Tag: SHTF Prep

Yesterday’s post about surviving on a deserted island with only one thing created quite a stir in Comments.

I’m going to take issue with something GT3Ted said:

“If you’ve ever tried to actually use one of those multi-function pocket knives, you would that although it promises to be able to do all sorts of things, it does none of them well, and most of them are completely useless,” and “A proper size survival knife with some weight and strength with a sheath and an included flint and sharpener.”

Well, I have actually used a Swiss Army knife, several times, both on Boy Scout trips with the Son&Heir, and on a couple of Army situations.  Both involved being in the middle of nowhere, with limited resources.

The point of survival revolves around two activities (other than feeding yourself and making or finding shelter):  husbanding your energy and being able to take care of small tasks and emergencies.

Here’s what I know about the Swiss Army Champ:

• The steel used in all real Swiss Army knives is superb.  It holds an edge very well, and is remarkably strong and reluctant to break, provided that you’re reasonably careful.  I typically use the smaller blade for all small cutting and whittling tasks, saving the bigger blade for tasks that require a bigger blade — and there aren’t that many, by the way.
• That little saw blade makes mincemeat of any branch or young tree trunk.  Try cutting any wood thicker than your wrist with a knife, any knife, and you’ll find it takes a long time (and energy).  You’ll also need that (included?) sharpener (if you’re allowed to take one, that is), because nothing dulls a blade like chopping wood;  ask me how I know this.  That saw on the Champ?  Cuts through anything, pretty much, with very little effort.
• The magnifying glass starts a fire in about 30 seconds, and requires no skill — very much unlike trying to start a fire with a flint.  Just try using a flint — or watch any of the “Survival” TV shows — to see how time-consuming and frustrating fire-starting with that method is.  And yes, the glass only works in daytime:  try using a flint to start a fire in pitch darkness, I dare you.
• Ever got a splinter in your hand or finger, and left it alone for a while?  Yep, it starts to fester, and quickly.  So you’ve got to get it out ASAP, and all you have is a bush knife?  Good luck with that.  The Swiss Army Champ has not only tweezers, but pliers as well.
• Speaking of the pliers:  good luck getting that rotting tooth out of your mouth with a bush knife.  (Once again, see how Tom Hanks had to do it on his deserted island.)  Now add a few more tasks that are made easier with pliers and are almost impossible with a large knife, and you’ll get my drift.
• To avoid rotting teeth, by the way, you’ll need to clean them after every meal.  Well, you can use your finger, of course, but the problem lies with those little bits of food stuck between your teeth.  Oh wait, what’s that?  The Champ has a toothpick tucked away in the handle?  Yeah, picking your teeth with a machete or bush knife is not a pleasant prospect, even assuming you can get the blade into your mouth without turning your face into the Joker’s.
• Assume you have coconut trees on your island.  With that big survival knife, you’re as likely to cut the shell open and lose half the coconut milk in the process.  Sure, the islanders make it look simple and easy;  but that’s all they do, day after day.  Someone who doesn’t is going to make a big mess and waste a lot of time and energy.  Now that little spike (awl) on the Champ?  It makes two small, neat holes (once again without too much effort), so that you can pour the milk through one into your mouth without losing any (the air flows in through the other so that it pours smoothly).  I’ve done it myself, several times, and it works.
• And if you need to sew anything (using stripped bark or lianas or whatever), that same spike has a little hole that you can use for thread.  Granted, it’s not perfect;  but your One Thing probably wouldn’t be a Bernina anyway.

Which, I think, is the whole point about a general-purpose tool like the Champ.  Granted, it doesn’t do anything very well;  but it does a whole lot of things reasonably well — and those things might make a huge difference to your chances of survival.

I cannot tell you how many times people asked me to borrow my Champ during the two activities I described above, to take care of one thing or another.  In every case, I refused to lend it to them, but did the tasks myself (I was not going to risk having the Champ broken by some heavy-handed Boy Scout or troopie.)  (Aside:  Swiss Army knives are streng verboten  in Boy Scouts because they don’t have locking blades.  Yeah, you have to be a little careful when using them.  Welcome to Grown-Up World.)

So I’m not saying that a large bush knife is a Bad Thing — anything but — but I prefer versatility in a situation that is likely to throw multiple problems at you.

By the way:  I found yet another Champ — in my gun bag — yesterday, so that brings the total I own to five.  Too many?  I don’ theenk so, Pedro.

No, not the 60s Brit vocal band.  I refer here to that ancient bed warmer known as the hot water bottle.

With the advent of electricity, the humble hot water bottle (known to many from childhood as a “holly-bolly” or the derivations thereof) fell from favor, hanging on mostly as a palliative for things like muscle strains and sports injuries (filled either with hot- or icy water, depending on need), and the world switched to electric blankets and so on.

Well, this is all well and good;  but when the electricity fails, what then?

One of the SHTF necessities I’ve mentioned often before is a butane-powered camping stove, or its smaller (and cheaper) domestic equivalent like this one:

You can of course go with the two-burner Coleman type (which is better if you’re needing to cater to a family, for instance), but I’ve always found the single to be perfectly adequate, plus it’s safer to use indoors for short periods.

Now what does this have to do with the holly?

Well, coupled with a camp kettle:

…this means that when the power goes and you don’t have access to any other heat source like a fireplace or gas heater, all you need to do is heat up some water on the camp stove, fill the holly and huddle under the blanket / duvet / whatever to keep warm.

I know, this sounds so self-evident that it invites ridicule;  but at the same time, back in 2015 when most of Texas was without electricity for nearly three weeks(!), our family was caught short in the personal-heating department because we had no hot water bottles.  (Of course, we had lots of electric blankets and foot warmers, a leftover from our sojourn in Chicago;  but in Chicago they can handle brutal winters.  Texas?  Not so much, thanks for nothing ERCOT.)

New Wife and I have one each, and when this cruel winter is over I’m going to get another two.  (Why?  Because two is one and one is none, that’s why.  And hollies wear out, especially when you fill it with very hot water — that rubber perishes, ask me how I know this.)

Yet another example of how sometimes, the old things just work better when modernity comes up short.

This little episode made me giggle:

Three days?  Three DAYS?  Does she think that a miracle will occur, or the disaster have passed, by Day Four?

As I recall, the BritGov suggested the same time period — probably using the same asinine reasoning, if it can be called that.

At the risk of sounding repetitive on this topic, three months’ worth of supplies sounds more realistic, and still longer would be better (assuming that one has the storage space to hold all that stuff).

But no politician is going to suggest such a holding, of course, for two reasons:

1. it may cause the population to panic, and
2. it would suggest that the government might fail in its primary obligation (to protect its citizens).

…and we can’t have that, can we?  Far better to suggest a paltry three days, and allow vast numbers of people to perish from starvation, etc.

Of course, in unarmed Europe, “going shopping with my AK card” is not possible because of civilian disarmament and stringent gun control laws.

It’s a recipe for disaster, as any fule kno, but it couldn’t happen to a nicer bunch of neo-socialists.

Faced with imminent risk of flooding over in Britishland, the Met Office has provided a helpful emergency list for those Brits at risk of same:

“Think about putting together an emergency flood kit with essential items that will help you cope in a flood, including: Insurance documents and list of contact numbers; torch and spare batteries; first-aid kit and any prescription medicines; warm waterproof clothes and blankets; bottled water and snacks; battery or wind-up radio and if it applies to you: supplies for looking after your baby or pet. Make sure that everyone knows where to find this kit and what to do if flooding happens.”

Of course, what isn’t mentioned is whether the flood risk involves home evacuation or simply being isolated at home (surrounded, say, by floodwaters).

I have a couple of grab ‘n go chests ready if I had to leave home, and they contain all the above along with more serious survival stuff, to be supplemented only with things I keep in the house, e.g. Rx meds, rain gear and of course my laptop computer (which contains all the documentation I need to run my life).  And as long as I have sufficient gas in the car, the power inverter I keep inside it will provide all the power I’d need.  Of take-along guns we will not speak, of course, but most Brits don’t have any of those, so their supplies are pretty much there for the taking by anyone (e.g. a criminal or police officer [some overlap] ) who can simply commandeer whatever they need.

As for staying in place at home, I think we could survive for about a month, maybe even two before being seriously inconvenienced.

In other words, I’m not too worried about the problem — unless the disaster strikes (as it usually does in Texas) during a severe winter storm, in which case things might be a little more tricky, but not insurmountable.  As our apartment is on the ground floor and overlooks a large lawn, I could always park the car next to the patio railing and use the inverter for emergency power inside the apartment if necessary.  (The complex has all sorts of rules about outdoor cooking on the patio etc., but in a SHTF situation I’d ignore pretty much everything that stood in my way anyway.)

Feel free to run over all the things you’d need to get through a catastrophe of the above nature.  It’s a good mental exercise even if you believe you’re adequately prepared, and who knows, you might find that you have a few things to attend to, e.g. getting in some more batteries or non-perishable foods.

Disaster prep:  if you don’t do it, you deserve everything that hits you.