Category: Traditional Skills/Fieldcraft

Letter Re: Doing Versus Studying–Wherever You Live

I agree 100% with Fanderal in his recent article on “Doing Versus Studying”. I grew up helping with gardening and canning as a boy in southern Indiana. There is a tremendous difference between having helped (“Hold the bucket, son.”) and picking up the knife and beginning the slaughter of a 300 pound hog. I have spent the last 20 years raising my family in suburbia and have very fond memories of growing up in the country. Memories are not a substitute for practical hands on experience. The Millennium bug got me thinking about “What If” while the 9/11 events were …


10 Practical Tips to Survive TEOTWAWKI, by Heghduq

As I read SurvivalBlog there is much on how to build things and various preparations. I have gleaned a plethora of information on many subjects. I have implemented many into my preparations. There are some modifications to many of these that I wish to cover in this article. These are basic and simple to achieve with a little creative thinking on your part and can be done by anyone who wants to keep it simple. Preparing for any emergency or disaster or even TEOTWAWKI is a daunting task in and of itself. I wish to pass on a few pieces …


Letter Re: Useful LifeHacker Articles

Mr. Rawles: There are so many great and not-so-great ideas on the LifeHacker site including this one I found showing you how to use C cell batteries in place of a D cell compartment in an emergency situation: There are some other interesting things on this site like creating make-shift air conditioning systems using cold well water (others have made emergency air conditioners using beverage coolers, fans and copper coils): DIY Heat Exchanger and Make Your Own Air Conditioner. There is this one showing you how someone made hand washing more efficient while filling the tank of his toilet. [JWR …


Letter Re: How to Make Old Fashioned Homemade Soap

Mr Rawles, I’m looking forward to trying Grandpappy’s wood ash soap making technique. I’ve tried it before, but unfortunately only was only successful once. I might add, although unavailable as Red Devil brand in the grocery stores, lye is easily available from online soap making and chemical supplies. [JWR Adds: It is also available via mail order from Lehman’s–one of our Affiliate advertisers.] Another source, if you live in oilfield country, is to find a friend who works on a[n oil] rig. They get it in 50 pound bags and it’s pure and fine for soap making, hominy making or …


How to Make Old Fashioned Homemade Soap (Part 3 of 3), by Grandpappy

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: How to Render (Melt) Animal Fat: Beef fat is called tallow and pig fat is called lard. Poultry fat is too soft to be used by itself, but it may be used in a ratio of about 10% with tallow or a tallow-lard combination. Bear fat may also be used but it must be melted (rendered) quickly after the bear has been killed because bear fat will quickly become rancid. You may also use the fat from farm animals such as sheep or goats, and a variety of wild animals, such as beaver, opossum, raccoon, and groundhog. If …


How to Make Old Fashioned Homemade Soap (Part 2 of 3), by Grandpappy

How to Make Special Types of Soap using Grandpappy’s Homemade Soap Recipe: All-Purpose Soap and Bath Soap: Use 50% beef tallow and 50% pork lard in Grandpappy’s Homemade Soap Recipe. Facial Soap: Use 25% beef tallow and 75% pork lard in Grandpappy’s Homemade Soap Recipe to make a soft facial soap. Laundry Soap: Use 100% beef tallow in Grandpappy’s Homemade Soap Recipe. Soap Flakes: To make soap flakes, rub a bar of hard soap made from 100% beef tallow (or any other hard fat) over a vegetable or cheese grater (shredder). Soap Powder: To make soap powder, dry the above …


How to Make Old Fashioned Homemade Soap (Part 1 of 3), by Grandpappy

During hard times sooner or later everyone runs out of soap. To make soap you only need three things: 1. Rainwater, 2. Cold ashes from any hardwood fire, and 3. Animal fat from almost any type of animal, such as beef, pork, goat, sheep, bear, beaver, raccoon, opossum, groundhog, etc. All soap consists of the above three ingredients in one form or another, and that includes bath soap, dish soap, laundry soap, and hair shampoo. Soap is not difficult to make and it does not require any special equipment. And soap can be made from things that exist in large …


Letter Re: Steam Locomotives in a Post-TEOTWAWKI World?

Dear Jim and Family, Its true that boiler maintenance and safety are a serious concern. As my wife is a rail fan (train chaser), she knows a bit, and knows people who know a lot more. One of these was kind enough to send me this info in his reply. “Bear in mind that the great costs mentioned are all meant to get the boilers up to federal-mandated standards, i.e. extremely safe conditions. If you just want to get it to function, you don’t have to do near as much work. The problem of course is that while under steam …


Letter Re: Steam Locomotives in a Post-TEOTWAWKI World?

Jim, I’m a big fan of western movies and was thinking of how trains seem to dominate so many. These old steam locomotives are still running in many locations around the world so it got me to thinking. I’ve heard you discuss steam power before and I was wondering what you thought of a return to steam power for transportation in between settlements in the case of full societal collapse that may drive us back a century or more in technology. It seems we have a good supply of lumber in our forests as well as a good supply of …


Four Letters Re: Providing Crucial Fats and Oils in Your Diet

Jim, One oil that I think is very good for us and has exceptional storage life is coconut oil. That is, organic, extra-virgin coconut oil. There is quite a bit of info out there on it, the two best sites that I have found are, www.wildernessfamilynaturals.com, and www.tropicaltraditions.com. In our research, coconut oil is better for your health than even olive oil. We have been using it exclusively for about nine months. God Bless, – Bob P.   Mr. Rawles: One of your readers recent comments about geese as a source of fat served to jog my memory about the …


Survival for the Disabled, by Hegh

To survive one must be physically fit! This statement has been said and written over and over, time and again. To say that Survival is for this group of individuals exclusively has strong weight when it comes to a TEOTWAWKI scenario. How ever I would disagree with this assessment. Granted, total invalids could pose a problem but that is not the focus of this article. The focus is on those individuals who are disabled but can still function to some degree and contribute to a TEOTWAWKI scenario. During the fall of the twin towers on September 11th there were 31 …


A Second Income–A Key Goal for Family Preparedness

I often encourage folks that are preparedness-minded to develop a second income stream. Why is this important? “Living off the land” style self sufficiently is an admirable and commendable goal. But even if you are living truly “debt free”, you will still have property taxes to pay. That means that you will need at least a modest recession/depression proof revenue stream in the event that you lose your primary job. Let me underscore this point with a bit of Rawles family history: My family came out west by covered wagon in the 1850s. They soon after set up a sheep …


What if The Schumer Doesn’t Hit The Fan? – Reasons to Prepare Anyway, by MB

As long as I can remember, I have felt that someday the comforts of a modern American lifestyle would vanish, at least temporarily. So I have made small mental preparations for some time now; keeping my mind and body fit and strong, staying informed, dropping hints to the wife, etc. Recently, and mostly after reading Patriots, I have a renewed interest in preserving my life and protecting those I love. After educating myself on the subject of survival, I felt, as I’m sure many others have, very vulnerable and even overwhelmed. I needed to take action, immediately. Many thoughts spring …


Digging Tools Basics, by JN EMT

Knowing how to dig holes, make trenches and move earth is an important, if often overlooked skill. Here are tips that I thought might be helpful. The Tools of the Trade Digging instruments are as sexy or fun to shop for as battle rifles and Snap-On automotive tools, but having a good selection of these can mean the difference between completing a task in a day or spending three weeks in agony. Here are the basics. Folding Shovel – Every vehicle you own should have at least one shovel. A small folding shovel or “E-Tool” is compact and easy to …


My Adventure in Growing Wheat, by Carl in Wisconsin

Some time about June of 2006 I decided after long months of listening to James, the editor of The Bison Newsletter talk about storing wheat that I would try to grow some in an exercise in Post-TSHTF Farming/Gardening. On page 172 of the Readers Digest Back To Basics book it states that a 10’ by 109 ‘ foot plot would grow about 100 pounds of wheat, enough for a family of 4 for a year. I figured that a plot twice that size would be perfect for two people and a dog and a cat. I also question if 100 …