8-7. In survival situations, you may have to fashion any number and type of field-expedient tools and equipment to survive
Improvising
8-8. The need for an item must outweigh the work involved in making it. Follow these simple principles when improvising:
- Is it necessary or just nice to have?
- Determine the actual need.
- Inventory possessions and available natural and manmade resources.
- Consider all alternatives.
- Select the alternative providing the most efficient use of materials, time, and energy.
- Plan all construction to ensure that it is durable and safe.
Staffs
8-9. A staff should be one of the first tools obtained. For walking, it provides support and helps in ascending and descending steep slopes. It also provides some weapons capabilities if used properly, especially against snakes and dogs. A staff should be about the same height as the person using it or at least eyebrow height. It should be no larger than the isolated person can effectively wield when tired and undernourished. A staff provides invaluable eye protection wheaten moving through heavy brush and thorns in darkness. It can also be used for self-protection by thrusting, striking, and blocking potential threats.
Clubs
8-10. Clubs should be held, but never be thrown. However, a club can extend the isolated person’s area of defense beyond their fingertips. It also serves to increase the force of a blow without injuring the isolated person. The three basic types of clubs are explained as follows:
Simple club
8-11. A simple club is a staff or branch. It must be short enough to swing easily, but long enough and strong enough to damage whatever it hits. Its diameter should fit comfortably in the palm, but it should not be so thin as to allow the club to break easily upon impact. A straight-grained hardwood is best, if available. A club is lightweight and effective as an impact weapon and can be swung at different angles to strike and block potential threats.
Weighted club
8-12. A weighted club is any simple club with a weight on one end. The weight may be a natural weight, such as a knot on the wood, or something added, such as a stone lashed to the club. To make a weighted club, first find a stone that has a shape that will allow easy lashing, securely to the club. A stone with a slight hourglass shape works well. If a suitably shaped stone cannot be found, fashion a groove or channel into the stone by “pecking,” or repeatedly rapping the club stone with a smaller hard stone.
8-13. Next, find a piece of wood that is the right length, again straight-grained hardwood is best. The length of the wood should feel comfortable in relation to the weight of the stone. Finally, lash the stone to the handle using a technique shown in figure 8-1, on page 8-3. The technique used will depend on the type of handle chosen.
Sling club
8-14. A sling club is another type of weighted club. A weight hangs 3 to 4 inches from the handle by a strong, flexible lashing. This type of club both extends the user’s reach and multiplies the force of the blow (see figure 8-2, page 8-4).
Edged Weapons
8-15. Knives, spear blades, and arrow points fall under the category of edged weapons. The following paragraphs explain how to make such weapons.
Knives
8-16. A knife has three basic functions. It can puncture, slash or chop, and cut. A knife is also an invaluable tool used to construct other survival items. During isolation, you may find yourself without a knife or you may need another type knife or a spear. To improvise you can use stone, bone, wood, or metal to make a knife or spear blade.
Stone
8-17. A stone blade will make a good puncturing tool and a good chopping tool but will not hold a fine edge (see figure 8-3, page 8-5). Some stones such as obsidian, chert, or flint can have very fine edges. To make a stone knife, a sharp-edged piece of stone, a chipping tool, and a flaking tool will be needed. A chipping tool is a light, blunt-edged tool used to break off small pieces of stone. A flaking tool is a pointed tool used to break off thin, flattened pieces of stone. A chipping tool can be made from wood, bone, or metal and a flaking tool can be made from bone, antler tines, or soft iron.
8-18. To make a stone blade, begin by roughing out the desired shape on the sharp piece of stone, using the chipping tool. Try to make the knife thin. Press the flaking tool against the edges. This action will cause flakes to come off the opposite side of the edge, leaving a razor-sharp edge. Use the flaking tool along the entire length of the edge to be sharpened. Eventually, this will produce a very sharp cutting edge that can be used as a knife. Lash the blade to some type of hilt.
Bone
8-19. Bone can be used as an effective field-expedient edged weapon when used only to puncture. It will not hold an edge and it may flake or break if used differently. To make a bone blade, begin by selecting a suitable bone. Larger bones, such as the leg bone of a deer or another medium-sized animal, are best. Lay the bone upon another hard object. Shatter the bone by hitting it with a heavy object, such as a rock. From the pieces, select a suitable pointed splinter. Further shape and sharpen this splinter by rubbing it on a rough-surfaced rock. If the piece is too small to handle, add a handle to it. Select a suitable piece of hardwood for a handle and lash the bone splinter securely to it.
Wood
8-20. Field-expedient edged weapons made from wood, should be used only to puncture. Bamboo is the only wood that will hold a suitable edge. To make an edged tool from wood, begin by selecting a straight-grained piece of hardwood that is about 12 inches long and 1 inch in diameter. Fashion the blade about 6 inches long, and shave it down to a point. Use only the straight-grained portions of the wood. Do not use the core or pith, as it makes a weak point. Harden the point by a process known as fire hardening. If a fire is possible, dry the blade portion over the fire slowly until lightly charred; the drier the wood, the harder the point. After lightly charring the blade portion, sharpen it on a coarse stone. If using bamboo and after fashioning the blade, remove any other wood to make the blade thinner from the inside portion of the bamboo. Removal is done this way because bamboo’s hardest part is its outer layer. Keep as much of this layer as possible to ensure the hardest blade possible. When charring bamboo over a fire, char only the inside wood; do not char the outside.
Metal
8-21. Metal is best for making field-expedient edged weapons. Metal, when properly designed, can fulfill a knife’s three uses—puncture, slice or chop, and cut. To make an edged weapon from metal, begin by selecting a suitable piece of metal, one that most resembles the desired product. Rub the metal on a rough-surfaced stone to obtain a point and cutting edge. Use a suitable flat, hard surface as an anvil and a smaller, harder object of stone or metal to hammer out the edge. If the metal is soft enough, an edge can be hammered out while the metal is cold. Make a knife handle from wood, bone, or other material that will protect your hand.
Other materials
8-22. Other materials can be used to produce edged weapons. Glass is a good alternative to an edged weapon or tool if no other material is available. Obtain a suitable piece in the same manner as described for bone. Glass has a natural edge but is less durable for heavy work. Plastic can also be sharpened—if it is thick enough or hard enough—into a durable point for puncturing.
Spear Blades
8-23. To make a spear blade, use the same procedures to make the blade that are used to make a knife blade. Then select a shaft (a straight sapling) 4 to 5 feet long. The length should allow the ability to handle the spear easily and effectively. Attach the spear blade to the shaft using lashing. The preferred method is to split the handle, insert the blade, then wrap or lash it tightly (see figure 8-4).
8-24. To make a spear without adding a blade, select a 4- to 5-foot long straight hardwood shaft and shave one end to a point. If possible, fire-harden the point. Bamboo makes an excellent spear. Starting 3 to 4 inches back from the end used as the point, shave down the end at a 45-degree angle. Remember, to sharpen the edges, shave only the inner portion.
Arrow Points
8-25. To make an arrow point, use the same procedures as for making a stone knife blade. Chert, obsidian, flint, and shell-type stones are best for arrow points; broken glass also makes an effective arrow point. Isolated persons can fashion bone like stone by flaking.
Other Expedient Weapons
8-26. Other field-expedient weapons can be made including the throwing stick, archery equipment, bola, sling, slingshot, and sap. The following paragraphs explain how to make these weapons.
Throwing Stick
8-27. The throwing stick, commonly known as the rabbit stick, is very effective against small game (squirrels, chipmunks, and rabbits); however, isolated persons must practice the throwing technique for accuracy and speed. The rabbit stick itself is a blunt stick, naturally curved at about a 45-degree angle (see figure 8-5).
8-28. Select a stick with the desired angle from heavy hardwood such as oak. Shave off two opposite sides so that the stick is flat like a boomerang. To use the throwing stick, first align the target by extending the non-throwing arm in line with the mid- to lower-section of the target. Slowly and repeatedly raise the throwing arm up and back until the throwing stick crosses the back at about a 45-degree angle or is in line with the non-throwing hip. Bring the throwing arm forward until it is slightly above and parallel to the non-throwing arm. This will be the throwing stick’s release point. This method should be practiced repeatedly to attain accuracy.
Archery Equipment
8-29. To make a bow, select a hardwood stick about three feet long that is free of knots or limbs. Carefully scrape the large end down until it has the same pull as the small end. Careful examination will show the natural curve of the stick. Always scrape from the side that faces you or the bow will break the first time it is pulled. Dead, dry wood is preferable to green wood. To increase the pull, lash a second bow to the first, front to front, forming an “X” when viewed from the side. Attach the tips of the bows with cordage and only use a bowstring on one bow. (See figure 8-6 on page 8-8.)
8-30. Select arrows from the straightest dry sticks available. The arrows should be about half as long as the bow. Scrape each shaft smooth all around. You will probably have to straighten the shaft. You can bend an arrow straight by heating the shaft over hot coals. Do not allow the shaft to scorch or burn. Hold the shaft straight until it cools.
8-31. You can make arrowheads from bone, glass, metal, or pieces of rock. You can also sharpen and fire-harden the end of the shaft. Fire hardening is actually a misnomer. To fire-harden wood, hold it over hot coals or plunge it deep under the coals in the ashes, being careful not to burn or scorch the wood. The purpose of fire hardening is to harden the wood by drying the moisture out of it.
8-32. You must notch the ends of the arrows for the bowstring. Cut or file the notch; do not split it. Fletching (adding feathers to the notched end of an arrow) improves the arrow’s flight characteristics. Fletching is recommended but not necessary on a field-expedient arrow.
8-33. While it may be relatively simple to make a bow and arrow, it requires considerable practice to attain proficiency at hitting a target.
Bola
8-34. The bola is another field-expedient weapon that is easy to make (see figure 8-7 on page 8-9). It is especially effective for capturing running game or low-flying fowl in a flock. To use the bola, hold it by the center knot and twirl it above their head, then release the knot so that the bola flies toward the target. When the bola is released, the weighted cords will separate. These cords will wrap around and immobilize the fowl or animal it hits.
Sling
8-35. Make a sling by tying two pieces of cordage, each about 60 centimeters (24 inches) long, at opposite ends of a palm-sized piece of leather or cloth. Place a rock in the cloth, wrap one cord around your middle finger, and hold in your palm. Hold the other cord between your forefingers and thumb. To throw the rock, spin the sling several times in a circle and release the cord between your thumb and forefinger. Practice to gain proficiency. The sling is very effective against small game.
Sling Shot
8-36. To make a sling shot, find a Y in a green tree branch, then take some surgical tubing and tie it off at the tips of the Y. Then use a small piece of material to make the ammo seat and tie it off to the other end of the surgical tubing. Small rocks can be used for sling shot ammunition.
Sapp
8-37. A sapp is made by filling a sock part way with rocks or other heavy material (metal, batteries, lock, etc.). Use the Sapp like a weighted club.
Next Page : Cordage and Lashing