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Letter Re: Learning Old-Fashioned Trades and Skills
Jim
Concerning the article that Lisa sent: "Blacksmith-collector of forgotten
trades": Many survival minded folks consider learning a basic trade to
help them through TEOTWAWKI.
Most commonly they think farmer, gardener, blacksmith, bullet reloading.
But there are many other basic skills and trades that will be highly prized
and needed if the electricity goes off.
Tinsmithing, broom and basket making, wheel and barrel making, pewter casting,
weaving and spinning, candle and soap making, harness, horse collar, boot and
shoe making, hide tanning, etc., will all be needed. Many of those trades need
specialized tools, equipment and knowledge. Most 19th Century and non-electric
shops have long since been broken up and auctioned. But, the tools still exist.
You can find them in antique shops, sometimes put away in the corner of a barn
or someone's basement, or even on the wall of a restaurant. You can also find
many tools on CraigsList.org and
eBay. It is much the same for books. They are out there on any subject you
can think of, but it's the locating them that's
the trick.
Right now we have the luxury of going online. By doing a used book search on
Barnes & Noble web site, you can purchase a used book from any listed book
store in the country. Other book retailers often offer the same service,--check
and see. Right now we also have the luxury of going to flea markets, online,
and to antique shops to find the needed specialized equipment. Right now we
also have the time to acquire examples of the "art" of various trades.
In the future it will be much easier to make a tin funnel, buggy wheel, or
wood barrel if we have on hand an old one that we can copy.
But we may not have much more time to find the tools and knowledge we need
to be really self-sufficient and/or provide us with a needed trade good if
times get really interesting. It takes quite a bit of searching to find all
the specialized items we may need. My suggestion is to get to it. Even if you
don't have the desire or interest to become a horse collar maker, someone in
your future community will. It will be good to have what is needed, to make
it possible. - Jim Fry, Museum of Western
Reserve Farms & Equipment
