Foxfire Books

[Andrea S]

Years ago, I remember going through some books my father had and stumbling upon a few volumes of the Foxfire books. They were full of neat information about Appalachian simple living - not quite as far back on the primitive scale as many things discussed on these boards, but still practical and interesting. I've discovered through the glory of online card catalogs that my university library has copies of all the Foxfire books. Has anyone here had any good experiences with attempting some methods or techniques or employing some of the wisdom found in these fascinating books?

[mullet]

 Those books are great. That's where I learned how to punch knives out of saw blades with a cold chisel. The young dark haired boy in the knife chapter is Tom Carleton, one of my karate students and a good friend. He is also a professional custom knife maker now.

[ricktrojanowski]

Funny you mention this.  I just borrowed my Dads Foxfire books.  I'm fixin to make a still

[DanaM]

My older brother had a few of em. Would love to get them but alas they cost $$$$
and I have so much on my wish list already

[Pat B]

Hillbilly lived the life!   They are great books. I have a few of them. Lots of the folks involved lived in our area; mostly across the mountains where Hillbilly lives.    Pat

[CastIron]

Great Books Everything from Hog killing to chair caining they were the ORIGINAL LIFE IS GOOD THREADS    oh yea and lot of cast iron pots 

[cowboy]

Andrea: It's amazing that you should run across these. I poured through them in my boyhood years, I tried a few of the skills they wrote about but didn't accomplish much. I was fifteen then, I'll be forty four this year. Lot's of useful stuff in there .

[The Singing Bowyer]

My mother gave me her original copies of the first 6. They are great!

[Hillbilly]

I have the first six, and they're the 100% absolute real deal. I grew up and still live in the area covered in the books and my grandpa was from the same community where they were produced. I knew several people in them personally, and my dad knew many more of them. Yes, I'd say I've tried some of the techniques-I grew up exactly like those books describe and still do a lot of that stuff. All the stuff in the Foxfire books was just everyday life at the time. All the folks in my grandparents generation were just like the old guys and gals in those books. When I was a kid, that's where you could always find me-hanging out with the old codgers listening and watching.

[mullet]

  There is another bok that goes hand in hand with the Foxfire books and it's called, The Salt Book. It's basicly the same thing but has to do with life and skills in New England.

[huntertrapper]

i read them all the time at my school library. nothin on bows though. great books though

[mullet]

   Steve, That's really neat. Kathies grandparents lived in Franklin, N.C. They were friends with Elliot Wigginton. The first set of books we got from them. Then I found a full set at the Flea Market real cheap.

[Hillbilly]

Eddie, my dad was born in Franklin and I have a lot of kin over there. What was their last name?-you might be married to my cuz.  I was in a bookstore the other day and saw a complete set. They used to be really hard to find and expensive, but looks like they reissued them. I've had mine a good while and a couple of them are getting pretty ragged.

[mullet]

     Their name was Martin and Ruth Gerhard. Dang, marrieing you cuzz is the "mountain way,ain't it?"

[Hillbilly]