Category: SurvivalBlog

Letters Re: Cold Steel’s SurvivalBlog Voyager Knife

JWR, Just a note to thank you for the input on the new knife design: WOW!— I’m pretty cheap on knives but was recently chastised by a client and retired police officer to always conceal carry (we were at a police qualifying range so “thought” I didn’t need to there) and have a large folding knife in my pocket—ALWAYS! He was very adamant, which woke me up in a good way. So seeing the JWR knife with all the key features that I felt were excellent, I ordered this knife to meet the retired officer’s recommendations; I’m very impressed!! – …


SurvivalBlog’s 10th Anniversary!

This month marks the 10th anniversary of SurvivalBlog. The blog was propitiously launched just a few weeks before the well-remembered Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast. Since August of 2005 we’ve only missed a few days of daily posting. (Those were immediately following the untimely death of my first wife.) The blog’s archives of articles and letters are now amazingly deep, and we’ve kept them all fully accessible to everyone, free of charge. The blog now has more than 320,000 unique visitors per week, and has logged nearly 76 million unique visits. My sincere thanks to our many loyal readers, …


Announcing the SurvivalBlog Limited Edition XL Voyager Knife!

I’m pleased to announce that after more than a year of development, Cold Steel has released the Limited Edition Rawles Voyager Extra Large (XL) folding knife. This knife was specially made to my own specifications. It features the new Carpenter CTS XHP steel for superior edge holding and corrosion resistance, a half-serrated tanto blade for practical versatility, a black diamond-like coating for low reflectivity, and an olive green Griv-Ex grip that won’t slip and that blends in to natural environments. Each knife comes with a right-hand pocket clip installed and a spare pocket clip for left-handers. It has an ambidextrous …


Round 59 Non-Fiction Writing contest Winners Announced!

First Prize goes to PrepperDoc for “Protecting Both Tube and Transistor HF Communications Equipment From E1 EMP Pulse – Part 1” & “Part 2” which was posted on June 5th and 6th. He will receive the following prizes: A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,195 value), 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, DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 Nato QD Billet …


That Pesky Little First Amendment

Over the weekend, by way of the NRA some troubling news spread across the Internet: “Commonly used and unregulated Internet discussions and videos about guns and ammo could be closed down under rules proposed by the State Department, amounting to a ‘gag order on firearm-related speech,’” This stems from an Obama Regime reinterpretation of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). The State Department is updating the ITAR, which implements the Federal Arms Export Control Act (AECA). The net effect of this new ITAR amplification would be to reclassify gun blogs, forums, chat rooms, and firearms “how-to” web pages as …


Round 58 Non-Fiction Writing Contest Winners Announced!

First prize goes to Florida Mom for “Our Founding Fathers Were Right” which was posted on April 1st. She will receive the following prizes: A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course (a $1,195 value), 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, DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 Nato QD Billet upper with a hammer forged, chromlined barrel and a hard case to go with your …


Street Combat – This Ain’t No Game! – Part 5a of 9, by Pat Cascio

[Street Combat – This Ain’t No Game is a SurvivalBlog exclusive.] Chapter Three – GUNS & KNIVES When we get into the topic of guns and knives, it holds a special place in my heart. I have carried a handgun since I was 18 years old and some sort of pocket knife even longer. Deadly weapons don’t necessarily have to be used in the way they are generally intended for them to make an impact. Sometimes, the mere presence of one of these deadly implements is enough to stop an attack. The following is a true story. I know, I …


Street Combat – This Ain’t No Game! – Part 3 of 9, by Pat Cascio

[Street Combat – This Ain’t No Game is a Survivalblog exclusive.] Chapter One HAND-TO-HAND With a few exceptions, it takes years and years of training to become proficient at defending yourself with nothing but your bare hands and feet. The “average” person on the street isn’t prepared to undertake this sort of lengthy and time-consuming training process. So, what are the options? I’ve been involved in the martial arts for close to 30 years, now. If there are any shortcuts or secrets, I sure haven’t discovered them. I’m continually amazed at the number of people who come to me for …


A Note of Caution from JWR

A SurvivalBlog reader has notified us that there is a person using Craigslist to scam money while pretending to be James Wesley Rawles. While this particular scammer is posting an ad for a 2-bedroom apartment in Chicago Illinois, please bear in mind that the real James Wesley Rawles will never use an email account from gmail, hotmail, outlook, or any other generic email account. All email correspondence from JWR will come from email accounts where JWR owns the domain (and most are presented in the pages of SurvivalBlog). JWR will also never ask you to use Western Union or questionable …


Round 57 Non-Fiction Writing Contest Winners Announced!

First prize goes to M.R. for “Your Brain On Paper—How to Write Useful Operating Instructions – Part 1”, “Part 2”, and “Part 3”, which were posted on February 27th and 28th and March 1st. He will receive the following prizes: A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course (a $1,195 value), 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, DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 Nato QD …


Street Combat – This Ain’t No Game! – Part 1 of 9, by Pat Cascio

FOREWORD Street Combat – This Ain’t No Game! is written for the law-abiding citizens of America. In today’s world, the need for such a book is obvious, and Pat Cascio helps level the playing field between decent people and the evil predators who stalk the streets of the world today. A straightforward, no holds barred manual, it’s written by a top expert, who knows his business and deeply cares about the survival of you and your loved ones. Pat knows that the police cannot be everywhere, and so the advantage is in the hands of the criminal predator who strikes …


Looking For a New Offshore Server For SurvivalBlog

Since we no longer have a backup server in Sweden (a long story of which I’ll spare you the details), we are now looking to lease another dedicated offshore backup server for SurvivalBlog. This needs to be a dedicated server with very stable power (preferably hydroelectrically-sourced), 99%+ uptime, and rock-solid stable IP addresses. (Our IP address cannot change, once it is established.) Keep in mind that this server must be capable of regularly handling 25 mbps. We’d also like it to be in a country that is not excessively buddy-buddy with the U.S. government. However, at the same time, we …


Round 56 Non-Fiction Writing Contest Winners Announced!

First prize goes to I.S. for “Motorizing a Country Living Grain Mill for 12-volt Battery and Solar – Part 1” & “Part 2”, which were posted on January 21st and 22nd. He will receive the following prizes: A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course (a $1,195 value), 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, DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 Nato QD Billet upper with …


2005 -2014 SurvivalBlog Archive Now Available!

The expanded 2005-2014 SurvivalBlog Archive is now available as either a digital download, or as a DVD. Now, you’ll get not just one extra year of the blog but many more bonus books. (49 books, in all!) This is a complete archive DVD of all of the SurvivalBlog posts from 2005 to 2014. The article titles on this DVD are keyword searchable and are provided in both HTML and PDF. Effectively, it emulates SurvivalBlog offline, on your PC. It runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux. With this DVD, you’ll always have access to the SurvivalBlog archives, even if the Internet …


SurvivalBlog’s Annual Disclaimers, Provisos, and Public Notices

SurvivalBlog, a private information service, is obliged to post some disclaimers and provisos, annually. These notices are current as of January 1, 2014 and remain in force unless later specifically revoked or modified by the Editor. Advertising and Reviews Per FTC File No. P034520: SurvivalBlog accepts cash-paid advertising. To the best of my knowledge, as of the date of this posting, none of our advertisers that sell the products mentioned in this blog have solicited SurvivalBlog or our staff to write any reviews or endorsements, nor have they provided me any free or reduced-price gear in exchange for any reviews …