Living a Ration Book Life

[Bruce Wayne]

What is tire chiseling? I have never heard that term before.

 

[HudsonHawk]

What is tire chiseling? I have never heard that term before.

"chisel" = scam, cheat or swindle.

 

[Gingerella72]

I also believe that in general the populous was closer to subsistance level living than we are today. So in a manner of speaking the "fall" would be much greater now. That also plays into the psychological impact a great deal.

Also, people in WWII had just come off of living 'hand to mouth' for 10+ years during the Depression, I imagine the transition to rationing wasn't as difficult for them as it would be for us today.

 

[Gregg Axley]

"chisel" = scam, cheat or swindle.

I was going to mention it was something Fred or Barney did when their car needed new wheels, but your definition sounds better.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Some of those wartime tires felt like something made by Fred and Barney. Cheap recaps were notorious for their rough ride.

 

[lolly_loisides]

Here's an English wartime short about the black-market. A pity the quality isn't good, but it's wonderful to see a very young Robert Morley & Irene Handl. I love the final scene of Robert Morley speaking directly to camera.
[video=youtube;-NAhaqrhagk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NAhaqrhagk[/video]

 

[Stray Cat]

No more than two pairs of shoes per person per year.
Could you do it?

This just hit me.
I don't know about price-quality standards where you are, but here this particular issue can be a problem. There is no way one can manage with 2 pairs of shoes a year. Per season - maybe.
You see: shoe quality is disastrous. If you wear them today, do not be foolish to do so tomorrow. Shoes need to regain their shape, dryness and so forth. I've tried the expensive - same thing, just more money put into it.
No one stitches the shoes here any more- They are all glued. When I buy footwear, I also get one super-glue. Experience tells me that after the first wear, the soles will drop off.. glue is a prevention due to years of practice. :doh:

So.. what to do?
(Finding a proper shoe-maker - not an option. They only fix them here, no one dares to create) [huh]

 

[LizzieMaine]

This just hit me.
I don't know about price-quality standards where you are, but here this particular issue can be a problem. There is no way one can manage with 2 pairs of shoes a year. Per season - maybe.
You see: shoe quality is disastrous. If you wear them today, do not be foolish to do so tomorrow. Shoes need to regain their shape, dryness and so forth. I've tried the expensive - same thing, just more money put into it.
No one stitches the shoes here any more- They are all glued. When I buy footwear, I also get one super-glue. Experience tells me that after the first wear, the soles will drop off.. glue is a prevention due to years of practice. :doh:

So.. what to do?
(Finding a proper shoe-maker - not an option. They only fix them here, no one dares to create) [huh]

During the war, there was a shoe-repair shop in every town, and they did a good business in half-soling. It wasn't always easy to get new rubber heels, but people made do by attaching metal wedges or other stopgaps. If you couldn't get half-soles, there was a product called "So-Lo," which was a putty-like compound that came in a can -- you'd spread it over your worn sole with a knife like butter, and when it hardened you had something that would last for a little while at least.

Today, of course, we are reaping the results of a profligate society.

 

[Stanley Doble]

Up until the sixties you could buy good shoes that would last 20 years with reasonable care. These were not special shoes, you could buy them in any shoe store.

 

[HudsonHawk]

Up until the sixties you could buy good shoes that would last 20 years with reasonable care. These were not special shoes, you could buy them in any shoe store.

I've got shoes I bought in the 90's. I haven't bought a new pair in 3 or 4 years.

 

[Stray Cat]

It wasn't always easy to get new rubber heels, but people made do by attaching metal wedges or other stopgaps.

For some reason they make heels from plastic now.
They wear-and-tear much faster, and when you want to replace them - the shoe repair fella just sticks you another pair of plastics. [huh]

Today, of course, we are reaping the results of a profligate society.

Today, of course, everything is set to stop functioning after your 12 months warranty period is gone.

Up until the sixties you could buy good shoes that would last 20 years with reasonable care. These were not special shoes, you could buy them in any shoe store.

So I've heard countless times.
They used to make good shoes, shoes that fit.. shoes that, even after decades (if you find them in a box up in the cellar), you'll be able to bring back to life a wear comfortably.

 

[Stray Cat]

*yanks really hard*

There we go - it's back on!

So: anyone made a Resolution to try this one out?

 

[Nobert]

I come pretty close, due to a rigorous program of long-standing poverty that facilitates frugality.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I come pretty close, due to a rigorous program of long-standing poverty that facilitates frugality.

Frugality is like riding a bicycle -- once learned, it's impossible to forget. Which is why so many people who were adults during the Depression survived the consumerist orgy of the 50s-80s with giant balls of saved string and thousands of neatly folded paper bags packed away in their kitchen cupboards. Because they knew prosperity wouldn't last forever.

 

[Stanley Doble]

Speaking of rationing... In Denmark during WW1, the death rate fell to the lowest ever recorded in Europe up to that time.

Deaths from infectious diseases like TB or measles dropped by 5% to 10% but chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure etc nearly disappeared.

This was thanks to a rationing program worked out by nutritionist Dr. Hindehede. His experiments, which dated back to the 1880s or 1890s, convinced him that the need for protein was so low that it was practically impossible not to get enough, provided a person was adequately nourished otherwise.

In other words, lack of meat was not a concern.

The rations consisted of black bread or rye bread, barley porridge, potatoes, cabbages, and whatever fruit and vegetables could be grown in Denmark. With limited amounts of milk, eggs and beer. Meat was a rare treat.

Imported foodstuffs like coffee, tea, sugar, citrus fruits, pineapples, and spices were cut off. So was tobacco. Fishing was curtailed or eliminated because of the naval blockade.

 

[Stray Cat]

Frugality is like riding a bicycle -- once learned, it's impossible to forget. Which is why so many people who were adults during the Depression survived the consumerist orgy of the 50s-80s with giant balls of saved string and thousands of neatly folded paper bags packed away in their kitchen cupboards. Because they knew prosperity wouldn't last forever.

Times of trouble has taught people to keep their money safe - at home. When banking giants collapsed in early '90 (meaning: when they emptied the cash and fled across border); people had their money out of reach. It was under a financial lock-down; no matter how much you had - you could not have it. This event made many (almost: all) stop believing in banking system, and "safe at home" became fashionable money-saving method.. again.

Speaking of rationing... In Denmark during WW1, the death rate fell to the lowest ever recorded in Europe up to that time.

This is not a solitary happening. Many countries in the war saw their people with the best health (ironic, I know).

I'm re-reading Lizzie's list from the first post on this subject.

No purchases of new cars, new household appliances, new electronic equipment, new telephones, new bicycles, new office equipment, new sewing machines, new woolen rugs or carpeting, new bedclothing, new nylon products, new rubber goods, or new firearms

This I can manage (especially not buying any "new firearms" )
Most of these items I can't afford, so resisting the shopping-urge would be quite easy. :nod:

No garment you purchase may have:
For womenswear:
French cuffs on sleeves; Double-thickness yokes; "Balloon" type sleeves; Shirred, pleated, or tucked construction; Inside or patch pockets of any woolen fabric
Interlinings containing any woolen fabric.; Jackets longer than 25 inches ;Skirts longer than 17 inches from the floor; Skirts greater than 72 inches circumference; Skirt hems greater than 2 inches; Full-length formal gowns, with the exception of wedding gowns; Any bias-cut garment.

If we suppose that we get to keep all existing garments (and be allowed to sew some by ourselves) - this is manageable.
We already discussed the "shoe"-issue.
By no means could I manage with two pairs of shoes. First, there's the dreadful salt they use in winter: it "bites" the soles, it dissolves the material and by the end of the season one can do nothing to salvage the boot. Second, there's the "quality"-issue. No matter the price, shoes are poorly made, and barely any are nowadays sewn - glue is cheaper (on more than one occasion I was unfortunate enough to be obligated to purchase a super-glue and try to salvage my footwear from it soles falling apart).

 

[buelligan]

I would think that someone could go a long way in creating a sustainable lifestyle by simply getting rid of most of their "new" appliances and buying older ones that can be maintained. I can't even remember the last time I picked up something, anything new in a store and was impressed with the quality "feel" it had. Everything just has a cheap feel to it. And with a 4 year old son don't get me started on the garbage they call toys nowadays, he has literally broken toys before we got them home from the store before. I find myself spending a lot of time online looking for toys that survived me as a child so he can have something that lasts more than a couple of days.

 

[LizzieMaine]

By no means could I manage with two pairs of shoes. First, there's the dreadful salt they use in winter: it "bites" the soles, it dissolves the material and by the end of the season one can do nothing to salvage the boot. Second, there's the "quality"-issue. No matter the price, shoes are poorly made, and barely any are nowadays sewn - glue is cheaper (on more than one occasion I was unfortunate enough to be obligated to purchase a super-glue and try to salvage my footwear from it soles falling apart).

In the Era, and especially during the war, nobody would have gone out in the winter in their bare shoes -- they'd have worn galoshes or rubbers to protect them. Of course, rubbers would have been rationed as well, and would have been nearly impossible to get even if you had the stamps for them -- you'd have had to made do by patching and repairing your old ones.

I'm kind of in that same situation right now -- the type of rubbers I've worn for years have been discontinued and you just can't get new ones anymore, so the ones I'm wearing this winter are covered with innertube patches. You saw a lot of that sort of thing during the war -- "Patches Are Patriotic!"

Winter footwear's best friend.

 

[Nobert]

These days it would need a label: "Warning: do not stick this in your pipe and smoke it."

 

[Stray Cat]

In the Era, and especially during the war, nobody would have gone out in the winter in their bare shoes -- they'd have worn galoshes or rubbers to protect them. Of course, rubbers would have been rationed as well, and would have been nearly impossible to get even if you had the stamps for them -- you'd have had to made do by patching and repairing your old ones.

Hm..
I haven't seen a rubber patch - gosh, since the last time I owned a bike and needed my inner tire patched. I no longer get my tires fixed, due to the fact that whenever I gather enough in my "bycicle fond", something urgent comes along, that needs to be payed and this is probably to be yet another year that I long for this one:

These days it would need a label: "Warning: do not stick this in your pipe and smoke it."

I suppose it would.
There's a lot of people doing :crazy: things out there.