Making Your Own Gear

[ASER1NE]

So i picked up a P-38 today on ebay , brand new never used in original packaging for 8 bucks .

I was pretty happy about it .

[caffeine]

Awesome thread. Alot of this stuff was really informative and interesting. KaBar still on the boards nowadays?

[KaBar2]

Originally posted by caffeine@Mar 13 2005, 12:16 PM

Awesome thread. Alot of this stuff was really informative and interesting. KaBar still on the boards nowadays?

Quoted post

 

 

Yep, still here. Search up the stack for "Hobos, Tramps and Homeless Bums." More of the same ^^^. Later.

[Fem]

This thread is amazing. Thanks KaBar. Some really good info here.

 

My mom left home at 14 and had a lot of similar experiences as you, sounds like. She lived in the streets, in jungles, in a hippy commune, etc.

 

I've often thought about hopping a train and not looking back, and just seeing what I'm made of. But in the end, I have two good parents that were willing to pay for my college education, so I chose what was best for myself and my family, in the long run. I graduate from college May 7th.

 

Thanks for everything you wrote, you seem like a really awesome person.

[Fem]

This thread is amazing. Thanks KaBar. Some really good info here.

 

My mom left home at 14 and had a lot of similar experiences as you, sounds like. She lived in the streets, in jungles, in a hippy commune, etc.

 

I've often thought about hopping a train and not looking back, and just seeing what I'm made of. But in the end, I have two good parents that were willing to pay for my college education, so I chose what was best for myself and my family, in the long run. I graduate from college May 7th.

 

Thanks for everything you wrote, you seem like a really awesome person.

[Team Captain]

FUCK TYPING..OR READING IT! AHAHAHA!

 

naw.. just kidding. much respect to you hardcore guys out there for sure.

[KaBar2]

I'm really not too hardcore. I've got a family and a home and a job to go to forty hours a week. It's kind of embarrassing, but I have to be "back to work on Monday," just like all the yo-bo tourists. Truthfully, riding trains is a hard life. The guys I know who do it 24-7 have all paid a serious price----economically, socially, physically. Living on the rails is pretty hard on you. It doesn't affect you much when you are young, but as you get older, it starts having a cumulative effect.

[Grimes]

this thread is awesome,alot of interesting info in here

[Mr. Chad]

Originally posted by KaBar@Dec 5 2001, 03:54 PM

T.T. Boy---A lot of my tramping experience (like long hopping trips) is pretty old, and some of the places I went to and places I stayed are all totally different now. But I can speak to this question in general. First of all, a lot depends upon your age and whether or not you are big enough to defend yourself. If you are a big-ass 17-year old football player or rodeo cowboy, that's a lot different than if you are a 15-year old who spends all his time playing video games and eating pizza. If you are an adult, it makeslife a LOT easier in terms of hassles with the police.

First of all, do everything you can to avoid attracting attention to yourself. When I see some kid who is obviously school-aged sauntering down the street whacking trash cans and light poles with a stick, dressed in black, torn clothes and a Marilyn Manson t-shirt, a bunch of piercings and green spiked hair, I automatically figure a.) he's ditching school, b.) he's probably fucked up on something, and c.) he's probably carrying a weapon or two. This isn't "fair" but that's the way it is. Life is NOT FUCKING FAIR. Get used to it.

What you need to do is dress and behave as "normal" as possible and still try to fit in with your surroundings. For instance, if you are in Casper, Wyoming, a cowboy hat will not draw the slightest attention. But if you're in Queens, New York City, everybody is going to think you are some kind of wierdo. The green-spiked-hair-Marilyn-Manson bit will blend you right in in a few places, but most of America is way more conservative than that, and you'll draw the heat quickly. Think of conservative, "normal" clothes and behavior as good camouflage.

I hate to leave my ruck and bindle anywhere, but I'm an adult and I look pretty road-worn, so people don't think twice if they see me humping my ruck around. One glance, and they think "tramp," "alcoholic" "homeless loser." Then they dismiss me, which is fine with me. If I was 16 years old, they'd think "runaway," "looking for trouble" and call up the cops to turn me in. So how you present yourself is EVERYTHING. It's not easy. You want to look tough enough to deter predators, but not so threatening that you freak out passers-by.

Even urban areas have places where you could camp out, but you have to be careful that you're not setting yourself up for some kind of attack. In general, I try to stay away from areas where down-and-out people congregate. The cops frequently check these folks out. They drink too much, and they get into arguments and fights, and they bum money, food, cigarettes and anything else you'll give them. They are used to getting what they need by bugging other people, who then give them something (a cigarette, whatever) to get rid of them. I hate this sort of shit. It has no dignity. I have stayed in shelters a few times, but they are notorious for being a good place to get robbed, ripped off or catch lice. No thanks.

If you have money, of course, you could rent a cheap room. Even a POS hooker hotel room costs $25 a night or so. Once out west I rented a motel room in Idaho and it cost $7. I thought that was pretty funny. Usually it's a lot more, no matter where you are.

I usually try to locate a good camping spot pretty close to the rail yard or junction where I detrained. If you are in a wooded area, just pick a direction and walk thirty or forty yards off into the brush. Be careful you're not camping in somebody's back yard. One time in California I did this (in the desert) and the next morning I woke up and needed to take a dump. So I started walking a little ways from my camp and it turned out I was next to somebody's house, swimming pool and garage.

I look for areas that are high enough so that if it rains, my camp doesn't flood. I look for areas with good brush coverage. Sometimes you can find a tree that has branches that sort of "canopy". This makes a sort of natural arbor effect and you can set up camp underneath the canopy. I like this set up because it makes it easy to rig a tarp, tent or mosquito net. I also look for good "hammock trees," and places pretty close to restaurants and stores. The absolutely best set-up is to find a place with a source of clean, fresh water. In Montana, Rufe and I used a jungle right next to a stock yard that had a great water faucet to water the cattle from. I never gave anthrax a thought, but all things considered, I don't think I would camp next to a stock yard today. For one thing, they stink pretty bad.

One thing you want to avoid is building a fire or breaking anything or dragging up a lot of junk if you are in a populated area. There is a jungle here in Houston where the tramps throw all their garbage and shit on the ground, that is less than 100 yards from the back yard fences of a very exclusive residential area. This is bad karma. The tramps have a good attitude about it ("We leave them alone, and they leave us alone.") but how long before that closest home owner gets freaked out at all the misbehavior? Keep a clean camp. Never leave a fire unattended. Don't shit where you eat.

If you take care of business, things will work out a lot better. If you act like someone who doesn't have good sense, you'll flunk the attitude test, and the cops will nail you for something.

If you haven't read them yet, check my two threads on the next couple of pages, "Slack Action," and "Hobos, Tramps and Homeless Bums." Good luck.

Quoted post

 

iv read books on this such as evasion and anarchy in the age of dinosaurs. i think there both made by crimethinc. Im sure you have heard of them.

[KaBar2]

Yes, I've heard of them. I got into a huge argument on here a few years ago, when there were several anarchists on 12 Oz. that strongly disagreed with me on politics. Since that unpleasant experience, I decided to just let the anarchists "Do as they Wilt." Arguing with anarchists is a waste of time. They have their views. I have mine.

 

I was an anarchist, myself, when I was younger. But I changed my opinions. I do not advocate breaking the law very often. Mainly, because I do not like the consequences of getting caught. A friend of mine, Road Hog, once robbed a bank in Florida because the cops arrested him for sleeping on the beach. The cops would not let him take his bedroll and stuff with him to jail. They left it on the beach, and it got stolen. When Road Hog got out and returned to his campsite, he was furious that his stuff had been stolen. He blamed the cops.

So he walked down to a bank, went in, got a deposit slip, wrote "This is a robbery. Give me all the money and nobody will get hurt," on the deposit slip. Stood in line patiently. When it was his turn, he gave the note and a grocery bag to the teller. Dutifully, she gave him all the money. He walked out of the bank to a bus stop, and boarded a passing bus. He rode the bus for a while, then got off and went to a taxi stand. He got in a taxi and asked the Cuban taxi guy to take him to a bar. As they were riding along, over the radio the taxi company broadcast an all-points bulletin to be on the lookout for an old, shabbily-dressed transient, then described Road Hog. "Pops!" the taxi driver said, "That sounds like YOU!" Road Hog reaches in the bag and hands the driver several hundred bucks and says "Do you suppose this will cover the fare?" and the Cuban guy goes "Pops, I ain't seen NOTHING."

Road Hog goes in the bar. He goes up to the bartender and says, "I've recently come in to a bit of money, and I'd like to share my good luck. Would you set up the house for a few rounds?" and shows the bartender the bag full of money. "Of COURSE, " says the bartender. Road Hog settles in to a back booth in a dark corner and starts entertaining the local barflies. Word spreads on the street. Pretty soon, the place is packed. Road Hog buys the neighborhood several thousand dollars worth of drinks. Eventually somebody called the cops. They show up, wade through 500 totally drunk barflies, and collar Road Hog. They recover about half the money.

 

We were all laughing our asses off at this story. It is SO MUCH LIKE HIM. Finally, wiping my eyes, I asked, "So Hog, how much time did you get?"

 

"Five years in a Federal pen. It wasn't too bad."

 

We all stopped laughing. Five years. That wasn't too funny.

[Mr. Chad]

yea i used to hold anarchist veiws. In the end im just sick of politics all together and dont even think about it much.

[KanFeumz]

im i hippie , peace and love !!!! lets go tree huggin.

[wAndEreR]

..let me check my palm pilot..

[anotherwhiteboy]

i love reading this stuff.....

very interesting...

[GnomeToys]

Definitely very interesting, I had a different view on you before reading some of your experiences, Kabar. The internet is weird like that.

 

I've never hopped trains, but I've been homeless at times. I was sleeping on some couch cushions I pulled out of a dumpster in the water/utility room of an apartment complex for a week or so, sleeping on the streets for another two weeks before some local punks I knew took me in after I was drinking with them for awhile. There is something that appeals to me about dropping things and going on the road, prepared this time. Despite the lack of security there was some sense of freedom not having anything for a while and living off what I could find. I also learned to appreciate the value of not spending money on stupid shit, to some degree.

 

I've been strongly considering packing up some basics and going someplace warm in a year or two, possibly florida or california. Somewhere with beaches.

[REVOLVER]

DAMN CHECK HER OUT!!!!!

 

http://www.freeipods.com/?r=17653707

 

Tig Ol Bitties!!!!

[KaBar2]

Gnome Toys---

 

Trainhopping is pretty hazardous, but it's not something a person couldn't do, if you are willing to learn what is necessary to do it safely. The biggest mistake is catching out when you have been drinking or getting high. The second biggest mistake is trying to hit a rolling train, and even worse, trying to hit a rolling train with a lot of gear.

 

Riding the train once you are on it is really pretty safe, as long as you use a little common sense.

 

You sound like a street-wise person, and you'd probably do well, but if you do decide to catch out, I strongly suggest:

 

1.) Break in with a WELL-EXPERIENCED TRAMP WHO KNOWS WHAT HE IS DOING. Or "she," although finding a well-experienced female trainhopper is easier than it used to be, it's still pretty rare.

 

2.) Know where your train is going before you board it. You definately do not want to ride a train into some large city without knowing what's up, especially a city like Memphis, Detroit, Newark, Los Angeles, etc. Things are much safer in smaller cities and towns. Trainhoppers I know that have been riding for over twenty years will go a week out of their way to avoid Memphis or Detroit. They do so for a GOOD REASON. Rail yards are usually in really bad neighborhoods, and the Memphis and Detroit neighborhoods which contain the rail yards are exceptionally dangerous. On the other hand, Chicago (which always scared the shit out of me back in the day) is comparatively safe. Well, saf-ER, anyway. I'd still be VERY careful.

 

3.) Beforeyou catch out, study rail maps, TRAINS magazine, railroad atlases, etc, so you know where the trains go. Riding "blind" is for idiots. Don't do it. The more you know, the safer you are. Try to find somebody who has a copy of the Crew-Change Guide. MAKE A COPY OF IT if you get one, and DO NOT CARRY THE ORIGINAL WITH YOU, if you can avoid it. If you get busted, the bulls will confiscate all your maps, your CCG, your notebooks, etc. BE CAREFUL. Never give a copy of the CCG to a non-rider or a citizen, and never, EVER publish it on the Internet. In order to get a copy of the CCG, you must raise your hand and swear to protect it, and to only give it or sell it to another genuine trainhopper. Can you ride trains without a CCG? Of course. But the CCG makes it a heck of a lot safer.

 

4.) Be constantly aware of your surroundings, any potential hazards, any potential threats. Since you have lived on the street, you are already probably pretty alert, but it's even more this way if you are catching out. Everybody I know travels with a knife, either a LEGAL sheath knife (anything with a blade longer than four inches is pretty risky--CHECK YOUR STATE'S CRIMINAL CODE ABOUT PROHIBITED WEAPONS) or a folding knife that they can open with one hand in a dead ass hurry. It won't do you any good inside your ruck, or in a bag, etc. It needs to be IN YOUR POCKET, ready to rock and roll at a moment's notice. If you draw it, you'd better know how to use it, too. I carry both a legal sheath knife AND a folder.

 

I have carried a pistol, on and off, for years. I have a Concealed Handgun License now, but a CHL doesn't permit you to carry on another person's property without permission, only on public property. Which means that if I'm heeled when I catch out, and I get busted, they could charge me with "criminal trespassing" (trespassing while armed with a deadly weapon,) which is a felony. Since getting busted is more likely than getting attacked, it makes sense to avoid firearms. However, I know several female trainhoppers who pack guns, and have even been arrested with a pistol on them, but the bulls gave them a break and just confiscated the gun (probably for the bull's private collection, LOL.) It's a risk, either way, and one that everybody must calculate for himself or herself.

 

I think if I were going to go to California or Florida, I'd try to buy a van, and live in that. Trainhopping is getting to be harder and harder. It almost requires a certain dedication to the Life in order to do it, and guys I know that have been catching out for years are "going homeguard." The 9/11 security is getting worse.

[tunnelrunner]

Hey Kabar, always enjoy reading what you write.. intressting subjects.

 

I've been making my own markers for a good while and I've always thought it's a shame to throw things away. Actually there isnt many markers/pens I have thrown away, I've had to let some go because of police encounters. But it never feels good when you have to let go of your favorite marker... you kinda grow attached to them.

I usually rack smaller markers and when they run out of paint I refill them and modify them. I build bigger markers out of old waterbottles, pipes and whatever I run across. Buying markers is really in alot of cases a waste of money. There is a pretty nice book called kingsize, its about tags and DIY-craft. Anyone who is into BIG tags and building markers should check it out..

[KaBar2]

Awesome. I never considered trying to DIY my own markers or paint cans---great idea! Could you please post more information on the book? Complete title, publishers, price, source, etc. ? Thanks.

 

I love DIY stuff of all kinds.

[tunnelrunner]

Doing spraycans is something I've never tried doing myself, could be intressting..

 

Some more info on the book:

I think the full title is King Size, or perhaps King Size - marker project.

It contains 3 texts by Craig Castleman, Andreas Berg and Joe Austin. And tags by: Sacer, Twist, Foe, Kegr, Nug and Zys. Its printed in 3000 copies, each one assambled by hand with a unique cover.

Its made by the swedish writer Adams, you can get ahold of him through this address:

Adams

box 3078

SE- 103 61 Stockholm

Sweden

 

I picked it up at Highlights in Stockholm and it cost me about 13$. I dont know if its availble in the US.

[GnomeToys]

Thanks Kabar, I doubt I'd hop a train, just because I wouldn't know where to begin.

 

There is a good selection of yards around here, one of which is pretty chill with no cameras because of our lack of painters. I once met a couple of dudes at a bar that had hopped trains from Texas and hung out with them for the night, even found them a place to crash. They gave me some good info about it, they weren't really living the typical tramp life though, they just wanted to see the country and paint a few things up along the way.

 

They were pretty knowledgeable, but we get plenty of older hobos coming through on occasion too. It's been awhile since I met up with any of them since I don't walk the tracks very often anymore, but I've run into them a couple of times when I did. The guys I met were very friendly, just asking if I was heading anywhere and talking for a bit about various things they'd seen that would be cool to take pictures of nearby. I'll have to talk to one of them the next time I see them and see if they can give me a heads up on some things. We also have a giant crowd of trainspotters just hanging out near the tracks listening to the yard frequencies and seeing what's coming and going. Everybody is pretty friendly so I'm sure I could get some good info.

 

More than likely though, I'd just go the van route as you were saying, or even pre-arrange some kind of place to crash. The whole hobo life sounds interesting to me right now, but I don't know how long I would actually be able to handle it before settling down again.

 

Thanks again, peace.

[KaBar2]

According to my buddy Stretch, the biggest risk of catching out is that you might not ever go back, LOL. When we rode up to Shreveport, LA, a while back, while we were waiting for a train to make up in Beaumont, Stretch made me swear I wouldn't just keep going and abandon my job and my wife. Of course, we'd had a few beers, so it all made a kind of bleary, boozy sense, but my wife was pretty worried I might just keep going, too. But I didn't. Like a "good dog" I came trottin' back to my food dish.

 

But one of these days, I might just keep on riding.

[tré]

i noticed you mentioned building and repairing bikes a few pages back - i just got a pretty decent road bike off my friend that seems to be in fairly good condition. as of now i think all i need is a seat, new brakes and possibly new gear lines (or whatever they're called). possibly new rims and tires and definitely new tubes. the thing is, my brother got a road bike and almost perfect condition at salvation army for $10 - he just had to buy brakes for it. all the stuff i need for mine to be working nice would cost a lot, i'm wondering if you have any tips for aquiring parts like these for cheap. i try to check out second hand stores as often as possible, ebay is really crap because everyone charges an arm and a leg for shipping. any ideas? thanks a lot

[KaBar2]

Tre'--

 

Sometimes it's better to just figure a dumpster-dived bike is better for a parts bike than for restoring. I would strip it down to it's components and pitch everything that is really ruined (like wheels crushed by a car, etc.) Don't assume that brake and shifter cables are junk because they are a little rusty. Sometimes you can save them by removing them from the bike, tying a string on one end, then fashioning a little paper cone to serve as a reservoir/funnel and pouring a little motor oil or transmission fluid into the funnel and letting it work it's way into the cable housing. (NOTE: Don't do this inside your Mom's house unless you really want to piss her off.) De-rusting, oiling and painting is about 75% of repairing a bike.

 

There are usually great books at the library plus lots of online resources about repairing bicycles, so I'd start there to get information. Then, I'd just keep looking for another dumpster diamond that has some of the parts you need. Frankly, I never pass one up, which explains why I have four bicycles in various stages of disassembly in my shed. You can use the parts off of one bike on another bike usually (MTB to MTB, clincher to clincher, cruiser to cruiser, etc.) Just keep tinkering till you get one up and running, but I definately would NOT spend a bunch of money on bike parts. Hell, for $65, you can buy a brand-new MTB at Wal-Mart. Check pawn shops, too. Especially in winter, when the weather is crappy, prices go way down. And (my favorite source) GARAGE SALES. I got a first rate Schwinn MTB for $10 at a garage sale.