Great book on Australian Bushcraft

Hey everyone,
I am so excited about a new feature to my website  www.rescuemeright.com. It is a downloads page, and I encourage everyone to check it out at http://www.rescuemeright.com/downloads/.

I have already got an awesome e-book there called Australian Bushcraft : A Serious Guide to Survival and Camping
By: Richard Graves, Illustrated by Richard Gregory.

Quote:

Synopsis: First published 1950. This revised and updated edition of
Australian Bushcraft covers all aspects of survival and camping
activity: making ropes and cords building huts: camp craft: finding
food and water, maps knots – virtually every technique required to
stay alive in the bush. Australian Bushcraft explains how to make use
of natural materials for both survival and pleasure. It describes
many of the skills used by primitive man, and adds to these the
skills necessary for survival today. Richard Graves, who died in
1971, realised that a knowledge of bushcraft could save lives in the
Second World War He initiated and led the Australian Jungle Rescue
Detachment, which was assigned to the Far East American Air Force.
This detachment of sixty specially selected AIF soldiers successfully
carried out more than three hundred rescue missions, most of which
were in enemy territory, without failure of a mission or loss of a
man. The material in this book was originally written at that time.
It was later revised and published as The Ten Bushcraft Books. It has
now been further revised and updated to include techniques and
equipment that were not

In his sadly now out-of-print Bushcraft books, the late bushman
Richard Graves (of the Graves Irish literary clan), shared his love
of the Australian outdoors. He wrote:

“The practice of bushcraft shows many unexpected results. The five
senses are sharpened, and consequently the joy of being alive is
greater.

“The individual’s ability to adapt and improvise is developed to a
remarkable degree. This in turn leads to increased self-confidence.

“Self-confidence, and the ability to adapt to a changing environment
and to overcome difficulties, is followed by a rapid improvement in
the individual’s daily work. This in turn leads to advancement and
promotion.

“Bushcraft, by developing adaptability, provides a broadening
influence, a necessary counter to offset the narrowing influence of
modern specialisation.

“For this work of bushcraft all that is needed is a sharp cutting
implement: knife, axe or machete. The last is the most useful. For
the work, dead materials are most suitable. The practice of bushcraft
conserves, and does not destroy, wildlife.

end quote

As always, if you have any e-books, articles, videos or pictures that are about emergency preparedness, survival skills, survival training, emergency training etc., please contact me with a comment and let me know what you have. If it is good, I will share it with everyone I can.

Until next time,
Be blessed, be safe, and be prepared!
Theresa

Ropes and Knots II

Today we are going to look at the easiest and most useful knot that I know of. It is called Two half hitches. A hitch is a knot that ties a rope to something. I am sure that you have heard of a hitching post from old western movies. The friction that is caused by the wrapping of the rope holds the hitch in place. Because of the friction this knot will hold tight for a very long time and will not loosen.  It is a great knot for camping, making a tent out of a tarp, making a clothes line, tying up a boat, or a mule.

Let’s begin:

Step 1: Press the end of the rope through a ring or around a pole.

Step 2:   Pass the end behind the remaining  end of the rope. (This is known as the standing part.)

Step 3: Bring the end back up and pass it through the eye you just formed and pull tight. This is a half hitch.

Step 4: Pass the end of the rope around the standing part again.

Step 5: Bring the end up and through the loop just formed.

Step 6: pull it snug.   twohalfhitchesa

 

 

See you tomorrow!

Ropes and Knots

One of the most basic and important tools in any survival kit is a rope. It can be used for just a ton of things. It can be used to tie things together, to tie things down, to hang clothes, to make a basic shelter, just all kinds of things. So, a rope is indispensable. But what is a rope if you don’t know how to tie a knot?

There are some very basic knots that everyone, even kids should know. The first is a square knot. Also known as a reef knot, this is the knot that most moms have to get out of their kids shoes when they are learning to tie a bow. This knot is commonly used in macrame, and is a good knot for tying packages and bandages, as it lies flat and does not add to bulk. Just a note however, this knot does not work well with nylon ropes, or ropes of different diameters. This is an easy knot to tie, so let’s get going!

Step 1: Take two pieces of rope that are about the same diameter. They will be called rope A and rope B. Put rope A in your left hand, and rope B in your right hand.

Step 2: Cross rope A over rope B to form an “X” shape  sqknotstep3_s

 

 

Step 3:  Wrap rope A around rope B, like when you are tying  your shoes. Rope A is now sticking out on the right and rope B is sticking out on the left

sqknotstep4_s

 

 

Step 4:  Cross rope A over Rope B again, forming another “X”.sqknotstep5_s

 

 

Step 5: Wrap rope A once to the left around rope B.sqknotstep6_s

 

Step 6: Pull on the free ends to tighten the knot.sqknotstep7_s

 

That’s it.  Tomorrow we will see two half hitches.

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