Homemade Survival Gear

I feel like I've been attending Youtube University lately.  In recent weeks I have learned how to make notches in stakes, how to tie my jungle boots up to minimize snagging the laces in the underbrush, how to cheaply package matches in a waterproof, air-tight container, how to select a knife, and lately, how to make a pocket knife holder and one of those survival bracelets from 550 cord that have become so popular.

The point is - you can do it.  All it takes is time, materials and the willingness to learn.  The bracelet took about 15 or 20 minutes to tie.  I think I spent about the same amount of time stitching up the knife holder.

I used 550 cord inner thread to stitch up an old piece of grey webbing that I scavenged from one of the kids discarded, disassembled and parted-out car seats.  The bracelet is fairly ubiquitous by now as they have become fund raisers for kids to make.  I was mostly happy to learn how to do it as I love knots and always enjoy learning a practical application of a new and easy knot.

On one hand, this was cheap entertainment and fed my "be productive" itch while I'm recovering from a crap-tastic head cold.  On the other, these were worth making because they have real utility in a camping or hiking scenario.  The crappy D-ring on the sheath there is a hammered hard-drive platter spacer (aluminum).  It turned out to be too small so I got rid of it and will probably put a cord loop on the bottom there for attaching other handy items, like a fire flint or compass.

Here are links to the videos in question.

Tying a bracelet from 550 Paracord

Making your own knife carrier

 I want to thank Marcos Ronald Roman Gonçalves for his many excellent survival posts over at the Survival Community on G+.  It's a wealth of free education that will pay real dividends in the field.