Foraging Knapsack

So I decided to make a leather foraging knapsac ...
It still isn't totally finished as i have to put a shoulder strap and a few rivets in the stress points ...
But I just wanted to show everyone what can be made ...
The leather is shiney on one side so I put that on the inside so it can be wiped clean as and when it it needs it ...


Just wanted to post a couple more pics of my bag ...
now that it has been riveted and has a sling attached ...
I did put a couple of rivets on the back to strengthen the sling ...
which i made nice and wide so it wouldn't cut into my shoulders ...
Each top corner has a rivet put in as i think these points will need the most strength ...


Well after spending a few days looking for some deer antler sheds that i knew i had when i moved ...
i finally found them and made a pair of toggles along with a couple of pieces of leather to use as ties ...
so now I can secure the lid down ...
This is how i did it ...


And this is the finished Foraging Knapsac
(well finished apart from adding some extra tie downs in other places ... maybe for a tomahawk or a hatchet)

Grow your own food.

First let me start by saying sorry I havent posted in some time this is due to real life getting in the way!
I have been reading other peoples topics on what there gardens are or have produced.
An I sit here quietly keeping my fingers crossed that my first try at growing something wouldnt be a total disaster.
Well as you have probably guessed it has gone quite well so far.
I bought ( yeah i know i didnt grow from seed ) 3 tomato plants each was no more then
4" in height.
Each one was planted in its own container when they grew enough.
2 were planted in horse manure and placed on the ground.
the other one was planted in some old potting stuff i found in the basement ?
no idea what it was as the bag was ____ .
well the 2 in the manure are growing alot slower then the other one but all flowered and have small tomatos on them.
I did think i had killed them all off as a surprise frost came one night an they had already been put outside.
I think this is why they are growing alot slower then the other one.
Ive already saved the seeds from what I have taken off the first plant so I have seeds for next year.
Well that is if they can be reused ?
Anyway hopefully if i do this correct you will see a pic or 2 of the big plant that has already given fully ripened tomatos.

How I hate computers

Sorry for the LACK of postings recently , this is due to a MAJOR computer crash wiping out all our pre-written subjects and pictures ... GRRRRRRRRRRR
Please bear with us at this time as we try to catch back up on what was lost.
We will be back up and running in a couple of weeks.
We hope to see you all soon.

Happy New Year ... Now What ...

So I hope everyone had a very nice christmas and have had a happy new year so far ...

Now your thinking what now ...

well so far I have posted several times covering several topics ...

Some may have noticed my postings have decreased down to 1 posting a month this is because of real life getting in the way ... I will be however posting more over the next few months with hopefully more pictures to help those who want to learn ... so please keep checking back on a regular basis ...

I will be starting to have open meetings, open to anyone who would like to meet and talk about these subjects and more on a regular basis ... to those whom would like to come to this meeting then please contact me at my gmail email address ( dcsgroup2009@gmail.com ) and i will pass on the details ... i hope to meet some of you soon ... this is open to everyone ...

Until then just keep doing what you are doing as in getting prepared ... i once was asked why do i waste my time and money doing this ... my reply was quite simple ... " think of being prepared as a insurance policy ... id rather have the insurance so my family can be looked after when a disaster happens then not having this insurance and needing it ... " this is the easiest way to explain this to non prepare people ...

Anyway be safe and stay warm during this cold season ...

LBE

LBE and Contents.

Before I start and I know some will ask what this is LBE = load bearing equipment.
This is what the military use to carry there equipment and is also known as web gear & webbing.
Before you all go out running to the nearest army navy store or going online and ordering the newest web gear out there you need to ask yourself a few questions.
Questions like what will you be using it for ? How much do you want to spend ? Do I really need that " special forces look a like " LBE ? You get the idea I hope.
If you are going to be looking to be involved in a firefight ( god bless you ) you would mainly think of only the basic’s like water a little food and then the rest would be ammunition.
However most of us will be using web gear as a add on to a BOB ( bug out bag see earlier posting) it will be designed to carry extra water, survival equipment, personal defense gear and a few other bits and pieces.
Everyone’s web gear is different from one person to another unless SOP states all web gear is to be the same. When you first look at a set of web gear you need to look at what you will be carrying and what size each object is. Then you basically just add pouches to the basic rig you buy. I would recommend at least 2 ammunition pouches just because this will be needed for personal defense. You really should carry at least 2 water bottles with a metal mug that fits onto one of the water bottles. A pouch should be designed just to carry survival gear. If you have room put a pouch with a drinks pack and 24hrs of food. Also add a good knife, a small first aid kit, a small hand saw, and most importantly some boiled sweets. Boiled sweets really help when you are tired and need to get a little boost. Many times have I been on long “ walks “ and these sweets have helped me.

This is a list of what I carry in my web gear.

Front right ammo pouches:
Reserve ammo

Rear right water bottle pouch:
Water bottle
Metal mug
Maglite
Puritabs

Middle rear water bottle pouch:
Drinks pack
Survival ration
Magnesium block

Left rear water bottle pouch:
Water bottle
Fishing kit
Millbank
Trioxane
First aid kit
Puritabs

Front left ammo pouch:
Main ammo ( both pouches )

Misc:
Lucozade sweets
Primary survival kit
Nomex gloves
Swiss army knife
Secondary survival kit
SAS survival manual
Electrical tape x2 rolls
Karabiners x2
Aluminum foil
Survival knife

If you have any questions arising from any of the posting we have made then feel free to email us and we will answer your questions to the best of our ability.

Please feel free to join this blog and add more to the list to help each other out.

Long Term Prep's

Long term prep’s.

Long term prep’s are basically a extended BIGGER version of the short term prep’s you have already put aside . However this will be made to last a very long time and the quantities you will be putting aside will be a lot bigger.

For example some people put aside in mylar bags over 200 lbs of white rice, pasta, or beans. This is poured from the original packaging into a new mylar bag and then some o2 absorbers are thrown in then you seal the opening. This if done properly will make the contents last unopened for many YEARS yes I said years.

Most people put the empty mylar bag into a 5 gallon bucket, pour in the contents they want to stock up on, put the o2 absorbers in then seal it , then they put the lid on to it and then just stack it up somewhere out of the way.
Things that can be put into mylar is basically anything …

however some items you don’t want to put the o2 absorbers into. Sugar and flour both turn into a giant block if you put o2 absorbers in to it. So these can just be squeezed top get most of the air out then sealed up. Or buy a mill and put aside wheat grain … which you can at a later time grind down into flour.

Other load term prep’s should be seeds non-hybrid so you can get the seeds from them the following year. As no mater what or how much you store it will run out sooner or later so you really should think about being able to grow your own food at some stage. You can buy if you look on the internet tinned seeds … in each tin you get packets of different types of non-hybrid seeds.

I hope this helps in some way, and please remember that this is just a quick guide. If you have any questions arising from any of the posting we have made then feel free to email us and we will answer your questions to the best of our ability.

Please feel free to join this blog and add more to the list to help each other out.

Short Term Prep's

Short term Prep’s.

Short term preps are exactly what you think they are.
They are what you personally think a short term event timescale might be, be it 1 week or 3 months.
The best things to put into a short term prep’s tote would be tins of foods you would normally use on a day to day basis be it tins of beans, fruit, spam … whatever. You then need to stock up on the other normal things like paper goods ( napkins, plates, etc ) Toilet paper is a MUST!

Beware that what goods you put in the short term tote MUST be rotated though the normal things you buy so it does not go out of date. As there is nothing worst then finding out all your prep’s when you need them most are out of date and are now useless.

Things like water can be stacked up in the case in a corner of a basement or somewhere you wont fall over it in a hurry. Remember 1 gallon of water per person per day for drinking IF they are not doing a heavy workload! In cases of a heavy workload increase to 2 gallons per day. This does not include water to flush the toilet!

Look for tins of things you eat that are on sale … thanksgiving, Christmas, spring sales are great times to get really good deals. When you next make dinner for your family look at how many servings you use of what, then add a tin to what you would normally eat and then you have a measure of how much per main meal you have to put away.

Remember to add a tin opener to the tote just in case you misplace your main one. ;)

Please feel free to join this blog and add more to the list to help each other out.