Economics and Investing:

F.G. flagged this: How bad is it? Pawn shops, payday lenders are hot

At The Daily Bell: Ron Holland on the Inevitability of Societal Chaos, How the Elites Will Try to Maintain Control

Hardy’s hearty recommendation: The Decline and Fall of the American Empire

John R. liked this piece by Mary Beth White: Stupid Choices Equal Bankruptcy (Usually)

Pennsylvania family fights US over rare 1933 gold coins. JWR’s Common Sense Tip of The Day: Don’t ever send anything rare and valuable to a bureaucrat, asking for a determination on its legal status. You’re likely to get: “We’s keepin’ this” for an answer.

Items from The Economatrix:

The Final Nail in the Supply Side Coffin

Cash-strapped Retailers Face Collapse Over Cost of Christmas Stock

Defaulting Rescued Argentina; Could Work for Greece Too

Celente:  Collapse!  It’s Coming.  Are You Ready?

Odds ‘n Sods:

If they can’t do it through legislation, then they’ll use Executive Orders: Gun Stores in Border States Must Report Multiple Sales. When you consider the Gun Walker scandal, you can see that Barack Hussein Obama and his minions have used the Hegelian Dialectic masterfully.

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Marilyn R. suggested: The Eighth Commandment: Why You Can’t Steal Land From Ayn Rand

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Joe Ordinary Voortrekker sent us a link to an interesting global network of alternative currency groups.

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I heard about a company that makes wind turbines with primarily American-made components: Missouri Wind and Solar

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M.W. suggested this: Apocalypse, Wow: Disaster Ready Homes

Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 35 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize: A.) 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, and B.) Two cases of Alpine Aire freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $400 value.) C.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), D.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo, and E.) An M17 medical kit from JRH Enterprises (a $179.95 value).

Second Prize: A.) A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol. It is a $439 value courtesy of Next Level Training. B.) A “grab bag” of preparedness gear and books from Jim’s Amazing Secret Bunker of Redundant Redundancy (JASBORR) with a retail value of at least $300, C.) A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials, and D.) two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Third Prize: A.) A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21. (This filter system is a $275 value.) , and B.) Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy. This is a $185 retail value.

Round 35 ends on July 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Observations From Fence Building, by Mudflap

Over the past two months, my father and I have been refurbishing the barbed wire fence going around and thru a quarter section of excellent hunting, fishing and recreational land.  We lease the land and run cattle (steers) on it.  My father is a long time rancher and I am looking to learn the trade as part of my plans to better prepare for a rocky economical future in this county.

Refurbishing the fence is part of the lease agreement.  That is “sweat equity” if I ever saw it.  The temperatures have been well into the triple digits with humidity, on occasion, reaching 50 percent.   We take a lot of pride in our work and strive to put a lot of forethought into everything we do. We go not want to do things over again because of simple mistakes that could have been prevented with a little extra planning.

I am writing this to present my observations, not to brag.  (My least favorite articles on SurvivalBlog.com are the articles that provide no true insight but brag about all the effort that someone has done to get from the revolutionary moment when someone decided to start preparing up to present day.)
 
Water
First and foremost, Water.  In the recent heat, water has been the most important aspect of being able to accomplish the work that need to be done. 
You cannot drink too much water.  As long as you can freely urinate, keep drinking water.  Don’t keep track of how much water you are downing.  When exhorting large amounts of energy in the excessive heat,  drinking only enough to “Wet your Whistle” is not enough.  This kind of exercise is not the same as playing in a softball game with a bunch of friends, or playing pickup ball with your kids.  The fear of the dreaded “side stitch” is basically nonexistent.  The kind of work and exercise you should be expecting to work, post-TEOTWAWKI, will be long and tedious and not fast and fun. 

On a side note,  I am not a skinny guy.  I am in semi shape but not where I am striving to be, but with that said,  I am not overweight or obese.  I eat good and healthy but do not get the opportunities to work out like I used to. 

My first rule with water that I have stood by for over 20 years of heavy exercise:   If you are thirsty, your body is in need of at least 16 ounces of water and could probably use 20 ounces.  Do not conserve your drinking water unless you absolutely have to.  Drink, drink, and drink some more.  You will notice that your body will almost instantly need to urinate after drinking this amount of water.  This is because your body is retaining the fluid in case it needs it, but once you truly drink enough to hydrate, your body will be willing to release the waste and the need to urinate will be quite strong. 

When we would go backpacking in high school the Philmont Boy Scout’s Of America Ranch in New Mexico, we were always told that our urine should be “Clear and Copious”. It became somewhat of a joke to holler “Clear and Copious” from inside behind your designated tree to let everyone know that you were staying hydrated and that you were done doing your business.  Even the girls that went with us would get into it. (We were some of the few 4-H members allowed to backpack at the Scout ranch.)

My second rule with water is not to drink it ice cold.  I don’t drink my water hot, but room temperature is just right.  I want to be able to drink the 20 ounces at a time without getting an ice cream headache.  Leave the super cold ice water for the dining table.  Ice cold water is for sipping, not drinking.
 
Clothing
The clothing you wear is very important.  Be sure to wear clothing that is appropriate for the work you are doing.  I work in the oil field so I am very particular about having clothing that will withstand the work and stress that I put it through.  I purchase my pants and short sleeve t-shirts from Duluth Trading Company.
 
The pants that I purchase are the Fire Hose Work Pants.  I wait for a good sale and buy them in bulk.  These pants are not cheap.  You pay for what you get and what you get with these pants is a life time warranty.  If the pants can’t stand up for what I put them thru then I send the damages pair back to Duluth Trading and they send me a new pair.  These pants are awesome. 

The t-shirts have out lasted any free t-shirt that I got for donating blood.   No, for the work in the sun I wear a long sleeved, light weight, cotton, snap button, shirt made by Wrangler.

I wear a pair of lace up, over the ankle, leather, titanium tipped work boots made by Timberland.  These are light enough to run in but rugged enough to survive my punishments.  I have worn them every day for almost a year and the soles are surviving, leather is in good shape (I keep it oiled) and the insoles are just getting to be worn.  I have a completely spare pair of boots in the storage room, as well as a couple of spare insoles.  I will probably purchase another pair here in a couple of months.
 
I wear Drymax socks.  I find that these are sturdy and do great in keeping my feet as dry as possible. 

Boonie Hat.  I just started wearing a khaki boonie hat when working in the sun.  I used to wear just a ball cap.  But now, the boonie hat is here to stay.  I don’t care that my older brother makes fun of me.  The boonie hat out-performed my old sweat stained ball cap.

A good pair of leather gloves will never do you wrong.  Now we were working with barbed wire and clearing wild rose thickets out of the fence line.  My super thick leather gloves may not be needed for other types of work.  Whatever you do, stock up on gloves.  Buy some upholstery thread and keep your gloves patched up as the seams start to rip or you get holes.  It is a whole lot easier to mend a small hole than a big one.  (Pun intended.)
 
Tools
The last thing I will talk about is having good tools.  We care a pair of Cee Tee pliers in a leather hip holster on our side at all times.  I almost feel naked without my pliers when I am dressed up.  I always catch myself reaching for my pliers and not having them.  The running joke in our family is that there are thousands of uses for a good set of pliers and if you don’t have them on your hip then you will be asking the guy that does carry them on his hip to borrow them all the time.  Pretty soon we will tell you to go get your own.  Good luck out there, and stay safe.

Product Review: Mainstay Emergency Rations and Water by Michael Z. Williamson

It’s a good idea to have an emergency food supply in one’s bug out bag, but it needs to be something that doesn’t decay, leak or spoil, and has a good shelf life in possibly extreme conditions. 

Enter the Mainstay rations.  They’re made by Survivor Industries and packed in what feels like a heavy mylar-lined foil, rated for five years, and can withstands temperatures of -40° F to 300°F (-40°C to 149°C).  They meet USCG and DoD standards for packaging.  They’re in convenient 400 calorie bars, each constituting a meal, which make management easy, and eliminate trying to break them into pieces, so as to minimize loss in serving. A one pound pack is more than enough for a day under normal conditions.  Obviously, extreme circumstances may require more.

Emergency rations are unusual if you’re not familiar with them.  These are small and dense, basically a giant, semi-sweet sugar cookie with lemon flavor and vitamins/minerals.  They’re heavy enough not to crumble too much, but light enough to eat, sweet enough to be enjoyable, not so sweet as to be candy.  You won’t feel full after eating one, but you will have enough calories and nutrition to get where you’re going.  As their chart shows, you’ll have more than the US RDA of most nutrients.  I’d recommend supplementing with other food, especially edible plants, but for the short term forced march, these are the thing to have. (This company has the lowest retail price I’ve found)

Mainstay also offers packaged water. These are similarly packed, in small, 125 ml (just over 4 oz) servings.  The packs are not overfilled, and strong enough to take a lot of tossing around.  In my test, they took a crush weight of 200 pounds without bursting (I stood on one), which is tremendously more than a typical bottle will take.  If one pack should happen to get punctured, loss is minimized.  Shelf life is five years, and the package is proof against oxygen transfer and spoilage. 

The company is honest, with no blather about mineral springs.  The municipal water source is listed, as is packaging date and lot number.  The price is competitive with brand name water, or bottles from a machine or vendor at remote events, making them even more attractive.

The only down side is they are a little tricky to open.  Once they tear (you’ll need a knife, or teeth if all else fails), the best strategy I found is to seal your lips around the package and squeeze gently. After the first mouthful, it’s more controllable for pouring. 

A dozen of the water packets and one of the large food bar packs will give you a couple of days without worrying about energy levels or dehydration, assuming a temperate climate and proper clothing.  I recommend both products. – Michael Z. Williamson (SurvivalBlog Editor at Large)

Letter Re: Prepping With Limited Funds

JWR:

I strongly suggest checking out yard sales.  Every Thursday we get our free local community paper that lists all of the upcoming weekend yard sales.  The night before, I go to yahoo maps and map out our route which greatly saves time and wasted miles driving around.

Then every Saturday morning my family and I head out – sometimes a little later than what we hope, but most of the time we are out the door by 8 a.m.   Note: this is also a great way to spend some family time together. We’ve even found great deals at 2 p.m. so it’s not necessary to be the first there and often later in the day, prices become reduced or items become free (I picked up a box of medical supplies the week before last for free).

Kids – well let me just say they make out like a bandit.  My grandson this weekend got a free basket ball, free baseball glove, and a big box of legos that has kept him busy for hours all for $5.  It’s like Christmas every Saturday for him and at the tenth of the cost for us.

I also scored well this weekend with two, pristine sleeping bags.  One was a Eddie Bauer and the other an L.L. Bean mummy sleeping bag, and each one of these mint condition bags cost me $5 each. 

My other prepping find this weekend was nine full tubes of tooth paste and three new-in-the-package toothbrushes for $5.

You never know what you will find and most seem like they just want to get rid of some of the abundant amount of stuff that we Americans are so blessed to have.  We take it for granted how rich and blessed we are.  Good luck and God bless.

Economics and Investing:

B.B. pointed me to this, over at Zero Hedge: Retirement Fund Plunder Update: $206 Billion So Far, $62 Billion Left

30 Reasons To Get Out Of Real Estate and Into REAL Assets. (Thanks to Chris D. for the link.)

Reader Jay H. kindly sent this link: Gold is best debt-crises defense — just not yet

Naughty, Tim! He didn’t stick to the “Continuing Recovery” party line: Geithner says hard times to continue for many

Sue C. forwarded this: Dollar likely lower without debt limit progress

John R. sent us several great links:

Several Inconvenient Truths About the Debt Ceiling and “Deficit Reduction”

Feds Force State & Local Government Insolvency

Will the United States Default?

If Central Banks Believe in Paper Money Why are They Loading Up On Gold?

The Fed is Approaching The End Game… Are You Ready?

Bob Chapman: Watching a Flatlining Economy

The Dollar Collapse Will be the Single Largest Event in Human History. (The Synopsis Video is also quite good. I particularly liked Mac’s choice of the final still photo. )

Items from The Economatrix:

Flat Jobs Data Signal Weakest Recovery in Decades

Consumers Borrowed More for Eighth Month in May

Shock US Job Figures Threaten Recovery Hopes

Greek Tragedy Goes Global

UK:  Chain Retailers Closing 20 Stores a Day

Odds ‘n Sods:

A reminder that production will end on August 1st for the SurvivalBlog 5-Year Archive CD-ROM, so order soon. The good news is that it has been reduced to just $14.95.

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Reader Rod M. mentioned a web site devoted to helping doctors in rural areas who need to treat patients with wound care.  They are making their PDF books available free of charge: Basic Wound Care and Practical Plastic Surgery.

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G.S. in the State of Jefferson suggested the perfect vehicle for combating MZBs: The South African Marauder Mine Protective Vehicle. Ten tons for fun! (Note: The video gets increasingly hilarious, so be sure to watch all of it.)

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Sergio mentioned this: Three Unexpected Marketing Lessons From Amish Farmers

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Reader “Bull Durham” spotted this: Fayetteville fighting wild dog problem.

The New Century: An Era of Upright Spikes

We are entering an era of upright spikes. Clearly, the debt-driven global economy is spinning out of control. The aggregate value of the derivatives market is exploding and meanwhile food prices are spiking. Both of these are threatening huge economic dislocation and subsequent social turmoil that–just as I predicted five years ago–will topple governments. I stand by that prediction. (And, for the record, I’m not just talking about failed votes of confidence. I’m talking about revolutions.)

Note: Because SurvivalBlog’s diverse readership expects access on mobile devices, I intentionally minimize the use of graphics in my blog. But this particular topic demands some graphics, so I’ve linked to charts on a variety of web sites. (My thanks to all of them. I recommend that you truncate the URLs on the graph links to take a look at the other content those sites. A lot of them are fascinating.)

Back in 2007, I addressed the Upright Spike in Technology Dependence. But there are some other monumental shifts in progress, each with their own upright spikes. Consider these recent graphs:

Meanwhile, there are many more gradual changes are taking place, For example, see:

Conclusion

If the National Debt is not brought under control, we will someday see mass currency inflation–perhaps to Zimbabwean proportions. Now that would be the upright spike that we all dread. If and when there is mass inflation, your only safe havens will be precious metals and practical, barterable tangibles. (There will be no “safe haven” paper currencies.) My advice is to get out of Dollars and into tangibles, soon!

Pat’s Product Review: CRKT Hissatsu CQB Knives

Columbia River Knife & Tool (CRKT) is always on the lookout for new knife designs. Rod Bremer, the owner often asks me to keep an eye out for a hot knife design, and I’ve directed him towards a few over the years. Several of these were from custom knife maker, Brian Tighe. I wish I could take credit for directing Bremer towards James Williams, and his Hissatsu fighting knife, but I can’t.

James Williams is a former army officer, and a martial arts practitioner and instructor, with over 45-years experience. Williams knows cutlery as President of Bugei Trading Company, producer of fine Samurai swords. Williams is also an instructor of law enforcement and military personnel. The Hissatsu was designed for law enforcement and military personnel as a back-up weapon to the handgun. I must emphasize that it was designed as a back-up to your main weapon. Remember, don’t take a knife to a gun fight, if you can avoid it.

I really like the Hissatsu, I own several versions of the fixed blade design, as well as their folding version. The Hissatsu can be had with a black blade, shiny silver blade, or one with desert tan blade and handle (as well as a matching sheath). I have a background in the martial arts – more than 35-years actively involved in teaching and as a student. I’m proud to lay claim to Black Belt rank in several different styles of martial arts, and I used to operate several martial arts schools. So, I appreciate a knife designed by someone like Williams, who comes at us with a martial arts background, and not designed by an armchair commando, or a mall ninja.

The fixed blade Hissatsu has a 7.125″ long blade made out of 440A stainless steel. The blade steel can handle a lot of abuse and neglect, too. However, keep in mind that stainless steel can still rust, however, it will stain less than carbon steels! I’ve also found that 440A stainless is easier to re-sharpen compared to 440C stainless steel blades are. The overall length of the Hissatsu is 12.25″ and blade thickness is 0.2″ with a Rockwell hardness of 55-to-57. The blade grind is dual, and if you go to the CRKT.com web site, you’ll see what I’m talking about instead of my trying to put it into words. Rest assured though, that this type of grind is more deadly when using a slashing motion than most knives are.

The handle material on the Hissatsu is double injection Zytel/Kraton, and it is fused to the knife, no chance of it working loose, and I’ve tried my best to separate the handle from the blade in testing – all to no avail. There is also a Zytel sheath for carrying the knife, and you can attach it to web gear or MOLLE gear, or to the belt on your trousers.

CRKT states on their web site, on the Hissatsu link, that the knife is “…intended for us only by trained law enforcement and military tactical team professionals.” Okay, sounds good, but I personally believe there’s a bit of hype there. It’s okay, all knife and gun companies hype their products, and when claims are made that a product is designed for military and law enforcement use only – civilians want it. And, there are no restrictions from CRKT as to who can purchase the Hissatsu.

Make no mistake though, the Hissatsu is not designed as a wilderness survival knife. Nope! This knife is designed for one thing and one thing only – plain and simple, it’s a knife to be used against another human being in close quarters battle (CQB)! Now, I’m not hyping the knife, but I’ve been around knives all my life, and I design knives, and I know what this knife was designed for. The dual-grind on the blade is outstanding as a slashing knife. The Tanto-style blade is also an excellent stabber, and I can easily see the point of this blade penetrating regular body armor, too. I did some penetration tests using the Hissatsu against a large pot roast – it easily penetrated up to the handle of the knife without much effort – just imagine what it would do to a human body?

The fixed blade Hissatsu is one deadly knife, make no mistake about it. I don’t see ordinary law enforcement personnel using this knife, however, specialized SWAT teams and the like might carry this as a back-up blade. As for military personnel, I think the same goes – your regular solider probably wouldn’t have much use for the Hissatsu on a daily basis. However, Infantryman and Special Operations personnel would find this knife very appealing if they got into a hand-to-hand combat situation. I know I wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of this knife – no way, no how!

If you want to train with this knife, CRKT also offers a rubber training version, and I highly recommend this, instead of using the real thing. You’ll save yourself some grief down the road.

For any of the three different Hissatsu fixed blades, the full retail price is only $109.99 – and that is a great deal, on a knife like this. I would imagine, that if James Williams offered a custom, hand made version, it would easily cost $350+ for one. I’m totally impressed with this blade, and wouldn’t hesitate carrying one into combat on any battle field on earth.

There is also a folding Hissatsu knife from CRKT as well. Of course, it’s not quite as large as the fixed blade version, however, with a blade that is 3.75″ long, it’ll sure get most self-defense jobs done in short order. The folding Hissatsu can be had with an assisted-opening blade, or a manually opening blade. The steel is AUS8, which is one of my favorite blade steels, too. Price on either the assisted or manually opening blade is the same: $99 each. [JWR Adds: Consult your State and local laws before ordering an “assisted opening” or other automatic knife. Unlike here in TUWS, some localities in the slave states deem these useful tools a felony to possess!]

If you’re in the market for a no-nonsense fighting knife, take a close look at the fixed blade or folding Hissatsu…just keep in mind, these knives are not designed for opening packages, or ammo crates or other chores around the base camp. These knives were designed with one thing and one thing only – saving your butt when the chips are down. They are a worthwhile addition to your survival battery. – SurvivalBlog Field Gear Editor Pat Cascio

Letter Re: Strong and Sticky Stuff for Sticky Situations

Sir:

Do you or any of your readers have any experience with J-B Weld? Is it recommended for use as a survival item — i.e., pros and cons versus traditional methods of joining [materials]?

Thank you! Best, – J.C.

JWR Replies: Yes, it works quite well, and I do recommend it.  But don’t let the “liquid steel” marketing hype fool you.  It is just a two-part epoxy.

To be properly equipped for emergency repairs on vehicles, tractors, and assorted gear at your retreat, I recommend watching for sale prices and stocking up on a variety of sticky and strong stuff. I recommend keeping not just J-B Weld epoxy on hand, but also some Rec Repair patch material, a couple of cans of expanding insulating foam, a roll of self-fusing silicone tape, some Krazy Glue, a can of Slime tire sealant, a tube of blue Permatex Form-a-Gasket, a tube of clear RTV silicone, a tube of Shoe Goo (useful for much more than shoe repairs!), several rolls of galvanized steel wire (for versatility, get several different gauges from 8 gauge to 22 gauge), and of course some paracord and duct tape. (Both in olive drab, naturlich). Some people also suggest carrying Bar’s Stop Leak (or similar) for emergency radiator repairs. But my old friend Ken X., (a senior mechanic) advises against using them. He tells me that these miracle radiator goops can do as much damage as they do good, since they can constrict the flow of water through a radiator. Use it only as a last resort!

Letter Re: Antenna Launching Alternatives

Good day,
I was just reading about Antenna Launchers in SurvivalBlog and it occurred to me than rather than constructing a complex pneumatic launcher, you could alternately use either an arborist throw weight for shorter distances or or a throw weight with an elastic launcher for heights well over 100 feet. Throw weights are inexpensive and designed to tow a line over tree branches.

Letter Re: Chiappa Rhino Revolvers

James,

You regularly publish Pat’s Product Reviews and very rarely do I find any reason to complain. But today’s column did little more than make me roll my eyes. Revolvers today have two advantages over autoloaders: Higher calibers (like the .460 and .500) and utter reliability. There are significantly fewer moving parts in a revolver than an autoloader and therefore fewer things that can break. Unfortunately, the Rhino fits neither of those two. The .357 Magnum is no longer that impressive and the Rhino has by far the most moving parts of any revolver out there. I too was originally very excited about the Rhino because it has less felt recoil on a .357 load than most other revolvers have on .38 Special +P. But I am now on my third repair, after firing less than 3,000 rounds through the gun.

If you want to buy something different, then go for it. If you, however, are looking for a reliable self-defense gun, go for a traditional, proven design. – Peter

Letter Re: Berkey Light Water Filters

Dear SurvivalBlog Readers:
I purchased a Berkey Light water filter system last year in the spring with my tax refund.  The Berkey Light system is the all-plastic Berkey.  I also bought the plastic base offered in connection for the unit, for the convenience of it. 

Just short of one year later. I noticed a leak at the bottom of the water spigot.  After dumping out the water, cleaning all the parts, I tried re-seating the spigot again, but the leak persisted.  Finally, I noticed a small tear in the plastic at the bottom of the hole for the spigot. 

I contacted the retailer who sold me the unit and they graciously sent me a replacement bottom reservoir (this part has the hole where the spigot is located).  However, upon putting all the parts back together, this time the base unit cracked in several places.  The cracks are such that it’s not completely un-usable, but it bothers me that I spent $209 plus extra for the base for a product that really didn’t last longer than about a year.  It could be faulty design.  There doesn’t seem to be much reinforcement , on or near the areas that get the most use – especially at the bottom of the spigot hole.  Additionally, the plastic base unit  now is “brittle” and easily cracks. 

Needless to say, as soon as I am able to afford it, I intend to replace this unreliable but necessary system, with an all-metal one.  Please alert your readers before they make the mistake of buying a plastic Berkey Light.  Save the extra money necessary and buy a stainless steel Berkey. 

Sincerely, – P.J. in Oregon