Elements of a Security System – Part 1, by J.M.

15

Editor’s Introductory Note: This detailed article series is by J.M., who you may remember as a SurvivalBlog Writing Contest First Prize winner in March, 2018, for his five-part article: Perspectives on Patrolling.

(This is the first installment in a five-part article series.)

—

When you talk to people about preparing, one of the most common themes you’ll encounter is that they want to ensure the safety and security of themselves, their families and their friends in the event something disrupts the ‘rule of law’. The reality is that even with active law enforcement in normal times there are thousands of break-ins, assaults, attacks, thefts and other crimes committed against people and property every day. Since most of us can’t afford to keep an eye on our entire property 24×7, we need some type of force multiplier that can let us know when an intruder is approaching or entering our property.

The goal of this article is to provide some ideas and suggestions regarding the design and implementation of a security system that can help you detect when an intruder is approaching your location and gather observational data so you can make a decision on what you should do about it, both in ‘normal’ times as well as after an event has rendered rule of law null and void. Note that I’ll only be focusing on detective-type controls to help you detect the presence of an intruder, as opposed to preventive controls to keep them out.

As with any project, the first thing you need to do is to define your goals. I’ve been building and expanding my home security/monitoring system for several years (or as my wife refers to it, the ‘never-ending project’), and I’ve used that experience, combined with what I’ve learned about preparedness over the years, to define some goals for what I’ll be discussing. These are:

  • Leverage technology where it makes sense, but keep it simple
  • Include non-electronic options where possible
  • Support a wide range of detection and observational options
  • Support security for fixed locations, with possible applications for mobile security
  • Keep it inexpensive
  • Make it flexible
  • For powered components, capable of being powered by 12V, 5V USB, or AA batteries

One critical point to keep in mind is safety – I’ll discuss various solutions that use things like primers and flares for alerting, so before you decide to employ anything that could potentially harm you or someone else you need to understand your responsibilities and liabilities. Even if your intent was just to alert you that someone was approaching, a shotgun primer or flare could still seriously injure a curious child that stumbles across your alarm system and you could end up going to jail as well as living with the responsibility for the rest of your life. Understand your local laws and regulations, and don’t do anything that could put innocent people in jeopardy. Disclaimer: The information in this article is for informational purposes only, and the author accepts no responsibility for any actions taken as a result of this information.Continue reading“Elements of a Security System – Part 1, by J.M.”

SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

27

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 Google’s censorship of Redoubt News.   (See the Region-Wide section.)

Region-Wide

Redoubt News reports: Human Rights Task Force Segregating Redoubters. JWR’s Comment: Since I’m quite vocally anti-racist and have been my entire life, they can’t be talking about me. And since Alex Barron (The Bard of the American Redoubt) is African-American, they can’t be talking about him. And John Jacob Schmidt (of Radio Free Redoubt) is also anti-racist, so they can’t be talking about him. We are the three most outspoken leaders of the American Redoubt movement. So in who’s “literature” are they seeing “an undercurrent of white supremacy”?  This self-appointed private Task Force seems to have learned their smear tactics from the SPLC.

o o o

Whistleblower Proves Redoubt News Targeted by Google.  Yes, Redoubt News is indeed on Google’s lengthy “Excluded From Appearing” list.

o o o

Report: 6 million acres of state lands in West inaccessible. JWR’s Comment: Land swaps are usually the best way to resolve these issues.

Idaho

If you have any doubts about the character of people who live in The American Redoubt, then this letter from a Canadian will make it abundantly clear: A letter of thanks to the governor and mayor.

o o o

A Meridian dad’s heart stopped as he swam in the Payette. Strangers worked a miracle.

o o o

From The Idaho Press: Hoffman: Rising pension costs contribute to higher property taxes

o o o

Idaho must provide gender confirmation surgery to inmate Adree Edmo

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

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

18

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 look at a Warsaw Ghetto survivor’s lessons.

House Judiciary to Hear Three New Gun Laws During Recess

In Some Deep Schumer: Tomorrow (Wednesday, September 4, 2019), while the rest of the House is still on summer recess, the House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to meet and hold fast track legislation hearings on three proposed gun-related laws:  A permanent ban on 11+ round magazines, a gun ownership restriction on anyone convicted of a hate crime misdemeanor, and a Federal “Red Flag” (Pre-Crime) law. Please repeatedly contact your congresscritters, and remind them of their oath to uphold the Constitution. They must OPPOSE any new gun laws. Then call your two U.S. Senators, for ditto.

A Warsaw Ghetto Survivor Speaks

Peter sent us this: I Survived the Warsaw Ghetto. Here Are the Lessons I’d Like to Pass On. Her eis aan excerpt:

“Given what I’ve learned over my lifetime I would, first, urge future generations of Europeans to remember my generation as we really were, not as they may wish us to have been. We had all the same vices and weaknesses as today’s young people do: most of us were neither heroes nor monsters.

Of course, many people did extraordinary things, but in most cases only because they were forced to by extreme circumstances, and even then, true heroes were very few and far between: I do not count myself among them.

The same applies to those who failed in their moral obligations during that time. Of course, there were many who committed unspeakable, unforgivable crimes. But it is nonetheless important to understand that we were a generation living in fear, and fear makes people do terrible things. Unless you have felt it, you cannot truly understand it.

Second, just as there is no such thing as a “heroic generation”, there is no such thing as a “heroic nation” – or indeed an inherently malign or evil nation either. I must confess that for much of my life, I maintained the view that it was important for Poles to feel pride in their wartime record – leading me, when recounting my experiences serving in the Home Army in Warsaw under Nazi occupation, to omit certain examples of indifference and uncooperativeness on behalf of my fellow Poles.”

New Survivalist Web Site in Poland

Speaking of Poland, SurvivalBlog readers who also read Polish will surely find this new blog-style web site of interest: Survivalism.pl  — Bądź przygotowany. (“Be Prepared.”)

Build a SHTF Hurt Locker

Kudos to G.P. for sending this: Build a SHTF Hurt Locker

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

1

“Over the last thirty years, the United States has been taken over by an amoral financial oligarchy, and the American dream of opportunity, education, and upward mobility is now largely confined to the top few percent of the population. Federal policy is increasingly dictated by the wealthy, by the financial sector, and by powerful (though sometimes badly mismanaged) industries such as telecommunications, health care, automobiles, and energy.

These policies are implemented and praised by these groups’ willing servants, namely the increasingly bought-and-paid-for leadership of America’s political parties, academia, and lobbying industry.

If allowed to continue, this process will turn the United States into a declining, unfair society with an impoverished, angry, uneducated population under the control of a small, ultrawealthy elite. Such a society would be not only immoral but also eventually unstable, dangerously ripe for religious and political extremism.” – Charles Ferguson, Predator Nation

Preparedness Notes for Monday — September 2, 2019

1

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.

—

This is the last day of Good2goco.com‘s grand opening sale. They have some of the most competitive prices available on Augason, Wise Foods, and Legacy Foods long term storage food, primarily in rectangular buckets. They also carry the full line of Harvest Right DIY home freeze dryers, oxygen absorbing packets, mylar bucket liners, Seychelle and WaterPure water filters, water storage containers, and much more. Be sure to check it out their sale prices!

—

Today we are posting another product review by our staff Field Gear Editor, Pat Cascio.

CRKT Seismic Folder, by Pat Cascio

2

I believe that CRKT (Columbia River Knife & Tool) set the trend going, in collaborating with custom knife makers. Many of the designs that they are producing, are the result of collaborations. And, without those wonderful collaborations, the knife buying public wouldn’t have access to some fantastic knife designs, at  reasonable prices. We all can’t afford to purchase every custom knife we see – they are expensive, and oftentimes, there is a waiting lists. In some cases those waiting lists are several years long, with some makers. After all, they can only produce so many knives per year. So, we owe CRKT a big “thank you” for bringing some of these designs to us.

Most CRKT are manufactured in Taiwan, and most readers probably don’t know that CRKT actually owns one of the factories, where many of their products are made, and they lease another factory. To ensure that products are made to their strict specifications, one of the executives from CRKT travels to Taiwan to make sure things are being done right – and they spend several weeks at a time there. So, its not like their knives are being produced blindly, they hold everyone accountable to make sure only the best products with very close tolerances are made for their customers.

In the past, I’ve connected CRKT with some pretty outstanding custom knife makers, and as a result, they did collaborations with those folks, more than a few times. Although I never got rewarded in print, for this, I did get a thank you from the folks at CRKT. I also made some suggestions to CRKT, in the past, on some of their designs, to make them more in line with certain customers. To wit, their M-16 line of knives. I saw some of the first prototypes, and suggested that they make the handle materials in different colors, red for firefighters, blue for law enforcement, green for the military, etc. And, it took CRKT a couple years to bring this out, but they did, and the knife handle color variations were good sellers.Continue reading“CRKT Seismic Folder, by Pat Cascio”

Recipe of the Week: Phil’s DIY Dry Pancake Mix

2

Reader Phil in Utah kindly sent us his recipe for his dry pancake mix.

Each batch of the dry mix makes enough for about four meals of five pancakes each. To use, just measure out one cup of the dry mix and add the moist ingredients. Presto!

Dry Pancake Mix Ingredients
  • 4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3 tablespoons baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 2 tablespoons white sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
To Prepare Pancakes

Combine and mix briefly:

  • 1 cup of the above-described dry pancake mix
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 tablespoon cooking oil or melted butter

Bake these on an oiled griddle or frying pan, as you would any other pancakes. You may add blueberries, or whatever to the mix.

SERVING

Serve as you would any other pancakes, with a topping of syrup, sorghum, or honey.

STORAGE

The dry pancake mix stores well for two weeks, un-refrigerated — or up to 6 weeks, refrigerated.

—

Do you have a favorite recipe that would be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers? In this weekly recipe column we place emphasis on recipes that use long term storage foods, recipes for wild game, dutch oven and slow cooker recipes, and any that use home garden produce. If you have any favorite recipes, then please send them via e-mail. Thanks!

Economics & Investing For Preppers

Here are the latest news items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. And it bears mention that most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. Today, we look at investing in gold pocket watches. (See the Tangibles Investing section.)

Precious Metals:

Platinum is still languishing down near one half the price of gold. Wow! Remember my advice: When it comes to ratio trading, buy at the extremes. In the long term, reversion to norms is the norm.

o  o  o

Gold prices stable; all eyes on Fed summit for rate-cut direction

Economy & Finance:

At Zero Hedge: What Happens To Bond ETFs When Interest Rates Go Negative?

o  o  o

Fed officials are divided over whether the economy needs more rate cuts

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

Preparedness Notes for Sunday — September 1, 2019

2

Please pray for all of the folks in the path of Dorian — presently a Category 4  tropical storm.

—

September is Kilted to Kick Cancer Month. (Pictured are Tactical Duty Kilts.)

—

The month of September is also National Preparedness Month.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 84  of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A $3,000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the public.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any 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 (an $1,100 value),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made 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 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 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.
  3. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  4. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  5. 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).
  6. 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. Good2GoCo.com is providing a $400 purchase credit at regular prices for the prize winner’s choice of either Wise Foods or Augason long term storage foods, in stackable buckets.
  2. 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)
  3. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  4. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  6. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances.

Round 84 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.

A Beginner’s Wood Splitting Journey – Part 2, by The Novice

21

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the two-part series.)

The Straight Stack

I initially stacked my split wood in straight, eight-foot sections about four feet high. This made each of those sections contain approximately a face cord of wood. Three face cords comprise a full cord. We typically burn six to eight full cords each winter.

I put a strip of tarp on the top of each stack and weighted it down with extra pieces of wood. This kept the rain off the top of the stack while allowing the wind to blow through and the sun to dry the sides.

One problem with straight stacks is that as wood dries, it shrinks. This may make a straight stack shift and become unstable as the drying process progresses. It was not unusual for a stack to fall over and need to be re-stacked, especially around the time of Halloween each year.Continue reading“A Beginner’s Wood Splitting Journey – Part 2, by The Novice”

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

38

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 take a look at the ongoing “slow slide” Venezuela.

Lessons From Venezuela: Violence, Crime, & Gangs When SHTF

Reader H.L. Suggested this over at Zero Hedge: Lessons From Venezuela: Violence, Crime, & Gangs When SHTF. A snippet:

“Gangs have been a pain since a long time for everyone, when in the 60s and 70s crime started to band together to gain strength. This was probably related to the appearance of the urban guerrilla (Castro-promoted), who kidnapped and commit crimes all over the country to destroy the stability and the democracy of the country. They recruited members with criminal experience to assist them in the resources collection to finance their political activities, and this started a lot of other criminal actions, on a more serious level. In the barrios, with a large amount of Chavez supporters, these gangs saw where the power balance was, joining to the “cause” and gained impunity and power, oppressing the opposition people.

This said, gangs roamed all over the different regions of the country, respecting each other terrains, enjoying the loot of their crimes. One of the most famous was the called “El tren de Aragua”, dismantled by live fire by death squads some time ago.”

A New York RINO Defects on Gun Legislation

Mentioned by reader C.B., and also seen linked over at Whatfinger.com is this troubling news: Rep. Pete King is the first Republican to sign on to the assault weapons ban. Here is a quote:

“The Assault Weapons Ban of 2019 was rolled out in February by Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.), with 190 other Democrats onboard. An additional 11 lawmakers signed on after mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, left dozens of people dead and many more injured, with King being among the most recent.

King had been the lead sponsor of a bill improving background checks when Republicans controlled the House and was already one of a handful of Republicans backing that bill now.

He had already been considering the assault weapons ban, but the shootings in Ohio and Texas raised the level of urgency.

“I think the assault weapons ban is timely now, especially in view of the shooting in El Paso and Dayton,” King said.”

JWR’s Comment:  So much for standing on principle and your oath to defend the Constitution, Mr. King! You sound like a weatherman reporting that a barometer has shifted. Law-making should not be based on media-driven sentiment.

Seriously, folks: You need to contact both of your senators, and your congressman, repeatedly, regardless of their party affiliation. DO NOT consider them “safe” just because they are Republicans! Remind them of their oath, and that the Second Amendment is an absolute. The magic number of votes on the House side is 218, and 51 on the Senate side. Don’t let them get there!

Presently, both a Federal Red Flag law and a private party transfer criminalization (H.R. 8 “Universal Background Checks”) seem to be in the fait accompli category. The Democrats are now asking:  “How much more can we get?” They are hoping for a combined “assault weapons” and 11+ round magazine ban. Don’t let them get it!Continue reading“The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

2

“And it came to pass on the second sabbath after the first, that he went through the corn fields; and his disciples plucked the ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing them in their hands.

And certain of the Pharisees said unto them, Why do ye that which is not lawful to do on the sabbath days?

And Jesus answering them said, Have ye not read so much as this, what David did, when himself was an hungred, and they which were with him;

How he went into the house of God, and did take and eat the shewbread, and gave also to them that were with him; which it is not lawful to eat but for the priests alone?

And he said unto them, That the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.

And it came to pass also on another sabbath, that he entered into the synagogue and taught: and there was a man whose right hand was withered.

And the scribes and Pharisees watched him, whether he would heal on the sabbath day; that they might find an accusation against him.

But he knew their thoughts, and said to the man which had the withered hand, Rise up, and stand forth in the midst. And he arose and stood forth.

Then said Jesus unto them, I will ask you one thing; Is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy it?

And looking round about upon them all, he said unto the man, Stretch forth thy hand. And he did so: and his hand was restored whole as the other.

And they were filled with madness; and communed one with another what they might do to Jesus.

And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.

And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles;

Simon, (whom he also named Peter,) and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew,

Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called Zelotes,

And Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor.

And he came down with them, and stood in the plain, and the company of his disciples, and a great multitude of people out of all Judaea and Jerusalem, and from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases;

And they that were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed.

And the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there went virtue out of him, and healed them all.

And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God.

Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh.

Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake.

Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.

But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation.

Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep.

Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.

But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,

Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.

And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloak forbid not to take thy coat also.

Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again.

And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.

For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them.

And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same.

And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again.

But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.

Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.

Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:

Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.” – Luke 6:1-38 (KJV)

 

Preparedness Notes for Saturday — August 31, 2019

3

August 31st, 1992 is the day that Randy Weaver surrendered to the Federal Authorities, ending the 10-day siege at Ruby Ridge. This is the incident that preceded the Waco siege and is known for the unconstitutional rules of engagement and overzealous actions by the jack booted thugs of the federal authorities that resulted in the death of two innocent people– Sammy and Vicki Weaver, Randy’s son and wife. It is notable that Randy was acquitted of all charges except missing a court date and violating bail conditions on an ATF sting operation where it is suspected that Mr. Weaver did nothing wrong but that the ATF informant altered the shotguns sold to him by Weaver resulting in Weaver’s arrest. In addition, the missed court date was due to clerical errors by the court. All involved Federal agencies were publicly reprimanded, and the state of Idaho attempted to press charges against some individuals for their actions but were stymied due to federal interference.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 84  of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A $3,000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the public.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any 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 (an $1,100 value),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made 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 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 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.
  3. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  4. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  5. 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).
  6. 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. Good2GoCo.com is providing a $400 purchase credit at regular prices for the prize winner’s choice of either Wise Foods or Augason long term storage foods, in stackable buckets.
  2. 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)
  3. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  4. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  6. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances.

Round 84 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.

A Beginner’s Wood Splitting Journey – Part 1, by The Novice

23

Six years ago, my wife and I slipped the surly bonds of suburbia and sought refuge in less densely populated parts. We settled in a log home in the woods. The northern woods in winter are beautiful but cold. Keeping warm led to a discovery: propane is expensive. So in the interest of fiscal responsibility, we henceforth heated our home by the sweat of my brow.

The details of felling trees, limbing, bucking logs, and hauling billets belong to a tale for another day. My story today concerns splitting wood: the experiences of a smooth-handed greenhorn reducing billets of wood into pieces that will stack and dry well and then be easily handled as they are fed into a wood stove.

I began my wood splitting journey with the heritage of my fathers: two axes, one inherited from my father, and one inherited from my father-in-law. The planes of my father’s axe are concave, tapering gently up to the eye where the head of the axe surrounds the handle. The planes of my father-in law’s axe tend toward the convex, curving more quickly outward toward its maximum width as it sweeps up toward the eye. These characteristics make my dad’s axe a felling axe, and my father-in-law’s axe a splitting axe.

The felling axe cuts deeply but spreads little. This makes it good for cutting across the grain of the wood. The splitting axe widens the cleft abruptly, before the energy of the blow can be dissipated by the friction of penetration. This makes it good for forcing the billet apart as it explosively creates a cleft parallel with the grain of the wood.

Although it is old, my father-in-law’s axe is a finely crafted and highly effective tool. I have subsequently used many different splitting tools, but I was blessed to begin my wood splitting journey with one of the best.Continue reading“A Beginner’s Wood Splitting Journey – Part 1, by The Novice”