Year: 2024

Martial Arts in The Collapse: A Question of Limits – Part 2, by Dr. Joseph

(Continued from Part 1.) The knives that I have in mind for fast draw, and for defeating unarmed Mixed Martial Arts types, are those that do not dangle in a sheath by one’s side, but rather sit tucked into the belt, such as the Afghan Khyber knife/Indo-Persian pesh-kabz (but not the sword versions, such as the otherwise excellent Cold Steel version), facon of Argentina (Cold Steel has a smart version of this), the Arkansas toothpick, and Scottish dirk. Cold Steel’s Marauder, has a 9-inch blade, 4.7 mm thick, and is used by pig hunters (see Gideonstactical, YouTube, “Pig Sticker OR …


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:

“Yea, forty years didst thou sustain them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing; their clothes waxed not old, and their feet swelled not. Moreover thou gavest them kingdoms and nations, and didst divide them into corners: so they possessed the land of Sihon, and the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og king of Bashan. Their children also multipliedst thou as the stars of heaven, and broughtest them into the land, concerning which thou hadst promised to their fathers, that they should go in to possess it. So the children went in and possessed …


Preparedness Notes for Friday — April 12, 2024

On April 12, 1861, Fort Sumter, one of the few military installations in the South still in Federal hands, came under fire from Confederate guns in Charleston, South Carolina, thus initiating the American Civil War. April 12th is the birthday of the late novelist Tom Clancy. (Born 1947, died October 1, 2013). It was Clancy who almost single-handedly created the modern techno-thriller genre, with his first novel, The Hunt For Red October. Coincidentally, Tom Clancy’s first literary agent is now my agent, Robert Gottlieb. — Joshua at Ready Made Resources wrote to mention:  “For the month of April, anyone placing …


Martial Arts in The Collapse: A Question of Limits – Part 1, by Dr. Joseph

The Death Spiral to Dark Age 2.0 In my previous article at Survivalblog.com, “After the Collapse – Dark Age 2.0: Melee Weapons,” I outlined the case for the coming collapse being many dimensions of severity greater than most survivalists and preppers suppose, leading to a situation of multigenerational collapse, the Mad Max scenario without the hot cars. There are, much like ancient Rome before the fall (or disintegration/decay), forces at work internally destroying the West, leaving it vulnerable and lacking in resilience to external shocks, such as nuclear war, and EMP events, either from intense solar storms or from enemy …


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 California’s $20 minimum wage law. (See the Economy & Finance section.) Precious Metals: Despite some profit-taking, the precious metals bull market is looking more solid with every passing week. At last glance, on Thursday evening, 11 April: Gold: $2,400.40, up 1.76% for the day. Another all-time high. Silver $28.95, up 2.01% for …



Preparedness Notes for Thursday — April 11, 2024

On April 11, 1848, Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria confirmed the March Laws, which formed the foundation of the modern state of Hungary. Pictured is Buda Castle, in Hungary. (Creative Commons photo by Costel Slincu.) — Lieutenant Colonel George Vincent Fosbery VC (11 April 1832 – 8 May 1907) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. He was also a designer and inventor of firearms including the famous Webley-Fosbery revolver and the Paradox Gun. — Even …


Comparison of Sunflair and All-American Sun Ovens, by M.J.

I’ve had a Sunflair Deluxe solar oven for a few years now. I recently purchased an All-American Sun Oven. I cooked with both of them recently. The Sunflair Deluxe is made of fabric and flexible plastic (to let the sun in), whereas the Sun Oven is a large box that does not fold, but the panels that reflect the sun into the oven that do fold. I don’t recommend cooking on a windy day with the Sun Oven. The sun-reflecting panels are too fragile. That’s not a problem with the Sunflair Deluxe, but one time the wind came up and …


The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods. This column is a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from JWR. Our goal is to educate our readers, to help them to recognize emerging threats, and to be better prepared for both disasters and negative societal trends. You can’t mitigate a risk if you haven’t first identified a risk. In today’s column, and examination of the advent of government surveillance cameras on private property. Government Cameras Hidden on Private Property Reader Robert W. mentioned this piece at AgWeb: Government Cameras …



Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — April 10, 2024

On April 10, 1849, the safety pin was patented by Walter Hunt in the United States; he later sold his rights to the fastener for just $400. On April 10, 1972, the development, production, and stockpiling of biological weapons were outlawed by the Biological Weapons Convention, signed by more than 150 countries. April 10, 1827 was the birthday of General Lew Wallace. He wrote books (author of Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ), sculpted, practiced law, painted, played the violin — and made them as well. In the “Battle of Monocacy” he fought alongside 8,000 Union troops against 15,000 Confederates. …


By Default: Habits, Good and Bad – Part 2, by N.C.

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) Altering Your Default Behaviors If you are not executing your own positive plan you’re a resource to other agents at best and their servant or slave at worst. As Seneca put it to his protégé discussing how people decry things but do not change themselves “they are lingering of their own free will in a situation which they declare they find it hard and wretched to endure. It is so, my dear Lucilius; there are a few men whom slavery holds fast, but there are many more who hold fast to slavery.” Or, …


SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

This weekly Snippets column is a collection of short items: responses to posted articles, practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. Note that we may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters. — UPI reports: At least 9 dead, nearly 1,000 injured in Taiwan earthquake. JWR’s Comment: This was one of the worst earthquakes on the island since the well-publicized earthquake in 2018. (Pictured.)  We will soon see if mainland China attempts to exploit this as a “moment of weakness.” o  o  o Another useful …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“I was asked by a journalist if I am a secessionist. My answer was a resounding ‘No!’.  I explained that I’m rather a partitionist.  I believe that rural parts of states that have been disenfranchised by their more populous urban hubs have every right to form new States within the Union. The rural and conservative portions control the larger land areas of many states. There is nothing magical or penultimate about the number 50. It is merely a temporary stopping point that has only stood since 1959. The citizens of regions like Eastern Oregon, Eastern Washington, Northern Colorado, Southern Illinois, …