Back to Basics: Survival Skills Our Grandpas Taught Us

Learn what Survival Skills Our Grandpas Taught Us today in this guest post.

Everyone remembers that time when they spent their summers with their Grandfather. He taught you many chores, which you didn’t know would still be useful to this day.

The timeless skills of being self-reliant and living a simple life still apply today.

We were taught basic, but useful survival skills. Let’s look back to the survival skills and other things your Grandpa had that still work around the homestead.

Basic Woodworking

Our grandfathers were so knowledgeable about woodworking that they were able to fix things around the house. These are some of the skills we ought to know if disaster strikes. Knowing how to build a shelter is one way to survive.

Some of the woodworking skills that we should know would be:

-Building a ladder for picking fruits or fixing roofs

-Fixing furniture, like chairs and tables

-Crafting wooden spoons and storage boxes

-Creating bows and boomerangs as survival weapons

-Creating a fishing pole for crappie fishing and other types of fishing

Foraging

One of the most adventurous activities of your childhood may have been foraging, which is an essential survival skill. You would walk around your grandparents’ farm and pick up cool looking sticks, or pretty rocks to show to your Grandma. Maybe you even found some wild mushrooms or chickens’ eggs.

This was your education on foraging and you didn’t even know it. You were taught what can be eaten and what to avoid. You probably learned that wild mushrooms can be poisonous and not to eat them if you were uncertain.

It is important that you are knowledgeable about what you can and cannot eat in the wild. Because you might come across items that look edible but are indeed poisonous. To hone this skill, look into getting a book that covers what you can and cannot eat in the wild.

Mowing with a Scythe

This is probably one of the few things that you truly looked forward to in you summers. Farms consists of vast acres of land where there may not be enough electricity to mow it in its entirety. That’s why the scythe is one of the farmer’s most trusted tools.

If you didn’t have to use a scythe during your childhood, here’s a quick lesson on operating one. The use of the scythe is actually quite simple if you give enough time to practice. The first thing you do is put the blade on the ground, in front of you, hold it with both hands. Your non-dominant hand will be on the top handle and your dominant is placed on the middle part, for power.

Rotate your torso far back to create a momentum and twist your body to create a sweeping motion. Your feet should remain firmly on the ground. Expect to be sore for a couple of days! This is an important skill for survival especially if there if your mower dies and there are now mechanics around.

Planting a Garden

Most of our grandpas loved their garden. It is a way to relax and to just get away for a while. The garden has many seasons: planting, growing and harvesting. The kitchen will be filled with corn, eggplants, beans, cucumbers, squash, and peppers.

The skill needed to have a productive vegetable garden like this is to that you should be able to use a rake and a hoe. Farming is fun and fulfilling. It doesn’t have to be difficult. All you need to do is to be committed to taking care of your plants, to have adequate knowledge in using farm tools, and know how to use a good kitchen knife when the time comes to chop and preserve them.

Taking Care of Farm Animals

Taking care of farm animals is not that hard, as long as you don’t plan on raising a large number of them. You can have a cow for milk, some pigs, and a number of chickens and you’re good to go.

Chickens are very easy to take care of. All they need is water, grass, and corn. Other fowls such as geese, ducks, and turkeys are also fairly easy to keep happy.

If you want a more challenging farm animal, try raising pigs. They don’t mind being in a small, but sufficient space, as long as there are enough food and water, especially during winter time.

These are just some of the numerous survival skills that our grandpas taught us. There’s still a lot to learn, but we can start brushing up on the basics. That way, we can share something with our grandchildren as well.

About the Author

Jack Neely is a fitness expert, survivalist, and world traveler. He’s been in several life or death situations, and he’s making an effort to spread his knowledge around the web to help others survive these situations as well. He’s also on the content team at The Tactical Guru.