Ski Knife
Charcoal Epoxy
CORDAGE HACKS
2-Liter Cordage
Dog Treat Cordage
Bottle Cap Pulley
Shopping Bag Rope
GEAR STORAGE HACKS
USPS Water-Resistant Stuff Sacks
Skivvy Roll
Gear is necessary for survival. Whether they be modern, natural, or improvised from found materials, tools make survival possible. Even primitive man used gear extensively. From flint blades to plant-fiber cordage and clay pots, a variety of improvised accoutrements made life in the wilderness not only easier but possible.
This chapter is all about using random everyday items to improvise tools and gear that may be used in some way to facilitate survival. Gear is a generic term including containers, cordage, knives, saws, and a variety of hand tools. In certain instances, the lack of gear (or the inability to improvise it) can make the difference between life and death.
Some would argue that maintaining the gear you do have is just as important as the gear itself. For this reason you will also find a section about gear repair and maintenance. Whether replacing a knife handle or waterproofing boots, these hacks help to ensure your gear performs when and how you need it.
TOOL HACKS
MAKE A GLASS FILE
I use a file all the time for tool maintenance and sharpening. It’s one of the tools I can never do without. A surprisingly effective file for soft metals, wood, and plastic can be made from a glass bottle and some epoxy. Start by crushing the glass bottle with a rock in between several layers of fabric. Try to crush it as finely as possible until it looks like tiny grains of sand. Next, sift out all of the large and irregular pieces through a piece of screen mesh. At this point you should be left with glass “sand” of around the same consistency. Apply a layer of epoxy to a clean, dry stick or small file-shaped board and press it into the glass dust so that it is fully coated. Once the epoxy has dried, your glass file is finished and ready for action.
SOUP CAN LID ULU
An ulu is a knife traditionally used by the Inuit and Yupik people of the Arctic. The crescent-shaped blade is specific to that region. It is a blade adapted to the chores of that region, which include skinning game (seals primarily) and cooking and working with caribou hides. The need for carving and chopping is unnecessary due to the scarcity of wood in that part of the world. You can fashion a very solid ulu blade from the tin lid of a standard soup can. Fold 1⁄3 of the lid over to create a flat, folded edge. Sharpen the exposed rounded edge on a smooth stone. You can use it as is or insert it and lash it into a split stick for a traditional ulu-style grip, as shown in the diagram.
AN AMAIZEING FILE HANDLE
This is a hack I picked up from my grandpa in Kentucky. As a child I used to love rummaging through my grandpa’s tobacco barn. It was filled with tons of hand tools that had stories to tell, I’m sure. I’ll never forget my grandpa’s big wooden crate of files. He used them for sharpening axes, machetes, knives, and farm equipment. Rather than fancy wooden handles affixed to the rat-tail end of the files, grandpa had shoved the files into 5" sections of dried corncob. They made the perfect file handle. The dense inner pith held the file firmly in place and the rough cob made for an awesome grip, even with wet or muddy hands. Dried corncobs make great handles for all kinds of tools including knives, files, and fire pokers.
VIKING CLAMPS
One of the main reasons I carry a multitool as a part of my everyday carry (EDC) is for the pliers. I’ve learned the hard way that there is no substitute for pliers in the wilderness. This hack, however, is how the Vikings used ingenuity and simple tools to make some very clever clamps that acted as vise grips when building boats. Its simplicity will amaze you.
Sandwich what you need held between 2 boards. Tie a rope around the 2 boards a few inches back from where they are to grip. Then from the opposite end of the gripping end, drive another board or wedge in between the 2 boards. The rope acts as a hinge point, and the gripping end is forced tighter together as the opposite ends are wedged more open. Vikings used this technique to build the hulls of their massive wooden ships, and you can use it too as a makeshift clamping system in a survival scenario.
TOOL AND GEAR MAINTENANCE HACKS
DVD CASE KNIFE SHEATH
There’s nothing worse (or more dangerous) than carrying a knife that doesn’t have a sheath. As many of you know, Kydex—a thermoplastic that can be heated and molded into almost any shape imaginable—is a very popular sheath material. Black DVD cases can be used as a hack Kydex material. These cases are made from polypropylene and can be heated and molded in a very similar way. Cut the front and back panel off of the case. Heat them over a fire or toaster or in an oven for a few minutes until pliable. When they’re nice and soft, sandwich the knife between them and press firmly between 2 folded towels (1 on top and 1 on bottom). Use a book to press the top towel, and do this on a hard surface such as a wood floor. Finally, trim the excess around the sheath with a saw and drill holes for lacing the sheath tightly together with paracord.
COPPER WIRE RIVETS
I learned this hack during a pioneer-living workshop when I was a boy. While fitting a knife blank with a wooden dowel handle, the blacksmith cut short pieces of copper wire and stuck them through one side of the handle, through a hole in the knife handle, and then through the other side of the wood handle. He cut the wire pieces long enough so that they stuck out about 1⁄4" on each side of the handle. He then slowly pounded the copper wire on each side, which caused it to mushroom out and hold the handle tightly in place, just like a rivet. This method of crude riveting can be used in the field to repair a broken knife handle or to replace rivets in another tool that may have worked loose or failed altogether. Metal nails would work as well, but the soft nature of copper makes it a prime candidate for this technique.
ROPE VISE
Sometimes there is no substitute for a good vise when repairing gear or sharpening tools. You can hack a simple foot-powered rope vise. All you need is a picnic table, some rope, and a wooden foot pedal (any old board or stick will do). The picnic table will serve as your workbench.
Start by folding your rope in half, and pull the folded loop up between the boards at the end of the picnic table. Now tie the other 2 ends of the rope together, using a simple granny knot. Make sure that this knot is suspended about 6" off the ground. Complete the vise by placing your pedal stick through the rope loop. Place your knife or tool under the rope loop sticking out the top of your workbench and depress the foot pedal. This will hold your tool firmly in place. The greater the pedal pressure, the tighter the hold.
KNIFE-SHARPENING SURFACES
Keeping your blade honed to a razor edge is important. A sharp knife is safer to use and requires less energy. In survival, every calorie counts. You may not know that 2 excellent sharpeners exist almost right under your nose. First is the bottom of a ceramic coffee mug. The bottom ring of most ceramic mugs is almost always unglazed, and unglazed ceramic is a perfect knife-sharpening surface. The underside of toilet tank covers are also unglazed. Then there is the abrasive upper edge of a car window. This edge is sufficient for sharpening most carbon-steel blades. Slide the blade from hilt to tip along the upper edge just as you would use a sharpening rod.