Outdoor Reliance

Identifying Deer Scat

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 20:37:00 +0000

This is one of the ingredients for making glue and the hardest of the ingredients to find. You don't want to just start aimlessly looking around the ground and expect to find some.

First, start looking for the edge of a clearing where the trees stop and open up into a meadow. Deer like to travel along the edge of things. Even if your in a pine forest and the trees suddenly turn into hardwoods deer will follow the edges of the two divides. Often you will see them step out into the field which is right next to a forest.

When you find this clearing, start looking for signs of deer. This picture shows a well defined deer track I came across in this field so keep an eye out for this. The main thing your trying to find is a well used game trail which will lead into the forest.

This is another deer sign. These are trees that a buck used to scrape his antlers against so if you come across this you know you are not only still on the trail but that a buck is in the area.

If it takes a little trailing or if you find it right off you'll eventually come across deer scat shown here. You can then use this to make glue.

Keep in mind that you will likely come across rabbit scat in the field or on a game trail as well and this will work just as well for making glue.

How To Make A Slip Knot

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 20:29:00 +0000

Start with a bowline knot.

Pull string through the bowline loop.

This knot is used to slip tight onto whatever is put through the loop.

Make sure the loop on the bowline knot is as small as you can get it to make the slip knot more effective.

How To Make A Bowline Knot

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 20:24:00 +0000

This is a load bearing knot. It locks the loop in place and will not slide up and down the rope.

Using The Net Needle

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 31 May 2011 14:15:00 +0000

This page is to show how to equip the net needle once you have one made and ready.

Place the end of the string flat against the needle in a loop.

Feed the loop around the peg of the needle.

Tighten the loop.

Fold the string around the back of the needle and flip it over.

Hold the string on this side and make a new loop to fit around the peg.

Repeat this process until you can't put on any more string. You don't need to have a previously cut string. Just feed the string onto the needle without cutting it.

When finished, cut the string and your ready to weave a net.

How To Make A Net Needle

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 30 May 2011 12:14:00 +0000

To start off, you will need a knife you can carve with and a piece of wood. In this case, Willow is used here because it is soft and easy to carve.

Willow is an easy wood to carve because it is a softer kind of wood. The bark is stripped off and this piece of wood is about one inch in diameter.

The knife splits the Willow into two flat pieces. The club is pounded on top of the knife to baton the wood in order to get a clean break.

Take one flat piece and start carving the end into a rounded point.

Now take the other end and start carving out an indention.

Now, start to drill into the wood and make a tiny hole.

Expand the hole to create the shape in the picture.

This needle can be used to make all kinds of nets.

Making Charcloth

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 27 May 2011 09:18:00 +0000

You Will Need...

100% cotton cloth
Container you can put in a Fire
Lid for Container
Stone to weigh down Lid

Step 1:

Put cloth into container cover with lid and wait for the smoke to finish coming out of the container.

Make sure to allow a small opening in the lid so that smoke will be will be able to escape. Your trying to starve the oxygen in the container. When no more smoke comes out, remove the container but do not take the lid off until it has cooled down completely. If you take the lid off too soon the charcloth will combust on its own.

Step 2:

Finished product. The cloth should be completely black.

Step 3:

Use flint and steel to strike a spark into the charcloth.

Step 4:

Spark will catch and grow into a coal. This coal is will be difficult to put out so use the coal to blow a tinder bundle into flame.

In conclusion...

Charcloth is good to have because it will catch at the faintest of sparks. Also, knowing how to make it will enable you to have more options in the bush to create fire.

Making Cordage From Yucca Fibers

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 26 May 2011 11:19:00 +0000

Using this technique works the same for any thickness whether your making thin fishing line to full scale rope.

Take two bundles of Yucca fibers.

Take two ends of the bundles and place them together one on top of the other.

Hold the two crossed bundles in the left hand.

With the right hand, twist the top bundle away from your body.

With the right hand, grab the non-twisted bundle with your fingers.

With the right hand again, twist the two bundles rotating right hand towards your body.

Hold the bottom bundle between your fingers with the left hand to keep the two bundles separate.

Repeat these steps over and over until you have the length of cordage your looking for.

Finished.

How To Separate Yucca Fibers

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 26 May 2011 05:49:00 +0000

The Yucca plant is one of the strongest fibers you can find in the wild. It's important that being too rough on the leaf will be costly. To get the most out of this plant, it's best to be gentle. The goal is to prepare strong strands for cordage.

First, you will need a Yucca leaf.

Next, you will need a club or stick.

Lightly hit the leaf from base to tip until it's bruised.

Rub the leaf to loosen the fibers.

Use the edge of the baton to scrape off the pulp.

At this point, you should start to see the fibers separate.

Gently pull the fibers apart by hand.

These strands can go a long way to be strong useful cordage. The finish to this process should look like the wiry strands below.

Laotian Bird Trap

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 24 May 2011 09:17:00 +0000

What You Need

1 large V stake
3 small toothpick stakes
Bait Stick
1 string with slipknots on each end with a toggle in the middle

Making Glue From Three Ingredients

The Bits of the Laotian Bird Trap

One hollow reed with bait. The two bigger sticks are placed in the ground to form an upside down V. Pine pitch glue and Yucca cordage are used to connect the bigger sticks to attain the upside down V. The three pegs make a triangle with the hollow reed in the middle. The string holds a small wooden toggle tied in the middle to provide leverage for the hollow reed to spring the trap.

All The Pieces Wrapped

Bait Stick

Note that the bait stick is made from a hollow reed. The penny is laid out to show scale. That hole on the left is designed for the hollow reed to be staked into the ground. Another reason to have the reed hollow is that the middle can be carved out and fitted with bait (seeds in this case). This one is glued together with pine pitch glue. The idea is to get the bird to peck at the bait and that first peck is what springs the trap.

The Trap is Set

In the picture below shows a small triangular setup with the bait stick in the middle of the triangle. Three pegs provide the three points. One peg goes through the hollow bait stick and is staked into the ground. Notice how the hoop of cordage is lax in the picture? That is because of the small wooden peg in the middle of the string provides a tight grip on one side of the string and this allows the other side to be loose.

The Rest of the Trap

This trap is spring loaded. Note how small the triangle is. The other end of the string is tight with tension while the triangle bit is loose. An important tip is that the string must be slightly angled in towards the sapling and not running straight up and down or angled outward. This added tension makes the trap more effective in making the snare work properly.

All That Is Required

Is a slight tap on the bait stick and the trap is sprung. It is very important to see that the noose line lays across the bait stick and not across the toggle. Otherwise the toggle will stop the noose from tightening.

It Should Be Noted...

This one is designed for birds but can be used for other small game. In a survival situation, this trap can be time consuming to make. This is designed to be used in such a way you will carry it with you and it is not recommended that you make these when you get lost. Make them before you trek into the woods. They weigh next to nothing and have a pre-baited bait stick.

Cedar Bark Tinder

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 23 May 2011 13:28:00 +0000

Cedar tinder is easy to light after you get a dry fluffy ball. This example is from Eastern Red Cedar.

You have to scrape not shave the bark. Put the knife blade at a 90 degree angle to the tree and scrape down.

Shower sparks directly on tinder until the tinder takes the flame. It'll look a lot like this.

This will allow plenty of time to add kindling to get your fire stable.

Identifying Eastern Red Cedar

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 19 May 2011 21:09:00 +0000

In the pictures, there are two examples of the Eastern Red Cedar. One is a large tree while the other is a smaller tree almost looking like a high bush.

Things to look for to identify it:

1. It has simple scale and awl-like leaves.

2. It has fibrous, peeling bark.

3. It's cones do not look like pine cones but instead look like blue fleshy berries.

4. It's an evergreen.

Bushcraft Uses:

1. The shaved bark makes an excellent tinder.

2. Can be used to construct a bow drill set.

If you can spot this tree, you'll know you can get fire.

Notice the fibrous, peeling bark.

This picture is of a large Eastern Red Cedar tree.

It's cones do not look like pine cones but instead look like blue fleshy berries.

Simple scale and awl-like leaves.

These are pics of a small Eastern Red Cedar tree.

How To Make Holly Tea

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 02:23:00 +0000

The leaves of this tree are toxic and only the proper preparation will remove the toxins.

This done wrong will make you vomit. Vomiting in a survival situation is a great way to die.

Done right and you will have a healthy, non-bitter tea with vitamins C, A, and packed full of antioxidants.

History - The type of Holly here is called the American Holly. During the American Civil War (1861–1865), tea made from this tree was very popular.

The key to this is preparation. This plant can be beneficial to surviving and shows that while some plants can be toxic, the right preparation can eliminate this obstacle and make surviving in the wild, livable and enjoyable.

WARNING: The most important part of this process is air drying the leaves first. If you do not air dry them you will be sick.

The leaves look plastic and feel leathery when you first pick them.

Let the leaves air dry until all the plastic looking surface comes off. Notice how the color has changed.

WARNING: This is the toxic part of the tree and only the proper preparation will remove the toxins. If this is done wrong this will make you vomit. In survival situations, vomiting is a great way to die.

When the leaves are completely dry and free from the plastic outer layer, roast the leaves in an oven or on a camp fire.

After the roasting, remove the sharp thorns on the edge of the leaf.

Crush the leaves into a pile. When you crush the leaves, they will start to smell like tea. The smell is a good sign you're doing it right.

Put the leaves into a strainer.

Put the strainer into hot water and let it steep. After a few minutes you have Holly Tea.

Making A Purse Net - Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 09:42:00 +0000

Part 1 is here.

Place the spacer under the string.

Bring the needle around the back of the spacer and through the first loop.

Pull tight.

Bring the string up to make a loop while keeping the string tight around the spacer.

Thread the needle from the back around the two strings and through the loop.

After threading this through don't pull it tight.

Instead, pull the string up and out of the way.

With the string out of the way, bring the needle between the two strings.

Pull the string through and tighten the knot down.

Repeat this entire process until you have stitched up all the loops.

When finished with this, slide the wooden spacer out and you will see the new row of netting just made.

Continue to repeat the method row by row until you've reached the length on netting you want.

Making A Purse Net - Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 20:57:00 +0000

Tie an anchored string to a brass ring. You can use brass, wood, bone or anything to do the job.

You'll need to have a spacer and a net needle ready to go. Getting the net needle ready for use isn't too difficult if you have a net needle and twine and ready to go.

Thread the needle through the ring from behind it and pull through.

Pull the string up and behind the ring forming a loop.

Thread the net needle through the front side of the ring and through the loop.

Pull tight.

Make another loop behind the ring.

Thread the needle the through the front of the ring and thread through the loop.

Pull tight.

Now you have a tag end left hanging. Just leave it because you'll come back later to tie that part into the net.

Place the wooden spacer on top of the string.

Now, you will want to pull the string up and behind the ring making a loop.

Thread the needle through the ring and loop again and pull tight.

Make another loop behind the ring and thread the same way as before and pull tight. Now you have created a tightened loop around the wooden spacer. I like to make about 20 of these same kind of loops around the spacer.

To start the next one bring the string around the back of the spacer.

Make a loop around the back of the ring like before and thread through the same way and pull tight.

Make a second loop and thread the same way again and pull tight.

Continue this process until you have 20 loops around the spacer.

When you have finished pull the spacer out and now your ready to begin weaving the rest of the net.

Making a purse net Part 2.

How To Make Fire From Water

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 10:42:00 +0000

A Discovery With A Water Jug To Make A Very Easy Fire

Take a clear glass jug and fill it with water. For some reason, this shape worked very well. Without the water, getting the rays you need to get a fire started doesn't work. This works best only when there is water in the jug.

Find some tinder. I used cedar bark here. There are many ways to identify and collect Cedar tinder.

The rays passing through the water become focused and very hot. This tinder was smoking the instant I put it under the focused light.

Now you have fire. This went from smoke to fire quicker than lighting a match.

The point of using this method is to illustrate the importance of thinking outside the box. If you get creative you can get fire almost anywhere. Not to mention, this was a fun discovery!

How To Make A Wooden Bowl With Fire

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 07:18:00 +0000

There are a lot of benefits in knowing how to make this container. As long as you can get fire, you can get a useful item almost anywhere. There are many more things you can do with this than just boil water and I will talk about that in future posts. Boiling water and holding it is one of the most important things you need when out in the bush and this is one way of taking care of that priority.

Then put mud or clay around the edge to keep the fire from burning where you don't want it to.

After building a fire that has substantial coals, place a hot coal in the middle and start to burn out the center.

You can use a hollow reed or tube to blow on the hot coals to help in burning out the wood.

Continue this process until you reach the depth your looking for.

Notice the makeshift chopsticks are used to grab the hot coal.

This is turning into a great hand warmer!

Showing depth of bowl.

When finished, use a rock to scrape out the charcoal from the inside.

Finished bowl is now holding water.

A container can go a long way in its usefulness out in the wild. This bowl is perfect all kinds of things. Grinding flower, boiling water, drinking water, cooking soup, collecting berries, and it can even be used as a filter which will be explained in another post. You can make one of these in one or two evenings with persistence. If you think about how long it takes to burn a log, the amount of wood your trying to burn out of your cup is not nearly as much.

Making Glue From Three Ingredients

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 16:24:00 +0000

Glue of this type should be used to handle light duty projects like making fish hooks, hafting arrow heads and so on. In a later article I'll talk about how to make a wilderness super glue. In order to make this handy option to surviving in the wilderness, you will need a metal container...

... powdered charcoal, deer or rabbit droppings, and hardened pine sap. Deer scat is one of the hardest ingredients to find out of all the ingredients. You don't want to aimlessly want to start looking around on the ground to find some.

Put the pine sap into the container.

Heat it on the fire until it melts.

Stir it up to help it liquefy.

Add some powdered charcoal into the molten sap.

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Stir it in together. If the mixture starts to harden just put it back on the fire until it liquefies again. You want to keep it in a liquid state so you can get all the ingredients to mix well.

Now add the deer droppings to the mix. I used some makeshift chopsticks to put it in the cup without having to touch it with my hands. It may seem odd to be using deer poo as an ingredient, but the digested plant material keeps the glue from being too brittle when it's finished. If you don't like messing with deer poo you can use sawdust but the droppings do tend to work better.

You would think, ok, I'm cooking poo in a can, it must smell horrible! In fact, it doesn't smell like anything at all. So the good news is that instead of attracting a terrible stench, you get more out of this product than an aftertaste of deer poo clinging to the air.

As far as comparing the two ingredients of poo, sawdust, or finely ground plant matter, the thing to remember is that the plant matter is there to keep the glue from being too brittle. You can compare this to modern fiberglass. The fabric is impregnated with a resin which gives you a strong composite. The plant matter from the droppings is like that fabric. The only difference is that this is used as a glue to bond things together and should not be used as a fiberglass. The advantage of using animal droppings as opposed to saw dust is that the poo naturally dries hard which will give your glue that much more strength.

Put back on the fire and stir it up until it mixes well.

Dip a stick into the glue and roll it in layers on a piece of metal or glass in order to cool the surface and mold it onto the stick. Repeat layer by layer until all the glue is on the stick.

This is the finished glue on a carry stick. This is for easy transport.

It looks like glass and feels like glass. It's pretty much like having a melted beer bottle on a stick. This glue made up of pine sap, powdered charcoal, and deer poo will keep indefinitely. Having used the deer droppings as one of the ingredients doesn't make the glue unsanitary because of the way it was prepared. In heating up the glue to a boil, it will kill any pathogens it might have had. In addition to that, pine sap is a natural antiseptic.

Again, this is by no means super glue. This should be used to handle light duty projects like making fish hooks, hafting arrow heads and so on. In a later article I'll talk about how to make a wilderness super glue.

An example of this glue being used as a tool can be found here for this Laotian Bird Trap. The glue connects the two pins to the cordage and also keeps the bird seeds on the bait stick.

Since the glue is hard like glass it makes for easy transportation. When holding it, don't worry about it sticking to anything when it's hard. When you are ready to use the glue, hold a small flame to it just enough to let it drip onto what you need in order for it to bond. Get it gummy enough to smear it to the surface you want glued.

Another thing to note about this glue is it is very flammable so be careful when heating it up for use or when making it.

Identifying Yucca Plant

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 07:23:00 +0000

The plant can be found in the USA from the south in Florida up to the north in Michigan and from the east in the Rockies all the way to the Atlantic ocean.

This plant is one of the most useful plants you can find.

This plant has sword like leaves with a sharp tip at the end. Twisting white stringy hairs on the side of the leaves come through to a flowering stalk that grows in the middle of the Yucca plant at certain times of the year. The flowers have drooping yellowish white petals.

The specific type of yucca plant shown here is called the "yucca filamentosa". The filamentosa part means there are little stringy hairs on the side of the leaf.

Petals can be eaten raw but it is recommended that they are cooked. The young flowering stalk can be cooked as an asparagus and eaten too. The leaves can be made into a very strong cordage when the fibers are separated from the fleshy part of the leaf. The flowering stalk is an excellent wood to be used to make a friction fire because the yucca wood has one of the lowest temperatures for catching a flame. This beats most types of wood. The root can be shaved and used as a soap to wash yourself, clothing, hair, raw hides, and so on.

Tip - If you can't find a Yucca filamentosa, you can find something that looks like it. My experience is that you can use that plant to make cordage from it as well.