Monday, November 28, 2011

The Backwoodsman

It wasn't me this time, Phil found this magazine and brought it home. The Backwoodsman is mostly geared toward the "survivalists", I think.  Lots of gun and knife articles and a few woodsy type articles about building shelters but there was a lot of good pieces in it for the self sufficientist as well. Right at the beginning of the magazine in the "Letters" section there were two really great self sufficient bits. One told how you could use sweet gum balls in the bottom of your pots for drainage instead of heavier rocks. We have two sweet gum trees here right by the house and one is huge so having a use for the balls they drop is definitely a good thing. The other letter was about how to make your own fishing sinkers. The directions were easy to follow and anyone could do it. 
After the gun and knife articles there are some boat building articles, one for a bull boat and one to show you how to make--to me-- a fairly complicated paddle. 
It had a good article on container gardening and how to make a self watering bucket planter.  
It also had a great article on chickweed. We have chickweed everywhere here and I knew you could eat it but have never tried it. I often pull some up for my chickens to eat though as they love it as well. The article was very good  and from someone who's family actually eats chickweed on a regular basis.
There are small inserts in spots in the magazine such as: how to make a pit fireplace, a water filter, a composting toilet, how to put corks on lures in the tackle box to keep them from getting snarled etc. 
At the end of the magazine there is a section called Backwoodsman Woodslore where there are several interesting recipes such as: Sugar Cane Wine and Golden Apple Beer (which are now posted on the forum), Potato Soup, Frito Chilli Pie Casserole, and Corn Chowder.
This magazine is definitely worth getting just for the fact that it has things in it that you might not think of making or doing. Nothing wrong with broadening your horizons a bit.
You can order the current issue or a subscription (6 issues-$23) here.

5 comments:

  1. Wow, that is a big range of subject-matter to find in just one issue of one magazine. Something for everybody, by the sound of it.

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  2. Very cool magazine - they'd probably charge the earth to airmail it to South Africa LOL

    But I totally love magazines which give you information on how things were done in the days of yore. And this magazine sounds just up my street... All those "how to's" sob!

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  3. I long ago established with Phil that he not bring me home any "dead" flowers as a gift so he has to look around for other things. The other day he brought me home a magnesium fire starter. I guess I am rather weird because my fire starter pleased me more than any (dead)dozen roses ever could.

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  4. Practice with that fire starter! the time to learn is not when you need it! The magazine looks interesting. Love the - how-to's

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  5. I'm going to practice with it. I understand that it isn't like a match, it takes some practice and skill.

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