. Here is a short list: 1.) Following main arterial roads.  In a post-collapse environment, major roads will become linear ambush zones.  To avoid trouble, “The Man” …


America is More Like Haiti than We’d Like to Think

The recent earthquake in the island nation of Haiti illustrates the fragility of all societies. While Haiti is unusual in its lack of infrastructure and its high dependence on foreign aid–more than half of its annual government budget comes from foreign aid–it is still similar in many ways to other nations: From the 1960s to the turn of the 21st century, as in many other nations, Haiti became an urbanized nation. Before the 1960s a substantial portion of Haitian society still lived on rural semi-self sufficient farmsteads. But as urbanization and specialization went on, fewer and fewer people lived off …


Letter Re: Constructing Farm Ponds

James, Hail from Kentucky. I just wanted to add my two cents and maybe some advice to anyone thinking about building a pond to help support their retreat. I just want to say that I am not an expert, just learned a thing or two from the school of hard knocks, and would love to hear the feed back and thoughts of other SurvivalBloggers. I saw a post by a lady a week or so ago that mentioned she wanted to have a pond dug on her five acre plot but she stated that the water table is 12 feet …