Retirement (June 2022) has me reflecting on my lifework. The dust-covered rocking chair overlooking the pond tells me that it ain’t over. In between working on my new log cabin, I’ve been building my next adventure, the Survival Sherpa School!
Often when you think you’re at the end of something, you’re at the beginning of something else.
~ Fred Rogers
December 2022 marks the 11th birthday of this blog. While writing over 600 articles here, I’ve never made a dime from the blog. I’m not more virtuous than others by offer all this free information over the years. I don’t hate money, it’s just the model I chose from the beginning.
However, the Survival Sherpa School is a separate site with a mission to offer hands-on classes to help you learn, prepare, and survive. With the help of my good friend, Melonie of Mel of the Mountains, we now offer a variety of classes on many primitive and traditional skills from bark baskets to hide tanning. I’ll be adding more class content in the near future.
Do me a favor and go check out the site to see what may interest you or someone you know.
While you’re visiting the Survival Sherpa School, hit that Subscribe button to join our community. You’ll be the first to be notified of upcoming classes, events, and exclusive content you won’t see on this blog, YouTube channel, or social media.
Some of our followers have been here from the very start and I can’t thank you enough for all your faithful support! We’ve learned a lot together through the magic of the internet. I’ll continue to post value-added content here, don’t worry.
After our Appalachian Bark Basket class at Little Rose Nature Adventures, we’ve taught three more classes in two states (GA and NC)! Below are some highlights of the experiential learning going on.
Appalachian Bark Baskets
More than an arts and crafts class, these eager students learned the context of making natural containers which their ancestors used many years ago.
Firecraft Essentials
Fire is life and learning many methods to achieve a sustainable fire is essential.
Modern ferrocerium rod in action.
Although we teach primitive and modern techniques, we stress that your fire kit should be simple enough that a five-year-old can use it.
Homeschool Co-op Demo in North Carolina
Melonie demonstrating the utility of turning raw animal hides into useful material for clothing and gear.
Axmanship 101
Students discovered and practiced hands-on techniques to safely fell, limb, buck, and split wood with their ax only. Thanks to Georgia Bushcraft, LLC for hosting this class.
Georgia Bushcraft Fall Gathering
A few of the classes we taught at this years fall gathering. Mel of the Mountains showing students how to make their own buckskin medicine pouches.
Two ladies getting their hands dirty practicing the Flip-Flop Winch.
As you can see, we’ve had a busy schedule recently! If you’d like to stay up to date on future classes and content, be sure to subscribe to our email list here. By the way, we will travel to you or your group’s location for classes and personal instruction.
I’d also like to thank my long-time blogging friend, Patrick Blair of NinjaWolf Studios, for his expert work in building the new Survival Sherpa School website! Be sure to check out Southern Dreams Homestead where he and Jessie are building a self-reliant urban homestead right here in Georgia.
P.P.S – If you find value in the blog, I would appreciate your vote on Top Prepper Sites! You can vote daily by clicking hereor on the image below. Check out all the other value-adding sites while you’re there…
“In the school of the woods there is no graduation day.”
~Horace Kephart, The Book of Camping and Woodcraft, 1910
I deal with an inner struggle with every math lesson forced upon students.
They groan and ask, “When will we ever use algebra in real life?”
If I’m honest, my response is, “Never, unless you plan on teaching math one day.”
But that’s not entirely true. There’s that high-stakes test looming at the end of the year to determine who can regurgitate all the rote-learning jammed into a brain surging with teenage hormones. Forcing them to learn stuff they’re not interested in is as painful as pulling your own tooth with a rusty hobnail.
I can’t make them learn, but I can let them learn. In my experience, children who are allowed to follow their interests will learn across all academic disciplines enthusiastically.
We all learn the stuff we are interested in learning. I scraped by in all my college English classes with a solid C minus average. I hated writing and reading because it was forced upon me. Today is different. I taught myself to write (some may argue that point) because I have a real-world goal of sharing my journey to self-reliance and preparedness. Research and writing, unlike my college days, are now enjoyable as I purse my interests.
Here’s the thing…
Children (and adults) learn not by passively absorbing information but because something becomes interesting to them – or they watch and listen to others doing interesting stuff. Every school year my students discover my blog and YouTube channel. They get excited and want to start Doing the Stuff that I write about or demonstrate on video.
Children need space to learn naturally. Intuitively, they want to discover and develop intellectual skills – not become grand test-takers. Our rigid system of schooling promotes the latter. But awakenings happen. Moments like last Friday.
Friction Fire Friday
Capitalizing on my student’s interest in a few topics of self-reliance, and my love for the magic of friction fire, we left the classroom for a bow and drill fire demonstration. All sorts of science and math are involved in self-reliance. Heck, I’ve even witnessed students who are self-proclaimed book-haters open books on their own accord to learn about self-reliant skills. The possibilities are frightening.
Loading the spindle
Opening my box of tinder material and other primitive fire making tools, the Science lesson began…
“How hot does your stove top need to get to boil water?” I asked. The boiling point of water is 212º F so it must be hotter than that, right? Agreement was reached. Your electric range top is powered by fire traveling through copper wires without burning your home to the ground. Fire has always been the center piece of homes since primitive times… and it was never as easy as we have it today.
By rubbing two sticks together, we will conduct enough heat to the charred dust for spontaneous combustion.
“How hot do you think we need get the wood dust?”
Answers ranged from 200 to 250, and biscuit-baking temperature. Your oven at home doesn’t even reach the temperature needed. Through friction, we can create enough heat to raise the wood temperature to between 700-800 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s hot!
I pointed out that the cedar spindle we used is similar to a wooden pencil and works in the same way. The eraser end creates more friction than the writing end. When rubbing out an error in an algebra equation, the eraser leaves tiny particles of dust which is flicked away by the writer’s pinky finger.
However, the dust from our fire spindle is precious char and must be collected. Ideally, you want the wood dust to be as fine as baby powder as it collects in the missing slice of pie cut from the hearth board. Finer dust has an increased surface area to volume ratio. More surface area equates to a lower temperature needed for combustion.
After dust collects in the missing pie slice, faster revolutions of the spindle and increased downward pressure will increase the heat to reach the critical temperature needed to cause the charred dust to spontaneously combust.
And the magic happens!
For those interested in learning the bow and drill fire method, reading this won’t achieve the desired results. This is simply book-learning. Don’t expect great results from articles and books and videos. It’s called Doing the Stuff for a reason.
Some suggested do’s and don’ts can be found in our step-by-step guide on bow and drill method. Hopefully, this will offer some things to avoid on your journey to friction fire success.
Back to the lesson…
Surface Area and Fire
Before spinning the spindle, I asked, “What are three things every fire needs to burn?” Three separate students who paid attention in Science class quickly gave the correct answers; heat, air, and fuel. Our heat source is friction. Air, often taken for granted, must be present. Fuel will be our char dust in the beginning.
Not wanting to disappoint the students with smoke only, I choose a proven bow drill set made of Eastern Red Cedar sap wood. Setting up the drill in my bow, I asked which end of the pencil-like spindle should contact the hearth board to create the most friction. “The eraser end,” they answered in unison. Right. The sharp, pointed end has less surface area which equals less friction. My kids are smart scientists!
The grinding begins, followed by smoke… and oohs and aahs… and cell phones clicking pics and videos to document this primitive magic.
Documentation
Midway through the process my bow string snaps. The bank line on my favorite bow had twirled one too many spindles. I thought of asking the students to donate a shoe lace. Knowing the affection and social status placed on shoes of middle schoolers, I declined. We had just enough cord to wrap around the bow handle and proceed with drilling.
A few determined moments of spinning brought the charred dust to ignition temperature. Smoke floated skyward signaling the birth of a baby fire egg.
Allowing time for the fire egg to mature and grow inside the dust pile, we formed a “bird’s nest” from a handful of roadside pine needles which had been crushed and mangled by vehicle tires to create lots of surface area in the tinder. This stuff is a free, ready-to-use fire resource my primitive technology mentor, Scott Jones, turned me onto.
Birthing the Fire Egg
A smoldering pile of dust was cool and all but flames licking through my fingers was what the students came to see. We transferred the fragile egg from its welcome mat to the prepared nest of tinder, gently swaddled it, and breathed life into the egg until it hatched into hot flames.
A full-fledged campfire wasn’t permitted. To build a sustainable fire, read our tutorials on Bombproof Fire Craft.
Doing the Stuff in Context
The bow and drill is the easiest of friction fire methods to learn since it maximizes your muscle power through leverage and mechanical advantage. On the second demonstration that day, we had enough time for one student to give it a whirl.
One male students knew all about this wilderness survival stuff from watching, in his words, “all the survival shows.” He knew the facts. He even told the class that we could carry the fire by placing it in dried elephant dung. Sadly, we were fresh out of elephant poop that day. His statement, true where elephants roam, highlights the importance of practicing wilderness skills in your wilderness (urban or rural) by actually Doing the Stuff.
As Steve Watts once said…
“… if it’s not in context, it’s just arts and crafts.”
Naturally, I asked our “survival expert” to try the bow and drill technique. He declined. Why? He knew all the facts but maybe he was afraid of failing in front of his friends. Whatever his reason, none of us can learn a new skill without learning to fail forward.
One of our female basketball players volunteered to try. She was very coachable and demonstrated good technique. For these two reasons, this young lady will probably be the first of my students to birth an ember by rubbing sticks together. We even had our resource officer watch and want to give primitive fire a spin.
Turning Class Inside Out
Not ever child may show interest in making fire from scratch. But I’ll bet they’ll stand in amazement watching the smoke and flames created by rubbing sticks together. This may be the hook needed to get them out of doors and into nature.
Every child needs to curiously explore his or her interest in our natural world. There’s more to this stuff than just building self-reliance skills. Their overall health and wholeness as a human being is the top benefit. Now, get outside and go wild!
P.P.S – If you find value in our blog, Dirt Road Girl and I would appreciate your vote on Top Prepper Sites! You can vote daily by clicking hereor on the image below. Check out all the other value-adding sites while you’re there…
From the biblical perspective, sin is “missing the mark.” In wilderness survival, not hitting your target in one skill doesn’t have to mean certain death. However, fall short in these three critical survival skills, and, dude, you’re screwed!
You may not get a second chance to see your family again if you can’t stay warm and hydrated. Having the ability to regulate body temperature brings redemption.
Cold and Wet: The Perfect Storm
Your body does a remarkable job regulating core temperature. However, add moisture to the equation, drop the temperature slightly, and you’ve got a perfect storm for hypothermia.
Water saps body heat 25 times faster than air. And 70 to 80% of your body heat is lost through your head and neck. The remaining heat loss goes through your fingers, hands, and feet. The simple act of breathing in cold air and expelling warm air will chill your body.
A slight change in core temp, even by a degree or two, will affect your bodily functions. Shivering, lack of coordination, slurred speech, and numbness in the extremities are signs of hypothermia. Decrease to 91.4ºF (33ºC) and you lose consciousness. Complete muscle failure occurs at 82.4ºF (28ºC).
Core Temperature Equipment
This article is not addressing wilderness living skills or long-term self-reliance. We’re talking about staying alive in an unexpected stay in the woods. You can’t very well pursue long-term stuff if you’re not equipped to survive the short-term storm. And, by storm, I mean – when you need immediate help and none is available – in a wilderness setting.
The first step to being equipped is to always carry equipment. No matter how many debris huts you’ve built, you’d be a stupid survivalist, and possibly a dead one, to not pack some sort of emergency shelter option, fire kit, metal container, cordage, and a knife.
Below is my emergency kit I carry no matter how long I plan to be in the woods.
Fire Kit ~ Three different ignition sources which I’m comfortable using – open flame (Bic lighter), spark ignition (ferro rod), solar ignition (magnifying lens), sure fire (diy and commercial), duct tape, and a bit of dry tinder material.
Knife ~ There is no such thing as “The Best Survival Knife”. Beware of the marketer’s hype surrounding these ultimate survival tools.
Metal Container ~ A metal water bottle can be used to boil water, make char cloth, cook meals, and perform self-aid duties.
Cordage ~ I carry both 550 paracord and tarred mariners line.
Conserving body heat is the key to survival. Your body produces heat from biochemical reactions in cells, exercise, and eating. Without a furry coating like lower animals, insulation to maintain a body temperature at 98.6 degrees F is critical.
It all starts with…
Skill #1 ~ Shelter
Sins of Sheltering: Not carrying an emergency space blanket and wearing improper clothing.
While having an emergency space blanket is important, your shelter is built before you ever step over the door sill of your warm and cozy home. Your clothes are your first layer of shelter.
Thermal energy always travels from warm/hot (your body) to cool/cold (the environment). To trap body heat, layer your clothing. Layers create dead air space much like the insulation in house walls and attics. Layering is activity-dependent. But the basic concept applies to any outdoor cold weather activity.
Here’s my layer system…
A.) Base Layer ~Your base layer should fit snuggly to your body. Long sleeve shirt and underwear made of polyester blend for wicking perspiration away from my body. Sock liners go on first before wool socks. Thin wool glove liners are worn inside my larger leather mittens.
B.) Insulation ~ Yes, I wear cotton, and sometimes fleece, on top of the base layer. This is dependent upon my activity. If I’m really active in really cold weather, I wear a wool sweater. Wool is my favorite insulation layer. Here’s why…
Wool fiber absorbs up to 36% of its weight and gradually releases moisture through evaporation.
Wool has natural antibacterial properties that allow you wear it multiply days without stinking up camp. Not so with synthetics.
Wool wicks moisture, not as well as synthetics, but better than cotton.
Wool releases small amounts of heat as it absorbs moisture.
Wool contains thousands of natural air-trapping pockets for breathable insulation.
Remembering the importance of dead air space, your insulation layer should fit loosely and be breathable. Apply the acronym C.O.L.D. to your insulating layer…
C – Keep CLEAN
O – Avoid OVERHEATING
L – Wear loose LAYERS to create dead air space
D – Keep DRY
C.) Outer Layer ~ Waterproof is not your friend. Yes, it will keep rain and wetness out, but it will also seal perspiration in eventually soaking your insulation. Wear a weather-resistant shell that allows moisture to escape. The main concern for this layer is to block wind.
Your head, hands, and feet are included in this layer. I’m partial to wool hats to keep my bald head warm. In subzero temps, I wear my shapka, a Russian red fox winter hat, I bought in Siberia in the early 90’s.
Cold feet are deceptive. Frostbite can happen before you know the damage is done. Wear polyester sock liners with wool socks inside your footwear of choice.
Our local BSA troop learning how to set up an emergency tarp shelter.
A cheap painter’s painter’s tarp creates a micro-climate with a fire burning in front. See the Mors Kochanski Super Shelter below…
D.) Waterproof Shelter ~ Again, for emergency essentials, you can’t beat a good space blanket to block wind, rain, and reflect heat back to your body. Combined with a plastic painter’s tarp, a Kochanski Super Shelter can keep you warm in subzero condition in street clothes.
Use two large contractor garbage bags filled with leaves, wet or dry, for an insulating ground pad. This emergency shelter weighs ounces but offers pounds of insurance against a long cold night in the woods.
There are many more options for waterproof covering. The above items are for your emergency kit.
Skill #2 ~ Fire Craft
Sins of Fire Craft: Not carrying multiple ignition sources and all-weather fire starters.
Fire covers a multitude of ‘sins’ in your survival skills. Even if you deliberately commit the offense of not packing emergency shelter, fire forgives your lapse in judgement. Scantily clad in the wilderness? Fire covers your wrongdoing. No matter how you “miss the mark” in skills or equipment, fire can save you.
If you’ve spent any amount of time in the woods I’m sure you’ve heard Mother Nature humming these classic lyrics…
“… Like it always seems to go,you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.”
Are you a fair-weather fire crafter?
That’s a good place to start. Nothing wrong with learning in the most fire-friendly conditions. You’ve got dry tinder, kindling, and fuel to burn. This may not be the case when your life depends on making fire in the wind, rain, and snow.
Cheating is NOT a Sin
There is absolutely no such thing as cheating when it comes to building a life-sustaining fire. Who cares what Bushcraft purists think! Your loved ones aren’t worried about style points in fire craft. They want you home alive. So cheat!
For the weekend camper or woodsman, carry these foul weather fire cheats…
Fire Cheat #1 ~ Ask yourself this question, “Could a five-year-old start a fire with my emergency fire kit?” Don’t get too bushcrafty. I know ferrocerium rods are popular, but you can’t beat a thumb drill fire (Bic lighter) when you really need fire.
Fire Cheat #2 ~ One of the most overlooked fire starters that should already be in your pack is duct tape. Loosely wad up about 2 foot of tape and ignite it with an open flame. A ferrocerium rod will ignite duct tape but don’t rely on sparks. You have to shred the tape to create lots of surface area. This isn’t your best option if your fingers are losing dexterity in freezing temperatures.
Fire Cheat #4 ~ Always carry enough dry tinder material to start a fire in sucky weather.
Fire Cheat #5 ~ Know where to find the best possible tinder material and how to process it to create surface area. Dead hanging branches, pencil lead size to pencil size, provide kindling even in the rain.
Fire Cheat #6 ~ Fat lighter’d (aka – fatwood, resin-rich pine wood) is my lifesaver in the south. Discover your best natural fire starter wherever you’re located or plan to travel. I keep this stuff in all my kits. It’s abundant where I live.
Fire Cheat #7 ~ Dry wood is available in all weather conditions if you know where to look. Standing dead Tulip Poplar (Magnolia) is one of my go-to fire resources. The trick to getting to the dry wood is splitting the wood down to tinder, kindling, and fuel size material. The inner bark makes excellent tinder bundles!
One 2 inch diameter stick of tulip poplar made all this: L to R: Thumb, pencil, pencil lead, and bark tinder
And that brings us to the next skill that forgives survival sins…
Skill #3: Knife Skills
A knifeless man is a lifeless man.
The “survival” knife market is full of gadgetry. Gadgets are for gawkers. You don’t need a Rambo knife to survive. You just need a solid knife and some skill.
Carry a good knife and practice with what you carry. Your knife may become your one-tool-option. Most importantly, your knife should feel right in your hand as you use it.
Knife Sins: Carrying a knife but never becoming competent with your blade.
You’re not going to be carving spoons and bowls in a short-term survival situation. Your edged tool will be used to make shelter and fire to control core temperature. I’ve written about the number 1 knife skill here.
Have Knife, Will Burn
Even if you’ve committed the first two survival sins, your blade can save you. A knife in skilled hands can create fire from scratch. I don’t rely on friction fire as my first choice but do practice the skill in case I run into unknown unknowns.
With my buddy Bic in my pocket, I still need to process sticks to make fire quick. Both the cutting edge and spine of your knife are used to create surface area needed for ignition.
When cold and wet, your fine motor skills are probably suffering. Pretty feather sticks are for style points. Style won’t save you. Fire will!
Split a dead wrist-size stick with a baton and knife into thumb size pieces to get to the dry stuff. Split a few of those pieces into smaller kindling. Grip your knife with a reverse grip (cutting edge facing up) and use the spine of your knife to scrape a pile of fine shavings off one of the larger split sticks. If you’ve got fat lighter’d, scrape off a pile of shavings the size of a golf ball. Ignite this pile with a lighter or ferro rod and feed your fire its meal plan.
Here’s a demo of a one stick fire in the rain…
Knife and Shelter
Debris shelters can be built without a knife. Sticks can be broken to length between two trees without a cutting tool. Keep in mind that this type of shelter will take several hours and lots of calories to construct correctly.
The role of the knife in emergency shelter building is secondary compared to its importance in making fire. You won’t even need a knife to set up a space blanket shelter if you prepped your emergency kit ahead of time.
Blades are expedient in cutting cordage, notching sticks, harvesting green bows for bedding, making wedges to split larger wood without an ax, and a number of other self-reliance tasks.
Forgiveness
All three of these survival skills are needed for emergency core temperature control, but I’d place fire on top of my forgiveness list. Fire can make water potable for hydration, warm poorly clothed pilgrims, cook food to create body heat, smoke signals, illuminate darkness, and comfort the lost.
What’s your top skill for controlling your core temperature? Share if you don’t mind.
P.P.S – If you find value in our blog, Dirt Road Girl and I would appreciate your vote on Top Prepper Sites! You can vote daily by clicking hereor on the image below. Check out all the other value-adding sites while you’re there…
Thanks for Sharing the Stuff!
Copyright: Content on this site (unless the work of a third-party) may be shared freely in digital form, in part or whole, for non-commercial use with a link back to this site crediting the author. All links in articles must remain intact as originally posted in order to be republished. If you are interested a third-party article, please contact the author directly for republishing information.
[Edited 12/7/2014:After re-reading this post, and especially Blue’s comment, I realized that I may have come across as bashing ultracrepidarians. My intention was to motivate all who happen to stumble upon this post to start Doing the Stuff of Self-Reliance and let the drama die. We all have to start somewhere.]
1. [Adjective] Is the habit of giving opinions and advice on matters outside of one’s knowledge, experience, or expertise.
2. [Noun] Someone who talks about things of which they know little or nothing.
To hear this fancy word pronounced audibly, click here. Synonyms include:
egotistical
know it all
smarty pants
smartass
In matters of survival and self-reliance, you don’t have to look far to find keyboard commandos telling you how-to do stuff. In the world of survival, spewing advice with little to no knowledge, much less actual experience, is becoming epidemic. The imagery of Brad Pasley’s song/video Online comes to mind.
You’ll find this patch pompously displayed on Ultracrepidarian’s jacket sleeves as they talk down to you from their computer lair…
Who you choose to listen to is your choice. However, advice of self-proclaimed ‘experts’ is at times just plain stupid – and if practiced, could be deadly. So who should you listen to?
Trade Theory for Action
Knowing stuff is part of our educational journey to self-reliance and preparedness. Gain as much knowledge through books and/or other instructional materials as possible.
But here’s the catch…
Having knowledge in your head from a book or video will never be enough for some situations. Experience in the real world is 100 times more valuable than head knowledge. You’ve read articles or online discussions before that didn’t feel right in your gut. Then you realize it’s pure theory.
So how do we gain experience?
Answer: By Doing the Stuff.
It’s that simple. Learning through experience is the hard way. How will you know if you can start a fire in the rain or wet conditions until you test your fire craft skills and find the satisfaction and warmth of doing so. That may be why some choose knowledge over actual experience. It’s much easier to know about stuff than to actually do the stuff.
Three examples of Ultracrepidarian advice below are widely accepted as “normal” in a survival situation… but may end up killing you. Being dead is anti-survival.
A.) Wild Edibles
Survival students deem wildcrafting as a top skill to learn. So we go out and buy popular field guides which are basically regurgitated info from books written by original authors in the early to mid 20th century. “Facts” get twisted when field experience is lacking and publishing houses get involved.
Samuel Thayer, author of The Forager’s Harvest (which I highly recommend), points out many mistakes of the most popular wild edible field guides lining bookstore shelves today. The authors were observing and not doing the stuff in the field. They failed to verify through experience.
Another area of Ultracrepidarianism buoyed by opinion is found in the idea of bugging out. Bug out bags or 72 hour kits have their place. And it’s usually not on your back. Let’s put to rest the romanticized notion of throwing a 70 pound bag on your back and humping it across 4 states. With a reliable means of conveyance, good fitness level, skill, and luck… maybe.
Sound advice in such an event would be to have a pre-planned, well stocked location as your destination and a way to get there. If you don’t, you’ll likely become a refugee. Here I am giving my opinion on something I’ve never had to do. However, two years ago I tested a 40 pound backpack on summer hikes. It’s physically demanding. Add survival stressors or young children to the equation and you’re cooking a horrible recipe. Just some food for thought.
C.) Bombproof Gear
The internet is full of untested shiny objects heralded as essential by Ultracrepidarians. Ignore this junk. Stick with basic gear that has been proven over time to work.
How’s a 5,000 year old test for you?
Otzi the Ice Man was discovered by hikers in the Swiss Alps in 1991. Otzi’s preserved remains show he lived around 3,300 BC. His core gear is not much different from what we carry today.
My entire B.O.B./72 hour emergency kit contains only 10 core items. Yup. My gear weight-loss program works. With proper knowledge and the skills to use available resources, the 10 C’s of Survivability is enough.
Here’s the multifunctional 10 piece kit I pack to stay alive if the need arises…
1.) Cutting Tool – Fixed blade knife
5 to 6 inch blade
High carbon steel
90 degree spine
Non-coated blade
Full tang
2.) Combustion Device
Bic lighter – thousands of open flames
Ferrocerium rod – 3,000 degree sparks
3.) Cover/Shelter
Proper clothing
Emergency space blanket
Clear 9×12 painter’s tarp
Two 55 gallon drum liners
Set up in 5 minutes or less
4.) Container
32 ounce stainless steel water bottle with nesting cup
30 liter dry bag
5.) Cordage
36# tarred mariners line (preferred over paracord)
25 ft. 550 paracord
6.) Cotton Bandana
Multiuse
Self-aid
Char cloth – next fire
7.) Cargo Tape (Gorilla Brand)
Shelter
Self-aid
Fire extender
8.) Cloth Sail Needle
Repair equipment
Self-aid
Navigation
9.) Candling Device
Self-aid
Signaling
Navigation
10.) Compass
Self-aid
Fire
Navigation
There’s no fancy shiny survival objects in my 72 hour kit. These 10 items see plenty of dirt time each week. They are light enough to carry in my haversack every time I’m in the field Doing the Stuff.
Advice is plentiful. Sound advice is hard to come by. Don’t trust anything read here or anywhere else without first verifying the info for yourself!
Just for fun, the next time your involved in an online survival discussion, tell the know-it-alls you enjoyed their ultracrepidarian advice. They’ll take it as a compliment.
P.P.S – If you find value in our blog, Dirt Road Girl and I would appreciate your vote on Top Prepper Sites! You can vote daily by clicking hereor on the image below. Check out all the other value-adding sites while you’re there…
Thanks for Sharing the Stuff!
Copyright: Content on this site (unless the work of a third-party) may be shared freely in digital form, in part or whole, for non-commercial use with a link back to this site crediting the author. All links in articles must remain intact as originally posted in order to be republished. If you are interested a third-party article, please contact the author directly for republishing information.
The thought of a second grader even touching an razor-sharp ax is horrifying to modern helicopter parents… and probably illegal in some jurisdictions! If so, please don’t share this.
Yesterday was one of the best days yet in my young grandfathering career! Our daughter and grandson came over to hang out and hit up our local farmer’s market for some naturally grown produce. Afterwards we played several rounds of Eye Spy at a local restaurant, ate lunch together and headed home. Max slumped in a patio chair and said what every young video gamer has running through their mind when their electronic device is not in their hands…
“There’s nothing to do.” *Sigh*
That’s all I needed to hear!
I’m bored!
Like most school children today, our grandson had a fear of sharp, pointy stuff ingrained in his psyche within two years of public schooling. The NO WEAPONS mantra had stuck in his pliable mind. Knives, axes, and most of all – guns! These menacing, inanimate objects are inherently evil and must be avoided. Granted, these tools should not be left in the path of toddlers. This begs the question, what age is appropriate to begin training children to use a knife or ax?
You’re no stranger to the No Weapons Zone signs if your kids are school age. Yes, all these tools can be weapons. Yellow school buses and SUV’s possess the same ability.
But here’s the thing… the intent of the user is what matters. Even with the purest intentions, accidents happen. All the more reason to introduce safe handling and respect for these tools to the next generation at an early age.
Under proper supervision and training, Max discovered that my camp ax is a useful cutting tool – not the vicious weapon portrayed in Kindergarten circle time.
As a prepared parent or grandparent, you have to decide the appropriate age to begin training your children to use sharp stuff. There’s no magical age. We’re all individuals. Move slowly and follow their curiosity and maturity level. My children didn’t come with a user’s manual. You just have to figure it out as you go.
It’s my hope that these tips will help train our next generation to begin Doing the Stuff with the tools of our trade.
Fear Factor
While demonstrating my DiY Survival Sling Shot at our backyard, Max was afraid to try it out. He told me that he knew what those things were called, pointing my bag of ammo.
“What?” I asked.
“Bullets.”
“No buddy, these are ball bearings.”
“Well, they look like bullets,” he assured me.
My explanation of “bullets” gave him enough confidence to pull the sling without the “bullet” misfiring in his hand. He fired a few rounds and hit the target.
Taking aim!
Fear is overcome easily with truth and patience. Our body follows our mind (thoughts). An elementary physics lesson on what made bullets (or any object) move was all it took. I shot a pebble to prove the point.
Safety First
Obviously, safety of the child and bystanders is paramount when using projectiles or cutting tools! Our next skill came about through his curiosity of an ax in my shop.
Here’s a few tips I hope you find helpful for introducing your child to cutting tools.
First, allow the child to hold the ax with the bit (sharp edge) in the sheath or mask. I used my Backcountry Ax with a 16 inch handle. Take a moment to point out that the bit will bite and that axes should always be sheathed until they are ready to be used. Allow your child to hold the ax on their own strength under constant supervision. If they struggle to hold the tool steady, find a lighter ax or hatchet.
The Eastwing hatchet (at the bottom of the pic) is a few inches shorter than the Backcountry Max used and has a smaller handle grip.
Now, while you hold the tool, remove the mask to reveal the ax head. Explain the purpose of the cutting tool. No need to go into the history of axes. A few sentences will do for short attention spans.
Next, demonstrate proper technique on a wood anvil (chopping block) with your work space cleared of obstructions and tripping hazards. Find an anvil about waist-high to your child when he/she is kneeling. Always use a kneeling position when spitting wood with a short ax. If you miss the target in the standing position, the arc of the ax may find your shin. By kneeling, you increase the swing radius of the ax from the pivot point of your body.
I modified the wood by cutting it into 4 inch lengths to make splitting easier.
Short Cuts
For young beginners, saw a wood round into 3 to 4 inch sections. I let Max strike a 12″ piece with no noticeable results. I ran into my shop and chopped a few pieces with my miter saw. You want them to have success and see the results as they learn a new skill. Seeing wood fly is very motivating!
Explain the importance of placing the round to be split at the back edge of the anvil. Above I demonstrate the danger of swinging too closely on the near edge of the anvil.
Now assist them in their first swing with the ax. Have them swing at a spot on the back half of an empty anvil. The ax will get stuck in the anvil if enough force is applied on the down swing. Push down and pull up on the ax handle in a controlled movement to loosen and remove the ax.
When you’re comfortable that they’re able to strike a target on the anvil with assistance, allow him to try a 90º swing on his own – with very close supervision. Repeat several times until accuracy improves.
Now place a short round on the back half of the anvil. This is where the fun begins! On his first strike, the ax head got stuck in the round. I had him raise the ax with the round still attached and swing it back down on the anvil. It worked. The wood split!
And he scores!!
He was so excited and amazed at what he’d just done. His next round split with his first swing… even more excitement! After carefully placing the ax on the ground, he ran to show his mom and DRG pieces of split wood.
As a reminder of this right-of-passage, his skillful work is proudly displayed on our fridge.
Fridge worthy wood!
I’ll give you one guess as to what he wants now instead of a bow and arrow set. Ha! He’s got a lot of learning and maturing to do before he gets his first hatchet. My father gave me my first folding knife when I was seven. I learned some valuable lessons that year and still sport a puncture wound scar in my left forearm for doing what I was told not to do while unsupervised.
Please use your best judgement when teaching Doing the Stuff skills to children. Scrapes, cuts and bruises happen as they learn. But with proper training, serious injuries can be avoided – and traditional knowledge gets passed on.
For more articles related to kids and self-reliance, check out these Trusted Resources:
Here’s two questions for you: A) When did you receive your first cutting tool? B) What do you consider to be the top 5 skills children need to for self-reliance? I’d like to put together a summer series on self-reliance skills for kids. Your thoughts and input are really appreciated!
P.P.S – If you find value in our blog, Dirt Road Girl and I would appreciate your vote on Top Prepper Sites! You can vote daily by clicking hereor on the image below. Check out all the other value-adding sites while you’re there…
Thanks for Sharing the Stuff!
Copyright: Content on this site (unless the work of a third-party) may be shared freely in digital form, in part or whole, for non-commercial use with a link back to this site crediting the author. All links in articles must remain intact as originally posted in order to be republished. If you are interested a third-party article, please contact the author directly for republishing information.
Is our obsession with sanitation healthy? Venture out into any public space and you’ll find hand sanitizer in the form of wipes, gels, sprays, and foams. It’s a desperate attempt to build a barrier against the creepy crawly “uncleans” lurking at every turn.
See mom, dirt don’t hurt!
We’ve forgotten this dirty little secret: Dirt don’t hurt.
This goes out to all helicopter moms… dads too.
In our war on dirt, we may be causing more harm than good. Helicopter parents shriek when their two-year old takes a bite of the mud pie she proudly made. “Grab the wet wipes, quick!” The “five second” rule no longer applies today. Heaven forbid a chicken wing fall off the plate at the family picnic and make it to your lips. Who knows who or what touched that picnic table.
As a kid, my family camped a lot, even on horse back. If food hit the ground, we ate it. Uncle Otha called the soil “camp salt.” I have adopted the term “caveman seasoning” for those specks of dirt and ash on a campfire hotdog.
Many people actually eat dirt…intentionally. And not just in starving third world countries. Geophagy (eating earth) happens in developed parts of the world as well.
I’m not saying you need to give your toddler a spoon and a bowl of dirt. What I am suggesting is that you land your helicopter from time to time and let your little one get his daily dose of good bacteria. A dirty mouth helps build healthy gut flora and a strong immune system in growing kids. Just keep them away from non-organic matter and dog poop.
Did you know that one gram of uncontaminated soil hosts 10 billion microbial cells? Sprinkle that on your yogurt and eat it.
Our immune system, especially when we’re young, needs a good workout. In a sterilized world of Purell, young children never get a chance to exercise their immune response to bacteria, which by the way, are everywhere. Like the keyboard your using right now. Eww!
The introduction of good and bad bacteria to the body is like putting your physical body through a CrossFit workout for the first time. Your muscles might ache for a few days, but will recover and be stronger.
Even adults need good dirt. Here’s a couple of suggestions to re-connect with your inner child and get dirty.
Take your shoes off and walk in the dirt. Get grounded.
Dig in your garden – without gloves. Clean your nails later.
Eat some veggies from your organic garden that haven’t been washed yet.
Actually play with your kids (if you have any) in the mud puddles after a rain.
If you’re into competition, get a group of your friends together and run the Tough Mudder or other dirty race.
Go fishing, bait your own hook, and rinse the worm slim off your hands in the pond water… then eat your can of sardines. What a great source of Omega 3’s.
Take a hike or go camping… anything outdoors, really. Being in the dirty outdoors can improve your memory by 20%.
There’s obviously a time and place when it’s appropriate to be clean. You don’t want your doctor stitching you up with filthy hands and suture tools. Duh!
Keeping some hand sanitizer in your purse or bug out bag would be useful if you need to start an emergency fire. The stuff is really flammable. It’s also handy when there’s no water and soap available and clean hands are absolutely needed.
For everyday life though, obsessive cleaning is way overrated. Sanitize-everything gets hyped to SHTF proportions…
Repeat after me, “Dirt don’t hurt. Dirt don’t hurt.”
Now, say it out loud.
You feel better, right?
Don’t hate me. Ditch the hand sanitizer and anti-bacterial soaps and wash up with plain old soap. Wash your hands after handling raw meat, changing the oil in your SUV, and before exiting the restroom. Give yourself and your kids permission to get head to toe dirty.
By reading this far, you’re one step closer to destroying your dirt deficit. How about a dirty little grin?
Your turn to talk dirty. What’s your thoughts?
As always, if you found this helpful, please share. Thanks so much. And don’t forget to follow me on Twitter for more dirt on our journey to self-sufficiency and resilient living @SurvivalSherpa.
When I took a stand two years ago, I’ve never sat at my classroom desk again.
Research has shown prolonged sitting to be neither healthy or natural for us. I built my standing desk out of a throw away desk and some scrap plywood, added paint, and mounted it on top my sit down desk. Being on my feet all day wearing minimalist shoes while teaching, has helped my posture.
It’s rare that I’m behind my desk during class anyhow. However, when paperwork and bureaucratic pencil-pushing call, I stand and deliver – literally.
To refresh my mind and get my blood pumping, I knock out several sets of push ups behind my desk on my PVC DiY push up handles.
Easy and cheap PVC push up bars
Doing push ups outside in the sunshine is my favorite place. Time constraints and weather don’t always allow me to do so. These bars are sturdy and allow me to twist my wrists to a natural angle during exercises.
Oh, and here’s a closeup of the poster on my wall behind my standing workstation.
The Primal Blueprint Pyramid
You’re turn to stand and deliver. Got any stuff you do to blend health and fitness into your daily work routine?
On Christmas Eve, I posted my take on the coming Pharmageddon. Government schools are the perfect Petri dishes for profitable pharmaceutical companies. Karen De Coster wrote a short bit with links confirming my statements in my article. Well worth your time if you are remotely interested in the truth of what’s happening in schools.
In “Medicating Kids,” FRONTLINE examines the dramatic increase in the prescription of behavior-modifying drugs for children. Are these medications really necessary–and safe–for young children, or merely a harried nation’s quick fix for annoying, yet age-appropriate, behavior?
I’m a sitting duck. I work in a Weapons Free Zone – (A.K.A.) Victim Zone – with 850 potential victims.
We hate to entertain the thought – especially during the holiday season – of a crazed, heavily armed student strolling into school and spraying lead like he’s playing a video game. But it has happened – and could happen again. How likely would a massacre happen at your child’s school? Don’t know. One set on killing will simply stroll through the front door with the “No Weapons” sign posted. I’d call this fear mongering if school shootings had never occurred.
Bringing pencils and paper to a gun fight
I am not allowed to carry my normal tools of self-defense to my government school since I don’t wear a funny hat and uniform. That leaves me vulnerable. So, to minimize my sitting-duck-ness, I employ what’s legally available.
In any trade, craftsmen need the proper tools to get the job done right. My teacher tool box doesn’t contain bulletin board trim, red pens, pencils, or gold stars. My red toolbox is full of real hand tools.
I’m the resident school handyman. Teachers and administrators ask me to fix stuff from shelving to hanging white erase boards. Well, that requires tools. Think redundancy here. The small toolbox pictured above serves two purposes:
The intended purpose – fix stuff
Alternative purpose – tools of defense if necessary
Here’s a run down of my alternative tools of defense I’d employ only if escape and evasion is not possible with an active shooter inside the building. NOTE: This is my plan. Your mileage may vary. I’m not advocating that others (adult or student) use my plan. Until the Powers That Be issue me a permission slip (I’m not holding my breath on this one) to carry real tools of self-defense to my job, I’ll have to improvise. I mean, what makes the funny-hat-crowd more ‘qualified’ to carry guns into schools? That’s a topic for later discussion.
I bought this one just for my teacher toolbox. I’ve used to open a stuck locker before. It even has a bottle opener. It would make an improvised throwing axe if a target was in range. Closer, and with an element of surprise, it offers skull/bone demolition.
2.) Jawbone of an ass. Samson, of Bible fame, used a jawbone to put the smack-down on 1,000 Philistines. I’m not sure which animal donated this one. A fellow teacher brought it to me from a pasture. From an ass or not, it’s a menacing weapon in my Science class.
Samson’s wild weapon of choice
You’ll also notice a hoe handle and juggling pin in the photo of the toolbox at the top of this post. The hoe handle has the metal end attached. I found it in the throw away pile in the back of the school. Two more alternative tools of defense in my arsenal.
3.) Flashlight. Being a flashaholic, I carry a Streamlight ProTac 2L in my pocket at school. The tail button switches from high, strobe, and low. Strobe would be useful in a dark environment to disorient attackers and give me time to escape or use another improvised tool of violence on the shooter.
Clockwise from top: Aluminum clipboard, Swiss Army knife, StreamLight ProTac 2L flashlight
Clipboard – From my contractor days, this tool filled with paper might stop a small-caliber pistol bullet intended for vital bodily parts. I’ll have to put it through testing to find out for sure.
The Swiss Army knife serves as pencil sharpener, nail trimmer, screw tightener, and other handy tasks. It’s not for self-defense. It’s always in my pocket at school.
Escape is the first order of action. Which leads me to ….
4.) Alternate escape/concealed route. Bringing pencils to a gun fight is a bad idea. Escaping from the threat is first priority. If running out of the building exits is not an option for me and my kids, we will barricade the locked classroom door, climb on the lockers and hide in the ceiling until the treat is neutralized. Experts say that these types of incidents last between 3 to 15 minutes on average. There’s not much room to move about between the drop ceiling and the roof. But sitting quietly on the cinder block walls in the crawl space might work. If I’m without kids, I can move to the end of the hall along the top of the wall and drop into the hall at the exit door to make an escape.
On barricading my door, I have enough solid furniture to wedge between the door and the opposite wall. Making my door “hardened” might buy enough time to escape through the ceiling or shelter in place until good guys with guns show up.
Through the ceiling hideout
Peeking into the ceiling with my flashlight
5.) Fire Extinguisher. A blast from this to the face may give me the advantage needed to escape or overcome the attacker.
Unload on the shooter
I’ve tried to think of alternative weapon legally available to me in my gun-free work environment. While they are no match to a heavily armed crazy man, thinking ahead might save my life and those in my care.
Got any more ideas on tools to add to my teacher toolbox? I’d really appreciate hearing from you.
P.P.S – If you find value in our blog, Dirt Road Girl and I would appreciate your vote on Top Prepper Sites! You can vote daily by clicking hereor on the image below. Check out all the other value-adding sites while you’re there…
Thanks for Sharing the Stuff!
Copyright: Content on this site (unless the work of a third-party) may be shared freely in digital form, in part or whole, for non-commercial use with a link back to this site crediting the author. All links in articles must remain intact as originally posted in order to be republished. If you are interested a third-party article, please contact the author directly for republishing information.
Can education be as simple as the GEICO ad? Education, yes! Schooling, no!
Two years ago I discovered “The Primal Blueprint“, thanks to Karen De Coster’s article over at LewRockwell.com. I was 50 pounds overweight with aching joints. I decided to go primal because it seemed so easy. It was. I lost the excess weight and started making choices for my life and health. What’s my primal experience got to do with learning like a caveman?
Simple is better. The institutionalized school system was set up to bastardize the learning process. The rules, bells, standardized testing, and structured control, to name a few culprits, are all part the corruption of meaningful learning. Sides are taken on how to reform “education”. What the intellectual reformers miss is so simple. Look to the caveman for the answers.
Caveman Classroom
If you assume there wasn’t much to being a hunter-gatherer in pre-agricultural society, you’d be wrong. Young Grok’s survival depended on skills learned from birth. He learned animal tracking, weapon construction and usage, physics, weather patterns, structural engineering, free market economics, plant identification, navigation, medicine, social interaction, music and dance, self-defense for both two and four-legged animals, athletics, art, negotiation, and the list could continue. Grok and his buddies learned this stuff without being schooled.
Here’s 3 Easy Ways To Learn Like A Caveman
1. Play. Allowed to play, Grok discovered things about himself as he explored the world around him. Mom and Dad were wise enough to give him all the time and freedom he needed for discovery. This was the surest path to education.
My experience with play as a child taught me much about myself and what I enjoy. By age 7, my dad loaded up the family and moved to the country. The nearest neighbor was a mile up the dirt road. My brother and our two best friends spent our daylight hours and some nights in the woods. We explored creeks, caught crayfish, built forts, had BB gun fights, and camped on horseback. We didn’t have video games. We played in real life.
2. Observation. Grok and his friends learned new skills by watching the adults in the tribe.
I learned how to shoot, not from cowboys on TV, but by watching my dad and his adult friends while hunting or target practice. Around 10 years old, I showed genuine interest in learning to shoot a shot-gun. Daddy would take me with him to the landfill when it was time to dump a load of trash. He’d throw glass bottles into the air and I learned to bust them with some helpful coaching. I wanted to be as good a shot as my dad.
It was not always my dad I learned from. There was people I respected of all ages and backgrounds. Those that were successful at certain skills, I followed if I was interested in learning.
3. Explore. Curiosity and inquiry naturally leads to exploration.
As an adult, I’ve become more curious about things I never was interested in growing up. A question pops into my head and I begin my journey of exploration. I’ve always been a serial multitasker. I pursue what interests me. That was not the case for me in school.
Subjects were forced on me. I hated history. Now I love it. Why? Because it interests me. I love learning as an adult. School, on the other hand, was brutal. I honestly can’t remember 90 percent of what I was “taught” in school. I’d estimate even less during my college days.
The classes I remember learning in were Shop, Art, Physical Education, 4th grade Math, and 6th grade English. I loved to draw, play sports, build stuff, and write. The 4th grade Math class was fun because I learned all my multiplication tables that year. The English class was taught by my aunt. That’s not the only reason I loved that class. Aunt Cindy would send the whole class outside to write or draw. Our class published a poetry book that year. One of my drawings and short stories got included. I still remember the winter scene I drew.
I learn best when I really want to learn. I bet the same is true for you. Play, observe, and explore your passions. Discover how easy it is to learn.
Fight the urge to think that kids need to be taught. Kids are able to teach themselves if the right environment is provided. If they need or want help, they’ll find it.
P.P.S – If you find value in our blog, Dirt Road Girl and I would appreciate your vote on Top Prepper Sites! You can vote daily by clicking hereor on the image below. Check out all the other value-adding sites while you’re there…
Thanks for Sharing the Stuff!
Copyright: Content on this site (unless the work of a third-party) may be shared freely in digital form, in part or whole, for non-commercial use with a link back to this site crediting the author. All links in articles must remain intact as originally posted in order to be republished. If you are interested a third-party article, please contact the author directly for republishing information.
Survival Sherpa 