Prepper skillsets: What have you got?

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Grew up farming and learned to do some of about everything except weld. And never ran a combine. Thats actually something I'd like to try sometime.
Anyway learned to be good with my hands and very mechanically inclined. Not bad at fabricating. And can fix most anything given a little time to figure it out. Good at electronics and ok as an electrician.
Pretty good at most outdoor activities, woodworking, terrible at painting, and cost myself too much money plumbing.
I've collected most of the tools needed to blacksmith with, expect an anvil.
Oh, I'm just fair at growing food
 
Since we never seem to have enough money we try to do most everything ourselves. From clearing land n building a new house. Gardening. Raise small livestock for food. I always hunted n fished for our food, moose, caribou, game birds. Salmon, halibut, sea bass n such. We built a self contained remote cabin in the middle of nowhere Alaska so not too worried about folks intruding if we are forced to leave our home. Our kids n their families are our neighbors so we are all close. And they know how to survive.
Do most all of any mechanic stuff, we have a bunch of snogos n wheelers. And like building more buggies
We homeschooled and now homeschool our grandkids. Now I can teach them everything I know.
. As papa I feel great
 
lonewolf said:
anything I know is self taught, father never taught me anything, he would push me out of the way and do it himself, said it was quicker.
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just put in a dishwasher, had the 10 year od from the family that is renting from us do some of the work on incoming water, outgoing waste water and electrical hook up. afterwards turned him loose on the old dishwash on the deck with a 3/8ths drill with philips head driver and gave him a box to store all the srews and clamps in....Now he wants some drill bits. People that know stuff need to pass it on.
 
I did think of something I believe is important. I can’t remember if it’s been mentioned or not without going through the whole thread again.
Resources!
This came to me from two aspects in particular. Local resources for “things.” I source as much as possible from local sources and have established a working relationship with these folks over the course of time.
And secondly, skills. I have tried to acquire materials/printed literature to have on hand. I understand that some things (like herbal medicines) take time, but some things like ram pumps or stone fireplaces might take little more than some grunt labor.
Neither of these is without potential failure but do at least up the game.
 
montanabill said:
just put in a dishwasher, had the 10 year od from the family that is renting from us do some of the work on incoming water, outgoing waste water and electrical hook up. afterwards turned him loose on the old dishwash on the deck with a 3/8ths drill with philips head driver and gave him a box to store all the srews and clamps in....Now he wants some drill bits. People that know stuff need to pass it on.
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we dont use a dishwasher, never have,
dont use a clothes dryer either.
 
lonewolf said:
we dont use a dishwasher, never have,
dont use a clothes dryer either.
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they both came with our used house. the appliances I usually buy are used for very cheap. the time they free up let me do much more productive and rewarding things with my time and energy. we live where electricity is cheap and baubles are cheap for now...I have manual means to accomplish most chores including a anvil and charcol...
 
lonewolf said:
we dont use a dishwasher, never have,
dont use a clothes dryer either.
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With our high humidity, and incessant rain, hanging clothes outside usually doesn't work. Only a rare house around here even has a clothesline. After installing a dehumidifier in the basement I started hanging my clothes in there. The clothes last longer without the heat and tumbling. My clothes no longer grow mold before they dry. I still use the dryer for sheets, blankets, and other items.
 
Spent a couple decades learning 2000+ species of plant life and how to use them. Medicines, food, can find many with snow on the ground. I know how to traverse miles of woodland or swamp without a compass. Even thick scrub timber like this... (9 medicines in this photo)

20230608_121155sm.jpg
 
Does anyone here do fancy Boy Scout military knots? that stuff is good to know..

OH, and I discovered a 5MM bore brush fits an AR gas tube nicely!
 
Amish Heart said:
Have you ever butchered, Magpie? To eat something, I mean. Or was it a sympathy kill?
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It was a sympathy kill- bloody dog got into the chicken pen- I was in the middle of an online lecture when I saw it going on from the upstairs window. I needed to get back into class; so I made a quick assessment that I couldn't help her other than to help her on her way. I have assisted with butchering our lambs and pheasants before, but haven't had to do it on my own though. For pheasants I just debreast, and I can gut a fish. I'm not squeamish; just have always had men around to do that kind of thing tbh.
 
Caribou said:
With our high humidity, and incessant rain, hanging clothes outside usually doesn't work. Only a rare house around here even has a clothesline. After installing a dehumidifier in the basement I started hanging my clothes in there. The clothes last longer without the heat and tumbling. My clothes no longer grow mold before they dry. I still use the dryer for sheets, blankets, and other items.
Click to expand...
most british houses dont have basements.
we hang clothes on an outside line in the summer, in the winter they are put on an airer and in the immersion cupboard, a cupboard where the hot water tank lives. clothes are dry within 1 day.
 
We don't have a dryer but a large kitchen and livingroom. I just hang them up inside there on some strings when it's cold out and they dry really fast with the wood stove on. Plus we have an extra building with an upstais that has clothelines and they dry there also. Plus regular clothesline of course. We had a dryer in Florida nothing would dry there because of the humidity in summer
 
Magpie said:
It was a sympathy kill- bloody dog got into the chicken pen- I was in the middle of an online lecture when I saw it going on from the upstairs window. I needed to get back into class; so I made a quick assessment that I couldn't help her other than to help her on her way. I have assisted with butchering our lambs and pheasants before, but haven't had to do it on my own though. For pheasants I just debreast, and I can gut a fish. I'm not squeamish; just have always had men around to do that kind of thing tbh.
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When pets or the odd chicken need to be put down I just do it. This is something I always try to bring into the disscusion when talking to people who want to join up or get onto some land and have some critters.
Not everybody can do it but they and the rest of the group should be aware of that and not have them in the front ranks when it comes to defense.
 
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