Survive in Style (2) - 15 Minute Mug

In the soon very famous, often copied but never equalised SIS - Survive In Style - series I'd like to show you, ever thirsty backyard survivalists and other Real Adventurers, a childish simple way to make a quite decent recipient you can use to store whatever you put in it.

This can be water, but also honey, beer, rock oil, many cranberries, one apple, wood worms, nuggets or raw diamonds - mother nature is full of surprises.

In fact, to be honest and to anticipate a full load of 'not nice' comments, this instructable is inspired on another instructable - thanx to that member to let me use his knowledge, wisdom & craftmanship. He is awesome.

In fact (2) I'll just show you a simplified version of it. Making a nice fancy beer mug can be awesome, though, but it's also quite time consuming. And what to do if you don't find those honeybees?

So I simplyfied the job.

Is it possible to make a mug in just a few minutes, without birch bark & digit-torturing sewing, without bamboo or coconuts if you're living in a temperate region, without clay if the soil is frozen and without shells if you're a 1000km inland?

It is! You only need a small axe - or strong teeth - and some cord or sinew. Easy.

Willow, birch & poplar are just perfect: fast growing, fast recovering, soft & non-toxic.

Avoid hardwood - unless you want to make a 45min mug.

Cut it, that large branch.

2 minutes. Top chrono.

Make one end of that branch as flat as possible with your axe and cut 2 grooves all the way round.

Cut that future mug one inch or so from the second groove off the branch.

Depending on how much fermented berries you swallowed you'll be or going to the next step or make another groove and try to cut at the right side of that 2nd groove.

3 minutes.

Or 6.

The plan is to make 4 equally sized parts.

Instead of throwing that axe as a fool in the air and hoping to get those cuts exactly where you want them, I'll suggest that you just put the blade very calm on the proto-mug, and to smash on it with another piece of wood.

Just a suggestion, but one with 100% chance on succes.

Your choice, it's your mug.

2 minutes.

Cut away the inside triangles of each part and stay one inch away from the bottom.

Stay away from the sides. 10mm is fair enough.

The better you carve, the more you will store.

5 minutes, there you go.

Once that piece of happiness is hollowed out you can reassemble it again.

A few meter of wet hemp cord - or simply paracord, two fishermens knots and done is that mug.

3 minutes.

That hole in the bottom? No worry, big diamonds won't fell through it and big worms won't escape by it.

Water can be problem, indeed. Just insert a few wedges, hold the mug a few minutes in the water to let it swell and that ugly thing is ready to use.

14 minutes, and you'll survive in style a little bit more.

Still one minute left. Have it, that drink.