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Knowing where you are going makes the
difference between meaningful travel and just wandering around in the woods.
Presuming that you have a general idea of where you are would determine which
direction that you want to travel in order to get back to civilization.
Making a compass is not difficult if you
have a form of magnetism. (see battery-less
flashlight). Hopefully you have one of the battery-less flashlights or at
least a flashlight with a good battery and snare wire from your survival kit. Of
course if you had your Survival kit then you should also have a compass. Let's
just say you lost it in a raging river, OK? You still need to know North from
South. Sure you can do fairly well navigating by the sun or stars, but a compass
sure would be nice.
So let's get down to it.
First you need a magnet
A
needle or similar metal object
Pith. cork or dry punk (no we are not punking you)
Water, oil, alcohol, urine or similar
Possible magnetic sources - (It is a
good Idea to magnetized your Knife blade before you ever go out in the woods as
is make a good retriever should you drop a small part). If you have one of our
Battery-less Forever Flashlight then you have an excellent magnet to work with.
Just unscrew the lens ring, being careful to not lose the magnifying lens or the
O-ring that goes under it. Set this aside, and then tilt the flashlight down until
the inner workings slide out. Remove the black end cap and slide the magnet out.
Or if you are using a battery operated flash light then remove a battery. Take
at least4 feet of your snare wire, this needs to be the varnish type and usually
has a color and sheen to it, and wrap the wire around an iron knife blade,
screw driver, nail or the arch re-enforcement of your boot to make a coil. This
need to be Iron or steel and not Stainless Steel Leave about 3-4 inches of wire
sticking out on each end. Scrape the varnish off the last 1/2 inch of each end.
Place one end of the wire on either the positive (+) or negative (-) end of the
battery. We prefer the positive as this make the applying the current easier. If
you have your First Aid kit use a small piece of tape to hold it there. Position
the other end so that you can hold the coil and the battery in one hand and
still use one finger to press the end of the wire to the other end of the
battery. Preferably the negative end as it is usually a larger flat surface
which will make this easier. When ever you touch the second end to the battery ,
current will flow through the wire and create a magnet.
Possible needle for compass could be a
sewing needle, the tang from your belt buckle, or even a straightened fish hook
(only if you can spare one, heat in the fire till red hot to straighten).
Whatever you use it must be iron or steel as Stainless cannot be magnetized.
For your Cork you can use a piece of light weight
wood from a dry dead tree that has been dead for some time. Or if you are on a
beach (how lucky would that be) you could walk the beach and salvage a piece of
washed up very dry driftwood or maybe even an wine bottle. What ever
you use it must be just big enough to float the needle and not larger and
preferably taller than wide.
We will let you figure out where to get the
substance to float it in.
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