Year: 2013

Letter Re: Query on Knife Recommendations

Mr. Rawles, Could you recommend a style of survival knife? I’ve read several recommendations by various people — everything from a K-Bar to a parang. My wife and I are newcomers to the survival game, but as a hunter and outdoorsman I tend to favor a good, short, fixed-blade (drop point) Buck knife, augmented by a decent folding saw. Are these good choices, or should we really look for a versatile (if not “do-it-all”), long-bladed knife with a partially serrated edge? I’m a bit skeptical of hacking / sawing through things such as tree limbs with a knife, and equally …


Recipe of the Week:

Martha S.’s Whole Wheat Bread 3 cups warm water 1/3 cup plus 1 Tbls. honey 1 packet of dry yeast 4 tsp. salt 1/2 cup applesauce Approximately 10 cups whole wheat flour (I think it’s best when it’s freshly ground.) 4 – 8 1/2" X 4 1/2" loaf pans (The smaller pan size is good because it allows the bread to rise in the pan a little higher.) Butter – to grease the pans. Dissolve yeast in the warm water mixed w/1 Tbls. honey in a large pottery bowl.   Let sit 5 minutes, yeast should foam up.  (Original recipe says to …


Economics and Investing:

Reader James W. spotted this: IMF Economists Say The Economic Recovery Is A Fake H.L. sent us this: Now That Detroit’s Gone Bust, Is Your City Next? Items from The Economatrix: Food Stamps Are Corporate Welfare Europe: It’s Going to Get a Lot Worse Before It Gets Any Better Does It Matter That Americans Are ‘Subsidizing’ Astronomical CEO Pay?


Odds ‘n Sods:

Several interesting retreat properties have just been added to our SurvivalRealty.com listings. Three of them are in the Bradshaw Mountains, near the geographically-isolated small town of Crown King, Arizona. This is not far from the towns of Dewey and Humboldt, which were locales in my novel “Survivors”.  Another newly-listed SurvivalRealty property is located in Muddy Pond, Tennessee (on the Cumberland Plateau), which coincidentally was a locale in my novel “Founders”. When I last checked, there were 112 SurvivalRealty.com listings in the United States, and five that are offshore.    o o o For anyone who normally carries a Glock 20 …



Note from JWR:

July 21st is the birthday of Ernest Hemingway. He was born in 1899 in Oak Park, Illinois. He committed suicide in July 2, 1961 in Ketchum, Idaho, after being diagnosed with haemochromatosis, and after electroshock treatments failed to lift him from chronic alcoholic depression. He had a sad life, but he was a great writer. — Today we present another entry for Round 47 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A.) Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course. (A $1,195 value.) B.) A course certificate …


Tips From an Amateur on Getting Through a Disaster, by F.M.H.

Back in 1979 I found myself in facing a hurricane by the name of Frederic. It had Mobile, Alabama in its cross-hairs. The category three hurricane made landfall on September 12. I did not take the warnings seriously and unfortunately there was little to no preparation made on my part. I barely had a quarter of a tank of gas in my car. I did not have a battery operated radio or a flashlight. There was some non perishable food in my pantry and a small amount of food in the fridge. I was basically like most folks, ill prepared …


Economics and Investing:

JPM Eligible Gold Plummets By 66% In One Day To Just Over 1 Tonne, Total Gold At Fresh All Time Low Jim Rogers:  Beware The Man On The White Horse…” Items from The Economatrix: Big Drop In Housing Starts Suggests a More Shaky Recovery U.S. Outlook Revised by Moody’s to Stable on Deficit Cuts Leading Economic Indicators Index in U.S. Was Unchanged


Odds ‘n Sods:

Inside the FSA’s tank workshop and DIY weapons studio. (Thanks to F.G. for the link.)    o o o Camping Survival is about to begin a 23% off all Backpackers Pantry Freeze Dried Foods, July 22nd to 28th.    o o o Some interesting conjecture that Trayvon Martin was taking “Lean” trips (aka Robotrippin” or “Skittlin.”)    o o o Florida Nurse Terrorized by US Marshals in Warrantless Raid.


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for [it is] time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you. Ye have plowed wickedness, ye have reaped iniquity; ye have eaten the fruit of lies: because thou didst trust in thy way, in the multitude of thy mighty men.” – Hosea 10:12-13 (KJV)


Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 47 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A.) Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course. (A $1,195 value.) B.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795, and C.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $350 value.) D.) a $300 …


Different Prepping Approaches, by Marlene M.

It’s interesting to see the differences in the way people prepare for the future. We have been reading ‘SurvivalBlog’ daily now for over four  years, and here too, we find different types of people who prepare differently. (One reason why I love SurvivalBlog!) It is also interesting to read the difference between FEMA suggestions, Homeland Security (?) preparedness requirements, Weather Channel Preparedness tips, and different books written on the subject. Then there are the multitudes of survivor shows on television from Les Stroud in ‘Survivorman’ to the man of few words — Cody Lundin in ‘Dual Survivor’ and his new …


Two Letters Re: How Consumer Debt Collection Works

James, Regarding the article on debt collection, I would recommend these web sites which give some advice on how to deal with debt collectors:   CreditInfoCenter.com   DebtorBoards.com   There are consumer protection laws that prohibit offensive behavior on the part of debt collectors.  These sites explain how to use them.   I recognize you may not agree with these site’s positions, but, just as the debt collector who wrote in says, good people sometimes get into bad situations.  And, sometimes, if your state’s exemptions are too low, bankruptcy is not an option.  So, yes, I consider fighting debt collectors …


Economics and Investing:

As I’ve mentioned before, a big jump in interest rates could create chaos for the holders of many MBS derivatives. Here is an example of how just a small rate rise caused turmoil: Analysis: Bank of America’s interest-rate exposure may be worse than rivals. Do Western Central Banks Have Any Gold Left? Part III Detroit files for bankruptcy protection. (Is it just a coincidence that all of the city’s mayors for the past 50 years have been Democrats?) Speaking of Detroit, Commander Zero had some quite wry commentary. (Thanks to Gil in Montana for the link.) Items from The Economatrix: …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Driving somewhere? There’s a government record of that    o o o Attention Handloaders: Tom in Pennsylvania recently posted this handy weight data for brass, over at Buddy’s Boards. (An amazing free site that I visit almost daily.) This would be good data to print out for your reference binder: 9mm, 59.46 grains each, 117.7 cases per lb., 8.5 lb. per 1,000 .38 Special, 68.06 grains each, 102.8 cases per lb., 9.7 lb. per 1,000 .40, 70.1 grains each, 99.9 cases per lb., 10 lb. per 1,000 .357 Magnum, 78.3 grains each, 89.4 cases per lb., 11.2 lb. per 1,000 …