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Episode-306- 18 Common And Not So Common Modern Survival Items — 17 Comments

  1. \"A Grain Grinder\"

    Have 2, a Corona that makes great cornmeal & makes other grains manageable for my Back to Basics. Built a dedicated bench with an aluminum attachment bar. Mucho bread has been produced using this combo.

  2. I met a lady who spent some time in Africa. They would put water in a clear plastic bottle and put it in the sun all day and then it would be safe to drink. UV light would kill the bad things I guess.

  3. Thanks for a great podcast today, Jack! A couple things that I think you might be able to expand upon in your list are:
    * baking skills and recipes (once you have that grinder, you’ve got to do something with it).
    * wine/beer brewing without yeast ~ if there is a true SHTF coming, nobody can count on getting packaged yeast at the local store, right? I suppose you could add in baking to this, as well, but there are many easy recipes to cook breads without yeast. I purchased the “Wild Fermentation” with hopes to learn how to brew sans commercial yeast, but was disappointed, ultimately.
    * True off-grid living ~ challenges with utilities, local planning authorities, etc. when trying to set-up a homestead and either not connect to the grid (using solar, wind, battery back-ups, etc.) or potentially hooking up to the grid and disconnecting if blackouts occur.

    Thanks again for your hard work and insight.

    Zac

  4. Try a good set of pruners some time. I find them faster than a Machete. A Machete or an ax can do more but pruners work better for small branches or saplings that tend to bend instead of cut or break.

    On occasions when a tree or branch comes down in a storm a chain saw and a set of pruners complement each other well.

  5. Great show with many good suggestions.

    Pressure Canners: All-American brand rocks. Made in the USA,top-quality, variety of sizes available.

    Also, regarding a fruit press here is a shameless plug for Herrick Kimball and his “Whizbang Cider Press”. He’s a neat guy, has a great and inspiring blog (if you want to see somebody do a whole lot on a little land, check out his blog site, The Deliberate Agrarian). Anyway, he runs a side business with plans for handy, mostly agrarian-type stuff you can build yourself. I bought the plans for his cider press and felt it was money exceptionally well spent. I have no official association with this guy, just a very pleased customer and thought that folks who enjoy the podcast might like his ideas:

    http://www.whizbangcider.com/

    Regarding gloves, I’d suggest everybody have 10 pairs of workgloves. Even the top-quality ones can have holes worn in them within several days of hard work.

    Jack – you may have mentioned in past shows but I didn’t make note – do you recommend a particular brand/model of GPS? Like most of your listeners, I’d not be interested in all the latest features, just a good, durable, cost-effective model. Thanks for any suggestions.

  6. One more item: a good scythe. A good scythe makes cutting grass and weeds very easy. If you have animals, you need it to make feed and bedding. Even if you are a vegetarian, you may need it for clearing and planting. You can make your own snath (scythe handle) out of wood, but the technology to make the scythe blade is not something you can replicate. It is far more difficult to make than an axe or a knife. See scytheconnection.com. Get a couple good sharpening stones, too. Recall that in the “One straw revolution” the basic technology uses just a scythe and mud balls formed by hand around seeds. In other words, you don’t really need a shovel or hoe to garden, just a good scythe. Plus the exercise is a beautiful tai chi like motion.

  7. A chain or tow strap is a nice complement to a small winch or come along. Really extends the pulling range. I personally carry a 20′ “log” chain and come along in my daily driver.

    Having the chain has got me pulled out of a ditch I slid into on snowy roads and has helped pull a couple dead vehicles.

  8. Jack I did a review of the small gerber hatchet with knife in handle on my youtube channel if you want to check it out.

  9. First aide gear. Maninly a crap load of gauze (variable sizes), tape, and antiseptic. But other more advanced supplies are even better. Not much space required for a very extensive kit.

  10. I would like to add. A good cast iron skillet/frying pan and a cast iron dutch oven.

    The dang things are amazing for cooking / car camping or heck even just throwing near the fire to make something. NO stupid plastic parts to melt of break. Yes, you have rust. Learn to keep it rust free and keep it oiled and clean.

  11. Tarps, you can never have enough of them. I keep one in each vehicle and several at home. Good for temporary shelters, closing off extra rooms in a power outage situation where you don’t want to heat extra rooms in your house. Good for moving dead or injured people or animals and leaves or other debris. Even have had lady friends use it one as a barrier to relieve themselves on the side of a busy freeway.

  12. And generators, in my neck of the Montana woods the sun doesn\’t always shine and the wind doesn\’t always blow for wind or solar, so a fume producing, noisy generator is a must. In places like Alaska it\’s your only option.

  13. Jack:

    I think that in previous shows, you said that a good chain saw is a must have. As well as the saw, you recommended an extra bar, extra chains, a sharpening tool, and any other spare parts needed for your particular saw.

    Curt