Here are JWR’s Recommendations of the Week for various media and tools of interest to SurvivalBlog readers. The focus is usually on emergency communications gear, bug out bag gear, books and movies–often with a tie-in to disaster preparedness, and links to “how to” self-sufficiency videos. There are also links to sources for both storage food and storage containers. You will also note an emphasis on history books and historical movies. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This week the focus is on Red Feather Canned Butter. (See the Gear & Grub section.)
Books:
Sustainable Market Farming: Intensive Vegetable Production on a Few Acres
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The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History
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Now that Paladin Press is kaput, this is now a quite scarce book: Defending Your Retreat: A Manual For Combat After the Collapse.
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I just noticed that my book How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It: Tactics, Techniques, and Technologies for Uncertain Times is still selling well, and now has nearly 1,000 posted reader reviews, at Amazon.com. My next nonfiction book will be released on October 20th. But please wait until the release day, to place your order. Thanks!
Movies and Television:
This has been out for several years on DVD, and Blu-Ray, but it is now available via Amazon Prime streaming: The Adventures of Tintin.
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The first three episodes of this new series are available free to those with Amazon Prime: War of the Worlds. JWR’s Comments: I’ll reserve judgement until I’ve seen more of the series. But at least it is good to see that the script writers didn’t follow the typical idiotic British television protocol: “It’s a total disaster, but all our main characters–except the bad guys–will repeatedly leave accessible and perfectly useful guns behind, and then wander about, unarmed.”
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Corporal’s Corner’s advice on silky style folding saws: Why I Switched To The Silky Gomboy 240. (For some reason, these are normally sold in pairs. If you decide to buy a pair of these, then please use this link.–that will benefit SurvivalBlog.)
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Way ahead of its time: The Armalite AR-10. Note the “Iron Man” type backpack belt-feeding can, that was not adopted (in limited numbers–for the M240) until around 2012.
Gear & Grub:
Amazingly, there are still a few of these available at a good price, at Amazon.com: Breathable Respirator Mask – N95 Mask
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If you buy an Oxygen Concentrator, then be sure to order a couple of spare HEPA filters (often brand specific) and plenty of cannulas. (The latter are almost universally interchangeable, between brands.)
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Maxwell House Original Roast Coffee Blend (8oz Canister, Pack of 3)
Featured Antique Gun of the Week:
This week’s featured antique gun of the week is an L.C. Smith Model O double barrel shotgun. This example is unusual in that most pre-1899 double guns have Damascus steel barrels. But this one has factory fluid steel barrels. Like most other pre-1899s, it can be mailed or shipped directly to your doorstep without any paperwork or FFL dealer involvement. (Be sure to check your state and local laws before ordering.) Take a look at the many recently-added guns at the Elk Creek Company store.
Make a Suggestion
Want to suggest Recommendations of your own? Then please send them to JWR. (Either via e-mail of via our Contact form.) Thanks!
In reference to War of the Worlds type productions; I learned in Dungeons and Dragons to NEVER leave a live enemy or useful weapon or tool behind you. When SHTF time comes, that will be my mantra.
Is the link for “Defending Your Retreat: A Manual For Combat After the Collapse” broken? I can’t get it to work.
I’ve just repaired that link. Sorry about that.
Just ordered a home oxygen concentrator. As Ive said before on SB I am a retired nurse. Ive worked in critical care and also 10 years in home health. Oxygen concentrators will keep many people (not all of course) out of the hospital. I live in a small city of about 50,000 people. Our 2 major hospitals are almost always full on a regular day. As soon as we have a surge in respiratory patients from coronavirus, hospitals will EASILY be overwhelmed. AND more importantly there will be a severe shortage of ventilators. If you can afford one PLEASE get yourself a oxygen concentrator.
WV Joe! We are new to the idea of an oxygen concentrator (familiar with the tech, but have never purchased one of these systems). We do have an older family member who may need this kind of support in the event of respiratory illness, and are wondering if there are any particular features we should look for in such a system, reputable brands (or brands to avoid), etc. We look forward to your insights on this, and those of other readers who may have experience and want to chime in. Thank you!
We were able to get a good portable oxygen concentrator with a doctors prescription. It took jumping through some hoops, but it is covered on Medicare. We have a big unit at home and a portable one for when we are away from home. Don’t know if I am allowed to name the brand, but I can say it is advertised on tv and is the one that we really wanted.
WV Joe,
I agree people should try to obtain an O2 concentrator if they can. A couple of things people should be aware of is that for a real medical concentrator, usually 1-5 liters or a bigger one 1-10 liter concentrator (these are not considered portable, more for home use, which is what you want) these require a prescription from a doctor to be sold. You can find these used on Craigslist and other types of advertisements, without an RX. Do some research online with new models, to get a feel for the brands out there, Invacare and Respironics EverFlo are two well known brands. Ask how old they are, and how many hours are on them. Most brands have a small window located somewhere on the unit that will list the hours. You want to try and find one that is under 5000 hours, buying one with more than that is risky as these types of unit are notorious for having the compressor fail after that many hours and repair on these is rarely done anymore, it’s not profitable. Also go and visually look at the condition of them, some are in really bad shape. Also know that some resellers buy these in lots from nursing homes or other medical facilities when they are purchasing new ones and these can be in really poor condition with many hours of use on them. The best find is one that was in a home. I started looking in January on Craigslist and finally found one 2 weeks ago, I looked at several that were not worth the usual asking price of $200-220. I finally got lucky and found one that was less than 2 months old, with only 300 hours on it, looked brand new, was extremely clean. They were selling off belongings from an estate and had no idea what they had. Asking $220 and I got it for $130. I then took it straight over to a licensed dealer who mostly sells new portables and he hooked it up to an O2 analyzer for me to see the concentration percentage of oxygen. The best is almost 96%, and mine read 95.6%. I really did luck out. Also never take the O2 cannulas people may offer you. You can find new ones very cheap online or at a nearby medical sales store, buy several. Clean machine well with germicidal wipes.
I already had a model I bought on amazon, but these are not the same as real medical concentrators, as in the fact that the best O2 percent you can get with just one liter is usually only 88-90%, 2 liters = 75%, 3 liters = 60%, 4 liters = 50%, 5 liters = 40%. With COVID 19, if hospitals are not available and a person develops severe pneumonia, you want to be able to deliver more high flow amounts of oxygen with correlating percentages. Don’t get me wrong, these units are better than nothing, but first see if you can find a good used model.
These units that sell on amazon have recently doubled in price also, I looked today and could not believe the mark ups!
Good Luck
Hi T of A. Ive only used more expensive commercial brands in patients homes. Its a pretty simple technology that works so well even for chronically ill patients. Having said that Im not familiar with the brands on Amazon. I just read reivews from (customers) patients that use them and were pleased with their concentrator. I ordered the 4 year warranty just in case. A concentrator will keep a patient in in the safe blood oxygen zone of 92% to 100% even with patients that have chronic copd. For those 10 years in home health I saw hundreds of patients stay out of the hospital because they were able to keep their blood oxygen level in that safe range. Of course when a patient can not keep in that safe level even with a home concentrator then that’s when they must go to the ER. That can happen. But in my experience in home health it was rare that I had to call EMS for low blood O2 levels when a patient had a O2 concentrator.
My approach was to look for used (“ex-rental”) 5-liter 02 Concentrtors on Craiglsist. This way you will get a much more sturdy machine designed for continuous duty. Since I bought several, I was able to talk the seller down to $250 each. I bought the Invacare Platinum XL model. Buying 5 cannulas ($10 for each set of 5) and replacement filter and humidifier sets ($5) only bumped my cost up a little.
Another consideration: These units can be noisy and they run a little warm. If you like to sleep “cool and quiet”, buy longer tubing and position your O2 concentrator outside the door of your bedroom.
Good idea JWR. I mainly would only need a concentrator for emergency temporary use. And the one I bought is light and more portable. The heavier duty units that I was used to working with in patients homes are much larger and heavier. But for this coronavirus situation it will be a much needed survival tool regardless of which kind you purchase. I just hope your readers will be able to afford any unit they can purchase. Also I forgot to mention that folks should buy a 10 dollar pulse oximeter to put on their finger and measure their blood oxygen level and heart rate.
WV Joe and JWR! Thank you both for the excellent insights, ideas and strategies for securing an O2 concentrator. So much appreciated!!!
How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It. From my perspective a truly exceptional book and along with Patriots, copies were gifted to several families in the hopes it would generate some thought and action towards prepping. I typically started with Patriots so that the idea of a collapse was seated in their minds along with the idea that they could do something to prepare. Then it was on to How to Survive giving them ideas how and what they can do to provide for themselves when the situation demands it. After reading How to Survive potential Preppers often accepted the offer to pick a chapter for in depth discussion. It is easier to guide a discussion with these books as guidelines. It is also a great recruiting tool for potential candidates.
About that face mask, what does PM 2.5 mean? Do the filters meet N95 standards in the US? I notice that there is no actual representation about the mask meeting N95 standards in the seller’s description.
I should add that I found for sale a PM 2.5 mask on eBay a couple of weeks ago. The description said nothing about it being an N95 mask, just like the one in the link above. I sent the following message to the seller, “Is this an N95 mask? If not, how do I know it will work adequately against the coronavirus?”
I received this response, “Sorry for that, we are not sure about that.”
The filters for the mask to which the link is provided appear to be very generic. I have some of these. I have felt uneasy about trusting them, especially given the number of knockoffs and counterfeit items that come out of China.
Unfortunately I don’t know, but I can tell you that PM 2.5 stands for Particulate Matter < 2.5 microns, which is pretty small filtration, if true.
Silky saw looks rather limited, Gerber Gator saw is very sturdy and can use a almost unlimited variety of blades(I have multiple hacksaw,bone,crosscut,hardwood,softwood,and a ceramic blade. It may take set up and take down but replacement blades makes it long lived.
AR10 video and backpack ammocan 50 to 100 rd “snail” mags have been available for years. Almost laughed at mud dip test,how many guns blew up from blocked barrels,fouled gas tubes,fouled actions,fouled mags etc. Claims of minimal cleaning and lubrication contradicted by years of experience(Nam vets would throw m16s away to get m14 back).
Try clarified butter,easy to make and can at home for a lot less and is shelf stable for multiple years.
Had a Silky saw and snapped the blade in half. Then bought a small Stihl handsaw and found it just as sharp but more durable. Not a folder but quite compact and has a good sheath with a belt loop.
Yep, NT, loved that M14. Watching the AR10 video, I was feeling some lust for what looked like a very fine firearm. Then, I remembered my affection for the M14.
I’ll bet a lot of men killed when the m16 jammed would have come home if equipped with the AR10. Impressive versatility.
Carry on
Hi TX nurse. Thanks for your thoughts. I’ve helped patients in setting up everything from the larger home units to very small portable units they can carry. They all have pros and cons. I wanted to try something in between for emergency use only. And you’re right I was concerned about the O2 percentage it could generate. And of course reliability. So I purchased the warranty. I’ll keep y’all updated on the unit after I get it. Thanks again.
God Bless
Regarding the canned butter: https://www.drnorthrup.com/eat-butter-protect-your-brain/
I am relieved to learn of the efficacy of fat for protecting my noggin’s contents.
Carry on
Hello Once a Marine. I’ve always enjoyed your comments on here. In these times its nice to see the lighter side. So heres one for you. Being from WV Im just still glad to have most of my teeth.
God Bless
Thank you for your kind words, brother.
Carry on
Our Biblical Mandate for Care During a Disaster/Pandemic
(YouTube Video)
ThePatriotNurse
Mar 10, 2020
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amKmg5lqIi4
Duration – 10:56
“In this informative video, Patriot Nurse discusses the mandate of Bible Believers to care for their elders, especially during times of hardship and crisis. As we anticipate are large upswing in infections domestically over the next few weeks, we have an opportunity to pull together and help our elders get ready to ride this one out.”
Preparedness Not Panic: Getting ready for the Next 2 Weeks.
(YouTube Video)
ThePatriotNurse
Mar 10, 2020
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ir2iz5C-lXo
Duration – 13:20
“In this informative video, Patriot Nurse discusses the steps we can take in the midst of the virus spread to safeguard the health of our families and loved ones.”
Carl that is a very interesting attitude. I never played Dungeons and Dragons. Thank God. Sounds to me like the words of a person that has never left a dead enemy behind. I always tried to leave a friend behind. You cannot kill every one. Even though many have it coming. I have had the opportunity to help people leave this world, in violence. I Did Not Like It. All the rest of my life I have tried to make ammends. It is better to have a Good Enemy than a Bad Friend. This is the story of the Good Samaritan. Perhaps you have never heard about that story. Sometimes we have to do what we have to do. But be careful what you say. There is power in your words. May God have mercy on us all and God Bless America.
The Broken INTERGENERATIONAL CONTRACT
(YouTube Video)
Felix Rex (BPS)
(2020, March 11)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hh_s1pjFvMU
Duration – 17:41
Luckily I was able to purchase two of the oxygen concentrators offered on Amazon several weeks ago. One for me & hubby, one for mom and dad. (Were in our fifties, mom and dad in their 80’s)
I also purchased a box full of extra cannulas & tubing, couple dozen masks to go with both machines and I already have on hand 4 pulse oximeters (got these on lightning deals last year).
Another item that I purchased last year, I believe around October is MedifyAir -M40 Air purifiers (Amazon) I was concerned about the air quality in my home. It’s main original portion was built in 1861.
So I got 3 of these, they are NOT cheap (close to $300, each unit) and put one on each level of my home. One in basement, one on main level and one upstairs on third floor. They use a M-40, filter (Amazon).
I will say that the quality of air in my home has SIGNIFICANTLY improved since installing these.
Just wondering if anyone has any thoughts on this type of filtration and if this would help others too?!