Year: 2024

BeaverCraft Glacier Bushcraft Knife, by Thomas Christianson

The Ukrainian-made BeaverCraft Glacier Bushcraft Knife has a razor-sharp, 4.25-inch, full-tang, Scandi-grind blade made of 1066 high carbon steel. The blade is 1.18 inches wide, and 0.13 inches thick at the base. The knife is 10.63 inches overall in length, with an unfinished European walnut handle. It comes with a nice leather dangler-form sheath. Although 1066 steel is not highly corrosion resistant, I did not experience any problems with rust throughout the testing period even though I used the knife under a wide variety of inclement weather conditions. With a price at the time of writing of $45 at beavercrafttools.com, …


Recipe of the Week: Hearty Trail Bread

The following recipe for Hearty Trail Bread is from SurvivalBlog reader Tina B. Ingredients 3 cups bread flour, divided 1/2 cup whole wheat flour 2 (4-1/2 tsp.) envelopes Instant Yeast (such as Fleischmann’s) 1 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons sugar 1 tablespoon brown sugar 3/4 cup milk 1/2 cup water 1/4 cup butter OR margarine 1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped 1/2 cup prunes, chopped 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds, coarsely chopped 1/4 cup sunflower kernels 1/4 cup coconut Directions Combine 1 cup bread flour, whole wheat flour, undissolved yeast, salt and sugars in a large mixer bowl. Heat milk, water and butter …


SurvivalBlog Graphic of the Week

Today’s graphic shows the rates of home ownership in the United States. (Graphic courtesy of Reddit. Research and graphic by Ehsan Soltani, using U.S. Census data. First published by econovis.net.) The thumbnail image below is click-expandable.         — Please send your graphic ideas to JWR. (Either via e-mail or via our Contact form.) Any graphics that you send must either be your own creation or uncopyrighted.



Preparedness Notes for Sunday — July 28, 2024

On July 28, 1794, French Revolutionary figure Maximilien Robespierre and 22 other leaders of “the Terror” guillotined to thunderous cheers in Paris. — On July 28, 1932, U.S. Army troops, using tanks, cavalry, and tear gas demolished and burned the shanty town set up near the U.S. Capitol by unemployed Bonus Army protestors. — July 28th is also the anniversary of the outbreak of World War I, in 1914. This war irreparably changed geopolitics and set the stage for both World War II and the Cold War. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 113 of …


The Well-Rounded Prepper, by Cactus Jack

The recent Crowdstrike computer/IT outage got us thinking about a host of things that affect our everyday lives. How do we get cash out of the bank, fuel for our vehicles, food, water, etc. when the power or internet is out? Start pulling on a loose thread and we soon realize that in life everything seems to be connected. There are ‘must have’ items that we always carry with us. Cash, a small amount of US 90% silver coins, firearm(s), knives (as in more than one), water, food, some tools, gloves, hat, and some cordage (rope or heavy twine) In …


JWR’s Meme Of The Week:

The latest meme created by JWR: Meme Text: The Kamala Venn Diagram People Who Like Venn Diagrams People Who Understand Venn Diagrams People Who Can Make Venn Diagrams News Links: Kamala Harris: “I Love Venn Diagrams”  Notes From JWR: Do you have a meme idea? Just e-mail me the concept, and I’ll try to assemble it. And if it is posted then I’ll give you credit. Thanks! Permission to repost memes that I’ve created is granted, provided that credit to SurvivalBlog.com is included.  


The Editors’ Quote of the Day: 

“Now about the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and taught. And the Jews marvelled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned? Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him. Did not Moses give you …


Preparedness Notes for Saturday — July 27, 2024

The first test flight of the F-15 Eagle air superiority fighter took place on July 27, 1972, at Edwards Air Force Base, California. McDonnell Douglas Chief Experimental Test Pilot Irving L. Burrows was at the controls. — July 27th is the birthday of Captain Samuel Whittemore (born in 1694, died February 3, 1793). He was an English-born American farmer and soldier. He was eighty years of age when he became the oldest known colonial combatant in the American War of Independence. — On July 27, 1377 there was the first example of a quarantine. In the city of Rugusa (now …


Building a Utility Trailer – Part 2, by Lodge Pole

(Continued from Part 1.  This concludes the article.) What to store in the trailer truck box? Because of the current mindset of theft with little to no penalty in many states, I do not have a truck box attached to my personal truck any longer. Since I do not take my trailer out, except for outdoor activities where I am typically within eyesight of it, I feel comfortable having a toolbox permanently attached to the trailer frame. The following is a list of what I carry in my toolbox and why. This is an extremely personal list suited to what …


Editors’ Prepping Progress

To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make both long-term and short-term plans. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities and planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, ranch improvements, bug-out bag fine-tuning, 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 your e-mailed letters. We post many of those — or excerpts thereof — in the Odds …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge? Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me. Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding. Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it? Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof; When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? …


Preparedness Notes for Friday — July 26, 2024

On July 26, 1803, the horse-drawn Surrey Iron Railway (SIR), arguably the world’s first public railway, opened in south London. — On July 26th, 1931, a swarm of grasshoppers descended on crops throughout the American heartland, devastating millions of acres. Already in a bad drought, Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota suffered tremendously. The swarms were said to be so thick that they blocked out the sun and one could shovel the grasshoppers with a scoop. While America has not seen infestations on such a scale since then, North Africa and parts of the Middle East continue to experience them. — …


Building a Utility Trailer – Part 1, by Lodge Pole

On a family camping trip earlier this year, I realized how little room, rather how much “stuff” we take with us when we go anywhere. As much exercise as I get from climbing in and out of the back of our tall truck, I wanted something that could carry all our camping gear, that was easy to unhitch and move by hand, and was easy to load and unload. After talking over some ideas with my wife, I decided it was time to get a utility trailer that we could use not only to carry our camping and exploration gear, …


Economics & Investing For Preppers

Here are the latest news items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. In this column, JWR also covers hedges, derivatives, and various obscura. This column emphasizes JWR’s “tangibles heavy” investing strategy and contrarian perspective. Today, we look at the new Ethereum ETFs. (See the Forex & Cryptos section.) Precious Metals: Gold Price Predictions for the Next 5 Years (By Experts). o  o  o Daniel Lacalle, at Gold-Eagle.com: Central Banks Purchase Gold to Offset Their Own Money Destruction. Economy & Finance: Repos Spike in 2024 As Fewer Americans Can Pay Their …