For Want of a Nail the Kingdom was Lost

I was straightening up my shop the other day when it occurred that I had made a major omission in my long-term survival preparations.  I had never given much thought to nails, screws and other fasteners.  Anyone who lives in the country probably has a pretty good collection of fasteners. It’s really kind of a necessity.  

On a farm, things are always getting built or repaired, and nothing is more frustrating than to be in the middle of a project and to have to stop and drive 10 miles to town to buy 89 cents worth of screws.  So it’s natural for country people to keep a collection of odds and ends that they may need.  On my farm, nothing ever gets thrown away without first removing the screws or nuts and bolts and putting them in a jar.  I know that this can save me time and gasoline in the future. But think about a world where there’s no hardware store to drive to.  Think about having to build a shed or make a repair on your house without any nails.  It can be done, but boy is it a lot of work.

In the 1700’s and on up into the 1800,s the most expensive items used in building the average home were window glass and nails.  Nails were handmade by a blacksmith and when you pulled one out of a board, you sure didn’t throw it away.  You straightened it out and put it is a can or a jar for later use.  Today, we’ve all gotten spoiled by the cheap prices of manufactured items like nails.  We don’t think about the amount of work that goes into producing nails if they have to be made by hand.  So, do yourself a favor and lay in twenty pounds of nails in various sizes.  They don’t cost much now, but they could be worth their weight in silver if things go bad.