Making Hide Glue

1. Scrape, sand or cut your animal hide into small pieces or shavings. (The closer to a powder you can make it the easier it will be to work with)
2. Boil a pot of water
3. Gently cook until the mixture thickens. You will have to replace the water as it evaporates. (this process will take forever, some people cook it for days at a low heat)
4. Strain the mixture with an old T-shirt or other cheese cloth.
5. The mixture can be used as is or Dried for storage.

How to Store Hide glue

1. Pour the mixture into a metal cake pan or metal sheet. (1/4 to 1/2 inch thick)
2. When the mixture dries to a gelatin consistency cut into 1 inch square chucks. Let the mixture set for another week.
3. Pop the squares out of the pan.
4. With a thick needle, run some string through the squares and hang dry for at least another week.
5. Store in a waterproof container. ( if kept dry the dried squares can be stored forever.)

Using Dry Hide Glue

To use the glue, take your dried chucks and dissolve them in a small amount of hot water. Let it heat up into a syrup and then apply the mixture warm. Clamp you wood together and let it set. Your now good to go.

1. How much weight can you reasonably carry?
2. Is the gear absolutely essential to your survival?
3. Is there a lighter alternative?
4. Can your gear be used for multiple tasks?

Before the SHTF

• Go on a trial run - Don’t let an emergency be the first time you carry your pack. Put yourself through a realistic test and see how long you can comfortably carry your bag at full weight.
• Start with the Pack – If you really want to lower your weight don’t buy a monster backpack. Chances are you you don’t need a huge pack with monster metal supports. Look for an ultra-lite pack. The newer packs are made with lighter materials that hold up just as long as the older ones, and can carry more weight comfortably than their older heavier counter part.
• Multiple uses. How much of your equipment can be used for multiple tasks? Try to choose gear that can be used for multiple purposes.
• Take an inventory of your gear, it all Adds up - It might sound a little bit crazy but a good way of calculating your weight is with a computer spreadsheet and a postal scale. Seeing everything on the screen will help you evaluate what you can and can’t get rid of.

If you a prepared then you should always have a good survival lighter, it is by far the most reliable way to start a fire in any situation. In my opinion everyone of the fire starting methods and tools listed below are nothing compared to a good lighter. When it’s 20 degrees out, your soaking wet, and you are in desperate need of a fire…..  do you really want to mess around with anything other than a lighter?

Survival is about preparedness, and I would never recommend any of the following fire starting tips over having a lighter in your kit. But knowledge is the key to survival so…..

7 ways to start a fire if the world ever runs out of lighters.

1. Waterproof Matches
2. Magnesium Firestarter
3. Blast Match Fire Starter ( part of the Ultimate Survival Kit)
4. Fine steel wool and a 9 volt battery (kinda wacky but it actually works * again make sure you have lighters!)
5. Fire Drill
6. Fire Plough
7. Hand Drill Method

Want a backup to your lighter? PACK ANOTHER LIGHTER!

Knowing how to build a fire is an essential survival skill for the survivalist.

Fires are important because they give you warmth, light, the ability to cook, and peace of mind. Fire Making is one of the oldest skills known to man, it’s importance can never be underestimated.

Fire is good for:

• Keeping Warm in even the coldest environments
• Giving you a way to boil untreated water.
• Drying wet clothes
• Keeping Insects and some animals away
• Building a signal fire.
• Cooking Food.
• Comfort

Primitive methods of Starting a Fire:

• 2 Man Hand Drill
• Starting a fire with a Fire Drill
• Fire starting with a Fire Plough
• How to starts a Wilderness Fire with a Hand Drill

You should always have at least two methods of starting a fire with you at all times.

• Survival Lighters
• FireSteel
• Survival Matches
• Water Proof Matches
• Emergency Candles Candles are a good way of getting damp tinder and wet wood to start. If you only have a few matches, use your match to light the candle first. A candle will last a lot longer than a match, and gives you more time to start a stubborn fire.
• The Ultimate Survival Kit – This little kit has a couple ways of starting a fire, including something called Wet Fire. The Wet Fire tinder will burn even in the poring rain and is a must for any survival kit.

Follow these steps to use the Hand Drill Method

1. Make sure you have a tinder bundle prepared for when you get an ember.
2. Cut a V-shaped notch in the a board, then start a small depression with your knife tip. Set a piece of bark, or a big leaf underneath the notch to catch your ember.
3. Place the spindle, which should be about two feet in length, in the depression and while maintaining a good amount of downward pressure, roll the stick between the palms of your hands, running them very quickly down the stick.
4. Keep doing this until the spindle tip glows red and you get an ember.
5. Tap the board to get the ember onto your leaf or piece of bark, then transfer it over to your tinder bundle and blow it until you get a flame.

How do you use the Shadow and Stick Method?

1. Find a stick
2. Place the stick into the ground
3. Take a stone and mark where the end of the shadow is.
4. Leave the stick sit for 15 minutes.
5. After 15 Minutes mark the next shadow point with a rock.
6. Place a line from one rock to the next rock, this should give you a rough east-west line.

Ways for Signaling for Help

• Smoke and fire – If you are stuck without a way to signal your rescuers, smoke and fire is one of the best options available. Fresh Greenery, oil, and rubber make thick visible clouds of smoke that can be seen for miles.
• Whistles - Whistles are great for short range signaling, whistles are also useful for scaring off large animals and bears.
• Flashlights - A flashlight can be very effective at night. Just make sure to conserve your batteries by using the flashlight when you are certain rescue is near.
• Flares - There are a couple different types of flares. Day flares produce a bright color smoke that can be seen from the air, and night flares produce an extremely bright light that can be seen from far away.
• Bright Reflective materials. Tinfoil, mirrors, metal or anything that can reflect the sunlight can be used to attract attention.
• Cell Phone - Even in the most unlikely places you may be able to get a cell signal.
• Ham Radio – A hand held ham radio will work anywhere in the world. They are lightweight and can be powered with a couple AA Batteries.

Signaling Devices:

• Backcountry Access Tracker DTS beacon One Color, One Size
• Orion Marine Signaling Mirror
• ACR RAPIDFIRE STROBE F/PFD – SAFETY – Signal Devices
• SEACHOICE/LAND&SEA INC. 46111 SIGNAL HORN KIT
• Princeton Tec Aqua Strobe
• Rescue Laser Light, Red
• McMurdo – 82-826-004A – Fastfind Personal Locator Beacon – Yellow – 6 L x 3 W in.

The main benefit to using and knowing Morse code is the ability to send messages over long distances ( hundreds or thousands of miles) on a relatively low amount of power. There are actually some Amateur radios that require only a couple AA batteries to communicate with Morse code.

Morse code can be extremely useful in emergencies, and has been used by the military and Ham Radio Operators for years.

Resources for Learning Morse Code

• Your Introduction to Morse Code

The water knot is used in climbing and is a very common way to join two ends of webbing.

The Water Knot is very strong and often used in slings.

An Angler’s loop is useful for slippery line, it is one of the few knots can be tied well with a bungee cord.

This Knot is hard to untie so it is not recommended if you need to untie the rope.