Skill Check - gotta have

thatmguy

thatmguy

Joined
Mar 26, 2000
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Well, I just found out the hard way the I better be able to use all of my "tools" with only my weak hand. I broke 2 bones in my arm and 2 in my wrist. May only be 4-6 weeks, but could be 14-16 depending on the wrist.

Can you start a fire?
Can you shoot your pistol well enough to take game?
Can you chop for fire and shelter?
Tie knots?
Take care of personal hygiene?

Luckily I can now find this out in the comfort of civilization.

Don't wait until the wilderness to find out.

Mike
 
Ouch. Sorry to hear it. I had a humbling skill check a couple of years ago when I broke the index (trigger,pointer) finger on BOTH of my hands. Wow, had I been taking them for granted! They were worse than useless because, with the splints and pins, they were tender and in the way. I had so much trouble, I went and stayed with my parents for a couple of weeks. Mom and Dad never retire. :) I know I couldn't have cut it in the bush. It was a very sobering wake-up call. Really, about the only thing I gained from the experience was an understanding of how badly being injured in the wild would suck. That is a small mental edge, but not much to draw on physically.

I hope for your hasty healing!
 
Interestingly, this is similar to my thoughts on why many predators tend to stay away from humans. Yes, if, for example, a large wildcat of some sort jumps a human, it has a good chance of victory, but at what cost? A minor injury to the cat (similar to a relatively minor injury of a broken index finger or two) which is not directly life-threatening could very well make hunting or some other survival skill more difficult resulting in increasing weakness and eventual vulnerability, whether through starvation, competition, or other predators.

Just a random pondering...
 
Good point. Most of us never think of ambidexterity (being able to use both hands equally) as a survival skill, but I guess that it could be really important.

I wonder how hard it is for an adult to retrain their brain, nerves and muscles in this way? I'm gonna have to try it...
 
Good question.

Can I start a fire one handed?

It would be easy to use my lighter one handed, assuming my lighter is working.

My ferrocium rod would be far more difficult to effectively use one handed, but I think I could do it. I would try to drive my knife solidly into a large piece of wood very close to my tinder. Then, with the blade immobilized, I would scrape the ferro rod against it. I'm sure this would be a hassle, but I think it would work. I'll give it a try.

Preparing kindling and fuel wood doesn't seem like it would be much problem one-handed.

Preparing tinder one-handed sounds pretty tough. I guess I would try to immobilize a piece of dry wood partway under a large rock (or perhaps between my feet), then shave off fine shavings. Fluffing a cotton ball or crushing trioxane into powder or collecting foxtails or cattails shouldn't be too tough one handed.

Can I shoot a pistol well enough to take game, one handed?

I am certain I could. A slingshot, however, may present insurmountable difficulties. That's worth keeping in mind, since I sometimes choose to bring a slingshot.

Can I chop for fire and shelter one handed?

I think so. I think it would be more inconvenient than truly troublesome.

Can I tie knots one handed?

That sounds pretty tough. I should practice. I do think I can learn to do so. I have prehensile feet.

Can I take care of personal hygiene one handed?

Personal hygiene? Whats that? I think I heard some city slicker mention it, once.
 
Originally posted by Evolute
Preparing tinder one-handed sounds pretty tough. I guess I would try to immobilize a piece of dry wood partway under a large rock (or perhaps between my feet), then shave off fine shavings.
Click to expand...
Andrew Lynch described to me how he makes tinder by taking a stick of fatwood and bracing it against his chest to scrape tinder. This allowed him to use both hands on his blade as a drawknife to scrape shavings from the fatwood. Stuck with using only one hand, a person could likewise brace your tinderstick against your chest, abdomen, thigh, armpit, etc. while scraping shavings from the stick.
 
When I broke my right hand I had a hard enough time putting a dip of Copenhagen in!
 
havewnt tried one handed knots left handed, but I can pass your other tests...
for the fire just carry a zippo...
and as to tinder, spyderco knives and your chest or leg
chopping wood I have a 5lb hatchet in my pack
I CAN shoot a pistol with either hand, but normally shoot a rifle(again either hand)
 
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