Year: 2018

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

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SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods— a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from “HJL”. Taking another look at the classifieds reveals some neat communications equipment. Skin Deep SurvivalBlog Reader D.S. sent in this comment on the UK’s moral failure concerning Asia Bibi (The Pakistani Christian woman who spent 8 years on death row for her faith). In Britain, both moral outrage and Christian faith have become shallow. Their cultural dilution is in part due to their former empire, in part due to current PC attitudes which …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“China clearly has its sights set on world hegemony. The attitude of oriental superiority over the occidental bourgeoisie has long pervaded China and even predates Russian predatory tendencies. Realistic analysts who have long experience with both Russia and China know that neither will long be subservient to the other. Russia and China may attempt to use each other for short-term gain, but will eventually tangle for ultimate supremacy. For the present, Russia and China are teaming up against the West in a new unilateral quest for arms. This is no surprise. The Russians have been arming China, off and on, …



Kershaw Kitchen Knives, by Pat Cascio

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Survival means different things to different people. Many only think of survival in terms of surviving out in the wilderness. That isn’t the only type of survival. Today, we are looking at a set of kitchen knives from Kershaw Knives and how they will help you survive your daily kitchen chores. Ernest Emerson- The Real Deal One of the most famous tactical knife designers in the world is Ernest Emerson. When many hear his name, they immediately think of his line of custom or factory-made tactical knives. They do so with good reason; this is what made Emerson famous. However, …



Economics & Investing For Preppers

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Here are the latest news items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. And it bears mention that most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of JWR. (SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor.) Today’s focus is on the USD to Euro Ratio. (See the Forex & Cryptos section.) Public and Private Debt: U.S. on a Course to Spend More on Debt Than Defense o  o  o And all-time high: Average Credit Card Debt in the U.S. in 2018. JWR’s Comments: When …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“We would not be able to ignore the greatest threat western nations have faced in modern times – Radical Islamic Fundamentalism. It’s a different world, today. The Cold War and Mutual Assured Destruction almost look like the good old days. The enemy we face today will not go away, metamorphose or quit. We are in a fight to the death.” – The late Jerry Ahern, when asked if he and his wife were to write The Survivalist series today, what changes he would make. (From an interview in 2010.)


Preparedness Notes for Sunday – November 11, 2018

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Today is a very special Veterans Day/Poppy Day. This is the 100th anniversary of the armistice that ended World War I. (Then known as The Great War or quite naively as The War to End All Wars.) The armistice became effective at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918. Today, I’m thinking especially of my Great Uncle, Gus Wallach. He was very quiet about his service in World War I. He was a Stanford graduate who became a U.S. Army Lieutenant and fought in the trenches of France. Whenever I asked him about his …


The Beginning of the End, by Todd

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An event occurred last week that I want, or more accurately need, to share with others. For me, this feels like a five-alarm warning bell on steroids going off. To my wife and the few friends that I shared this with, it is not a big deal; they just gave me another one of those “Yup, that wouldn’t have happened in the ‘90s” type of reactions. Maybe I’m an alarmist; maybe I’m not. I am just reporting, however, the facts and will let you decide for yourself if there is any revelation in my experience. About Myself Before I go …


The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

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SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods— a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from “HJL”. The world’s public schools are at it yet again. A Surprising Poll Like many others, I have always assumed that conservative strongholds like Texas have suffered from the migration of leftist/progressive loonies from California or the east coast. The thinking was that these people moving in from the coasts were bringing their liberal values with them as they sought employment opportunities. It was quite surprising to me to learn that that assumption …



Preparedness Notes for Saturday – November 10, 2018

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November 10th is remembered in the United States as the “birthday” of the U.S. Marine Corps. Coincidentally, the 10th is also the birthday of the late Mikhail Timofeyevich Kalashnikov, born in 1919, died December 23, 2013. He didn’t design a lot of different guns, but one of his few designs was the prototype for what turned out to be the world’s most widely produced assault rifles. Once an iconic symbol of international communism, the AK’s curved magazine profile has in more recent years become just a symbol of citizens being well-armed.


Guest Post: Silver, The S&P and Sanity, by Gary Christenson

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Silver prices peaked in 2011. The descent has been long and tedious. Perhaps silver prices made an important low on September 11, 2018, like they did on November 21, 2001 at $4.01. That long-term low was twenty cents below the price on September 11, 2001, the day the twin towers fell at free-fall acceleration, which marked the beginning of the silver bull market that launched prices upward by factor of 12. The S&P 500 Index has risen for over 9 years, from a low of 666 to a high of 2,940. It sits in late October at about 2,641. Massive …


Editors’ Prepping Progress

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To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make long-term and short-term plans. Steadily, we work on meeting our prepping goals. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities. They also often share their planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, property improvements, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year. We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in the Comments. Let’s keep busy and be ready! …


The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

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SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods— a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from “HJL”. There is an interesting video today on disguises. AGI From one of our advertisers: Banned on YouTube?! Yes! AGI just received notice from YouTube that our Reloading A-Z Course sampler video has been Banned! Can you believe it?! This video was just excerpts from the actual course. Apparently because it teaches how-to reloading, they decided that it could no longer be posted on YouTube. Again, this wasn’t the whole course it was …