SHTF Skills ?
- Thread starter dmftoy1
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Crystal Radio
http://www.scitoys.com/scitoys/scitoys/radio/radio.html#crystal
This is one great fun project to do with family and kids.
Turn off the TV, get away from a 'puter monitor. Puzzles and card games are great...then again passing forward some skills in the event times call for knowing how to do actually do something for survival - are really quality times...
News of more storms, emergency crews in area, storms have passed,...
http://www.scitoys.com/scitoys/scitoys/radio/radio.html#crystal
This is one great fun project to do with family and kids.
Turn off the TV, get away from a 'puter monitor. Puzzles and card games are great...then again passing forward some skills in the event times call for knowing how to do actually do something for survival - are really quality times...
News of more storms, emergency crews in area, storms have passed,...
Thanks for the walk down memory lane Steve. 
I used to build crystal radios like the one in the "from household parts" example when I was a kid. That was back in the day when they sold junior chemistry sets with all the ingredients necessary to make gunpowder.
I used to build crystal radios like the one in the "from household parts" example when I was a kid. That was back in the day when they sold junior chemistry sets with all the ingredients necessary to make gunpowder.
Get a job in a historical recreation village. Preferrably one that has a working farm. Just operating a farm and managing livestock with nothing but muscle power will make you an indispensible resource for your community. How many people know how to make a water or wind driven grist mill? You will need a mill to drive the trip hammers if you are going to make paper as someone else has already suggested. Blacksmiths will be worth their weight in gold, even a farrier will be a valuable commodity. There are literally dozens of occupations that have been surpassed and abandoned by our march to the beat of progress. Pick one and learn if you are really interested in a TEOTWAWKI scenario.
AZTOY
Member
Rabid Rabbit
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- Aug 19, 2004
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- 464
"Rabbit breeding"
I'll second that!
Brewing and distilling. I built my first still when I was 15, the ATF and FBI laughed and thought it was a great project for a snowbound kid to do. No I didn't get into trouble, since I wasn't selling and the quantity was so small.
If idle hands are the devils playground, I'm a ferris wheel.
I'll second that!
Brewing and distilling. I built my first still when I was 15, the ATF and FBI laughed and thought it was a great project for a snowbound kid to do. No I didn't get into trouble, since I wasn't selling and the quantity was so small.
If idle hands are the devils playground, I'm a ferris wheel.
Brewing and Distilling are just steps on the road to refining fuel, right? Or making bio diesel.
I've got mad boy scout skills and I'm a pretty good hunter and can build a shelter, cook and forage, set a bone, sew close a wound or simple stuff liek that.
But as far as 'farming' and stuff that might require engineer skills like math (say to design an irrigation system for long term farming) I don't have those kinds of skills.
I've got mad boy scout skills and I'm a pretty good hunter and can build a shelter, cook and forage, set a bone, sew close a wound or simple stuff liek that.
But as far as 'farming' and stuff that might require engineer skills like math (say to design an irrigation system for long term farming) I don't have those kinds of skills.
Cosmoline
Member
My time at the homestead was a real eye-opener. When you're off grid, a whole array of problems appear that most people never even think of.
I'd say these are a few areas I wish I had known more about when I started:
--Basic construction
--Small engine repair
--Advanced knot tying
--How to PROPERLY use a block and tackle.
--The properties of different fuels, their various uses and how to store them
--AC/DC electrical wiring and conversion
--Small game preparation and cooking (it's a lot easier to find squirrels to eat than moose)
I found I knew far more about firearms than I needed to and was a much better shot than I really needed to be.
And then there's the one that finally sunk me, and that sinks most folks who are roughing it:
--INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIP SKILLS
Seriously, though, working well in groups is a key to survival. The lone mountain man is largely a myth. Unless your wilderness skills are second to none, you will find yourself needing the help of other people a lot more than you do in civilization.
I'd say these are a few areas I wish I had known more about when I started:
--Basic construction
--Small engine repair
--Advanced knot tying
--How to PROPERLY use a block and tackle.
--The properties of different fuels, their various uses and how to store them
--AC/DC electrical wiring and conversion
--Small game preparation and cooking (it's a lot easier to find squirrels to eat than moose)
I found I knew far more about firearms than I needed to and was a much better shot than I really needed to be.
And then there's the one that finally sunk me, and that sinks most folks who are roughing it:
--INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIP SKILLS
Seriously, though, working well in groups is a key to survival. The lone mountain man is largely a myth. Unless your wilderness skills are second to none, you will find yourself needing the help of other people a lot more than you do in civilization.
Nick1911
Member
Fuel, and also a fairly good disinfectant I'd think.
Small engine repair definitely. Same for medical - that's good to know in regular life. Also, I think welding would be a very handy skill. It's impressive what someone can make with a welder and some scrap metal.
Jay Kominek
Member
re: welding
Is it feasible/safe to learn welding from books/videos? (The nearest class I've been able to locate is Too Far Away.) If so, what books/videos are suggested?
Which sort of welding would be most SHTF-appropriate? (No sense in drifting too far off topic. )
Is it feasible/safe to learn welding from books/videos? (The nearest class I've been able to locate is Too Far Away.) If so, what books/videos are suggested?
Which sort of welding would be most SHTF-appropriate? (No sense in drifting too far off topic.
)Cosmoline
Member
Find a woman who can weld and marry her.
308win
Member
Back in the day a friend of mine and I decided to go into the black-powder-manufacturing-as-a-cottage-industry-business and were morphing to firecrackers. We were getting scarily proficient at it until the local druggist got suspicious about all of the saltpeter we were buying and refused to sell us anymore, called our mothers, etc. Ah, the joys of summer in 1950's central Illinois are missed.
spartacus2002
Member
It's the fellow's first post, yet it's the most practical response so far (not knocking anybody else's post).
dasmi
Member
That is an excellent idea. I wonder how many men would be needed to secure a Walmart...
RevDisk
Member
Some of the links require an AKO account, which I have. If anyone wants any manuals, send me a PM. I'll download them and chuck them on my website.
Edit : Naturally, provided they are cleared for general publication.
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cracked butt
Member
Not trying to start an argument, but problem is that there are plenty of Boy Scouts and Hunters out there who will be competing with eachother for the available resources. In my state alone, there are 3/4 of a million hunters- how long will it take for this many people shooting animals from ground squirrels up to Moose before animals become too rare to find to feed off of? Same thing with edible plants.
I like the super Walmart Idea myself.
cracked butt, in most SHTF theory, a large percentage of those folks are going to be toejam already. i.e. the population will get significantly smaller quickly, but yeah, it's still a big problem
i'd say one of the most overlooked skills required would be handling and disposing of dead people, most of whom may be diseased. this is particularly important if there are dead people where you're bugging in.
but, i'd submit that the entire premise of this question is somewhat flawed. many skills are "highly perishable" as we say. if you don't exercise them regularly, don't expect to remember them when you need to.
so the most appropriate question to me has always been not "what do you know?" but "where do you go to learn?"
consider that today, people don't go read their encyclopedias anymore. they go to the internet. if i want to find how to do any of the things listed above, i go to google. google provides me with a link to some dude who has scanned in some army manual, etc.
the internet also provides me with forums, like this one. if you have a question about fixing your 1911, where do you go? the gunsmithing forum.
in most SHTF scenarios, that all goes away. best you could hope for is that you or someone you know have HAM operator license (not that you'll need the license, just the equipment). but i rather imagine those waves would be overloaded.
so, where do you go? you can build a library now, but are you going to pack it with you if you bug out?
btw, the "foxfire" series is an excellent source of ancient appalachian skills
i'd say one of the most overlooked skills required would be handling and disposing of dead people, most of whom may be diseased. this is particularly important if there are dead people where you're bugging in.
but, i'd submit that the entire premise of this question is somewhat flawed. many skills are "highly perishable" as we say. if you don't exercise them regularly, don't expect to remember them when you need to.
so the most appropriate question to me has always been not "what do you know?" but "where do you go to learn?"
consider that today, people don't go read their encyclopedias anymore. they go to the internet. if i want to find how to do any of the things listed above, i go to google. google provides me with a link to some dude who has scanned in some army manual, etc.
the internet also provides me with forums, like this one. if you have a question about fixing your 1911, where do you go? the gunsmithing forum.
in most SHTF scenarios, that all goes away. best you could hope for is that you or someone you know have HAM operator license (not that you'll need the license, just the equipment). but i rather imagine those waves would be overloaded.
so, where do you go? you can build a library now, but are you going to pack it with you if you bug out?
btw, the "foxfire" series is an excellent source of ancient appalachian skills
I"m staying as far away from stores as I can.
It wouldn't matter if you had 20 buddies, you'll all get shot. The cops, military, and thousands of looters are going to overwhelm you, in the dark, using molotovs, grenades, or whatever they have to use.
The gear to micofiche books aint that expensive, ya know. The main skills will be fighting and avoiding conflict. The long term stuff ASSUMES you survive the short term deprivations, combat, and disease. In 99 cases out of 100, that assumption is stupid in the extreme.
It wouldn't matter if you had 20 buddies, you'll all get shot. The cops, military, and thousands of looters are going to overwhelm you, in the dark, using molotovs, grenades, or whatever they have to use.
The gear to micofiche books aint that expensive, ya know. The main skills will be fighting and avoiding conflict. The long term stuff ASSUMES you survive the short term deprivations, combat, and disease. In 99 cases out of 100, that assumption is stupid in the extreme.
mmike87
Member
The biggest SHTF survival "skill" is simply attitude and a willingness to do what needs to be done to survive. People can do a great job at surviving in most any condition if they have a positive mental attitude.
If you spend the days immediately after the SHTF crying over your lost Internet, then you're already dead.
If you spend the days immediately after the SHTF crying over your lost Internet, then you're already dead.
RevDisk
Member
Heh. Some of us would merely spend our time getting communications back online. I noticed very few if any people commented on communications. Understandably, as it's not something most people focus on.
I can rig up a shortwave rather quickly out of parts. Be surprised how useful a signal guy can be. While everyone else is scrambling around, me and Khaotic will be drinking our moonshine with ice listening to everyone else.
Sure I have a handful of generalized skills. Construction, electronics, etc. But scanning the airwaves for 'hostile' communications is my speciality.
dasmi
Member
I'm one of the folks with electronic communications skills as well. The rest of you go huntin' & gatherin'. I'll stay here and get a radio working, so we can contact the other survivors.
Not exactly a "skill," but stash away $500 (or whatever) in twenties and smaller bills because if it hits the fan cash machines and credit cards may not work, and cash may be king in the short run. You may be able to purchase the fruits of someone else's skill.
Dionysusigma
Member
If I were stuck in that situation, Wal-Mart is the LAST place I'd go. Why?
Everybody else would be there.
As was stated, "food, water, ammo, and clothes all in one place" will attract all local scavengers, and it will be more violent and jam-packed than the Mall of America the week before Christmas. And besides, aside from the ammo and food there's nothing at Wal-Mart that'd be worth having over the duration of a lengthy SHTF situation.
Instead, I have a better idea: Hit the library. Figure out everything you need to know, and a few things you don't. Learn as much as you can, like how best to lay traps (presumably for the schmucks that made it out of Wal-Mart alive ) and fix stuff and forage for food. Hit a junkyard to employ your new-found knowledge. Build what you need, sell what you don't. Stay the heck away from shopping centers, grocery stores, and gun shops (unless you own one of these, in which case you'll need all the ammo you can get... unless you own a gun shop, in which case you'll have all the ammo you'll need ).
Think unconventionally as often as possible, as there will be a lot of desperate people you'll need to out-smart.
Everybody else would be there.
As was stated, "food, water, ammo, and clothes all in one place" will attract all local scavengers, and it will be more violent and jam-packed than the Mall of America the week before Christmas. And besides, aside from the ammo and food there's nothing at Wal-Mart that'd be worth having over the duration of a lengthy SHTF situation.
Instead, I have a better idea: Hit the library. Figure out everything you need to know, and a few things you don't. Learn as much as you can, like how best to lay traps (presumably for the schmucks that made it out of Wal-Mart alive
) and fix stuff and forage for food. Hit a junkyard to employ your new-found knowledge. Build what you need, sell what you don't. Stay the heck away from shopping centers, grocery stores, and gun shops (unless you own one of these, in which case you'll need all the ammo you can get... unless you own a gun shop, in which case you'll have all the ammo you'll need ).Think unconventionally as often as possible, as there will be a lot of desperate people you'll need to out-smart.
An excellent idea regardless of SHTF. Anyone else remember when a few years ago (at least on the West Coast) some orbital communications links went down for about a day and so did some ATMs, credit card readers, and other useful stuff? It was nice being able to walk past the long line of grumpy people waiting for manual (clerk fills out slip, calls in card number) approval of their credit cards for $20 of gas, toss my $20 bill on the counter, and be on my way.
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