Preparedness Notes for Thursday — September 3, 2020

3

On September 3, 1651 Battle of Worcester: Oliver Cromwell’s New Model army destroys English royalist force of mainly Scots in the last battle of English Civil War.

—

On September 3, 1752, Great Britain and it’s colonies, including the future United States of America officially adopted the Gregorian calendar, and it immediately became September the 14th.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 90 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A gift certificate from Quantum Harvest LLC (up to a $2,200 value) good for 12% off the purchase of any of their sun-tracking models, and 10% off the purchase price of any of their other models.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical 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,
  4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper. These have hammer forged, chrome-lined barrels and a hard case, to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel. This can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools. It also provides a compact carry capability in a hard case or in 3-day pack (a $1,100 value),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  7. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Second Prize:

  1. A Front Sight Lifetime Diamond Membership, providing lifetime free training at any Front Sight Nevada course, with no limit on repeating classes. This prize is courtesy of a SurvivalBlog reader who prefers to be anonymous.
  2. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, that have a combined retail value of $589,
  3. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  4. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  5. An assortment of products along with a one-hour consultation on health and wellness from Pruitt’s Tree Resin (a $265 value).

Third Prize:

  1. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. Naturally Cozy is donating a “Prepper Pack” Menstrual Kit.  This kit contains 18 pads and it comes vacuum-sealed for long term storage or slips easily into a bugout bag.  The value of this kit is $220.
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. A transferable $150 purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Round 90 ends on September 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

What if We Win?, by CPT F.T.

45

When all is said and done, there is much more said than done.

This will be the first of many quotes that I did not come up with and will not reference or footnote because I’m not trying to get a passing grade on an essay but am trying to communicate a few ideas that I think may be germane to our culture.

With all the survival and instructional blogs (this one being the capstone by which all others are measured) and web sites pontificating and gesturing broadly about what to do when (fill in the blank with assorted and sundry current crisis) you don’t really another adding to that collection so I will spare the reader those ideas.

I will, however, put forth some ideas regarding a subject that has been largely ignored, that is; What to do if we actually win?

You all now the three boxes that we go through on the way to revolution. Soapbox, Ballot Box and very very lastly Ammo Box. (I told you I’d be using quotes not my own). I’ll talk about the first two.

SurvivalBlog (and others like it) naturally are the first box and I am late to the party. In fact, I’ve been reluctant to speak up as there are so many of you more eloquent than I am and I was afraid I’d just add to the cacophony of noise.

So, on our Soapbox, we stood up, and shouted to all that would pass this way that same message.

TURN And RETURN

“….if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”      2 Chronicles 7:14

Turn to Christ, return to our heritage, return to our history, return to informed thought, return to law and order, return to the church, family, community, common sense, logic and hope.Continue reading“What if We Win?, by CPT F.T.”

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

35

SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods— a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from “JWR”. Our goal is to educate our readers, to help them to recognize emerging threats, and to be better prepared for both disasters and negative societal trends. You can’t mitigate a risk if you haven’t first identified a risk. Today, we feature an article about a supreme court decision allowing government cameras hidden on private property without a warrant.

A Cold and Snowy Winter Ahead?

First up, at Fox News: Winter looks ‘cold and snowy’ with some ‘crazy in-between,’ Farmers’ Almanac claims.  (Thanks to Tim J. for the link.)

Government Cameras Hidden on Private Property? 

Reader A.K.  suggested this article over at AgWeb: Government Cameras Hidden on Private Property? Welcome to Open Fields.  Here is an excerpt:

“Can the government place cameras and monitoring equipment on a private citizen’s land at will, or conduct surveillance and stakeouts on private land, without probable cause or a search warrant? Indeed, according to the U.S. Supreme Court’s (SCOTUS) interpretation of the Fourth Amendment. Welcome to Open Fields.

The vast majority of Americans assume law enforcement needs a warrant to carry out surveillance, but for roughly a century, SCOTUS has ruled that private land—is not private. Fourth Amendment protections against “unreasonable searches and seizures” expressed in the Bill of Rights only apply to an individual’s immediate dwelling area, according to SCOTUS.

However, SCOTUS’ Open Fields doctrine has been bucked in Mississippi, Montana, New York, Oregon and Vermont through protections granted by state constitutions, and for many American landowners, the more they discover about Open Fields—the more questions they have regarding the bounds of government power.”

Only Six Percent of “COVID Deaths” From Only COVID

Linked over at the Whatfinger.com news aggregation site: Ron Paul: CDC Bombshell: Only Six Percent Of “Covid Deaths” From Only Covid!

Hollywood’s Mass Exodus

Reader Joe B. sent us this: “White Flight Is Real” – Hollywood’s Apocalypse Triggers Mass Exodus

Continue reading“The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

1

“Conservatism starts from a sentiment that all mature people can readily share: the sentiment that good things are easily destroyed, but not easily created. This is especially true of the good things that come to us as collective assets: peace, freedom, law, civility, public spirit, the security of property and family life, in all of which we depend on the cooperation of others while having no means singlehandedly to obtain it. In respect of such things, the work of destruction is quick, easy and exhilarating; the work of creation slow, laborious and dull. That is one of the lessons of the twentieth century. It is also one reason why conservatives suffer such a disadvantage when it comes to public opinion. Their position is true but boring, that of their opponents exciting but false.” – Roger Scruton

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — September 2, 2020

9

The Paratus Holiday is approaching. It is always the Third Friday in September. This year, that is Friday, September 18th.

—

September 2, 1969 is the day that the first automatic teller machine (ATM) made its first public debut, dispensing cash to customers at Chemical Bank in Rockville Center, New York. While being as indispensable to most people as cell phones and e-mail, they have introduced a whole new set of issues. Consumers are faced with scams, skimmers, and robbers, and even fake ATMs have been discovered.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 90 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A gift certificate from Quantum Harvest LLC (up to a $2,200 value) good for 12% off the purchase of any of their sun-tracking models, and 10% off the purchase price of any of their other models.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical 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,
  4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper. These have hammer forged, chrome-lined barrels and a hard case, to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel. This can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools. It also provides a compact carry capability in a hard case or in 3-day pack (a $1,100 value),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  7. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Second Prize:

  1. A Front Sight Lifetime Diamond Membership, providing lifetime free training at any Front Sight Nevada course, with no limit on repeating classes. This prize is courtesy of a SurvivalBlog reader who prefers to be anonymous.
  2. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, that have a combined retail value of $589,
  3. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  4. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  5. An assortment of products along with a one-hour consultation on health and wellness from Pruitt’s Tree Resin (a $265 value).

Third Prize:

  1. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. Naturally Cozy is donating a “Prepper Pack” Menstrual Kit.  This kit contains 18 pads and it comes vacuum-sealed for long term storage or slips easily into a bugout bag.  The value of this kit is $220.
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. A transferable $150 purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Round 90 ends on September 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Stand Your Ground Against COVID-19, by Mark B.

153

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor, and this is not medical advice, just information provide for educational purposes.

What have you done to stop COVID-19 from sickening, permanently injuring, or killing your loved ones? This disease isn’t just like the flu, COVID-19 can leave the “recovered” with long-term debilitating physical, cognitive and psychiatric damage, sometimes even in people who only suffered mild symptoms. The current US toll from this disease is about 130,000 dead, with an 8% infection mortality rate. The elderly or those with common high-risk factors, like high blood pressure, diabetes, or a compromised immune system have suffered the most, but young and otherwise healthy people are dying or being handicapped for life.

Most cases go untested, undetected and with mild or no symptoms; the CDC estimates there are 10 unrecorded cases for every known infection, so the US’s tested 1% infection rate may actually mean a 10% infection rate. This is nowhere near the 80% infection rate needed for herd immunity; there are plenty of healthy people for COVID-19 to spread to, and plenty of damage to come to our society.

Being asymptomatic does not mean that Covid-19 is harmless to healthy people, however. There is much that scientists don’t know about the disease:

  • Could asymptomatic carriers suffer symptoms later on? We don’t know.
  • Are asymptomatic carriers as likely to spread the disease as symptomatic carriers? We don’t know.
  • Could those who have “recovered” from Covid-19 be more vulnerable to other diseases as a result? We don’t know.
  • When/can an effective vaccine be created, and how long would it last? Would it be effective against all current strains and mutations? No one knows.

This article will discuss the knowledge, methods, preparing the terrain, and supplements you can use to protect your family during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Knowledge

Virus Biology

The SARS-CoV-2 virus (the Coronavirus) is usually contracted when the victim inhales droplets/aerosol exhaled or ejected by a cough or sneeze from an infected person. There is a lower transmission rate possible from touching objects like doorknobs, keyboards and light switches that an infected person has used, and then touching your eyes, nose or mouth. The virus lives on surfaces like these from several hours to several days, depending on the material, the temperature and humidity.

The virus floats around in the victim until it contacts epithelial cells that line capillaries and arteries in the lungs, arteries, heart, kidney, and intestines.  The walls of these vessels are normally smooth like Teflon, nothing sticks to them.  The vessel cell membranes contain Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) as part of a system to keep blood pressure in control.  When the SARS-CoV-2 virus contacts ACE2 on the vessel cell membranes, some of the time a coronavirus spike will slide into the ACE2 like a key into a lock and give the virus entrance into the cell. About 75% of the time, the original COVID-19 virus spike structure will fall apart before it has had a chance to infect someone.Continue reading“Stand Your Ground Against COVID-19, by Mark B.”

JWR’s Recommendations of the Week:

24

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 some crucial home security gear for intrusion detection, delaying entry, and documenting visitors to your propperty–both two-legged and four-legged. (See the Books section and the Gear & Grub section.)

Books:

Prepper’s Home Defense: Security Strategies to Protect Your Family by Any Means Necessary

o  o  o

The Chicken Chick’s Guide to Backyard Chickens

o  o  o

Tommy Robinson: Enemy of the State

o  o  o

A Heinlein classic sci-fi novel intended for young adults: Starman Jones

o  o  o

Harley-Davidson: The Complete History

Continue reading“JWR’s Recommendations of the Week:”

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — September 1, 2020

6

September is Kilted to Kick Cancer Month.  September is also National Preparedness Month.

—

Today Is a Book Bomb Day! Our fellow preparedness and self-sufficiency blogger Patrice Lewis (of the  great Rural Revolution blog) is branching out into writing Christian romance novels. Her first one, titled The Amish Newcomer is being released today. If you know anyone who enjoys reading wholesome romances, then please encourage them to buy a copy. Or buy a couple of copies for gifts.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 90 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A gift certificate from Quantum Harvest LLC (up to a $2,200 value) good for 12% off the purchase of any of their sun-tracking models, and 10% off the purchase price of any of their other models.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical 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,
  4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper. These have hammer forged, chrome-lined barrels and a hard case, to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel. This can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools. It also provides a compact carry capability in a hard case or in 3-day pack (a $1,100 value),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  7. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Second Prize:

  1. A Front Sight Lifetime Diamond Membership, providing lifetime free training at any Front Sight Nevada course, with no limit on repeating classes. This prize is courtesy of a SurvivalBlog reader who prefers to be anonymous.
  2. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, that have a combined retail value of $589,
  3. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  4. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  5. An assortment of products along with a one-hour consultation on health and wellness from Pruitt’s Tree Resin (a $265 value).

Third Prize:

  1. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. Naturally Cozy is donating a “Prepper Pack” Menstrual Kit.  This kit contains 18 pads and it comes vacuum-sealed for long term storage or slips easily into a bugout bag.  The value of this kit is $220.
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. A transferable $150 purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Round 90 ends on September 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Intelligence Gathering at Protests, by J.D.

150

Over the last few weeks, as protests and riots have continued, I decided to stop blindly accepting the media’s reporting and to get out and see what was actually going on at the rampant protests.

Let me start by saying that I don’t advocate everyone doing this…I’m a trained professional with over 20 years of investigations experience. I do want to share the interesting findings and make a few recommendations to everyone, though.

The narrative being presented was that these protests were not centrally organized and that they were grass-roots protests just springing up in response to social issues. My time inside the protests verified that this just isn’t true; they are very organized and are being planned by someone.

I began by gathering a list of local protests and making a schedule, attending the ones closest to home, to assess my local level of risk, and then branching out to other areas, and eventually even attending a very large one in Lansing, at the state Capitol. According to the event organizers, these were all protests by different groups….that’s important, later. Sources for finding local protests include Google, Facebook, and Twitter. Remember though, as Sam Culper at Forward Observer teaches, we should always farm social media for data, and never plant any data. Guard your information online.

Antifa “Security”

The first one I attended was on the University of Michigan campus. The protest was rather large, about 1,500 people. What I found interesting was that the first speaker pointed out that “allies from RevCom/ANTIFA” were present, just to provide “logistical support” including medical and security teams. The local RevCom leader got up and explained how to find the medics (Large red or green crosses) and explained that security was “circulating among the crowd” for safety. That was an ominous statement, as I’ll point out later.Continue reading“Intelligence Gathering at Protests, by J.D.”

August 2020 in Precious Metals, by Steven Cochran

2

Welcome to SurvivalBlog’s Precious Metals Month in Review, where we take a look at “the month that was” in precious metals. Each month, we cover gold’s performance and the factors that affected gold prices. This column by Steven Cochran is courtesy of Gainesville Coins

What Did Gold Do in August?

August was a volatile month for gold. Early in the month, gold extended a series of new all-time record highs that began on July 24th, when spot gold closed at $1,901.30 an ounce. Gold closed above $2,000 for the first time on August 4th, at $2,019.40. Prices hit the current all-time high of $2,063.20 an ounce on August 6th.

At this point, gold had set new all-time highs nine times over the last ten trading days. Spot gold had rallied for 17 out of 19 sessions from July 13th, to August 6th, going from $1,801 an oz to $2,063 an oz.

This spurred talk around our office that gold was overdue for a correction. The excuse for that correction showed up the next day.

The nonfarm payrolls report for July was released on August 7th, showing more new jobs than expected were created. Stocks rose on the good news. It also gave support to the US dollar, which had been at two-year lows. Spot gold fell $28 from its record high that it had scored the previous day. Treasury yields rose, as investors cycled into risk-on assets..

August 11th saw the largest dollar-wise daily loss for gold in seven years, as President Vladimir Putin shocked the world with the announcement that Russia had developed a COVID vaccine. Putin declared that the vaccine was safe, and that mass inoculations would begin in October.

The prospect that the global COVID epidemic might end before the end of the year sparked an abandonment of safe-haven assets of all types. Spot gold fell $118 an ounce to $1,910.00. This would be the monthly low. December gold futures fell $93 an ounce, but would not see its monthly low until August 25th.

Gold ground its way back to $2,000 by August 18th, before selling off to $1,946 over two days. Spot gold spent the last week of August fighting a $45 losing streak as it tried to avoid ending lower for the month.

Spot gold as tracked by XAUUSD lost 7% in August. This follows an 11% gain in spot gold prices in July, which was the largest monthly rally since 2012. Year to date, gold was 29.7% higher by August 30, and 28.88% higher year over year.

Most of the correction in gold prices that we saw in the last half of August were from speculators taking profits, and “weak hands” that bailed at the first sign of a correction.

Many gold market analysts agree that all markets will suffer from increased volatility at least through the end of the year. This makes daily swings of more than $100 more likely.Continue reading“August 2020 in Precious Metals, by Steven Cochran”

SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

9

This weekly column features news stories and event announcements from around the American Redoubt region. (Idaho, Montana, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and Wyoming.) Much of the region is also more commonly known as The Inland Northwest. We also mention companies of interest to preppers and survivalists that are located in the American Redoubt region. Today, we focus on the recent record-breaking real estate sales in The American Redoubt and in other rural regions.

Region-Wide

Initiative to expand Idaho into Oregon could be on November ballot

o  o  o

Intense competition drives a surge in offers on unseen homes. This atricle begins:

“With a low inventory and coronavirus limiting accessibility, nearly half of home shoppers made offers sight-unseen in June, according to Redfin.

In a survey conducted last month, 45% of consumers who purchased a home in the last year put bids on houses without physically seeing them. It’s the highest share since Redfin started tracking the data in 2015. Only 28% of buyers made these offers a year ago.”

o  o  o

More Space, Please: Home Sales Booming Despite Pandemic, Recession

o  o  o

The liberal Lewiston Tribune published this very slanted hit piece on August 24th: GOP leaders in Idaho have ties to extremist movement

Idaho

Idaho staying in stage four for another two weeks, approves $2.56 million in coronavirus relief for Idaho Foodbank

o  o  o

At Redoubt News: The Sandpoint Mayor Should Resign

o  o  o

Anti-government activist Bundy arrested at Idaho Statehouse

o  o  o

Bigger, heavier loads allowed on U.S. Highway 95 after road improvements

Continue reading“SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt”

Preparedness Notes for Monday — August 31, 2020

16

On August 31, 1954: Hurricane Carol makes landfall on Long Island and Connecticut, taking nearly 70 lives and resulting in tens of millions of dollars in damage.

—

Some good news:  More Costco stores are now displaying my latest book. (The Ultimate Prepper’s Survival Guide.) I was able to buy some at the Reno, Nevada Costco, on Saturday, for just $14.99 each. But the bad news is that many Costco stores have reduced the size of their book sections, they’ve shifted to mainly selling children’s books, and they have moved their few remaining book tables to the periphery of their stores. So you may have to do some searching to even find their book department.  And once you are there, you may have to ask a clerk to break open a case of books (beneath the tables) for you, since their now reduced table space may have precluded putting my book up on the table.

As I previously mentioned, Costco stores will have an exclusive on the book until October 15th. Only then will it have a general release.

—

Here is a new listing on 22 acres over at SurvivalRealty.com that caught my eye: Oregon Mountain Retreat.

—

Today we present another Product Review by our Field Gear Editor, Pat Cascio

Kershaw Knives Fringe, by Pat Cascio

7

Kershaw Knives, never ceases to amaze me, with the number of new and exciting knives they come out with each year, and what is even more amazing, are the prices on these knives – very affordable, to say the least. I like Kershaw products, they are right here in my “adopted” home state of Oregon. Actually, I was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois – but I’ve lived most of my life in Oregon – it is my selected home state, even with the messed-up Liberal politics they have, it’s still a great state to live in. We have it all, ocean, forests, mountains, high desert with plenty of ranching, farming, and logging land to boot. In terms of land area, Oregon is predominantly conservative.  But unfortunately, it’s the big cities, like Portland and the tri-county area around it, Eugene and Salem, that have the highest populations, and they are mostly liberals. They represent the majority of the population, and hence they presently control the state legislature and governorship. ‘Nuff said!

Kershaw Knives is owned by the KAI Corporation in Japan, and if any country knows about making great knives, it would be Japan. But it wasn’t always like that. Right after WW2, Japan was producing some very sub-standard cutlery, but that changed many years ago, and they now produce some of the finest blades in the world. So, they know a little bit about producing great knives, and I’m happy to say, that the knives with the Kershaw name on them are outstanding in all respects, especially the price. This particular model is made at a Kershaw-contracted factory in Mainland China. The Kershaws sourced there are quite good.

I could be wrong, but I believe that, Kershaw was the first major knife company to come out with assisted-opening folders, and then many others followed suit, with their own type of assisted-opening mechanisms, and some work much better than others. Make no mistake, an assisted-opening folder is not an automatic-opening folder. You still have to touch the blade and start it to open, unlike an automatic-opening folder, where all you have to do is press a button for the blade to open. Still, some locales have banned assisted-opening folders, claiming they are “automatic” or “switchblade” knives.

With the assisted-opening folder, you have to start the blade opening with a thumb disk or thumb stud, and depending on the mechanism, you might have to actually start the blade opening, by as much as 15 – 25 percent, before the assisted mechanism takes over and opens the blade the rest of the way, until it locks in the open position. Believe it or not, some people can’t seem to get the hang of this, no matter how hard I try to explain or teach this to them. Some believe they have to follow the blade as it opens, that just hinders the assisted-opening part…once the blade starts to open, after you start it, you remove your thumb off the blade, or it won’t fully open. Really easy to do, with a few minutes of practice…just take your thumb off of the thumb stud or disk and let the assisted part take control and the blade will open and lock open.Continue reading“Kershaw Knives Fringe, by Pat Cascio”