Subject: FREE survival tool

From: [email-masked] (Stephen Northcutt)
Date: Tue, 27 Sep 1994 13:13:23 GMT

Somewhere in the 23rd Psalm it is written: Thy rod and Thy staff
  they comfort me.

So what is a rod?  It is one of man's oldest survival tools, still fully
in use in many parts of the world.  Basically it is just a sapling pulled
out of the ground, the rootsystem cutaway to just the ball at the base of
the sapling.  So you kinda have a walking stick with a ball at the top,
so what?

Its a walking stick.  LEARN to use a walking stick in the woods, handy for
clearing those deepwoods spiderwebs, helpful for when your foot falls into
a hole where a tree has rotted out.  Very nice when clambering around on
rocks and you can't see the spot you are about to put your hand, or for
lifting up and old piece of sheet metal :)

Its a club, holding the skinny end and swinging the ball yields quite a
lot of *whap*.

Its a whip, holding the ball end and swinging the skinny end, yields a
very satisfying *swish*, that with a bit of practice will kill a snake
with one hit (so they say) or cut grass.

Its a projectile, not David's sling, but excellent fun to send ball end
first whistling through the air.

For further info, see Phillip Keller's Shepherd looks at Psalm 23

The same principle applies to bigger saplings to produce a club.  I have
read that such clubs were used to drive the iron railroad stakes (one
of the woodwright books?) but I forget the name of such a club.

They certainly have been used throughout the history of warfare for bopping
people, the demented among you can adorn the root head of your club with bits
of rusty steel and broken glass for a real survivalist look :)

What is the best wood? HAHAHA  I have had good fun with dogwood (dense and
heavy) hickory (whippy and tough) and beech (my personal favorite).

How to: in the fall when the sap is down.  Select a straight enough sapling
(bottom 3 -4 ft straight) 1.5" or so diameter.  With a shovel dig 8 - 12"
around the base, reach down and pull up (very easy with dogwood), brush off
the dirt.  Let dry 2 weeks (I know I know patience is so hard to come by).
With an expendable hatchet trim the ball.  Using your knife (try to beat the
mora know you randall heads) carve it to a comfortable_in_your_hand knob.
Play with it for a few minutes to get it out of your system, cover the knob
with a plastic bag, for a day or two more.  If you want to take the bark off
the sapling wait one more week at least.  WARNING: greenwood gets very unhappy
in heated surburban homes till it dries a bit, leave it in the garage for at
least a while. 
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