Long after Z-Day...

(First off, apologies if something like this has been posted already - I did look, but wasn't able to find anything like it!)

Ok, so lets assume that Z-Day has come and gone.
Lets assume also that you've set up your stronghold, and the few Zombies that come by nowadays aren't hard to deal with.

However, civilization has truly fallen. So my question is how do you make use of things that once had a purpose, but now don't?

For example, you could use CAT5/6 cable as rope, and old tin cans to collect water.

Lets get a list together of stuff you could recycle into useful tools, it might come in useful long term!

Valmont

Good idea. This can become a super-thread of essential Z-day knick knacks! Just looking in my room now I can see that big old heavy curtains could be sewn onto your clothes at the places a zombie is most likely to bite during a scuffle, like your forearms or lower legs. It would be a kind of basic armor.

Cloth armor - I like!

A couple of other ideas - personally I'd dump all non essentials - toys, etc, and salvage anything useful out of them (small engines, batteries, etc).

The batteries could come in useful for a battery operated radio, probably the only means of long distance communication after Z-day is long gone.

Mirrors could be used for strategic purposes, e.g reflecting doors in your stronghold should a particularly silent Zombie managed to get through and creep up on you.

Gardens cease to be decorative and become small farms for growing vegetables.

I suppose you might be able to fashion fairly durable arrowheads out of tin cans if you laminated a couple of like pieces together.

Zulu

Get yourself to a motorcycle shop for clothes. I doubt I'd look the part as a biker - how ever their leather armour is a great start out point.

I'd also be looking to the past for inspiration. Look at Dun Angeus' "chevaux-de-frise". A smashing idea to slow up zombies (particularly if they're the much disputed running variety), and increase your preparation time in the inevitable event of attack. The could be made from old windows, old metal chair legs, etc..

For inner defences, I'd be looking to gather as many metal sheets (the big heavy ones used in road works) - but that's a fairly obvious one.

Can't believe this is getting such a poor response!

Does no one out there have any ideas on how to improvise with "what you've got" after Z-Day? Then you can kiss you long term chances of survival to zero! :eek:

Hmmm, off the top of my head, you could use tea-lights not only as a source of light, but as a handy fire-lighter.

(I'll think of something more useful later!)

Nerin

Book recommendation- The Art of Survival by steven marshall. Great book,all sorts of useful things,even a chapter on post apocalyptic survival.

ScumLord

Recycling won't be a big issue at first IMO. With a 90%+ population drop your going to have enough of everything for everybody when it comes to tools and such.

We may need to recycle buildings into protected farmland. Sports halls could make good places to keep cattle and other animals.

Car and bike engines could replace the loss of electricity in the short term.

Bar food and medicine the surviver will want for nothing if they put their minds to it. There'll be an abundance of every material known to man.

SmileyPaul

just think of completely random things that you can use for other things, theres different categories,

weapons,
defense,
hunting gathering,
transport, and Im sure theres loads more

anyways, first off somehow capture a z like in 28 days later and then you can test out household items as deterants, bleaches and what not, and you can fashion a kind of bugspray :P I joke I joke.... I'd use computer chips and the likes as small parts of armour, cover your hands knees, stuff like that
not as if you'll ever use your gameboy again :P
good old fertiliser bomb if all came to all and the house was being over run, I read somewhere how to make smoke bombs with coke bottles and stuff, they could be handy
Ill think of more later

Undead

Deleted User wrote: »

Can't believe this is getting such a poor response!

Does no one out there have any ideas on how to improvise with "what you've got" after Z-Day? Then you can kiss you long term chances of survival to zero! :eek:

Hmmm, off the top of my head, you could use tea-lights not only as a source of light, but as a handy fire-lighter.

(I'll think of something more useful later!)

Well i thought the thread was gonna be about general talking about life long after Z Day like in general...when i read the part about making things etc i lost interest lol.

Nerin

Undead wrote: »

Well i thought the thread was gonna be about general talking about life long after Z Day like in general...when i read the part about making things etc i lost interest lol.

<_<

>_>

Why,what did you expect?

Undead

Just general talking like...how long before comms go down...strongholds..raiders..what city's would be like...animals etc

Nerin

Undead wrote: »

Just general talking like...how long before comms go down...strongholds..raiders..what city's would be like...animals etc

I could edit this topics title and you could start such a thread?

Undead

Nerin wrote: »

I could edit this topics title and you could start such a thread?

Well i'd join in but its not my thread so thats not my call lol.

Well I don't mind, if that matters...!

Nerin

Well i don't mind lads,if Ye want i'll change this title and this thread will be for survival stuff,and the other one can be life without people.

Nerin,

If you think it's best, change the name of the thread. As I said, I don't mind, and sure you're the Mod, if you think it'll make things in the forum a little easier to navigate, then it's all good!

Druss.