Year: 2025

Henson Shaving AL13 Razor, by Thomas Christianson

In the event of an extended grid-down situation, many men will probably choose to grow beards. But for those who currently shave their faces, continued regular shaving may help to provide them and their families with a sense of stability. That sense of stability, in turn, may help them to better cope with the transition to the new situation. This means that a comfortable, cost-effective, compact, and convenient shaving system may give significant psychological benefits during a disruptive situation. [JWR Adds: In a nuclear, biological, or chemical (NBC) warfare environment, having your chin closely-shaved is important for keeping a good …


Recipe of the Week:  Lily’s Creamed Garden Greens Soup

The following is an updated recipe for my Creamed Garden Greens Soup. Note that this varies from what I had previously posted in our Editors’ Prepping Progress column. I skipped the Dandelion greens this time, and used much less nutmeg. And I did not add any water. It was a super-rich and creamy greens soup.  Everybody raved about it. Ingredients Four loose cups of mixed mild garden greens.  (From my garden, I used roughly equal parts of Lamb’s Quarters, Sorrel, and Swiss Chard leaves. Also, a smaller quantity of chopped Chives.) 1 Tablespoon of butter (I use my own sheep’s …




Preparedness Notes for Sunday — May 25, 2025

On May 25th, 1720, the ship “Le Grand St. Antoine” reached Marseille, France, bringing Europe’s last major plague outbreak. The Plague of Marseille killed around 100,000 people. — May 25, 1787: The Constitutional Convention convened in Philadelphia with George Washington presiding. The task of the peaceful overthrow of the new American government as it had been defined by the Articles of Confederation eventually led to the United States Constitution that is so abused today. — May 25th, 2012: A SpaceX Dragon became the first commercial spacecraft to dock at the International Space Station. — Today’s feature article is an essay …


Avoiding Those Jurisdictional Layers

Many of my consulting calls focus on the selection of retreat property locales. I always advise my clients to look first at state, county, and local laws, before they even start to look at individual real estate listings. In this essay,  I will address the issue of jurisdictional layers, when considering retreat locales. In two previous SurvivalBlog articles, I discussed the whole concept of jurisdiction: In 2018: The First Question is Always Jurisdiction. and, in 2024: Fencing In Federal Jurisdiction. But in this essay, I will be going over the application of jurisdiction, and most importantly how it varies, additively, …


JWR’s Meme Of The Week:

The latest meme created by JWR:   Meme Text: The Face That A Hogg Makes When He Is Told… That We’ll Be Able To Make Our Own Suppressors and Suppressor Parts, And Sell Used Ones At Gun Shows, Without Any Paperwork 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:

“I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel saying, Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life. But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to …


Preparedness Notes for Saturday — May 24, 2025

On May 24, 1844, Samuel Morse tapped out: “What hath God wrought” in the world’s first telegraph message. — And speaking of Samuels, on May 24, 1764, Samuel Adams wrote instructions for a Boston Town Meeting opposing the Sugar Act, laying the groundwork for colonial resistance to taxation without representation. — Today’s feature article is a guest post that is not part of our writing contest judging. We are in need of entries for Round 118 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $950,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest.  Round 118 ends …


Leftist Plantation: It’s Now “Treason” For White Farmers To Leave South Africa?, by Brandon Smith

Editor’s Introductory Note: This guest article (reposted with permission) describes some recent news that might outwardly seem tangential to the focus of SurvivalBlog. But I believe that it is indeed relevant because it highlights the importance of preparedness for international migration. The 20th Century taught us that national politics can change rapidly, and minority groups can be marginalized, exploited, disenfranchised, persecuted, imprisoned, and systematically killed. This happened again and again in places like Armenia, Russia and Ukraine (with the rise of the Bolsheviks and Soviets from the 1920s to 1950s), Greece and Turkey in the 1920s, Nazi Germany, the partition …


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:

“The word of the Lord also came unto me, saying, Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious house, which have eyes to see, and see not; they have ears to hear, and hear not: for they are a rebellious house. Therefore, thou son of man, prepare thee stuff for removing, and remove by day in their sight; and thou shalt remove from thy place to another place in their sight: it may be they will consider, though they be a rebellious house. Then shalt thou bring forth thy stuff by day in their sight, as stuff …


Preparedness Notes for Friday — May 23, 2025

On May 23rd, 1934 the outlaws Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were killed by deputized former Texas Rangers Frank Hamer (pictured above) and Maney Gault, as well as assorted local police, near Gibbsland, Louisiana. The event was dramatized in the 2019 Kevin Costner movie The Highwaymen.  JWR’s Comments:  It is good that Frank Hamer stocked up, when he did. The National Firearms Act (NFA) was signed into law by Franklin D. Roosevelt in June of 1934.  That law unconstitutionally required registration and $200 transfer taxes on sales of machineguns, short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, and suppressors. — May 23 is the …


Lehman’s Cordless Mason Jar Vacuum Sealer, by Mike in Alaska

I recently bought a Mason Jar vacuum sealer from the Lehman’s Non-Electric store located in Kidron, Ohio. The following is my informal review. Disclaimer: I paid full retail price for this jar sealer. Lehman’s has not paid me or otherwise compensated me, nor do I represent them. I am simply offering to readers of the blog our experience with this product. We have bought many items from Lehman’s over the years, from cast iron products, food, candies, to Aladdin Lamps. The quality of their products is what we call “generational quality”; that is, you can pass their products down to …


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 LMBA’s delivery crunch. (See the Precious Metals section.) Precious Metals: The London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) is running into a physical delivery crunch for gold contracts. There are now so many long contract holders demanding delivery that the delivery part of the LBMA’s traditional “next working day” contract settlement promise has been …