Survivalists vs Preppers

Since the UK Peppers 2 B.S. was on the TV last month, I've noticed a lot more people on the various Facebook groups saying how when SHTF they will be bugging out, and anyone that stays is crazy blah blah.  These people are what I would class as survivalists, people who watch a bit too much Rambo and who's number one plan after the brown stuff has hit the wind turbine is to rob a gunsmiths.

The UK is 243,610 km² with 15% woodland cover, which means these people think they can come up trumps when 62million people try to squeeze into 36,541.5km2 of woodland, and they can secure it against other none friendly people either alone or in groups.  I'm sorry guys if I'm bursting your bubble but this might not be the most realistic scenario you can come up with.

At this point It may be worth noting that britain has a population density of 277 people per km², New Zealand has a population density of 16.5 people per km² (land area of 268,680 km² and population of 4,027,947) The US Has approximately Double that at 34.2 people per km² (Land Area 9,826,675 km and Population of316,182,000) with Austrailia having a staggering 2.8 people per km² (7,692,024 km²  land area of and a population at the last census of 21,507,717).

So while you may get away with hiding in the woods in the USA, Russia or anywhere else you may wish to go, it is clearly not an option for a large scale event, there just isn't the space to hide in!
If this dose happen, putting up your tent and putting some expensive gucciflarge netting over it wont help you, regardless of your training.  There is a reason our ancestors built palisades around there settlements which then evolved to castles like The Tower of London or Edinburgh,  your fellow man isn't very nice BUT he is bloody cunning, just having a trip flare in your campsite wont save you!

Looking back at history, throughout all the strife we have suffered the depression, spanish flu and many many civil wars, the number of times people have successfully bugged out is quite rare, YES, the Bielski partisans in russia, but what about the Marquis in France - well they had help from the guys still in the towns, and the same go's for the Yugoslavian partisans, and the Viet minh.

The only Mass exodus in recent history was in the Balkans, but the situation was that if they stayed the army would have killed the entire population.  So if having a massive Bergen full of gear makes you happy, fine, I'm not going to object, but if you insist that is the only way to be prepared, or to survive, then my friend I am afraid you are mistaken!

You should look at your home before you look at the countryside.  A smallholding/allotment and food/water/fuel supplies stored will allow better flexibility in the immediate stages of a situation, and anything that happens before that like a localized power cut.

Sorry guys rant over......For now!

Sharpening a machete

Sharpening A Machete

Recently I was asked to use a Cold Steel Kukri Machete, it was in absolutely dire condition, with nicks and really major burrs along the entire edge. 

I asked the guy that owns if it I could sharpen it, which he seemed pretty happy about.  The longest task about sharpening a machete is to go to Screwfix, B&Q or whatever your DIY centre choice and get the stuff to do the job.

You can use an expensive whetstone or fancy sharpening kits, but I tend to go for the more economical route every time.  You don’t need any fancy kit as sharpening is more about Practice and muscle grease than anything else, it’s the same technique for a 6cm Opinel as it is for a 30cm Machete.

All you will need is:

·         A Flat File, this is used initially to remove burrs and get the blade to a condition where it can be sharpened with the wet & dry paper

·         Wet and Dry paper, various grades, for this job I chose 120, 200, 600 and 1200

·         A sending Block.  You’ll have to support the wet & dry paper with something, and as a proper sanding block is only a £1.50 I went for this.  I would have preferred a cork block, but they didn’t have any in stock, c'est la vie.

 The first job is to remove all the burrs and to dress nicks out of the edge, to do this use the file and file work out any nick, burrs, and other damage.  Work in one direction pulling the file back from the edge.  If you are less confident about using the file, hold it so that you cannot injure yourself.

Try and keep an angle on the way that you are holding the file to aprox 40^o so that you are pulling the file back up-hill.

Once these have all been worked out, get the lowest grade of wet & dry you have, put it on the sanding block and put a small amount on the wet& dry paper. 

Starting at the tip of the blade move the sanding block backwards and along the blade on one motion.  Repeat this 10 times and then work on the other side, until the blade starts to improve, Once you think that the edge is not improving change from the lowest grade wet & dry to the next one up etc.  At this point keep the angle you hold the sanding block at this time should be close to 30^o.

Stropping, if the knife you are sharpening is finished it will have a layer of dirt from the sharpening process and burrs on the edge of the blade, to remove these use an old bet and fasten it to a doorway, then run the blade up and down the belt alternating the edge that is in contact with the leather, this will remove any during and give you a good edge.  Once you have finished this you should wash and thoroughly dry the blade as this will greatly extend the life of the metal.

Comparison shot of the Cold Steel Kukri Machete and an Indian Kukri of the 1930’s.

As I said earlier, it’s all about practice, the shape of the machete was a little inconvenient, but if you approach the task in a logical manner you should be ok.

Future Plans

Hi Guys
As some of you may know I'm studying full time.  I'm actually studying for 3 different qualifications, A Degree, An NVQ and an industry qualification from LANTRA.  

This leaves not a lot of time for other hobbies and interests, though thankfully a lot of the training gets me out and involved in some of the things that I like doing anyway.

Because I'm a student I don't have enough spare income to stock up on Mountain House cans or long term food storage, or even things that will be needed come the fail, though I am in the process of organising my limited (30ft X 30ft) so that I can have a couple of Poly Tunnels or green houses and sheds, though it involves re-planting hedges, fencing and repairing lawns.

My studies will be going on for quite some time, If I take the Masters degree I will be out of work for at least another 6 years, its not that I don't want to earn money to prep, I do, and I would love to spend as much as I can on setting up all sorts of preps, but I feel that while prepping is important, so is education and plans for your future, without whatever fail should also be followed.

All sorts of skills books, videos etc are important, and I'm getting all sorts of these while I'm studying

While I want to get stockpiles, and start growing my own food, I think that if I don't follow my plans through, I won't be able to find a job that both pays more than the Minimum wage and I enjoy.

For those that are interested the qualifications will be a BTEC in Forestry and Arboriculture Myerscough College, a HNC in Forestry Scottish School of Forestry, BSc Environmental Management Open University, a BSc in Forest Ecosystems and Conservation University of Bangor, Post Grad Diploma Arboriculture and Urban Forestry from the University of Central Lancashire, A Master of Forestry (University of Alberta) and MSc Environmental Forestry (University of Banger).

So who has thoughts along similar lines, who has similar plans?  Who is out of work and still prepping?

Life after Oil

I've just watched the documentary Aftermath:World without oil.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dC2QEz3LdbM

I'd be interested to hear what you guys that read my posts think would happen today if Oil stopped overnight.

Do you think we should stockpile gas/petrol/diesel in case something happened?

And Finally, what provision have you made/plan to make for living without the ability to live without oil based products.

The Basics HEAT

The Basics, Part 2, Heat and power

What happens when you’re sat at home, curled up on the sofa watching east enders, and all of a sudden every light and appliance in the house go's off.  It could be as simple as flicking the fuse box back on, or it could be something that you don't have a clue what to fix.

If you have a torch in every room as I've already advised you'll be able to find your way around, but what then?

As a starting point, candles are great, a few candles will raise the ambient temperature in a room by a couple of degrees, will provide enough light to see to move around without colliding with the furniture, and at a push, enough tea lights can warm a pan of soup, though that’s a trick best left to the scouts, here we want to be practical.

GAS

Some people that, like me, spend some of their time in the outdoors may have a Gas gas stove that can boil an old style whistling kettle.  These are fairly self-explanatory, and everything, including instructions and a can of gas fits into a small case, about the size of a case for a kettle.  If you do want to pick one of these up, most outdoor shops, and places like Halfords have them in all year, and during the spring/ summer most supermarkets will stock them as well.  You can get a stove, a small kettle and a few cans of gas for around £20, which is perfectly safe to put under the kitchen sink until you need it.

Depending on the brand of gas stove you choose, some make lanterns and heaters to fit the same cartridges, again if you decide to go this route then your local outdoors shop is the place to go for advice and kit.

Next on the list is the type of gas stoves that most people take camping, gas burners and lanterns that run off a large gas bottle, these can be in either butane or propane, and come in sizes from 4kg all the way up to 47kg.

With these types of gas bottles you may have to go to go to a specialist supplier such as Calor gas or BOC.  You can get a whole host of gas powered stoves, heaters, lights, and even water boilers.

It's worth bearing in mind that with all presurised gas containers, that they have an indefinate shelf life as long as the valve is sealed correctly.

Liquid fuels

Petrol and Paraffin stoves, and some lanterns are fairly widely available, camping stoves, double camping burners, lanterns, and military field kitchens are relatively easy to find through the internet, though some pump bought liquid fuels have preservatives and other additives in them, which can make the fuel “spoil” in a few months.

This is bad news if you plan to use it in an engine like a car or generator,  but the fuel should still be flammable, so in the stoves and lanterns it will burn with slightly less heat and/ or more smoke, depending on the additives.  This is easily overcome by buying “long life” fuel from camping suppliers, though in truth these are more expensive than pump bought fuel but they produce more heat, and are cleaner.

Solid fuel

Many of us are familiar with wood burners, or open coal fires, these normally provide light and heat for comfort in the main living room, but can just as easily provide heat for cooking.  If you have the money now, you can buy a wood burner/ stove designed as a cooker, though once you install this in your kitchen you may be looking at a fair amount.

Failing a custom made wood burner, and if you do not already have a solid fuel fire, you can make a rocket stove or wood gasyfier, normally these are two used tin cans, but can be made to any size, or a traditional earth oven using an old oil drum and a few bricks, covered over with earth with a flue coming out of the back.  Instructions for all these can be found on the internet, and I will try and find links for all these.

Wood

For wood to burn at it’s most efficient it has to be below 20% moisture content, normally fresh cut wood is around 40 to 45% moisture content.  Ideally wood should  be left to season for 2 years after it has been cut.  It is your decision whether or not to split and cut the wood to size when it is fresh cut or after it has been seasoned, though if you are splitting with an axe it will be easier when it is freshly sawn.  Though having said this, if you do it in winter the cold will make the wood more brittle, so it may be worth waiting if you can.

If you want to burn scraps of wood, bear in mind that some building timber is treated to be flame retardant and fire proof.  It go’s without saying that this is more difficult to get toing and reach good temperatures than wood which isn’t treated, but is normally free wherever you can scrounge it

from.   

Storage and longevity

Normally Gas bottles/canisters can be stored indefinitely, though they may need special containers, depending on your local bylaws and Health and safety regulation.  Petrol or diesel can only be stored upto 20 liters, and it must be in a suitable approved container.  Other flammable liquids like turps or meths can be stored as much as you like, but its your responsibility to check local storage regs.

Wood should be stored outside until it has dried, as storing it indoors can allow fungi or mould into your house.  If you can stack it in neat piles in an open sided shed.