Improvised & First Stage Water Filtration.

[Mistwalker]

When I left the house this morning the plan was to try out the Mega warthorn that Bryan sent for me to check out, and work on a trap design with some of the Honey Locust thorn he sent me. However, Mother Nature is not always cooperative and the rains set in again. Checking the forecast and learning that today was supposed to be better than the storms predicted for tomorrow I decided to not let the day be a complete loss and headed on into the woods anyway. Since the topic of first stage and improvised water filtration was brought up here yesterday... today seemed like a good day to work on that subject. So, following is one method using commonly available household materials I have used in the past.


The materials used are a jar for collection, a coffee filter for obvious reasons, a bandanna to serve as a basket for the filter (which will also filter out larger particulates on it's own), some cordage...in this case some narrow webbing but fishing line or a boot lace would work just fine, a zip lock bag, and a random piece of cloth.

The water source is a small lake on top of the southern end of Walden's Ridge.

Someone brought up that coffee filters are not self supporting yesterday and that's pretty well right, they really are not when it comes to larger mouthed vessels...but a little cordage and some clothe like a bandanna or a shirt can solve that part of the problem. For the filter I placed a coffee filter on a bandanna and pushed both into the mouth of the jar.

If you have your coffee filters stored in a zip lock bag as I do then that bag will work really well for the initial water collection. Then just pour the water through your filter.

and the same methods will work for small-mouthed bottles as well, and with a smaller mouthed bottle a coffee filter alone will support itself if placed in the opening so that it balances itself.

If you do not have a zip lock or another container a piece of cloth (needs to have been washed enough times that no dye rinses out in this process) can be used to soak up water like a sponge....

...and then wring it out over collection bottle. Now the water is ready for purification. This is also a good way to extend the lifespan of the ceramic filter of a mechanical water filter.

There are other improvised methods, you can use bamboo...or a plastic bottle, some grasses, some sand, and some gravels. It all depends on what you have available at the time of need.



Here's a quick shot of the lake as I was leaving.

 

[sicily02]

Great job mistwalker. Great pics as always and the review and info said it spot on.

Man I love the knife too LOL

Bryan

 

[Mistwalker]

Great job mistwalker. Great pics as always and the review and info said it spot on.

Man I love the knife too LOL

Bryan

Thanks Bryan, and um, I'm loving it too

 

[Mistwalker]

I suppose I should have thought more about this one and realized it wasn't knife-focused enough to place here.

I'm thinking maybe I should just delete the photos, lock it, and thereby save the bandwidth (which I seem to be going through faster than I can create accounts) for something of more interest like the next knife that's coming.

 

[udtjim]

Good report. Maybe I am wrong but this is a wilderness and survival forum It should not need to be about knives at all, If you can't survive without a knife, then just the knife alone probably won't help you much. A fire can save your life but you don't need a knife to start a fire, making a trap is easier with a knife but you don't need a knife to make a trap. The forum does not say Wilderness and survival with knife skills. JMO. maybe I am wrong.

Keep it up, there are plenty of threads about just knives already.

 

[TheGame]

There is no need for knife content, really, it just adds to the post. I, for one, am glad you posted this, as I have been wondering why a lot of people have coffee filters with no way to sustain them. This helped that greatly.

 

[sicily02]

Oh yea keep the knife pic LOL. I love it LOL.

We all like to see them and see the wilderness in your area and all the places that the others post too.

Good stuff man keep it comming LOL

Bryan

 

[udtjim]

Don't get me wrong folks, I like knife pictures as much as the next guy. I sometimes think however that to much importance is placed on knives when it comes to wilderness survival, I think it is important to know things that help you survive in case you end up with no knife at all. I knives are great tools but they don't know Sh**, that part is up to you. I understand that this is the BLADE forums but I like to see other survival tips too.:thumbup:

Also practice your survival skills with a blind old on, or one arm or leg or both tied behind you, These are real conditions that you well may find yourself in after a wilderness accident or civil unrest case. JMO

 

[Mistwalker]

Good report. Maybe I am wrong but this is a wilderness and survival forum It should not need to be about knives at all, If you can't survive without a knife, then just the knife alone probably won't help you much. A fire can save your life but you don't need a knife to start a fire, making a trap is easier with a knife but you don't need a knife to make a trap. The forum does not say Wilderness and survival with knife skills. JMO. maybe I am wrong.

Keep it up, there are plenty of threads about just knives already.


Also practice your survival skills with a blind old on, or one arm or leg or both tied behind you, These are real conditions that you well may find yourself in after a wilderness accident or civil unrest case.

Thanks Jim, I agree, while I love knives very much they are still only a tool.

One of the things I have been studying and one of the purposes disigned into the next knife is one handed fire starting.

I did use the knife to cut the cordage

There is no need for knife content, really, it just adds to the post. I, for one, am glad you posted this, as I have been wondering why a lot of people have coffee filters with no way to sustain them. This helped that greatly.

Thanks TG, glad it was some help.

Oh yea keep the knife pic LOL. I love it LOL.

We all like to see them and see the wilderness in your area and all the places that the others post too.

Good stuff man keep it comming LOL

Bryan

Oh, you know how much I like knives and look for pretty much any excuse to put one to work

 

[Joben]

Thanks Mistwalker.

One thing I thought of the other day after I posted my question is briefly holding water in a cloth. Not as a sponge, but as a sort of bag.
It will flow though, but if we're going for pre-filter that isn't a problem...

I gotta see if it's possible to scoop up water in my bandannas, and if so how long it holds it.

 

[Mistwalker]

Thanks Mistwalker.

One thing I thought of the other day after I posted my question is briefly holding water in a cloth. Not as a sponge, but as a sort of bag.
It will flow though, but if we're going for pre-filter that isn't a problem...

I gotta see if it's possible to scoop up water in my bandannas, and if so how long it holds it.

No problem man, I like to study and experiment. Tightly woven cloth will hold water to an extent, yes it will filter through though. For that you would need more than one bandanna though right?

Cool since there is more interest than I thought I can maybe go into the bamboo filter. It should appeal to more people as it is much easier done with a knife

 

[udtjim]

When I was a kid and we did not have running water, we used to catch the water off the roof of the house and it would run into a cistern. Before it went into that we ran it through a filter which was just a cement box with charcoal that we made at home. That was all the filtering it would get. We cut ice off the stock dams to stock the ice house in the spring and used the smokehouse as a freezer for the winter.

 

[Joben]

No problem man, I like to study and experiment. Tightly woven cloth will hold water to an extent, yes it will filter through though. For that you would need more than one bandanna though right?

Cool since there is more interest than I thought I can maybe go into the bamboo filter. It should appeal to more people as it is much easier done with a knife

More than one? I donno...

I was thinking scooping up water, and then letting it drain through, and catching the stream in your container.

Kinda like that old British military filter that was basically a big canvas bag.

 

[Mistwalker]

When I was a kid and we did not have running water, we used to catch the water off the roof of the house and it would run into a cistern. Before it went into that we ran it through a filter which was just a cement box with charcoal that we made at home. That was all the filtering it would get. We cut ice off the stock dams to stock the ice house in the spring and used the smokehouse as a freezer for the winter.

Sounds like the stories I heard from my father of his young life before the marine Corps.

I remember not having running water a lot when I was young but it was "in-camp" not at home. We fished commercially, trapped, and hunted and would be away from home for the week and then go back home for the weekend.

However I have lived off the grid a few times in my older life and collected rain water in barrels. I would fill up all my jugs from one particular barrel that was mostly under cover while it was still raining, and then have the full barrels as well to last till the next rain. I would filter and boil all I would consume and just boil what I used for bathing. What I used for the toilet got no treatment at all.