Preparedness and Survival Skills

I'm an okay flint knapper. At least, I can make survival grade tools, if not pretty. Here's a point I made from a tabular piece of unheattreated Mounds (Lafayette) chert/gravel.

View attachment 14029
When I took a class on flint knapping, we used a lot of obsidian. You can get a heck of a fine edge with it if you want. I had read about some archaeologist who was having surgery. Since the edge of an obsidian knife is even finer than the best steel scalpels, this guy had surgery with the obsidian. Of course he had to sign all kinds of waivers due to it not being sterile, but he had a mighty fine incision with virtually no scarring.
 
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When I took a class on flint knapping, we used a lot of obsidian. You can get a heck of a fine edge with it if you want. I had read about some archaeologist who was having surgery. Since the edge of an obsidian knife is even finer than the best steel scalpels, this guy had surgery with the obsidian. Of course he had to sign all kinds of waivers due to it not being sterile, but he had a mighty fine incision with virtually no scarring.
That was Don Crabtree, and yes, obsidian has a cryptocrystalline structure, allowing the edges to be much sharper than any steel razor.
 
Top Barter Items in a Post-Collapse Society

Medical Items
This includes items like bandages, pain medications, antibiotics, anti-diarrhea medicines, cough medications, and syringes. Stockpiling some of these items might prove difficult, since you will likely need a prescription for antibiotics and hardcore pain meds.

I suggest you read this article on the best 9 survival antibiotics so you know which ones to buy.

Also, this article about alternatives to antibiotics tells you which antibiotics don’t require a prescription.

Alcohol
When SHTF, a lot of people are going to respond by getting absolutely drunk so they can disappear into oblivion. Alcohol is going to become a very valuable currency. If it seems too depressing to stockpile alcohol as a barter item, also consider the fact that alcohol has a lot of survival uses – like as a pain killer, disinfectant, fuel, and more.

Sanitary Pads and Tampons
I’m glad my wife uses a menstrual cup (you can learn about those here), so there is no need for us to stockpile bulky sanitary pads or tampons. But most ladies do use these products, and they are quickly going to disappear from supermarket shelves after the collapse. This will bring the phrase “on the rag” back to its original meaning! You can bet that women will eagerly exchange items for some sanitary pads and tampons.

Food
I’d be careful about bartering food in a post-collapse world. If you offer to barter food, it means that you’ve got excess food – which means you are going to be a target for thieves and looters! Instead, it might be smarter to barter seeds (which you collected from your thriving survival garden).

The most in-demand food barter items are going to be the ones which aren’t easy to produce yourself. For example, sugar will be in high demand. You might want to learn how to make your own flour as this will probably be very valuable. You can even make flour from acorns!

Nails and Screws
These will be necessary for rebuilding and boarding up windows/doors which have been broken from the disaster or looting. Tip: You can probably pry nails out of abandoned structures, hammer them back into shape, and use them for bartering.

Weapons and Ammo
While these are also going to be very valuable barter items, I wouldn’t use them for bartering! Once you trade the ammo, then the person could just shoot you and take the rest of your stockpile. Keep your weapons for yourself and out of the hands of potential enemies!

Shoes
This barter item doesn’t get talked about a lot. However, I am pretty sure it will be one of the most sought-after items in a post-collapse society. Why? Because I’ve got friends who work with refugees and as disaster rescue workers. They say that the thing people always need most is shoes (all of that walking/fleeing takes a toll on their shoes). Shoes are also something which you can’t really make yourself easily.

Cord and Rope
Cord is one of the most important survival items because it can be used for everything from fixing a broken shoelace to creating a survival shelter. I always keep paracord in my survival pack and have an everyday carry paracord bracelet.

Did you know that you can make rope out of dead plants? Here is a good tutorial.

Fuel
In December 1942, a year after the US entered WWII, mandatory gas rationing was put into place. Most people were only allowed 3 gallons of gasoline per week. You can bet that people started selling off those gas rations for ridiculous prices!

Gasoline is already a valuable commodity, but “black gold” will take on a whole new meaning when SHTF. It isn’t exactly a smart idea to stockpile gasoline (fire hazard!). However, you can learn how to make your own biodiesel. Also, if you master alternative energies like how to make solar panels, your skills will be in hot demand and you can barter them instead.

Candles and Lighting
There are all sorts of ways to make off-grid lighting (some of which I talk about here). The average person isn’t going to know about these those and be left in the dark when the grid goes down. You could become pretty “rich” in the post-apocalypse world by learning how to make your own oil lamps from old vegetable oil and bartering them off.
 
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Top Barter Items in a Post-Collapse Society

Medical Items
This includes items like bandages, pain medications, antibiotics, anti-diarrhea medicines, cough medications, and syringes. Stockpiling some of these items might prove difficult, since you will likely need a prescription for antibiotics and hardcore pain meds.

I suggest you read this article on the best 9 survival antibiotics so you know which ones to buy.

Also, this article about alternatives to antibiotics tells you which antibiotics don’t require a prescription.

Alcohol
When SHTF, a lot of people are going to respond by getting absolutely drunk so they can disappear into oblivion. Alcohol is going to become a very valuable currency. If it seems too depressing to stockpile alcohol as a barter item, also consider the fact that alcohol has a lot of survival uses – like as a pain killer, disinfectant, fuel, and more.

Sanitary Pads and Tampons
I’m glad my wife uses a menstrual cup (you can learn about those here), so there is no need for us to stockpile bulky sanitary pads or tampons. But most ladies do use these products, and they are quickly going to disappear from supermarket shelves after the collapse. This will bring the phrase “on the rag” back to its original meaning! You can bet that women will eagerly exchange items for some sanitary pads and tampons.

Food
I’d be careful about bartering food in a post-collapse world. If you offer to barter food, it means that you’ve got excess food – which means you are going to be a target for thieves and looters! Instead, it might be smarter to barter seeds (which you collected from your thriving survival garden).

The most in-demand food barter items are going to be the ones which aren’t easy to produce yourself. For example, sugar will be in high demand. You might want to learn how to make your own flour as this will probably be very valuable. You can even make flour from acorns!

Nails and Screws
These will be necessary for rebuilding and boarding up windows/doors which have been broken from the disaster or looting. Tip: You can probably pry nails out of abandoned structures, hammer them back into shape, and use them for bartering.

Weapons and Ammo
While these are also going to be very valuable barter items, I wouldn’t use them for bartering! Once you trade the ammo, then the person could just shoot you and take the rest of your stockpile. Keep your weapons for yourself and out of the hands of potential enemies!

Shoes
This barter item doesn’t get talked about a lot. However, I am pretty sure it will be one of the most sought-after items in a post-collapse society. Why? Because I’ve got friends who work with refugees and as disaster rescue workers. They say that the thing people always need most is shoes (all of that walking/fleeing takes a toll on their shoes). Shoes are also something which you can’t really make yourself easily.

Cord and Rope
Cord is one of the most important survival items because it can be used for everything from fixing a broken shoelace to creating a survival shelter. I always keep paracord in my survival pack and have an everyday carry paracord bracelet.

Did you know that you can make rope out of dead plants? Here is a good tutorial.

Fuel
In December 1942, a year after the US entered WWII, mandatory gas rationing was put into place. Most people were only allowed 3 gallons of gasoline per week. You can bet that people started selling off those gas rations for ridiculous prices!

Gasoline is already a valuable commodity, but “black gold” will take on a whole new meaning when SHTF. It isn’t exactly a smart idea to stockpile gasoline (fire hazard!). However, you can learn how to make your own biodiesel. Also, if you master alternative energies like how to make solar panels, your skills will be in hot demand and you can barter them instead.

Candles and Lighting
There are all sorts of ways to make off-grid lighting (some of which I talk about here). The average person isn’t going to know about these those and be left in the dark when the grid goes down. You could become pretty “rich” in the post-apocalypse world by learning how to make your own oil lamps from old vegetable oil and bartering them off.


Another thing is skills, what skill sets do yo have that ppl and communities will need , can you grow food, farm and teach others to do so, construction skills for rebuilding, blacksmithing skills will be in high demand, hunting and tracking skills,
What do you have to contribute to the community. And what else could you learn.
 
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Another thing is skills, what skill sets do yo have that ppl and communities will need , can you grow food, farm and teach others to do so, construction skills for rebuilding, blacksmithing skills will be in high demand, hunting and tracking skills,
What do you have to contribute to the community. And what else could you learn.
Definitely! Medical skills is a huge one too. Reloading. Gunsmith.
 
There's lots of salt springs in various parts of America. Native Americans would make large shallow pottery vessels to collect the mineral water and let it evaporate, and collect the salt, and trade to areas that weren't fortunate enough to have naturally occurring salt. It's easy to identify a salt spring. The first thing you're going to see around one is numerous large fragments of textile impressed pottery, like this one. View attachment 14031

oh,Bob..that is fascinating!
 
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Top Barter Items in a Post-Collapse Society

Medical Items
This includes items like bandages, pain medications, antibiotics, anti-diarrhea medicines, cough medications, and syringes. Stockpiling some of these items might prove difficult, since you will likely need a prescription for antibiotics and hardcore pain meds.

I suggest you read this article on the best 9 survival antibiotics so you know which ones to buy.

Also, this article about alternatives to antibiotics tells you which antibiotics don’t require a prescription.

Alcohol
When SHTF, a lot of people are going to respond by getting absolutely drunk so they can disappear into oblivion. Alcohol is going to become a very valuable currency. If it seems too depressing to stockpile alcohol as a barter item, also consider the fact that alcohol has a lot of survival uses – like as a pain killer, disinfectant, fuel, and more.

Sanitary Pads and Tampons
I’m glad my wife uses a menstrual cup (you can learn about those here), so there is no need for us to stockpile bulky sanitary pads or tampons. But most ladies do use these products, and they are quickly going to disappear from supermarket shelves after the collapse. This will bring the phrase “on the rag” back to its original meaning! You can bet that women will eagerly exchange items for some sanitary pads and tampons.

Food
I’d be careful about bartering food in a post-collapse world. If you offer to barter food, it means that you’ve got excess food – which means you are going to be a target for thieves and looters! Instead, it might be smarter to barter seeds (which you collected from your thriving survival garden).

The most in-demand food barter items are going to be the ones which aren’t easy to produce yourself. For example, sugar will be in high demand. You might want to learn how to make your own flour as this will probably be very valuable. You can even make flour from acorns!

Nails and Screws
These will be necessary for rebuilding and boarding up windows/doors which have been broken from the disaster or looting. Tip: You can probably pry nails out of abandoned structures, hammer them back into shape, and use them for bartering.

Weapons and Ammo
While these are also going to be very valuable barter items, I wouldn’t use them for bartering! Once you trade the ammo, then the person could just shoot you and take the rest of your stockpile. Keep your weapons for yourself and out of the hands of potential enemies!

Shoes
This barter item doesn’t get talked about a lot. However, I am pretty sure it will be one of the most sought-after items in a post-collapse society. Why? Because I’ve got friends who work with refugees and as disaster rescue workers. They say that the thing people always need most is shoes (all of that walking/fleeing takes a toll on their shoes). Shoes are also something which you can’t really make yourself easily.

Cord and Rope
Cord is one of the most important survival items because it can be used for everything from fixing a broken shoelace to creating a survival shelter. I always keep paracord in my survival pack and have an everyday carry paracord bracelet.

Did you know that you can make rope out of dead plants? Here is a good tutorial.

Fuel
In December 1942, a year after the US entered WWII, mandatory gas rationing was put into place. Most people were only allowed 3 gallons of gasoline per week. You can bet that people started selling off those gas rations for ridiculous prices!

Gasoline is already a valuable commodity, but “black gold” will take on a whole new meaning when SHTF. It isn’t exactly a smart idea to stockpile gasoline (fire hazard!). However, you can learn how to make your own biodiesel. Also, if you master alternative energies like how to make solar panels, your skills will be in hot demand and you can barter them instead.

Candles and Lighting
There are all sorts of ways to make off-grid lighting (some of which I talk about here). The average person isn’t going to know about these those and be left in the dark when the grid goes down. You could become pretty “rich” in the post-apocalypse world by learning how to make your own oil lamps from old vegetable oil and bartering them off.
LOVE THIS STUFF!
 
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