Day: July 8, 2013


Field Gear: Identifying The All-American Makers

My Mac’s e-mail in-box is stuffed full every morning. I plow through dozens and dozens of e-mails. After a glance, most of them get a perfunctory “delete” click. In addition to the inevitable SEO Optimization. V*agara, and Nigerian scam letters, I also get a lot of grammatically-garbled e-mails that begin like this one: “Hi friend, Greeting from Ceina. Compoka,China–Headphone manufacturer. What kind of headphones and earphones are you collecting now? Hope we can do some help for you….” This constant barrage of e-mails are a sign that mainland China is gaining global dominance in manufacturing of consumer goods. One of …


Pat’s Product Review: Beretta M92FS 9mm Handgun

I’ve put this article off for the longest time, however I’ve had so many requests from SurvivalBlog readers, to give my honest opinion on the Beretta M92 9mm pistol that I decided to finally sit down and give my two cents worth. I honestly thought everyone was sick and tired of hearing about the M92FS – seeing as how it has been our military handgun for close to 30 years – but apparently, more folks want to hear about this handgun.   First off all, let’s get the boring stuff out of the way. The Model 92FS 9mm pistol is …


Recipe of the Week:

S.A.’s Cold Spicy Shrimp I’m convinced that having someone in your group who understands how to cook, stretch meals, and provide filling, tasty, interesting, nutritious, and satisfying dishes will be as vital as your gun guy, security honcho, or medical expert. This is another well-tested recipe from a friend, a USAF wife. I never served it to a group where it wasn’t completely eaten. Only people who don’t care for it or eat it are shrimp haters and those with shrimp allergies. Often people with limited cooking experience will want to omit a particular recipe ingredient and will proclaim something …


Economics and Investing:

The one ounce American Redoubt silver coins are now selling even more rapidly, and Mulligan Mint is doing their best to ship orders promptly. But the current low price of silver (under $19 per ounce) has caused a huge rush of orders with all mints and dealers, so longer delays are inevitable. But rest assured that your coin order will be shipped in the order that it was received. And so it begins: Digital currency seized in alleged drug law violation in Charleston. (Thanks to J.B.G. for the link.) G.G. sent: China, Switzerland sign free trade agreement. A desperate derivatives …


Odds ‘n Sods:

One often overlooked traditional tool is a bark spud. You probably already own lots of axes and perhaps a shingle froe and a draw knife. But few folks recognize the importance of a bark spud for peeling logs. (In fact, these days most people wouldn’t even be able to name this tool, if they were handed one.) These are expensive to buy new, so look for used ones, via Craigslist. Or watch for garage sales or estate sales where “logging tools” are mentioned.    o o o Frank and Fern (pseudonyms) recently started blogging about their retreat and their preps. …