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Thread: Good books- how to stuff?

  1. #1

    Default Good books- how to stuff?

    Hey all I was just wondering if there is a good book or set of books on pre-electricity skills? Everything from soap-making, to building, weaving, etc?

    I have a really good set of Popular Mechanics encyclopedias from the 1950's that shows a lot, raising fish, even building a generator from junkyard stuff. Even how to make my own cement!

    I would like to supplement those with a few more good books. Maybe blacksmith stuff, weapon making, etc.

    I am looking for books, because if we get hit with an EMP, well all the digital stuff will be gone!

    Thanks!


  2. #2
    Senior Member BornthatWay's Avatar
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    gET THE fOXFIRE BOOKS. tHESE WILL GIVE YOU LOTS OF HOW TO'S WAY BEFORE ELECTRICITY AND ARE GOOD READING.

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    Super Moderator crashdive123's Avatar
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    One that I have and really like is Back To Basics Third Edition - A Complete Guide To Traditional Skills.
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    naturalist primitive your_comforting_company's Avatar
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    I second Crash. I have the same book and while it's not really my primitive speed, there's a lot of good info in there. Seems like my uncle found it at a flea market or yard sale for $1 and gave it to me.

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    Senior Member Winnie's Avatar
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    There's also these. http://www.pioneerhandbooks.com/
    Great reading and instructional!
    Recession; A period when you go without something your Grandparents never heard of.

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    The Art of Flint Knapping by D.C. Waldorf,
    Ojibwa Crafts by Carrie A. Lyford,
    Willow Basketry by Bernard Verdet-Fierz, Regula Verdet-Fierz,
    Flint knapping: Making and Understanding Stone Tools by John C. Whittaker,
    Oak: The Frame of Civilization by William Bryant Logan,
    Primitive Technology I and II: Ancestral Skills - From the Society of Primitive Technology,
    A Shelter Sketchbook: Timeless Building Solutions by John S. Taylor,
    How to Make Primitive Pottery by Evard H. Gibby,
    The Traditional Bowyers Bibles: Volumes 1 -4,
    The Wild Within: Adventures in Nature and Animal Teachings by Paul Rezendes,
    Native American Ethnobotany by Daniel E. Moerman,
    Primitive Wilderness Living & Survival Skills: Naked into the Wilderness by John McPherson,
    Ishi in Two Worlds: A Biography of the Last Wild Indian in North America by Theodora Kroeber,
    Survival Arts Of The Primitive Paiutes by Margaret M. Wheat,
    Deerskins Into Buckskins: How To Tan With Natural Materials, a Field Guide for Hunters and Gatherers by Matt Richards,

    The Forager's Harvest A Guide to Identifying, Harvesting, And Preparing Edible Wild Plants and Nature’s Garden by Samuel Thayer,

    The Society of Primitive Technology has some amazing bulletins out.

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    Goog...He's just this guy greatgoogamooga's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by crashdive123 View Post
    One that I have and really like is Back To Basics Third Edition - A Complete Guide To Traditional Skills.
    I should order that one for my Kindle.

    Goog

  8. #8
    Goog...He's just this guy greatgoogamooga's Avatar
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    One that I have is Survival Wisdom and Know How (not on my Kindle)

    http://www.amazon.com/Survival-Wisdo.../dp/1579127533

    Goog

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    Senior Member kyratshooter's Avatar
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    One nice thing about the Foxfire series is that they give two or three versions of everything they do.

    Another good thing is that they often give step by step instructions. I built my first muzzle loading rifle using the foxfire 5 book sitting on the workbench with Hershal House telling me every move to make.

    The rifle I made with those instructions was once leaned against a tree next to a Hershal House rifle and the owner of that $10,000 rifle did not realize he had picked up the wrong gun as he walked away. He came trotting back about 15 minutes latter!

    The books are that good in every subject they cover from cabin building and berry picking to jam making and blacksmithing.

    I find that most of the "survival books" are generic and any of the good ones will do. These preindustrial life books are a different story. You need a book written by someone that lived the life or a collection of experiences and not speculation of what "might work" or was passed on as myth. Even building an outhouse was a skill demanding more than a hole in the ground with a house over it.
    Last edited by kyratshooter; 05-13-2013 at 11:57 AM.
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    Senior Member hunter63's Avatar
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    It would be easy to reach "learning over load", and become a book or Kindle collector.
    Do a assessment on what you do know, then single out something to work on.....and go for it.
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    Administrator Rick's Avatar
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    Pocket Reference....just saying.
    Tracks Across the High Plains...Death on the Bombay Line...A Touch of Death and Mayhem...Dead Rock...The Griswald Mine Boys...All On Amazon Books.

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    Senior Member kyratshooter's Avatar
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    "Learning overload" is a different level for different folks!

    That's why some folks never finish high school and others get a PhD.

    Same for reference overload. My house is filled with books. Some of my friends come in and ask me "Have you actually read all those books?" and I say Yes, some of them several times.

    I have purposely collected enough books to give a person an equivalent to college education if it is needed.

    I do not own a Kindle and have nothing in long term storage on computer, although I do a lot of research on computer. I never plan on turning on a machine and getting the information I need to survive.

    Just me, a grumpy old man, looking for his reading glasses, with stacks of dusty old books sitting around.
    If you didn't bring jerky what did I just eat?

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    Senior Member hunter63's Avatar
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    I am a book guy as well, but the point is that a lot of people buy a book, and think, I'll learn it when I need it.....doesn't work that way.
    You need to learn the skill.
    Geezer Squad....Charter Member #1
    Evoking the 50 year old rule...
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    Quote Originally Posted by hunter63 View Post
    It would be easy to reach "learning over load", and become a book or Kindle collector.
    Do a assessment on what you do know, then single out something to work on.....and go for it.
    Sound advice Hunter63

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    Alaska, The Madness! 1stimestar's Avatar
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    Don't know how relevant it would be to many of you but it's an interesting read regardless.

    http://www.amazon.com/Alaska-Homeste...tead+companion

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    A remarkable compilation of practical information for living in one of the most impractical and inhospitable landscapes in the United States. More than forty pioneer types ranging from their mid-nineties to mid- twenties describe their reasons for choosing to live their lives in Alaska and offer useful instructions and advice that made that life more livable. Whether it be how to live among bears, build an outhouse, cross a river, or make birch syrup, each story gives readers a window to a life most will never know but many still dream about. Fifty photographs and 150 line drawings illustrate the real-life experiences of Alaska settlers such as 1930s New Deal colonists, de-mobilized military who stayed after World War II, dream-seekers from the 60s and 70s, and myriad others who staked their claim in Alaska.
    Why do I live in Alaska? Because I can.

    Alaska, the Madness! Bloggity Stories of the North Country

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    The Encyclopedia of Country Living by Carla Emery
    The Bread Builders by D. Wing and A. Scott
    The Kitchen Gardens at Heligan:Lost Gardening Principles Rediscovered by T. Petherick
    Lehman's Non-electric Catalog This retail outlet has gotten sillier (and expensive) over the last several years but is still a good resource for off grid stuff. They even sell propane and kerosene refrigerators and freezers.
    Last edited by LowKey; 03-08-2014 at 10:52 AM.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Winnie View Post
    There's also these. http://www.pioneerhandbooks.com/
    Great reading and instructional!
    I get a forbidden error. Plus it got a page not found error trying to tell me I don't have permission.

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    Administrator Rick's Avatar
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    Well, she posted that link over a year ago. It looks like site is gone.
    Tracks Across the High Plains...Death on the Bombay Line...A Touch of Death and Mayhem...Dead Rock...The Griswald Mine Boys...All On Amazon Books.

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