Truer words could not be said. If you want useful skills, learn about wood and metal. Everything else is gravy.
by Todd Walker
Read the next two lines and stop. Look around you. Make a mental note of all the useful stuff produced from two resources… wood and metal.
Really, stop reading for a second!
Okay, come back now.
What did you come up with? If you only noted the obvious wooden and metallic items, go deeper. With a little thought, your list should grow exponentially.
The fact is, wood and metal were directly or indirectly responsible for building your house, mailbox, wall clock, sofa, and the electronic device you’re reading from this very moment.
Wood and metal go together like peas and carrots. Metal tools are used to shape wood. But wood creates fire to heat metal for making said tools. And don’t forget about the useful wooden handles attached to metal tools. There’s a relationship between the two resources in which both benefit from the other. In biology, we call this mutualism.
For long-term self-reliance, learning to manipulate and…
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Preindustrial Craftsmanship 