Alternate Uses for W&S Equipment (ideas?)

S

SkunkWerX

Joined
Jul 27, 2006
Messages
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The idea behind this post, is that everyone enjoys finding or learning about an alternate use for a piece of equipment, other than what is was Primarily designed for. It gives us greater flexibility without adding more and more gear.
A fixed blade knife's primary purpose is cutting, slicing, chopping, however the butt can be used to hammer and pound.

I'm guessing there are a ton of ideas and alternate uses for things out there that we may not know about. Time to share ideas and tricks.

Note: They may not be optimum, since they are alternative uses. Let's not dwell on that.

I will start the Alternate Uses List:

This one real pretty simple,
-The primary use for the Altoids Tin is to store our small PSK items or maybe fishing or FAK items.

Alternate use:
-Polish the inside of an Altoids Tin lid to be used as a makeshift signaling reflective device.


Reply with all those great ideas I know are lurking out there!!
 
Fishhooks can be turned into sewing needles and points for frog and fish gig poles. Also a needle can be made into a fishook
 
The ability to adapt a piece of equipment to meet numerous demands is perhaps the most fundamental attribut to a siccessfull survivalist...(other than attitude)
I don't know if this is exactly what your looking for but Using a large fish hook as a gaff or inversely on a fishing spear seems to be a nifty trick (although I've never tried it. also after watching survivroman do it I cut some bugee cord off an old pack and made a slingshot with it...It's illegal to hunt with a slingshot in my neck of the woods but it was pretty lethal on soda cans
 
great thread skunk...:thumbup: :thumbup:

over the years i have become a big fan os spiderwire fishing line..... it serves many different purposes while in the woods.... i used it to sew my shooting glove last year while bowhunting....

- repairing gear..
- sewing clothes.
- fishing.
- hafting hooks, knives, rocks etc. to sicks/poles for makeshift spears, arrows and/or gafs.
- tying your tarp down..

just to name a few....

mike
 
Plastic peanut butter jars: They are very lightweight and watertight. I've used them as containers in the pack for foodstuffs, packaged or not...including whole raw eggs packed in oatmeal or flour. They also could used as another container for gathering water.
 
Regarding spiderwire, should I grab the heaviest test weight possible for maximum lashing potential, or would that reduce it's effectiveness as general purpose fishing line (thicker and stiffer)?
 
Hand cleaner gel for firestarter--- and cleaning hands!

Bandana: signal, first aid (bandage, ankle support, sling, splint attachment), pot holder, berry bucket, water filter, dust mask, hat, towel, and washcloth.

Compass with mirror: navigation and signalling (and you get to see who is lost).

Safety pins: repairs, hooks, splinter removal, lanyard mounts.

24ga wire: snares, repairs, hanging pots, fishing lures.

Duct tape (three threads later....)

And, of course, the poor little SAK
 
Thomas Linton said:
Plastic whistle, if it comes to it, burns well. (Peanut butter jar lids, Coldwood?)
Click to expand...

TL, we could almost start a "flammables" thread. :thumbup:
plastic whistles, car tires, clothing, etc.
If it's not metal or h2o, then it just might be tinder or perhaps kindling. :D
 
SkunkWerX said:
TL, we could almost start a "flammables" thread. :thumbup:
plastic whistles, car tires, clothing, etc.
If it's not metal or h2o, then it just might be tinder or perhaps kindling. :D
Click to expand...

Magnesium. Gotcha!!! :D

(And HD will show up to mention sodium 'cause he's from WBGV :D :D :D)

(One of my kids went out to find tinder for a fire-building exercise. He returned with a discarded McD's bag. "Look at the spoons!" He had me. I'd told them to improvise and adapt.)
 
Metal or not, test it for flammability! Just about anything will burn eventually with enough heat. (Lava) :)
 
you know I must've improvised equipment a thousand times but I can hardly think of any now.....I made a spoon lure once out of an actual spoon broke off the handle and poked a hole in both ends put a swivel in one and a treble hook in the other. And I once used a fishing pole WIth a heavy jig to retrieve a few puddle ducks I had shot from an icy pond... a little grusome but it got the job done
 
Pack Frames on exterals can be turned int strechers or sleds

Internal frames supports can be splints

Canteens or hydration bladders can be emergency flotation devices for river fording.

I have seen a picture of a flashlight reflector cup with a cigarette butt in it as a fire starter but have never tried it personally.
 
Dental floss makes a great strong twine, and I suppose the waxed might be good tinder, but I never tried that.

Use paracord for bootlaces, and I keep my buck hartsook in my boot under the insoles. (hard to loose your boots, you could put fish hooks in there, lots of stuff)

Use an aluminum tube for a walking stick and jam it with useful stuff, lighter, tinder, small blade, etc. use a stick to poke it out, plug the ends with rubber corks, if its thin enough it could be a blowgun.

Use one of those thin metal water bottles and it can be used to boil water and cook in.
 
EmsRescueGuy said:
Pack Frames on exterals can be turned int strechers or sleds....

Canteens or hydration bladders can be emergency flotation devices for river fording. ......
Click to expand...

Haven't thought about this stuff in years.

Long sleeve shirts and cut poles make good stretchers.

I've used a poncho for a sled-- got going pretty fast downhill too. the snow was too deep to walk. It isn't real good for the poncho :o

Tie your pant legs shut and capture air in them for flotation. I always carry a big garbage sack too. Put your clothes in it to stay dry as well as float.
 
Okay, here's another one, bendable wire: fence wire, coat hanger wire, copper or aluminum electrical wire. A foot or two of any of these rolled up in a kit would be useful in camp for making hooks for hanging pots over a fire, hanging candle lanterns, or hooks for lifting pots out of a fire (of course a notched stick will do the same); lashing things together.

Coat hanger wire is stiff enough that it could be bent into a double pronged spear for fishing, frogging, or gigging.
 
Jigsaw blades - replace the striker for your firesteel with these. Choose whatever blade pattern that your multi tool lacks. Cut barbs into the back end to make fish / frog spears. My PSK has 3 different blade types chained to the firesteel.

Fish Hooks - kind of gorey, but for survival small animals and birds will swallow a baited hook just like a fish will. (Thanks to my short attention span nephew for leaving his pole against a tree for that discovery!). maybe even file off the barb with your multi tool and have a sutcher (OUCH!!)

Gill Nets - Never tried, but reportedly a survival gill net ( http://www.bestglide.com/Gill_Net_Info.html ) works well on birds, and also as a sort of drag snare for small game. Also, stretch out to dry clothes, makeshift gear bag / pack.

Bic Pen - I wrap some duct tape, some electrical tape around it until it's about 1 inch. Take the ink cartrage out and attach to a cordless drill to wind some dental floss on it until it fits snug back in the tube. leave room at the other end for a couple needles, and some small fish hooks.

Dental Floss - clean teeth (duh), good twine, good fishing line. Take the spools out of the trial size and you get like 12 yards on a tiny roll. Sorry, even the waxed kind makes crappy tinder, must be synthetic. I carry 4 in my psk, takes up less space than a AA battery.

Cigarettes - (YUCK) makes good tinder - one match will make a red ember for like 8 minutes. Only problem is, you have to puff on it to get that to work! But truth is, there is a pretty fair chance that theres a smoker near in your group at any given time.

Paper - Line your PSK with it, makes ok tinder, you can write emergency notes on it.

Surgical tubing, 1/4" by 6 ft. - This is what they make spear fishing rigs and slingshot bands with, but a little thinner. Also, the tubing is a good drinking straw. Also good for aiming at fire to blow an ember into flame, easier than crouching an inch away & getting smoke in your eyes, and blowing your tinder all over the place. Packs small, and light. I bought a roll from a medical supply.

Cotton balls - use as packing for your psk. stopps rattling, great tinder. Also, soaked in vaseline, packed in a film canister, great long burning tinder. Plus the vaseline makes good lip balm, good to pack wounds with too (better than nothing, that is). Now that I think of it, I'll have to experiment with Neosporin to replace Vaseline - I wonder if it burns?

Film Canisters - good for packing stuff for your psk. makes a usable fishing bobber too.

Re-lighting / trick birthday candles - They're easy to light and tiny, pretty good in wind. poke in the ground and use to dry tinder as you nurse your tiny fire into a self sustaining one. They burn for about 5 minutes or so.

2 inch brad nails - good for all kinds of stuff.

Thats all off the top of my head!
 
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