What's on your shelf?

[GoodOlBoy]

Nothing oh nothing in prepping for anything is as valuable as knowledge. I was wondering what other folks have and read on their shelves?

For example my book shelf contains the following currently.

The Art of Blacksmithing - Alex W Bealer
Back to Basics - Abigail R. Gehring - Second or Third edition can't remember which.
Buckskins and Black Powder - Ken Grissom - 1983
Deerskins into Buckskins - Matt Richards - 2nd Ed.
Firearms, traps, and tools of the Mountain Men - Carl P Russell
Foxfire 5 - Current reprint. Eventually I will want all of them.
Making Arrows the Old Way - Douglas Spotted Eagle
Mountainman Crafts and Skills - David Montgomery 1st Ed
Mountainman Crafts and Skills - David Montgomery 2nd Ed (repeat but was a gift) Found a good home for it as a re-gift!
Nose to the Grindstone (Knifemaking) - Gene Chapman
Wayne Goddard's $50 Knife Shop - Wayne Goddard - Revised Ed

Various issues of - Backwoodsman Magazine, Primitive Archer, Fur Fish and Game, etc.

my videos that I have to throw in as REAL good info

Knifemaking Unplugged - Tim and Marian Lively
Woodsmaster Volume 9 - Primitive Knifemaking - Ron and Karen Hood with Tim Lively and Tai Goo

I know I have other books scattered around the bathroom, living room, loading room, etc. Yeah I know I have alot of focus on knife making, but that was my addiction for awhile.

What's on your shelf that you actually read, or have read?

GoodOlBoy

[reloader28]

I'm not going to list them all, but we have lots of the same type. We do have the Back to Basics book.
Several each of homesteading, survival, gardening, butchering, home remedies, canning, pickling, smoking meat. We have a Saving Seeds that I figured would be handy and have used it. Aint been to the bookstore for a while, but we're do. We have to make a list of what we have so we dont get repeats.
When something happens, there is NO internet or TV. You need something on the book shelf to reference.

I'm also a homebrewer so I have quite a few wine and beer recipie books along with grain. Now THAT is prepping.

[GoodOlBoy]

lol I hadn't thought about that but yes I do have a few books on home brewing.

GoodOlBoy

[Mooseman]

Chemistry books, wild plant and mushroom Id books, gun and engine repair, reloading, construction, foxfire, communications / antenna books, food preservation, and Improvised Munitions !
Rich

[reloader28]

I also have that Improvised Munitions book. Very cool book.

I almost forgot soap making. Thats a good book to have. We make about a year and a half supply in the wintertime.

[GoodOlBoy]

Does anybody have "the do-it yourself gunpowder cookbook" by Don McLean? Was wondering if you would recommend it or not?

GoodOlBoy

[Houndog]

Having all those reference books on the shelf is all fine and dandy, but you REALLY need as much information in your noggin as you can get there! If you would have to leave home in a hurry all that reference material won't do you much good. At least learn what edible plants are available in your area and how to make a rudimentary shelter! The life you might save could very well be your own!

[GoodOlBoy]

One, I don't believe in bugging out. Why? I live out in the country. Where am I going to go? Bug out? Bug out to where? Am I going to run towards cities that are collapsing? Am I going to leave my land, running water, relatives and neighbors who all farm ranch hunt and fish around me? Bugging out is a "grass is always greener" situation to me. People need to learn to keep their heads down and bug IN.

Two, yes having the knowledge in your noggin is great and good, but how and where do you learn that knowledge without classes or courses that cost alot of money? Books. Read them, study them, practice what they teach.

GoodOlBoy

[Blacksmith]

Books will become useful training manuals and very valuable trading materials.

[kens]

I got books of Jack O'Conner,
Elmer Keith
the bio of John Browning,
and "Rifleman Went to War' by McBride, now thats a good one
and the Foxfire's and such

[reloader28]

One, I don't believe in bugging out. Why? I live out in the country. Where am I going to go? Bug out? Bug out to where? Am I going to run towards cities that are collapsing? Am I going to leave my land, running water, relatives and neighbors who all farm ranch hunt and fish around me? Bugging out is a "grass is always greener" situation to me. People need to learn to keep their heads down and bug IN.

Two, yes having the knowledge in your noggin is great and good, but how and where do you learn that knowledge without classes or courses that cost alot of money? Books. Read them, study them, practice what they teach.

GoodOlBoy

EXACTLY. I could see bugging out from a town, but my town friends are coming here and we can see you coming from a long dam ways out.

[Blacksmith]

Here are some that I have that are currently available along with sources.

http://www.hamiltonbook.com/Native-A...an-ethnobotany

http://www.hamiltonbook.com/Native-A...cal-dictionary

http://www.hamiltonbook.com/Arts-Cra...basket-weaving

http://www.hamiltonbook.com/Arts-Cra...evised-edition

http://www.hamiltonbook.com/Arts-Cra...r-the-handyman

http://www.hamiltonbook.com/Arts-Cra...-fashioned-way

http://www.hamiltonbook.com/the-city...square-footage

http://www.hamiltonbook.com/Cookbook...ble-or-freezer

http://www.hamiltonbook.com/Fishing-...fourth-edition

http://www.trackofthewolf.com/Catego.../302/1/BOOK-HN

http://www.hamiltonbook.com/Fishing-...ting-tips-ever

http://www.trackofthewolf.com/Catego...18?PageSize=50

[Blacksmith]

While searching for a book I came across a bibliography for disaster and austere medical references. You may want to read through the PDF and add some to your bookshelf. Many are available as PDF files but I am old school and like books with pages. Here is a link to the PDF file "Austere Medicine Books and References":
https://www.acep.org/uploadedFiles/A...ne%20Books.pdf

Here is a copy of the first entry as a sample:

Where There is No Doctor. By Werner. Hesperian Foundation 2010 $17 for hard copy, pdf free (see below) The Hesperian site has ordering information for the hardcopy and all of the other hardcopy books.

If you buy no other austere medical book, you must have this one. This is the must have of austere medicine; it WILL save lives. Although slanted to the third world and the tropics, it contains the essential basics of all aspects of medicine. Latest version in PDF is available
http://www.hesperian.info/assets/WTND/doctor_whole_book.pdf

This source has other medical sources that the reporter has not adequately evaluated and at least two others that are included in this list. Browse on your own.

[Blacksmith]

There is a resource called the Appropriate Technology Library which is 1,050 books on either CD's or DVD's. here is a link to the web site:
http://www.villageearth.org/appropri...nology-library

Subjects Covered in the Appropriate Technology library

• Background Reading – 22 Books
• General References – 52 Books
• Local Self-Reliance – 13 Books
• Workshop – 63 Books
• Sustainable Agriculture – 133 Books
• Agricultural Tools – 78 Books
• Crop Preservation and Storage – 35 Books
• Forestry – 34 Books
• Aquaculture – 18 Books
• Water Supply and Sanitation – 95 Books
• Energy: General – 26 Books
• Energy: Improved Cookstoves – 38 Books
• Energy: Wind – 40 Books
• Energy: Water – 42 Books
• Energy: Solar – 25 Books
• Energy: Biogas – 10 Books
• Housing and Construction – 80 Books
• Transportation – 40 Books
• Health Care – 45 Books
• Science Teaching – 6 Books
• Nonformal Education – 5 Books
• Local Communication – 19 Books
• Small Enterprises and Cooperatives – 34 Books
• Beekeeping – 9 Books
• Small Industries – 38 Books
• Disaster Preparedness – 23 Books

Here is a link to a list of all the titles contained in the collection, the list is a pretty good bibliography of relevant books:
http://www.villageearth.org/pages/so...the-at-library

[Rwoods61]

The most important book that I have on the bookshelf is the King James version of the Bible. My wife makes sure it gets read. I do have a project to make sure I have amble resources in digital form stored on a laptop.

r.woods

[GhostHawk]

http://www.pssurvival.com/

I have much of this backed up on 2 different computers.

I have a significant portion of it printed out and in a 3 ring binder.

I also have almost all of my hard learned Reloading data, and my notes printed in a binder including shotgun, pistol and rifle data for everything I own and common calibers.

I have been reading, practicing, refining and fine tuning for 40 years. Its all locked in up there.

I just wish there was a way to plug my head in, and download all that stuff either before or after I'm gone.

Anarchist's Cookbook mostly because it reminds me that most of that stuff is a matter of looking at things the right way, and then using what you have effectively.

I have a book on soapmaking but I have been making my own for 10 years now.
I can go off the grid on that one with no worries. And yes I use my own soap daily. My skin has never been softer and healthier.

I should get a really good book on edible plants. I have a couple but I am not really happy with either of them. Knowing what something is (and what it is not) and what to look for can mean the difference between survival and death.

Think I am off to amazon, have a good day Ya'll.

[Rwoods61]

GhostHawk,

What is your recipe for your everyday soap.

I made my wife a batch of laundry soap and she was skeptical but she tried it and now she won't use anything else. I did not tell her how much money she is saving. I think I would like to try hand soap or soap that we use everyday.

Thanks for the link. I will look at it next week. Off to our retreat in the mountains for a work weekend.

I too have much of my "important" data hard copied in print. I also have what I consider other important information in print just in case.

rwoods

[GhostHawk]

I start with just about an even 3 way split of Coconut oil, Olive Oil, Lard.

A neighbor gave me almost 2 gallons of date expired corn oil so the last few batch's have included that, 4 way split.

I find the easy way is to use a good lye calculator.

http://soapcalc.net/calc/SoapCalcWP.asp

I always use NAOH, Ounces, and water as % of oils.

Put in whatever oils you have that you want to use.
I would suggest using google to research oils. All oils are not created equal.

For example, olive oil is very nourishing, healthy for your skin.
Coconut oil makes wonderful stiff lather, but don't use more than1/3 of total as it can be drying.

Palm oil will help your soap setup (thicken) much quicker, makes a nice hard soap.

So work down the list, put the weight of your oils in, click calculate.

It will tell you how much water and how much lye to mix to make good soap.

Superfat is essentially "extra" oil. To make sure that all the lye converts. So it does not "BITE"

I may use half an ounce to an ounce of superfat with a 2-4 lb batch.

Always, always, always pour the lye into the water. For this I use a very large pyrex measureing cup. With the cup in the sink.

Other way around or poured too fast you can get a boil over, or even a steam explosion. Splattering hot lye on everything. Be cautious here.

I use a slow cooker to melt my oils after they are weighed.
I add the lye/water mix, and use a thrift store stick blender to mix until I get strong "trace"

Trace is just what the word says. When your soap is soap, if you trace a letter in the top surface, the trace will remain. At this point it is a semisolid.

For a cold process recipe you could mold and age.

I use a cold process recipe, then I turn on the slow cooker and heat treat it. Speeds the process up so I don't have to wait for 6 weeks while it cures.

It may after a bit start to "foam up. At that point I remove lid, turn off the heat, and mix it all back together. And then pour into bread pans to be sliced into bars once cooled.

It is not rocket science. You do want to be careful with the lye.
If you are sensitive you may want to test your soap before molding it. Grab a smear of soap off the side of the cooker and go wash your hands.

How does it feel? Happy with that? Or cook a little more?

Last, the thing the commercial soap company's do not tell you.
They are stealing from you. When you make soap you actually get 2 things, soap, and glycerin. Then glycerin is what keeps your skin smooth and soft. Soap companys separate this and sell it separately. Stealing it from you.

Ever heard of "Melt and pour soap" Almost pure glycerin.

Which btw, if you like you can add a cube or 2 of to your soap mix. It does not effect the lye mix, melt it with your oils.

I have to warn you, once you start down this road you will never go back.

And yes I use my soap to my my own laundry soap also. I have done both dry and gel types.

Nowdays I use corn oil, canola oil, and 25% coconut oil to make soap specifically for this. It is very inexpensive to make, easy to use, and saves tons.

I have been planning to do a big thread on lye soap. Pumpkin and several others PM'd me about this. Pumpkin and i traded some phone calls back and forth and he is now making his own soap.

I have no excuse except that I simply have not had the energy to dig the box out with my book and notes.

If you are interested please feel free to PM me.

[Rwoods61]

Wow! that was a lot of information! I will PM you. We are in the process of selling a house/building a house so it might be a week or 2. Thanks for the info. I will reread it several times to get all the information out of it.

R.woods

[Ivantherussian03]

Gardening
Food preservation
Repair manuals
Reloading
Back woods skills type books
Plant identification
Butchering
Trapping
Tanning