Product Description
What if you were dropped in the woods with little more than a knife, your wits, and the (hopefully warm) shirt on your back? Could you survive? If you’d read this book, the answer is yes!Survival! It’s one of our most primal fears, most basic needs. What do you do when everything is stripped away except your will to prevail? In this book, survival expert Tim MacWelch examines how native peoples around the world and throughout history have made their own shelter, weapons, tools, and more, and well as clever MacGuyver-esque ideas for using anything you might find in your pockets or pack. Whether your goal is to test yourself against nature, be prepared for any catastrophe, or learn more about traditional ways of survival, this is the one book you need.
Packaged in a durable, wipe-clean flexicover with metallic corner-guards, this practical manual withstands heavy-duty use indoors and out.
CHAPTER ONE: Bare Necessities - The stuff you need to survive short term wilderness emergencies (72 hours to one week)
The Survival Priorities (& why you need them)Shelter, water, fire, food, first aid and signaling distress
Tools of the MinimalistKnife, Axe and Saw - use and care; Clothing selection
SheltersPick a safe shelter location; How to build Leaf huts, lean-tos, jungle platforms, thatched roof, log huts, wicki-ups, pit houses, and more (different homes for varied climates)
Water Gathering and DisinfectionFinding springs, boiling w/ hot rocks, rain and precipitation collection, water storage, primitive filters, water from plants
FireTinder, Kindling, Fire Lays, Flint & Steel, Bow Drill, Hand Drill, Bamboo Fire Saw, Fire Plow, Pump Drill, and other friction methods
Signaling for Help and Self-RescueHow to signal and communicate w/ old school techniques; How and when to fight your way out
CHAPTER TWO: Finer Things - Skills and techniques to collect food, and live more comfortably in the wild (weeks to months)
Foraging for Wild Edible PlantsHow to identify and use wild plant foods; Recipes like our ancestors would have eaten
TrappingWays to catch game with new and old school,low-tech traps
Primitive FishingHow to catch fish with thorns and other improvised tackle
Ancient WeaponsBow and arrow, spear, Spear thrower, Bola and sling, primitive forging of metal
HuntingSkills and game processing; 10 things to never do on a hunt
Primitive ToolsHow to make stone blades, knives, axes, stone drill bits, mallets and wedges for wood splitting, digging sticks
HygieneKeeping clean; Natural toilet paper; Soap from plants; DIY latrine
CHAPTER THREE: Long Term Living - The skills of our ancestors and the things you'd need for long term primitive living (years)
Food StorageDrying, smoking, Food Caches, Freezing
ContainersHow to make several different basket styles; Bark containers; Wooden bowls; Soapstone bowls and pots; Primitive ceramics
Hides and FursDIY buckskin, fur, rawhide and leather; Making clothes and outerwear (moccasins, mittens, hats, etc.)
Primitive CookingCook in the coals; Spits and skewers; Green stick grill; Rock for frying pan; Stone Ovens, Steam pit, Earth over (in-ground hearth system)
TrackingMan tracking and animal tracking
Natural NavigationHow to find your way by using the stars, the landscape, the weather and many other methods
Wild MedicineTeas, compresses and poultices to help you heal
