The Other Things You Need

The other things you need

I read an article the other day that got me to thinking about what things you will want that are not sexy or exciting but if you don't have them you will suffer from their lack. We all talk about the guns, knives and axes but don't mention the things that you must have to maintain and repair this same things.

We talk about cooking but you will also need spices and cleaning tools to keep your cooking stuff clean and functional. There is also the question of the advantages of heavy pots and stuff like cast iron versus the weight you have to carry if you are bugging out on foot.

In nearly every area of the things you think about as must haves to survive there is a subset of things you will need to keep those things fixed, maintained and usable.

My tool kits probably change more often than anything else as I find things that are lighter or work better. You need in no special order, oil, screwdrivers, files, hones, a draw knife and wedges for making new handles, some way to bore holes in wood, pin punch, cleaning solvents, gun cleaning kit...

While cast iron is for sure the most durable especially for cooking on wood fires it is HEAVY. Cast Aluminum is lighter but not by much and the light aluminum while good for camping won't last for very long on wood fires. I thing that the best compromise would be some of the better stainless steel high end camping gear. You are going to need some cleaning tools like sponges, scrubbing pads and maybe soaps.

There are so many things that we take for granted that would disappear fast. The big things we will think of, it is the little things that we won't think of unless we think of it now.

 

Spices are more important than people now realize. We have them easily, cheaply and openly available. The thing is that most of our spices are not something that you find in nature everywhere. There is a reason Columbus was willing to take a chance of falling off the edge of the world in hopes of finding a short cut to the far East. The spices were at the root of most of the trade at the time. Pound for pound it was almost as valuable as gold.

When you are eating food that may not always be at its best spice makes it a little more palatable. Even salt is hard to come by if you don't live near the coast of a salt water body of water. Before the spice industry took off in Europe, about all you had was salt, onion and garlic. If you are not bugging out then you should pick up a couple hundred pounds of salt. I have it as rock salt used in pools. You might also plant peppers all around. Different peppers make great spices. Garlic is one of the most useful things that you can have. Along with its use as flavoring for food it has antibacterial qualities and is good for several ailments.

I like to cook and have a lot of spices. I have over the years grown most of the herbs and peppers. Fresh herbs will make a rather plain pot of boiled meat and vegetables into a wonderful soup or stew. The good thing about spice seeds is that in general they are tiny so there is no reason you can't at least have the seeds so once you are settled you can grow your own.

 

Another thing that I have a little of in all my bags and kits is a little hardware. A few nails, screws, nuts and bolts and bailing wire can be wonderful for making fast set ups. Honestly bailing wire was the stuff before there was such a thing as duct tape. When you are trying to put up a lean to shelter a little wire at the joints will make it a lot more wind proof. It will do anything that zip ties and then when you are done you can undo it and use most of it again.

Nails and screws make putting up lines a lot quicker and stronger. I also carry a bunch of little eye screws. With these I can make a casting rod out of any flexible limb or cane. Basically I have it all in a medicine bottle and have used it many times camping, fishing and hunting. I wrap the pill bottle with duct tape.

 

You can use wet sand from a beach to clean fry pan ect. i remember using this on canoe trips,

 

Where I live is pretty sandy and when I used to solo camp I had a place in a small shallow creek that I would dig out a bathtub in the sand to bathe in and wash my pots pans and dishes in. The spring fed creek was only about 8 feet wide and 6 inches deep but the water was crystal clear and cold. It was nice to have a little soaking pool in it for washing.

 

A wet rag and some white wood ash is all you need to clean burned on grease off your cooking utensils...the ash works with the water in the cloth to create lye and this in turn reacts with the fat to create soap...chemistry 101.
This method is non- abrasive so you can use it on pretty much anything. I clean my oven at home this way and believe me it works! No stinking toxic chemicals either.

 

Sounds like a great way to relax after getting too hot.

 

It really is relaxing if you are comfortable in the woods alone. I would usually go for about a week solo and not see a person that entire time. I would pretty much just kick back and read or watch the forest life as a part of it instead of as an intruder.

 

I like my stainless steel sporks. It is a fork on one end and a spoon on the other end. Lasts forever and is easy to clean. I like artificial sinew.You can split it to the size and strength that you need. I do like waxed linen for saddle stitching. My sewing kits are pretty extensive. I actually like to sew leather so along with the awl I include lacing fid and a stitching chisel. The Fid makes a diamond shaped hole that is strong and allows your stitch to lay flatter.

I always have an assortment of small plastic bottles for different oils and chemicals. Mineral oil for wooden spoons, Neatsfoot oil for leather, Tung oil for wood finishes, Machine oil for guns and knives and penetrating oil to free up rusted bolts. Even an ounce of each can make a difference. With these I can make and finish a lot of things and maintain my equipment.

Along with the files I carry diamond hones for touch up on knives and edged tools and a round coarse puck for ax and hatchet sharpening. I have several older axes that have work hardened and a file doesn't do much to them. My Grandfather's axes are way over a hundred years old.

 

sWow Texdanm,

You bring up a good point about frying pans. While I verily like cast iron...and have several designs here at home...I also prefer the stainless steel copper bottom frying pans as they are light ..or at least lighter than cast iron.

I try to stay away from aluminum...not sure why ..but I just don't care for it in cooking ware.

I'd rather use cast iron for chicken and or fish...or failing that use the stainless copper bottom Revere Ware with lids.

Good Revere Ware is getting difficult to find, good cast iron too, and what I have I got at flea markets. I don't mind paying good monies for good cookware and kitchen utensils...particularly if I know they will last for years and years. I've found this is not so with aluminum ware....or that Teflon non stick stuff. I try to stay away from Teflon.

Nonetheless...Texdanm....thanks for reminding me.


I also try to keep a set at work and in my BOB too....a small set of jewelers files...and also Jewelers screwdriver set.

Don't use them often but they are very handy when you need them. Same with a set of tweezers and Hemostats...for fine work.

Also Waxed String and curved sewing needles and a roll of dark blue thread...and I've definitely used these from time to time.


One of the aspects from people who have spent time out in the scrub have all told me is how fast your clothing wears out. How they carry something with which to make or mend clothes and this comes in handy. More than most people think or even consider. We so take for granted that we can just go to the stores or convenience stores and get replacements.

I am ever grateful to my mother in teaching me some rudiments of sewing....even to darn socks when they get holes in them.
This has come in handy so many times in my life....even though I know I can just go to the store and get more.


Oh...by the way Texdanm. I am not familiar with a device called a spork. Where do you get them. I normally carry a kitchen fork, spoon and my Mora Knife in my daily BOB.

Where does one get a spork....a camping store???


Say Texdanm,

One of the most interesting history books I've read in some time was titled.

"Food In History"

What astonished me... and for which I discovered I had taken for granted in my economic affluence in this country ...is the history of spices and from whence many of them originated.

The narrative went on to state that without the influence of television , radio , and or movies...when a new spice came into town it was big news and information back then...a big deal.

Also related in this narrative was the routes taken by the caravans and later shipping to get these spices to market.
All of this is information/history for which most of us overlook in our economic affluence today. Most of us have not a clue.

With all the books I've read over the years...this one stood out in showing me how provincial our thinking can become when protected/or hidden by our economic affluence which we tend to take for granted. So many of us...myself included...have not a clue...about how items get to our store shelves.



Thanks,
Watcherchris

Not an Ishmaelite

 

I love my sporks and ended up using them at home for snacking.

https://www.amazon.com/Tapirus-Uten...8049043&sr=8-6&keywords=stainless+steel+spork

My wife and I started our marriage with a set of Revere Ware and 43 years later they are still used. Good stuff lasts a lifetime. I also like the cast iron for frying. My Dad used to fry fish outside so it wouldn't smoke up the house. That big cast iron dutch oven on a Coleman Stove cooked a ton of fish. I still have both and they both are as good as the day they were bought.

I've gone to diamond jewelers files because it works as a tiny wood rasp as well.

The one light aluminum thing that I like is a 20 cup camping coffee pot. I took the guts out of it and it is my one in all pot for short trip light solo camping. It has a bail so It can be hung over a fire and is just right for boiling water to make soups and such. I have silicone bowls and cups that you can wad up and stick in your pocket.

I have a small pair of binoculars in each of my go bags. In a security sensitive situation you want to be able to look at people before they are close. They are small but well worth the weight and size.

I carry a rolled up Ace bandage. They can be life savers in several different ways. A sprained ankle when you are on the move can be devastating. If you have a busted rid wrapping it can keep you going and with gause you can stop a bleeding wound until you can stop and sew it up. A surgical kit with sutures is a must.

 

I keep many can tabs with all my emergency fishing box. If you look it up on you tube, you can watch videos showing you how to make hooks to fish with. Really is neat...would fit great in your pill bottle too. And every one should carry is paracord, there are tons of things you can do with 550 paracord. Also clothes pins are a great addition to a survival pack. Also, if you shop a dollar store, they carry a small box of aluminum foil squares, they will come in handy for cooking foods or root item, etc. How about a magnifying glass, and do not forget, if you wear glasses, take an extra pair in any go bag.

 

oh, please do not forget, if you are on any medicines, be sure to get at least a years supply ahead, to carry where you go, travel, and cache. If your doctor will not help you obtain them, buy online, or fish antibiotics, etc.

 

I feel very good about this. Every list I see I can say yes, I have that.

One category I don't see is personal hygiene. One of my systems is personal hygiene. I have a bag I call a mobile medicine chest. It has everything for all members of the family you would probably have in your bathroom: toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, shampoo, combs, brushes, razors, shaving cream, scissors, nail clippers, TP, Vaseline, complete IFAK's, Aspirin, Tylenol, Benadryl, Neosporin, Immodium AD, Aleve, Ibuprofen, Hydrogen Peroxide, Isopropyl Alcohol. A thermometer, vinyl gloves, face masks, wet wipes, hand sanitizer. Spare meds. Spare eyeglasses. Spare eyeglass repair kit.

Just dump your medicine chest into a back pack. I think it is pretty complete

 

one of the handiest tools I keep in several bags is the speedy stitch. There's some knock-offs and copy cats, but the original speedy stitch is simple, durable and very good at it's job. I've even given them away as stocking stuffers for Christmas.
https://www.strapworks.com/Sewing_Awl_p/awl.htm The deluxe kit cost a few extra dollars but comes with spools of different thread along with extra needles.

 

Keith: You probably made all of the pouches, and half of the tools yourself, right? Very nice!! I like to keep like or similar tools together in a pouch. Especially when they are small. I am always scrounging small pouches or buying ditty bags.