Category: Traditional Skills/Fieldcraft

Three Letters Re: Frozen Livestock Water Tank Woes

Hi Jim, I have not tried one of these yet. But it seems like a good idea. – Paul D   Jim, I came across this interesting product while surfing the Internet a couple of weeks ago. It is one possible solution to the problem of freezing livestock tanks. The web site also mentions that insulating the sides of the tank helps retain the heat. – Jeff   Good Evening Mr. Rawles; In reference to the posting regarding heating a livestock tank, please review this web site. I purchased one of these tubs and stoves several years ago but not …


Letter Re: Homemade and Expedient Vegetable Oil Lamps

Sir, I clicked on this link from your site, JOTW – Home Made Vegetable Oil Lamp. This got me to thinking about something I read about and tried once, some years ago. Take a tangerine, and using a knife, cut the nub off of the top, to expose the fruit, and using a spoon, separate the fruit from the peel and the segments from each other, leaving the sting like ” pith ” that runs from top to bottom, down the center of the segments, connected to the bottom. After letting the thing dry a bit, the pith is cut …


Letter Re: Frozen Livestock Water Tank Woes

Hi Jim, I wanted to ask the vast readership for their help with winter water needs for livestock when we don’t have the luxury of electric tank heaters. I had done some research in the past and the only way I found to keep a livestock tank from freezing up with arctic winds was a wood fired Chofu, (Japanese), tank heater. The capacity much too small to handle the trick. We have just survived another arctic blast with buckets and stock tanks freezing over immediately. The thought of relocating the livestock to open water does not seem viable unless it …


Prepare or Die, by J. Britely

Throughout my life I have been caught unprepared several times and while nothing seriously bad happened, it easily could have.  I have been lost hiking.  My car has broken down in very bad neighborhoods – twice.  I have been close enough to riots that I feared they would spread to my neighborhood, been in earthquakes, been too close to wildfires, been stuck in a blizzard, and have been without power and water for several days after a hurricane.   I managed to get myself out of each situation, I thanked God, and tried to learn from my mistakes.  I could have …


A Honeybee CCD Disaster Soon?–Bee Prepared!

In the past three days, more than a dozen SurvivalBlog readers e-mailed this article link from The Telegraph: Honeybees may be wiped out in 10 years. I can not overstate that this is very alarming news. If the honeybee hive losses are universal in the “breadbasket” regions in the middle latitudes around the world, it would be cataclysmic for agriculture. The loss of honeybees for pollination because of CCD and/or successive waves of disease could very well cause a global famine that might result in a 20%+ die-off of global population and veritable TEOTWAWKI. Even if there is just an …


Letter Re: Burning Soft Maple Wood as a Primary Home Heat Source

Hi Jim, I have set out on an experiment in heating my home that has been interesting and is important to relay to other readers as their are many questions about using Soft Maple as a heat source. My experiment follows nearly a lifetime of wood burning, tree felling, splitting, chimney cleaning lifestyle and is of course not from a “professional”, so ask a professional when experimenting with home heating. I have used wood only heating in my current home for five years with 100% safety and 1,000% enjoyment. Before that, I had 11 years of consistent home heating by …


Grandpappy’s Pemmican Recipe – A Native American Indian Survival Food

Pemmican is a Native American Indian survival food that has a very long shelf life and it requires no refrigeration. It is similar to a Granola Bar except it contains no artificial preservatives. It is a compact energy source that contains protein, fiber, fat, carbohydrates, natural fruit sugars, vitamins, and minerals. It also tastes great because it is a simple combination of meat jerky and your favorite dried fruit. To make pemmican you only need three basic ingredients: 1. lean meat, 2. animal fat, and 3. fruit or berries. Pemmican has several very important and desirable characteristics: 1. It uses …


Letter Re: Sources for Free Survival and Preparedness Information on the Internet

James: K.L. in Alaska has presented a lot of interesting sources for information. I’ve noticed that you tend to link Wikipedia a lot when discussing various topics, I thought I would point out that there is a DVD with [a snapshot of] all of the English Wikipedia articles. It is a good general reference that can be viewed and searched offline when the Internet is not available. There also exists a Wikipedia free DVD download site, but it’s only a small part of the depth that the whole database has to offer. Great job on the blog! – Bman in …


Understanding Labor, Wealth, and Real Money

Our generation in the First World is presently living in a time of unprecedented wealth, luxury, and leisure. Technology has allowed huge advances in transportation, health care, and commerce. But much of the “wealth” that has been created is transitory. Real Wealth In essence, the only real wealth in the world is extractive. Extractive wealth come from mining, oil drilling, timber cutting, farming, ranching, or fishing. Manufacturing, while important, is essentially re-arranging what was originally extracted. And all other “wealth creation” in the so-called service economy is even more abstract–it is merely shuffling around bits of paper or electronic digits …


The Four Laws of Firearms Safety

For the benefit of those that are new to SurvivalBlog, it is important to again mention The Four Laws of Firearms Safety, developed by the late Col. Jeff Cooper 1) All firearms are loaded. – There are no exceptions. Don’t pretend that this is true. Know that it is and handle all firearms accordingly. Do not believe it when someone says: “It isn’t loaded.” 2) Never let the muzzle of a firearm point at anything you are not willing to destroy. – If you would not want to see a bullet hole in it do not allow a firearm’s muzzle …


Two Letters Re: Grain Storage and Preparation

Sir; We have what may be stupid question, however, we do not know how to grind wheat. We would like to ask how to prepare wheat for cooking and use.We have searched your great site but I did not find the answer on this. We would like to take advantage of this inexpensive food. Thanks so much . Your work is appreciated. – EG   Mr Rawles, My family and I are doing our best to prepare for the tough times ahead. Something’s brewing, I’m sure we all can feel it. One thing we’d love to keep a store of …


Sources for Free Survival and Preparedness Information on the Internet, by K.L. in Alaska

Recent comments in SurvivalBlog provided excellent advice on using the public library. You can gain lots of knowledge with no expense, then purchase only those books you want to keep on hand for personal reference. Also, many colleges and universities loan to local residents, so you can use them too, even if you aren’t a student. If your local libraries participate, a great resource is Worldcat. It lets you search for books from home, then go check them out, or get them through interlibrary loan. What will happen to the Internet when the SHTF? There’s no guarantee it will survive. …


Give Me That Old-Time Survivalism

Call me old-fashioned or whatever you’d like, but I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed by the plethora of gadgets that are now being sold under the banner of “preparedness”. The latest one mentioned by a reader was this: The Tactical Mirror Sight. Oh yes, and don’t forget the combination vertical foregrip and laser. And while you are at it, get yourself a M-203 look-alike 37mm flare launcher! It isn’t just tacti-cool, it is practically a fashion accessory! Who buys all this stuff? I’m sure that some of the more strident Armchair Commandos over at AR15.com just can’t wait to unlimber their …


Three Letters Re: Advice on Blade Sharpening

Jim: I wholeheartedly concur with your recommendation of DMT sharpeners. A bit of advice in selection: get a “Blue” sharpener (medium grit) for knives, “Black” (coarse) for shovels, hoes, and really heavy sharpening jobs. Reserve the “red” (fine) for woodworking tools. A coarser sharpener puts a more aggressive edge on a blade, which will generally last longer and cut easier than a super fine edge. If it’s really bad, secure the blade in a vise and use a new single cut mill bastard file to start. The Blue DMT [diamond stone] will put a shaving edge on a knife, you …


Letter Re: Advice on Blade Sharpening

Shalom Jim, I purchased some utility knives and a bayonet recently and it got me to thinking about what and how are the best ways to sharpen a dull edge. Do you have any suggestions or techniques that you are using? Seems like the best method would be without the use of power tools. I appreciate your help, once again. Todah Rabbah (Thank you), B’Shem Yahshua HaMoshiach (In the Name of Messiah Yahshua) – Dr. Sidney Zweibel JWR Replies: I may be a dinosaur, but I use traditional Arkansas stones for most of my knives. I do have a few …