Pat Cascio’s Product Review: Cold Steel’s Broken Skull

It happens all too often, and I don’t know what people don’t understand when I tell them a knife is super-sharp and not to run their finger down the blade. The first thing they do, when I hand them a knife I’m testing, is to run their finger down the blade and cut themselves. I like to believe that I speak in a manner that folks can understand what I’m saying, but, alas, many just have to learn lessons the hard way. I usually keep one or two Band-Aids in my wallet for the slow learners who refuse to heed my warnings.

For close to 25 years now, I’ve been testing Cold Steel knives and reviewing them in various knife magazines, as well on several blogs. I’ve yet to run across one of their knives that wasn’t sharp as sharp can be. I’ve said thousands of times that Cold Steel set the gold standard when it comes to sharp knives. Everyone else had to jump on the train or get left at the station, when it came to selling sharp knives right out the box. I used to collect custom, handmade knives, and you would be shocked at how many custom knife makers can’t put a halfway decent edge on their knives. They produce works of arts, but many can’t sharpen their own designs. It’s sad!

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Long time friend Lynn Thompson, who owns Cold Steel, is very particular about his knives. In the past, he has been known to reject entire shipments of knives after inspecting some at random, because they didn’t meet his high standards in one area or another. Lest anyone think that just because Thompson and I are friends that I only sing the highest praises about his knives, you’d be wrong, dead wrong! Lynn and I have had a few differences in the past on some topics, but we remain friends. He knows that I will give his knives a little extra testing, just so no one can claim I gave his knives a pass in my testing. It’s just the way I am. When my oldest daughter was promoted to Black Belt under my watchful eye, I made her work extra hard for that Black Belt, once again, because I didn’t want anyone saying that I simply “gave” her the promotions to reach that rank.

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Lynn Thompson has teamed up with legendary pro wrestler Steve “The Rattlesnake” Austin on several Cold Steel knives, which will bear Austin’s name. Anyone who has followed Austin over the years knows that he is an avid hunter and outdoorsman and has a great love for knives– good knives, not junk.

The first knife out of the Cold Steel stable that bears Steve Austin’s name on it is the Broken Skull folder. If you watch any of the TV shows that Austin hosts, you’ll know what Broken Skull means. There are several different versions of the Broken Skull, and the only difference is in the handle colors. I have the Broken Skull I for this article. Lynn Thompson knows that on more than a few occasions I have misplaced or lost one of his knives on my small homestead with it falling in the grass or getting laid down where I couldn’t find it. So, Thompson, wisely sent me the Broken Skull folder with the bright orange G10 handle scales. Boy, do they stand out. It’d be hard to lose this one, even if I tried.

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The first thing that caught my attention on my Broken Skull sample was how light weight it is. It weighs a mere 3.1 ounces. Yeah, you read that right. It’s a 4” blade folder that only comes in at slightly over 3 oz. Amazing. The blade is made out of CTS XHP alloy Carpenters steel with a black DLC coating, for a nice subdued look. The coating helps protect the blade from the elements; it isn’t just for looks.

Thompson wisely picked his Tri-Ad lock, which is one of the strongest locks, if not the strongest lock, used on a folding knife. There are also ambidextrous thumb studs on the blade, for ease of opening. It does take a little effort, because of the stout Tri-Ad lock. There is a reversible pocket clip for tip up carry in either pocket. The overall length of the knife when open is 9 ¼ inches. We also have Steve Austin’s name on the blade, as well as “Broken Skull.” Cool!

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On a daily basis, I usually have two key rings in one pocket, one and quite often two folding knives– one in each of my front pockets, two wallets– one in each back pocket, a small high intensity flashlight in my right front pocket, and very little cash and change. On my belt, you will find whichever handgun I’m carrying. This changes. I do carry the handguns I test for my articles, along with a spare magazine and a Leatherman multi-tool. On my ankle is my back-up handgun, and that is almost always my Ruger LCP .380 ACP pistol. I probably carry an extra 8-10 lbs on myself every single day. So, anything that takes a little weight off of my “Batman Utility Belt” is welcomed. The Broken Skull at a mere 3.1 oz. It doesn’t add much of any extra weight that I have to carry. Over the course of a month, I often forgot I had the Broken Skull folder in my left front pocket.

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Some people believe I overdo it with two handguns. I don’t, and neither do many others. A small back-up handgun is really a nice thing. It’s a habit I got into when I was working as a PI, back in Chicago, IL many years ago, and it carried over when I was working in law enforcement. I feel naked without my ankle gun. My Leatherman multi-tool is used almost daily for some kind of chores on my small homestead, too. A spare magazine for my main carry gun is a must. More often than not, if there is a failure of some sort with my main handgun, it is most likely magazine related.

On to testing the Broken Skull I folder. I used it in my kitchen, and it is a good size for many kitchen chores, like slicing meat and veggies. Outside, I used it to cut back some blackberry vines. With the warmer temperatures, the blackberry vines are on the march this time of year, and they are tough, very tough, to cut. The Broken Skull had no problems cleanly slick through those vines with a single swipe of the blade.

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One test I like to do is seeing how thinly I can slice a piece of copy paper. Many knives will slice copy paper but not slice it thinly. The Broken Skull sliced it as thinly as I could get it. I also used the knife for some throwing but never could get it to stick. Then again, I didn’t expect it to. The knife got dirty, but there was no damage to the blade or handle scales. G10 is almost bullet-proof stuff; it’s very, very tough! At one time, G10 was only used by custom knife makers, because it was so expensive to use.

The Cold Steel Broken Skull is manufactured in Taiwan, as are many main stream knives that are sold in the USA. As I mentioned, Lynn Thompson stays on top of the manufacturing and refuses knives that aren’t up to his high expectations. Our own Jim Rawles collaborated with Lynn Thompson on his SurvivalBlog folder that is also produced in Taiwan. There is no slave labor involved in the making of Cold Steel knives.

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Back to my opening statement about people cutting themselves. Well, the local Mexican restaurant that my wife and I frequent has some new owners, and we have gotten to know them personally. They have been at our home, and one of the owners simply had to run his thumb across the blade of the Broken Skull when I handed it to him. He cut himself, deeply and didn’t even know it until he saw the blood. We are talking one sharp knife!

The Broken Skull line-up comes in different handle colors as mentioned, and I’m sure you will find one that suits your taste. Full retail is $139.99. As always, it bears the Cold Steel name, so you know the quality and value is there.

– Senior Product Review Editor, Pat Cascio

Preparing for Israel’s Coming Torment: Does BDS = BTK?

The recent much-publicized rejection of a $300,000 prize funded by an Israeli foundation underscored a growing movement orchestrated by Muslims and globalists. The anti-Israel “Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions” (BDS) movement has been carefully crafted to employ slick propaganda to encourage punitive sanctions intended to bash the nation of Israel into submission. The stated goal is the creation of a Palestinian state in the alleged “Occupied Territories”, but the real goal is the destruction of the nation of Israel. In the short term, they want to reduce Israel’s reputation to veritable pariah status. The war of words against Israel is in some ways more damaging than all of the bus bombings, cafe bombings, bus stop knifings, and the rocket attacks combined. By delegitimizing and demonizing Israel, the various BDS anti-Israel and anti-Semitic haters seek to permanently destroy the sovereignty of the nation.

Some Background

When the modern state of Israel was created by a majority vote in the UN General Assembly in 1948, its approved territorial map included Jerusalem, the West Bank region and the Gaza strip, since those were all part of historic Israel–what the locals call Eretz Israel – “Land of Israel”, or Haaretz: “The Land”). But not all of those lands were physically secured by the Israeli government until the conclusion of the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. This was because immediately after Israel was granted independence, the 1948 War broke out, and Israel was invaded from several directions and very nearly destroyed in its infancy. The 1948 ceasefire line left the Golan Heights and West Bank under Syrian and Jordanian control. Sensing the opportunity for a land rush, between 1948 and 1967, thousands of lower-class landless Arabs poured into the West Bank during those years.

(To gain an understanding of just how desperate Israel’s situation was during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, I recommend watching the 2015 documentary Above and Beyond. It is available on Netflix and Amazon Prime, or on DVD.)

Following the 1948 war, a low level war of terror followed. This was punctuated by the 1967 war and the 1973 War. Both of those were tremendous victories for Israel, but terrorist infiltration continued.

The BDS campaign was launched in 2005 by Palestinians with the help of western pro-Palestinian leftists in academia. Going far beyond simple criticism, the BDS campaign challenges the very existence and legitimacy of the nation of Israel. They want to see Israel collapse by means of choking off their supply of arms, undermining the moral legitimacy of Israel as a nation state, wrecking Israel’s economy, and destroying Israel’s image–reducing it to a pariah state as seen in every segment of the mass media.

On May 31st, the Israeli delegation to the UN hosted an “Ambassadors Against BDS” international conference, with the theme “Build Bridges, Not Boycotts.” Video of that event is now available online.

Echoes of BTK

An odd parallel to the BDS campaign recently occurred to me: Coincidentally in 2005, the elusive American serial killer Dennis Rader was arrested and brought to justice. Before his arrest, he had written taunting letters to newspapers and police departments, signing them “BTK”–an acronym of his own creation, which stood for “Bind, Torture, and Kill”. Those were the hallmarks of his campaign of terror, which took 10 human lives in the Wichita, Kansas region. He later plead guilty and is now serving 10 life sentences in prison. As with Rader’s BTK campaign, the globalist BDS campaign against Israel is designed to instill sheer terror. And like Rader, the backers of BDS movement seek publicity with a catchy acronym. In this case, the acronym is being used to help demonize both Israel and the Jewish people.

Supporters of BDS have tried to compare the movement with the Anti-Apartheid Movement and often try to compare the situation in Israel to the apartheid policies in South Africa. But that is hardly a comparison. The territory in dispute has legally and morally belonged to Israel since the re-establishment of the nation in 1948. Furthermore, this land is also historically Israel, since the entire region is dotted with proto-Hebraic Israelite archeological sites that date back to between the the 5th Century and 8th Century, BC. The so-called “Palestinians” are the descendants of a mix of Arabs primarily from Jordan who did not enter into Eretz Israel until during and after World War II. By the convoluted logic of the UN, any non-Jew who has an ancestor who claims to have been living in the British Mandate territory of Palestine for two years before 1948 is considered “Palestinian.”

The Palestinians, under Fatah/PLO/Hamas/Palestinian Authority (PA) leadership, did not stop their campaign of terror after Israel foolishly granted them the Gaza strip in 2007. That treaty was immediately violated by the PA. Hamas is now using Gaza as a base of operations from which they launch mortar shells and 122mm Katyusha (BM-21 Grad) rockets. They are also building numerous tunnels under the border, through which they are inserting terrorist teams.

Meanwhile, the organizers of the BDS campaign fully intend to starve Israel into submission. Their campaign of terror by boycotts and sanctions is just getting started. In my estimation they won’t stop, even if Israel gives up the West Bank hilltop settlements. Countless Arab leaders have said that they want Israel wiped off the map. Their less radical fellow-travellers in the international BDS movement are playing right into their hands.

The Myth of the Two State Solution

The so-called “two state solution” is just an interim step for the anti-Israel haters. Their long term goal is one state, namely a Sunni Arab Palestinian state. And their desired end result for those who practice Judaism is the destruction of Israel and a diaspora –or perhaps even another holocaust–of the nation’s populace.

The “two state solution” cannot and will not ever succeed. Either a nation is sovereign, or it is not. Either it has defined borders and territorial integrity, or it does not. Failure to maintain both of those is suicidal. It is often said that nature abhors a vacuum. Attempting an artificial bilateral construct for the West Bank would create such a vacuum. Israel must stand firm on its borders. To allow a repeat of the Gaza debacle in the West Bank would be a huge mistake.

The ongoing BDS campaign is a campaign of lies that is part and parcel of a “two state solution”. It must be countered, and at the moral level it can only be countered with the truth. At the physical level, it must be countered by lining up the right logistics, as I will explain.

Delegitimization

Making a person seem less than human is an age old tactic to get those who would not normally participate in atrocities against the person actually join in. The most visible case of this process of deligitimization comes from Germany right before World War II. Germany was the seat of Protestant Christianity and had a thriving missionary outreach. How then could such a religious people create and participate in the Holocaust where 13 million people died in concentration camps? A careful study of the times will show a concerted propaganda effort to make those targeted seem not so human. Half truths, twisting of facts, and outright lies were repeated so often that the general population began to believe them. In the end, even the majority who wouldn’t support the atrocities did nothing to stop it. We are seeing the same thing play out again in our time. The Palestinians and those that support them are masters at propaganda and we are seeing the effects of this propaganda even in our churches. People who have not looked at the facts and have no connection to the region have strong feelings against Israel based upon the propaganda that they listen to. This is nothing more than a thinly veiled anti-Semitism.

Preparing to Survive Sanctions

The Israeli government needs to take heed of the history and lessons learned by other nations that have endured sanctions, embargoes, and boycotts in modern history. Most notably these include Cuba, Rhodesia, South Africa, and Iran. These nations quickly learned how to bypass the sanctions with “blockade busting” procurement, alternative banking, and alternative transportation networks. They also quickly developed domestic weapons and ammunition factories. In the case of South Africa, the impact of trade sanctions and boycotts was so severe that it forced them to develop a domestic synthetic fuel program, spearheaded by a company called Sasol. It is noteworthy that Israel is similarly rich in natural gas and poor in liquid oil. So they need to take the same steps toward fuel and lubricants self-sufficiency.

Encouragements at the National Level

The editors of SurvivalBlog encourage Israel’s leaders to do everything that they can to position their nation to be able to survive a protracted period of intifadas, boycotts, sanctions, and embargoes, to wit: Become fully energy independent. Compressed natural gas (GNC) will be the key enabler.

  • Become truly food independent. Even though Israel is a net exporter of many crops, it is still a net importer of grain and some vegetable oil products. Domestic grain production should be encouraged. Start more irrigation projects to make the Negev bloom! Also encourage more large scale beef cattle production in the Golan Heights, and the Northern Negev.
  • Revitalize your domestic arms industry. (Arms embargoes are coming!)
  • Loosen the restrictions on private ownership of guns.
  • Develop a domestic car and truck manufacturing industry. It should preferably be based on GNC and multifuel engines.
  • Establish a stable and fully redeemable precious metals-backed currency that can be entirely independent of the supranational electronic currencies that are likely to be launched in Europe and the Americas in the next few years.
  • Develop a robust natural gas-based domestic synthetic fuel program.
  • Encourage the immigration of people with key technical skills, even if they are not Jewish. There are many Notzrim in places like the United States and South Africa who have hearts for Israel and her survival as a Jewish homeland nation. Please open your doors to them!
  • In as many ways as possible, encourage large families. Without maintaining a demographic advantage, Israel will be doomed.
  • Continue to encourage immigration (aliyah) of Jews to Israel from around the world.

Specific Recommendations at the Family Level

SurvivalBlog readers in Israel are advised to make personal and family preparations to survive the expected latter stages of the ongoing BDS campaign. With trade embargoes looming, it would be wise to do all of the following, if your budget and home storage space are sufficient:

  • If possible, move to a moshav (a farming community).
  • Install an independent photovoltaic (solar) power system for your house.
  • Install the largest underground fuel tanks that you can afford (and that are allowable by law).
  • Maintain some foreign currency at home, such as Swiss Francs.
  • Set up a Bitcoin account.
  • Stock up heavily on nonperishable foods. Your pantry room should be stacked from floor to ceiling, and your miklat (shelter space) should be so packed with long-term storage food that adding your family members during an attack will be a tight squeeze.
  • Establish arrangements with foreign relatives or friends who are willing to purchase and mail small but crucial items during a crisis.
  • Open an offshore bank account.
  • Convert any available yard space into home garden plots. Look into container growing. Even people in apartments can container garden on the little porches and can grow sprouts.
  • Buy and store a spare set of tires for your car. (Once the trade embargoes go into force, tires will likely be one of the acute shortages.)
  • In anticipation of greater civil unrest, buy a firearm and store the maximum amount of ammunition allowed by law, which sadly is not much: 50 loaded cartridges per handgun. (Perhaps home handloaders will have greater flexibility on aggregate numbers, if they are storing only ammunition reloading components, i.e. brass, bullets, primers, and powder.)
  • Establish a second passport for each family member. (With the ongoing BDS campaign, travel restrictions for the holders of Israeli passports may be coming. A second passport will give you many more options.)

In closing, I ask that all SurvivalBlog readers pray for Israel and Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6). I warn our nation’s leaders that America must not lose sight of the importance of maintaining our strategic alliance with Israel. We cannot turn our backs on Israel! Read and contemplate the full implications of the Old Testament scripture, which states, regarding the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob:

“And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” – Genesis 12:3

Again, please pray for Israel! – JWR

Note: Permission is granted for re-posting of this entire article, but only if done so in full, with proper attribution to James Wesley, Rawles and SurvivalBlog, and only if the included links are preserved.)

Recipe of the Week: Baked Beans, by Mrs. Kangaroo

Hello to you all.

My family and I have been readers of your blog for many years and have enjoyed all the posts and the many tips that people send in. When you started the recipe part on Mondays a little while back I was a little confused, “Don’t people know how to cook,“ I thought? A couple times since then as I was cooking I have thought to my self, “Oh, this would be a good recipe to send in”, but then I never did, thinking that long time readers the likes of Enola Gay, Pantry Paratus, and Rural Revolution already knew how to do all of these things. This weekend I was making supper and through some life changes we are tightening our belts, but I still have to feed our family of eight. So, hot dogs it was, since that’s what was in the freezer. Now I know that hot dogs are not your typical TEOTWAWKI food, but what am I to serve with it? The chips were gone, the fruit was reserved for lunches, and there was no easy frozen veggies to whip out. Hmmm…”Baked beans” I thought. Beans I have. Now Calico Beans I have done from scratch but not baked beans. They had always come out of the can already flavored. So where did I turn? My trusty Better Homes and Garden cookbook from our wedding 21 years ago. That’s when I thought to myself, “This is what people need, to learn how to cook…” So here is my eating after it all falls apart advice: Learn how to cook now, try recipes now, read cook books now. Cooking, like everything else, is a skill that takes time to learn. Learn what works and what doesn’t. Why store fancy prepackaged foods when no one in your home likes them? MRE’s will only work for so long before people around your table are going to want “something normal”.

What’s normal is different for every family, and what you will need to buy to put on the table is also different. Part of that is learning what you can make and keeping those things on hand so you have a stocked pantry. Can you go two weeks with just eating from what is already in your home? The other part is changing your view of normal, replace take out and frozen pizza with something that you can duplicate. The thing is though that you have to start eating like that now so that later homemade baked beans are normal and your family looks forward to rice four times a week. Any how, here are some of my favorite cook books: Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book, The Encyclopedia of Country Living by Carla Emery, More with Less, and any cookbook with Amish or Mennonite anywhere near the title is going to be a good choice for good old-fashioned cooking and skills.

Here is the baked beans recipe:

Ingredients:

1 pound navy beans (I used canned beans; it’s much faster!)

¼ pound bacon (we had bacon grease)

1 cup chopped onion

½ cup Molasses or maple syrup

¼ cup brown sugar

1 tsp. dry mustard (I had regular spicy mustard from the fridge)

½ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. pepper

Directions:

  1. Cook bacon and onions.
  2. Add in beans if they are canned, or add cooked meat and onions to mostly cooked beans if you are starting with dry beans.
  3. Add in other ingredients and stir and cook liquid until beans are tender and flavors are good; adjust as you see fit.

Those are not the directions that are in the cookbook, but I think you get the gist of it. This recipe will take you any where from 3 hours to 45 minutes depending on which version of beans you are using.

So learning how to feed your family with regular food is fun, adventurous, and mostly cheaper than take out and frozen things. What it does cost you is time. Time reading, time picking out recipes, time shopping for what you need, but it is for sure time well spent.

Well, this turned into more than just a recipe and a list of some cookbooks, but I hope that it is inspiring and at the least gets folk thinking in a different direction. The next step after all of this is a step back in the chain: Can you grow or locally source through trading/bartering your basic ingredients that you use to cook to put on the table before your family of loved ones. That is a whole ‘nother topic.

Sincerely, Mrs. Kangaroo

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Do you have a favorite recipe that would be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers? Please send it via e-mail. Thanks!

Economics and Investing:

Why $50 Oil Makes Sense – “Oil has reached $50 on supply outages and steady demand growth, but for oil to breach this level, either supply or demand fundamentals need to move.”

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Cybercrime isn’t the only reason cash remains king

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JP Morgan Boss Warns of Brexit Job Cuts if U.K. Backs ‘Terrible Deal’

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Mystifying Bond Buybacks in Russia Could Be an Edge Against Fed

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The fact that this sort of idea can make it onto a ballot is truly scary: Why the Swiss voted ‘No’ to a guaranteed basic income

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SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for details.

Odds ‘n Sods:

Yet another reason to get your kids out of public schools: Elementary school sends deputy to boy’s home to warn him about sharing Bible verses – T.P.

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Grasshopper Nation: Planning For Those Who Aren’t Prepared – We’ve all heard those dreaded words before “I know where I’m going if the <whatever> happens. I’m coming to your house!” I especially enjoyed the throwback to the the 1962 Twilight Zone episode “The Shelter”. – G.G.

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Barack Obama Warns Americans ‘To Be Prepared For A Disaster’ – B.B.

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Palestinian and Syrian Muslims Buy Honduran ID’s to Get into U.S. – B.B.

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One of our favorite vloggers reminding us that disasters are not always predictable: Oil Train Derailed – I Was There

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Pournelle’s Iron Law of Bureaucracy states that in any bureaucratic organization there will be two kinds of people: those who work to further the actual goals of the organization, and those who work for the organization itself. Examples in education would be teachers who work and sacrifice to teach children, vs. union representative who work to protect any teacher including the most incompetent. The Iron Law states that in all cases, the second type of person will always gain control of the organization, and will always write the rules under which the organization functions.” – Jerry Pournelle, Chaos Manor View 408, April 3-9, 2006

Notes for Sunday – June 05, 2016

On June 5, 1933, the United States went off the gold standard when Congress enacted a joint resolution nullifying the right of creditors to demand payment in gold. FDR had previously declared a nationwide bank moratorium in order to prevent a run on the banks by consumers lacking confidence in the economy. He also forbade banks to pay out gold or to export it.

Tea for Two Hundred, This Year and Next- Part 3, by Sarah Latimer

Selecting Plants for Tea and Tea Flavoring

Actual tea of the green and black variety is camellia sinensis. The tender new leaves of this plant are picked for tea.

Drying and Storing Tea Ingredients

Tea and tea flavorings require that we overcome the same obstacles faced in safely preserving nutrients, flavor, texture, and general health benefits of any food. The culprits are oxygen, sunlight, moisture, heat, and unwanted consumers, like insects and mice. Traditional tea, herbal tea, and flavorings must be dried, stored in containers (preferably air tight ones, under a vacuum), and in darkness (away from UV light) to preserve their flavor and nutrients. Note: Always rinse your freshly harvested tea and tea flavoring items with water immediately after harvest (or even before cutting, if it is possible to do so and keep them clean) and before drying, because you will take them directly from your storage container into your cup, teapot, or pitcher and consume. No soap or cleanser should be necessary, because we do not use pesticides or chemicals on our homegrown tea or tea flavoring plants, right? Of course, not! So, just rinse, dry, and enjoy what is grown naturally as God created.

If I am going out to the garden to collect flowers or herbs for flavorings that can be used fresh and I gather just the amount I need for an immediate pot of tea, I can collect, rinse, and use it. However, if I have some extra for later in the day or that I expect to use fresh within the next day or two, I usually keep that in the refrigerator. Some items, such as chamomile flowers, will be rinsed and put inside a folded paper towel to begin the drying process in case I don’t use them all within a few days. In the refrigerator, the leaves and fruit probably only have a few days to a week before they will begin to rot or mold. Roots, like ginger, will hold weeks in the refrigerator, if their cut ends are kept wrapped in plastic. The finer the leaf, the shorter the duration, usually. Of course, leaves like the mints, have antibacterial properties and so can be stored fresh longer than many other leaves of similar size, such as strawberry or blackberry leaves. However, refrigeration is only for very short-term storage and is not my main means of storage, by any means.

Let’s talk a little bit more in detail about drying and storing tea, herbal teas, and tea flavorings.

Drying

Actual green and black tea is a leaf, and a majority of the herbal teas and flavorings I grow are either leaves or flowers. Because of the decay and risk of fungus, mold, and general bacteria that moisture encourages, it is very important that, before these are stored in any way, they be thoroughly and completely dried. While many articles I’ve read on tea processing say that the leaves should have only 5-10% moisture, I believe they should have 0% moisture. Of course, these people may only be storing their tea in paper boxes and expecting them to be used within a year. I am expecting to store my for many years.

My personal experience taught me early on that it is possible to think that dried leaves are fully dry (or dry enough) when they are not. They crumbled, so I thought they were dry. However, the thicker veins must not have been. After months of storage, even in a cool and dark environment, I went to get my vacuum-sealed glass jar and found a fuzzy mess. What a disappointment! Regardless of the method you choose for drying your tea and tea flavorings, give a little extra drying time just to make sure the largest and thickest leaves, fruits, and roots are dried throughout before sealing them up for storage. That could mean the difference between pleasureable teas and a complete loss.

From what I read, there are multiple varieties of camelia sinensis and the processing of the leaves is a key aspects of what kind of tea you produce– green, black, white, or oolong. Longjing tea is flat and spear-shaped with leaves that are thin and soft. Biluochun tea is rolled into tight and curly spirals; it favors tiny leaves. In contrast, white tea favors fat buds with lots of silvery hairs and thick leaves. There is much information online about processing white tea, which is usually accomplished without appliances in the most natural manner. If you are growing camelia sinensis and want green tea, you should process the new leave shoots at 200 degrees Fahrenheit for at least 20 minutes and then leave it to air dry a little longer to be sure it is thoroughly dry. If you are processing the leaves as black tea, which is my favorite right along with white tea, roll leaves in between hands to bruise them and then air dry for 3-5 days or use a dehydrator or oven to dry at a very low temperature, such as 95 degrees. The process for oolong tea is much more complicated with a combination of solar and indoor withering, wok frying without oil (high heat), rolling the leaves, and only then drying.

Fruits, fruit peels, and roots should also be dried for long-term storage and will require much more time to dry than leaves or flowers, because of their moisture content, oils, and/or density. I have tried numerous methods for accomplishing the drying: freeze drying, dehydrating at low temperature heat, and air drying. All of these methods can work, but I find that freeze drying works best to retain the greatest flavor and minimize the risk of spoilage during the drying process, though a freeze dryer is a significant investment that may be best considered by a group or large family rather than a small family. If using a dehydrator or air drying, it is critical that items be placed loosely on wire racks, there be a good air flow that can pass between the leaves or flowers to rapidly and thoroughly dry them throughout, and adequate time is given for the drying process at low heat so as not to overly “cook” the leaves and flowers.

I have a large convection oven that goes down to 110 degrees Fahrenheit that I’ve also used, but my oven seems to get a bit warmer than that at times and isn’t optimal. I prefer drying at about 100-110 degrees. The Weston Pro 1000 Stainless Steel Food Dehydrator that we purchased from Ready Made Resources is my second favorite means for drying teas, herbs, and herb flavorings. (I appreciate the excellent service of SurvivalBlog’s advertisers and particularly this product recommendation from Ready Made Resources for my tea/herb drying, fruit drying, and jerky-making needs. This has been the tool for that, and their service is second to none!) There are times when the freeze dryer is just too busy making tomato powder or chicken alfredo or something else, so I gladly go for my Weston to deal with processing the lemon balm, peppermint, or other herbal teas and flavorings. Plus, it is the best for drying fruit leather and more. I’m very glad to have both the freeze dryer and the dehydrator among my prepping resources.

Storage

My methods for storage depend upon how much time I expect there to be between the time of harvest and use.

Most herbs (in the form of leaves and flowers) that are collected for tea flavoring or herbal teas, are collected in large quantity and stored in dry form for future use. Again, before tea or tea flavorings can be sealed in an air tight container for storage, they must be completely dry; otherwise, they will ruin and may be harmful to use as tea. For short-term shorage or while I am using them, I may store the tea or tea flavorings in glass jars or ziploc bags that are not vacuum sealed, but for long-term storage I find that vacuum sealing is important to retaining the flavors. There are a variety of ways to accomplish vacuum sealing, and some of those are outlined in other articles on SurvivalBlog.

We use Ball canning jars for a bulk of our long-term food storage needs. So, since we are accustomed to using vacuum-sealed jars for food storage and inventory, we use them for our teas and tea flavorings as well. However, as they are opened and sometimes mixed into custom tea flavorings, they are sometimes transferred into tea bags. Certainly, as we are going backpacking, camping, or on a road trip, we do not want to haul jars on our persons, so I will make bags of tea carried in Ziploc bags. Tea blends can also be put into decorative jars for gifts.

The herbal teas and tea flavoring leaves we grow are processed in bulk and stored in quart size jars under a vacuum and then placed in a dark, cool area for storage. While quart jars are not good for bugging out on foot, they are an excellent means of storing tea at your retreat. While under vacuum and in a secure location, there is no danger of insects, mice, or pests getting into your precious tea and ruining the “peace of mind in a cup” that awaits you once you reach your retreat in a TEOTWAWKI situation, if you must bug out.

The teas that we purchase at the grocery store are often in paper pouches inside cardboard boxes, but these tea leaves are also not completely dry. The industry standard is 5% moisture, so they cannot be packaged air tight. However, the oxygen causes decay of the tea. The key in your storage method is keeping out the air, light, heat, and moisture.

Leaves and flowers are typically freeze dried (or dehydrated, if the freeze dryer is not available) and stored in quart jars with a vacuum seal. These can be stored for years with excellent success, as long as they are fully dry when stored. I do not crush leaves much in order to minimize the likelihood of their turning to powder and making it difficult to cleanly diffuse.

Fruits and fruit peels will not store as long as leaves and flowers, as they cannot be fully dried unless freeze dried, which is not optimal for tea because the freeze-dried fruit and peel tends to crumble into powder. Rather than flavoring the tea, it escapes the diffuser and the water turns the powder to paste. Any tea you make with real fruit will not last long, particularly if it contains fruit segments and is not kept cold. It must be kept cold to slow fermentation, unless you are looking to make your own “brew”, which is a subject on which I am not qualified to write. I tend to dehydrate fruits and peels in one inch pieces and store them in vacuum sealed jars

Roots, such as ginger root, can be freeze dried quite successfully and used in tea. I do this often. It can also be dehydrated or used fresh. I slice the root into 1/4” slices to dry and typically just need to use one dried slice for either a cup or pot of tea.

Other Ingredients Bought in Bulk for Our Flavored Teas

In addition to these items that we grow, we keep a large supply of the following:

  • Black/green tea leaves. While the bulk wholesale stores, like Costco and Sam’s Club, sell Lipton’s tea bags, I have found that there are sources for loose tea that are at least as inexpensive when purchased in bulk and are better tasting, in my opinion. I use black tea as a base for many of our tea blends. One of these improved, loose black teas is Typhoo loose tea. I can get almost two year’s worth of this black tea for under $60, with our family drinking a half gallon a day.
  • Ginger root. I am currently attempting to grow this but have yet to know if I will be successful. Until I am able to grow an adequate supply for our family, I have found a local store that provides firm, fresh ginger at a competitive price, so I am buying it there. They probably think we are oriental food junkies, because that’s one of the few things I buy there regularly and in larger-than-usual quantity. (I do use it in my oriental cooking, but I’ve also told them that it is good for our family’s nausea, too. Who knows what they think. Hmm?)
  • Orange peel. I buy a box of oranges from our whole store and make that box last several months, or until I dehydrate the peels and juice the oranges. Usually, I just peel a 1-inch wide slice about three inches long, making sure I don’t get much of the white pith. As I take off the peel, I cover that part of the orange with plastic wrap and store the orange in the refrigerator. Eventually, if no one is eating the fully peel oranges, I will juice a few for use in banana, strawberry, orange smoothies. If I decide to peel a lot at a time, I dehydrate the peel in those 1”x 3” sections and store in vacuum sealed jars. Alternatively, the peels can be stored in the refrigerator in a Ziploc bag for a few weeks, too. If you want to just buy dried orange peel, I have found the best and least expensive source is San Francisco Herb Co. Their Orange Peel, California cut or Orange Peel, Spanish Cut will work for tea. Just don’t get their orange granules, as they are too fine for tea.
  • Lemon peel. Like, oranges, the outter peel of lemons can be peeled and used for flavoring tea. The oils of the citrus fruit have strong, sweet flavor without having to add any juice that causes tea to begin fermenting and quickly sour. Again, lemon peel can be dehydrated quite well and stored for months or even years. If you don’t want to do this yourself, consider San Francisco Herb Company. Dried lemon peel is less than $8 per pound.
  • Cinnamon. To prevent floats in the tea, I prefer to use cinnamon chips for flavoring our tea. Again, SF Herb Company is my preferred source for this, but I have also purchased sticked and pieces from various suppliers on Amazon.
  • Hibiscus flowers. This is a great addition to other floral or fruit teas. Again, my main supplier for these, in bulk, is San Francisco Herb. I’ve purchased elsewhere, but SF Herb has the best prices (at $6.20 per pound) and I’ve not found any better quality elsewhere. Those of us who don’t live in mild climates or have extensive green houses we can devote to flowers, will either have to do without this ingredient or put it away. I’m grateful for the resources to buy in bulk and store away, though I know there may come a day when I have to do without this one.
  • Elderberries. I have purchased these from a variety of sources– Amazon, HerbalCom, and San Francisco Herb Co. I prefer HerbalCom and SF Herb, but if you are insistent upon organic certification then you may want to go with Amazon. The other two do not always have an organic certified option, though they are select in what they carry.
  • Lemon juice/lemon powder. We sometimes use real lemons for squeezed juice as the glass or cup of tea is served or we may have bottles of juice purchased at our grocery wholesaler. However, we are pleased to find that we can purchase True Lemon in bulk and have it available, even if lemons are not. (The same is true of limes with other True citrus fruit juice products, like lime, grapefruit.)
  • Vanilla beans. I just use a snip off the Madagascar vanilla beans that I have used from making vanilla extract. I have purchased these from Amazon’s vanilla products USA supplier in a quantity that is more than adequate for a year’s supply of homemade vanilla extract, ice cream, creme brulee, and coffee and tea flavoring. A little goes a very long way!
  • Mango tea blend. We greatly enjoyed this blend from SF Herb company and were inspired by it to use our calendula in tea.
  • White tea and also tea blends we come across to try for inspiration.

Some of Our Favorite Brands and Suppliers

For medicinal and herbal tea seeds, I have used a variety of suppliers, but my favorite sources are Strictly Medicine (formerly Horizon Herbs) and Victory Seeds. They provide excellent varieties of heirloom seeds in good packaging with excellent planting instructions. Strictly Medicine’s founders are experts at producing tinctures and herbal remedies, and Richo literally wrote the book on how to make your own tinctures and infused oils from homegrown herbs and plants. Victory Seeds has provided the highest quality customer service to me with seeds that have an extraordinary high germination rate in my garden.

Favorite Flavor Blends

  • Black tea- Orange- Ginger
  • Black tea- Chamomile/ chamomile-ginger
  • Black tea- Chamomile- Lemon balm
  • Black tea- Blackberry leaf- Hibiscus
  • Chamomile- Ginger root- Honey
  • Black or white tea- Blackberry leaf- Hibiscus- Vanilla bean
  • White tea- strawberry leaves

There are many wonderful blends. These are just a few of our favorites. Beyond tea, we enjoy peppermint in our hot cocoa, too, and grow herbs for medicinal purposes beyond the “tasty” discussion above. So, as you are preparing for whatever lies ahead, don’t forget that you have the ability to begin growing and storing many of the not only tasty plants for beverages but ingredients that can sooth the body and soul in tough times.

“It has been well said that tea is suggestive of a thousand wants, from which spring the decencies and luxuries of civilization.” – Agnes Repplier

Letter Re: Avian Flu Consequences

Hugh,

Last July I sent out a warning about the duck population in Wisconsin. Last year, out of 40 hens only three hens reproduced and had 14 ducklings. The year before (2014), we had about 20 hens, and just about all had young, averaging 10 ducklings each. Avian flu pretty much wiped out reproduction last year and prompted my warnings about stopping the hunt that fall. Nobody listened!

This year, the population of adult ducks is down about 75% from 2015 levels. So far, we have three hens that haven’t nested, five hens that have come off the nest with nothing, and four hens with a total of 20 ducklings. I hope the three hens holding out will go to nest soon. I also hope that these ducklings will be resistant to the effects of avian flu.

It appears that the egg laying reduction caused by avian flu is permanent in some of the adults and rendering them sterile. With half the population sterile, another hunt will seriously reduce adult numbers. We cannot afford to kill any of the adult ducks capable of reproducing again. I recommend a complete halt to duck hunting for at least a year to two years to let numbers recover. If they start reproducing again, like 2014, we’re out of the woods!

This year the Canadian goose population also seems affected, though there are active reduction efforts being used nearby. Both pairs that nested locally did not reproduce. Both nests had dead eggs. Both pairs are multi-year residents and keep nesting in the same locations. They have been quite prolific in years past, averaging 10 goslings a year. I heard a report that wild turkeys are also being affected this year.

For the survivalist, avian flu has put a big dent into any ideas of living off wild game. If proper conservation is not practiced, we will lose this resource, both for sport and survival. Capt Nemo

Economics and Investing:

Omen of times to come: Lady riots after EBT card fails – Submitted by RBS.

HJL’s Comment: We’ve seen this sort of thing before. In October of 2013, the EBT system went down in much of the nation. It only took a few hours for word to spread as the welfare roles abused the vouchers and emptied the shelves of many stores, wreaking havoc along the way.

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This financial bubble is 8 times bigger than the 2008 subprime crisis

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Derailed! A June Rate Hike Is Off

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Video: Brexit – The Moment of Truth. Sent in by A.D.

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SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for details.

Odds ‘n Sods:

Hillary Clinton Posted Names of Hidden Intelligence Officials On Her Email

JWR’s Comment: This miserable excuse for a human being belongs in prison rather than the White House.

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SurvivalBlog reader R.T. sent the link to this video in on the Orion cooker that he picked up at an Ace Hardware store for $139. It looks pretty interesting.

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Reader Rob commented on the Raspberry Pi camera link: “You can also use the RaspPi with the new FLIR lepton module. I’ve built a couple of these up and they make nice little units. All up, under $300 for a true FLIR sensor and the ability to see heat signatures in the dark.” – We are hoping he writes an article for us on this.

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Utah Sheriffs Threaten To Arrest Rangers If They Try To Close Public Lands – Sent in by B.B.

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For those who thought DNA was the definitive identifier: DNA testing isn’t always scientific. The error rate is truly appalling when you consider how many are convicted on DNA evidence. – A.D.

Guest Article: Open Source Intelligence, by Samuel Culper

In light of an election season, economic conditions, and domestic stability particularly vulnerable to disruption, we should examine a distinct possibility. Under Title 10 of the U.S. Constitution (as described in Title 18, USC Section 1385), the President has the authorization to order military forces to support civil authorities and to aid domestic security efforts. These operations are referred to as Military Assistance to Civil Disturbances.

After the Watts Riots of 1965, the U.S. Army drafted a plan for the Defense Department, codenamed Operation Garden Plot. Since then, U.S. Presidents have authorized both regular army and national guard troops to take part in Garden Plot during the 1992 LA Riots, as well as after 9/11. The Garden Plot document notes that:

During domestic civil disturbance operations, federal military forces will confront members of the civil populace participating in group acts of violence antagonistic to authority. These acts can fall anywhere along a broad spectrum of violence that encompasses individual acts of terrorism, riots, and insurrection.

Part of our jobs in using intelligence to support SHTF community security is identifying potential scenarios and describing how they could impact our security. It’s not enough to just be aware that Military Assistance to Civil Disturbances (MACDIS) is an available course of action. We need to run this scenario through the Intelligence Cycle so that we can identify early warning indicators and be able to forecast realistic expectations of the future. We can be best prepared when we can achieve early warning of what to expect.

Military Assistance to Civil Disturbances is about restoration of order. Given this broad mission, potential activities include:

  • Dispersing unlawful assemblies, where we can expect less-lethal weapons, like tear gas, rubber bullets, and skirmish lines. As quickly as possible during an emergency where MACDIS could be authorized, we need to start mapping out which areas are affected by the disturbance and drawing conclusions about the use of force. Beyond that, we need to identify how the presence and escalation of force will affect our community. Will homes in the area be placed on lock down, preventing you from bugging out, or could you experience mobs or rioters being pushed from a nearby area into your community?
  • Patrolling disturbed areas is another activity we’d expect during MACDIS, hence the importance of mapping out known locations where there are ongoing disruptions. We should have generated intelligence requirements by now and should begin satisfying those requirements: strength, disposition, weapons, equipment, and vehicles (to name a few) in use by the military force. The more we know about what’s out there, both in terms of troops and rioters, the more prepared we can be.
  • Preventing the commission of unlawful acts is standard practice in responses to civil disturbances. Keep in mind that law enforcement and military forces may not be concerned about protecting commercial or private property. As an intelligence guy, that’s one thing I’m interested in: what are the boundaries of their operations? What’s their standard operating procedure, or what orders have they been given that define what they can or can’t do.
  • Providing a quick reaction force (QRF) might be necessary where a disturbance has an element of mobility. For instance, if rioters avoid areas where troops are present, a QRF may be required to have a very quick response to a moving target. Another common use of QRF is when current forces are overwhelmed and need some support. When we battle tracked the Ferguson riots, we located where additional tactical teams were staged. Knowing that information could have been very useful if we lived in Ferguson, MO.
  • Distributing essential goods and providing aid to the populace is a common practice we’ve seen, especially overseas. These aid distribution locations are places we need to have on our map, so that we can maintain an accurate security picture. These are places that might incur high traffic and increased potential for violence, so we may need to avoid these areas if we’re going to bug out.
  • Maintaining essential services can include guarding critical infrastructure or otherwise ensuring that essential services help keep the peace. One of the worst ways to compound a civil disturbance is the disruption of essential services, like water and electricity, thus creating more unrest.
  • Establishing traffic control points (TCPs) and cordons is a frequent practice to control the flow of traffic in an area. We saw numerous TCPs when battle tracking the Ferguson riots, and we were able to map them. Identifying and mapping these TCP locations is a must, and keep in mind that TCPs may not always be static. We employed 10-15 minute snap TCPs in Iraq to moderate effect when trying to screen locals for contraband and weapons.

Certainly the topic of martial law is more profound in this community, and unfortunately Military Assistance to Civil Disturbances is often confused with martial law. There’s a large difference. For starters, martial law has only been implemented twice in the nation’s history– once on a national level during the Civil War and again on a regional level during World War 2. Military assistance to civil disturbances has occurred numerous times.

Only the President or Congress can declare martial law, whereas federal military assistance is requested at the state level, and the Attorney General advises the President on the appropriate use of force. While military forces will participate, a Senior Civilian Representative for the Attorney General (SCRAG) remains in control of MACDIS operations, and a military representative directs the use of military force to achieve goals outlined by the SCRAG. All state and local law enforcement agencies remain under the control of state civilians. Identifying who these officials are and which military units will participate in MACDIS operations could help us determine potential courses of action for the operations. And the more we know about what is likely to happen (versus what’s unlikely to happen), the better prepared we can be.

This article originally appeared on Forward Observer

Two Letters Re: Hunting for Self Sufficiency

Hugh,

DK may want to investigate joining a private hunting club that leases or owns their own private land to allow hunting boar year round and of course other game in season. – Lone Prepper

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Hugh,

The statement “In spite of that, all Florida public lands only allow boar hunting for a few weeks of the year in special WMAs” is kind of misleading. In reading this, it sounds like a person is only allowed to hunt hogs at certain times in certain areas and with a permit; this is not true.

This statement applies only to public lands and WMA (wild life management areas). During certain hunting seasons, such as muzzle loader, you can only use a muzzle loader and archery (only a bow). They do limit hog hunting for specific seasons (like spring turkey) and allow no lights at night on public land. Other than specific times that coincide with other hunting seasons, hog hunting is allowed year round on public land. You would only need a permit to hunt hogs, if you are hunting on public land, in a WMA, and during a specific season.

On private land, all bets are off with year round hunting, no license and no limit. Hogs are nuisance animals and very destructive. I’ve never had a problem finding private land owners who are very happy to have you kill as many hogs as you can, as long as you are mindful of their property. Lights at night, trapping, and baiting are also allowed on private property. – D.D.