Active New Top (30 days) Compact Card Lightweight and cheap hand saw for your bug out bag Gideon ParkerStaff - September 23, 2022 In a forum post that I can’t seem to find now, a member shared the World’s Lightest Backpacking Saw. Coming in at only 3.95 oz (112g) this minimalist collapsible saw would be a great addition to throw in a bug out bag. However, this commercial product is no longer being made. So if I wanted one, I was going to have to make one myself. I am going to share two designs that I came up with so this type of saw will be accessible to those on a tight budget with no tools to work with or if you want some additional features, you can take it to the next level. Video of completed product at the end of this post. Design #1 – Cheap, quick, and minimal. For this first model, you will need to get a 9” or 12” sawzall blade from the hardware store ($4-$8), a 9.25” long ½” diameter PVC pipe ($3) (they can help you cut it at the hardware store or you can use your saw blade), a piece of paracord, and a small stick the length and diameter of your finger. This is really easy. Thread the paracord through the hole in the saw blade, stick the paracord through the pipe, tie a knot at the end, thread the stick through the hole of the paracord knot and twist until the blade is firm in there. That’s it! Design #2 – Slightly more expensive, requires more tools, but has more features This design does require a bit more work, but is far superior in my opinion. One of the things I didn’t like about the commercial product and Design #1 is that you had to store your blade next to the handle and it had potential for cutting up other gear in your pack. I wanted a larger diameter tube in Design #2 to be more comfortable in the hand, and offer a storage space for the saw blade inside. With the larger diameter tube however, the saw blade would just slip through. To fix this, take a ½ inch diameter 1” long piece of PVC pipe, sanding down the outside until it fits snuggly inside the ¾” pipe, and apply some PVC glue to keep it secure. By doing this, it creates the necessary diameter for the saw to sit in while still maintaining the ability to store the saw inside the handle. An additional modification that I did with Design #2 is to cut slits in the ½ inch pipe so that the blade has a secure slot to sit in and won’t spin around when you are tightening down the rope. You can just stick with threading the paracord through the hole in the blade, or go with the cotter pin attachment that the commercial version uses. I don’t really see the benefit of the cotter pin besides being able to remove the rope without having to untie the knot, or maybe distributing the tension between two points instead of one. I probably wouldn’t bother buying the cotter pins again, but if you want to I’ll show you how to bend and use them. Get some ⅛” X 1” cotter pins ($1.25/pack of 5) in the nail and screw aisle of the hardware store, thread it through the hole of the saw blade, pinch slightly up on the cotter pin with some pliers and bend the legs of the cotter pin over the pliers teeth. The finished product will look like this. Another modification I made with Design #2 is to sand little ridges in the base to lock in the stick better than a smooth surface. The commercial product gets around doing this by just really cranking the line until it won’t move and holding the stick while you saw, but I like the grooves better. You can recreate this by wrapping a pencil in sand paper and running it back and forth over the end of the pipe. Comparing the DIY version with the commercial product. To be honest, I like the PVC pipe version much more than the commercial product because of the low cost, and additional features. Comparing Design #2 to the top recommended hand saw in The Prepared’s Best survival handsaw article, the Silky Gomboy costs and weighs three times as much and doesn’t have cheap easily replaceable blades. The commercial product uses a better rope called Zing-it that is lighter weight, stronger, and doesn’t have any stretch. I couldn’t find Zing-it anywhere cheaper than $27 for a roll and the paracord works perfectly for me, so I am sticking with that. For $1 more, I could have gone with the superior saw blade that the commercial product uses, the Diablo carbide teeth blades. The reason I went with the Milwaukee blade is because that fits inside the ¾” PVC whereas the Diablo blade was just slightly too wide. In the future, I would like to get the Diablo blade and grind down the wide spine so that it will fit inside the handle. The commercial product also went with a long 12” blade which is much faster at cutting with its longer draw length, but for this compact version I stuck with a 9” blade. Here’s a short video showing what the Diablo blade can do compared to a similar sized Fiskers saw. There is enough room inside the handle of Design #2 where you could have both a wood and metal saw blade. Perhaps you have this in your bug out bag and use the wood blade to cut firewood or build a shelter with, and the metal blade could be used to cut a chain link fence or padlock if you are stuck somewhere and need to get through during SHTF. Video of completed Design #2 https://youtu.be/ltvS1SPyACc Read More 11 16 Gear Brushfire information resources Alicia - September 22, 2022 A brushfire started very near my home this afternoon while I was at work. Luckily, a neighbor was home and alerted me. I am fortunate enough to have the flexibility to return home, work from there and monitor the situation. I have Fire Department alerts to email but don’t check my personal email often during the workday. No other alert was raised as evacuations have not been declared yet. So I have some work to get better alerts. In a couple hours the fire went from 5 to 107 acres and had the wind stayed in its original direction, an evacuation would have been more likely for my neighborhood. But luck was on our side today, and the wind changed to away from homes. There are 4 helicopters and I don’t know how many firefighters. It’s looking like they’re succeeding in containment based on the reduction in smoke and frequency of helicopter flyovers. These resources were quite helpful in assessing the fire as it had not yet made the news: Local Fire Department alerts – once I heard, I could check my email and see a map pin that was near (but also from experience not ON) the fire location. Satellite map of potential fires – zoom to your location. The squares grew over time. Live tracking of aircraft website. If you click on a helicopter it will show the recent flight path. That showed the water pickup to dump location loop. Quite helpful. Live tracking of wind direction website – indicates the direction the fire may move. MyRadar phone app. @eric has shared this for fires. For this event, it’s not showing this fire, or it’s in the wrong spot. This appears to have been a near miss for me so far. And an opportunity to learn how to be better prepared for next time. Read More 14 9 Scenarios Review of Juan Pablo’s book THRIVE Carla Almaraz - September 22, 2022 Holy mole! Talk about a comprehensive book! I learned something about survival on virtually every single page. I have dozens of books on survival but this one takes the cake for every topic. If you are considering staying in the wild, this is the book for you. Read More 7 2 Low-bandwith website recommendations for when you have poor service Adriaan - September 22, 2022 Looongtime internet user here. I have pretty bad service at my house, any text-only sites that you recommend? Read More 12 7 FAQ: Apple AirTags for prepping Josh CentersContributor - September 22, 2022 Of all of the products Apple released in 2021, perhaps the one that’s received the most press — for good and ill — is the AirTag, a small, cheap (for Apple), tracking device. The idea is that you slip it into a bag or attach it to your keys and you can easily track down the AirTag’s location with your iPhone. The other side of the coin is it’s feared to be a potent tool for stalking and auto theft. What makes the AirTag different from Tile and other trackers? The concept of a small, portable tracking device isn’t new. Ham radio operators have been using APRS for such devices for decades, and object tracking entered the mainstream with the Tile trackers. But what makes AirTag different is the power of Apple’s extensive Find My network. Tile trackers aren’t very useful because most of the time, it’s limited by the transmit distance of Bluetooth, about 30 feet. The AirTag also works by transmitting a Bluetooth signal, but it uses every nearby iPhone, iPad, and Mac with the right system requirements to relay the signal, and there are a lot of those out there in the wild — millions and millions. Tile has a similar networking technology, but the network isn’t anywhere close to as extensive. To clear up some confusion: there is the Find My app on iPhones that you use to see the locations of devices, friends, and AirTags, and then there is the Find My network, which relays signals from AirTags and other devices. The Find My network works silently in the background. If you have an Apple device, you won’t notice it being used. And the Find My network uses encryption and other technologies to protect your privacy from the devices relaying the signal. How extensive is the Find My network? Kirk McElhearn mailed one to a friend and discovered that he could track it practically in real time. Every time the AirTag gets near a compatible Apple device, it relays its location to Apple’s servers. How does an AirTag help me track objects? The AirTag has three mechanisms to help you pin down its location: It displays its approximate location on the map in the Find My appIt supports radar-like precision tracking on the iPhone 11 and laterIt features a small speaker that can be triggered from the Find My app to help you audibly track the AirTag https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckqvG0Rj35I Do I need an iPhone to use an AirTag? For all practical purposes, yes. You can view an AirTag on the map with the Mac and iPad versions of Find My (not the web version on iCloud.com), but you need an iPhone 11 or later for the precision tracking that helps you find the AirTag once you’re in the general proximity. You need an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to set up the AirTag. Apple has considered what happens if a good samaritan without an iPhone finds your AirTagged item. There is an NFC chip built in that can be scanned with an Android phone, displaying your name, phone number, address, or whatever information you decided to share on the AirTag. What can I use the AirTag to track? Apple envisions you tracking things like backpacks, keychains, purses, and bicycles. In terms of preparedness, you can expand this a bit to things like: Go-bags Individual First-Aid Kits Tool boxes Ammunition boxes Keeping an AirTag with your kits can help you find them when you need them and can’t remember where you put them. It may also help if your bag or other kit is stolen, assuming you’ve hidden the AirTag well and the thief isn’t actively looking for one. There are creative uses for AirTag as well. An Army wife stuck one in her family’s stuff so they could track a moving truck. When the driver kept delaying and making excuses, she tracked the AirTag location to quickly figure out that he was full of it. Can an AirTag be used for stalking? There have been a number of media and police warnings about AirTags being used by criminals, including a model finding one in her pocket and people finding them attached to their vehicles. Apple shipped the AirTag with a number of anti-stalking protections. Most notably, you’re alerted if an AirTag not registered to your iPhone is found nearby. It can lead to false alarms, like if you’re on a bus with someone who has an AirTag in their backpack. And it only works if you use an iPhone. To help address this concern, Apple has shipped an Android app, called Tracker Detector, which doesn’t automatically detect foreign AirTags but lets you manually scan for them. Oddly, you can’t manually scan for AirTags with an iPhone and you can’t be automatically alerted of them with an Android phone. Expect Apple to do more soon to address criminal usage of AirTags (and the bad press). Can I share an AirTag with a family member? Find My lets you track the locations of members of your Family Sharing group, as well as their registered Apple devices. That’s really helpful when, say, your spouse has lost their iPhone. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way with an AirTag. An AirTag is tied to a single Apple ID and isn’t shared. That can be really annoying if you borrow your spouse’s keys with an attached AirTag and get stalking warnings. How long does the AirTag battery last? Apple says the AirTag battery should last about a year. Amazingly for an Apple product, the AirTag takes a standard CR2032 battery that you can easily replace yourself. How do I attach an AirTag to stuff? The AirTag is a smooth disk without any holes or other ways to attach it to things. It’s easy enough to slip one inside a bag or box, but you need some sort of case to attach it to things like keys. Apple would like for you to buy one of their high-dollar designer AirTag cases, but there are cheap and perfectly serviceable AirTag cases on Amazon. Read More 21 9 Advice Can a carport help me protect my car from the heat? Lena - September 21, 2022 I always park my car in my backyard. But summer coming, and the temperature gradually increases. Now, it is hot. I found online that a carport can help me protect my car in the summer. It is true? And how should I pick a carport? Read More 7 13 Klean Strip/Klean Heat kerosene alternative for oil burning lanterns and lamps Barb LeeContributor - September 20, 2022 Klean Heat kerosene alternative is about as pure as kerosene gets, and is recommended on one of my favorite lantern websites. It’s taken me a long time to find it (buried in the Home Depot labyrinth) but I found it last week. Just now refitted my two antique lanterns with new wicks and filled them with the new product, then lit them. It is unquestionably a far superior product in the old lanterns than either K-1 kerosene or lamp oil! My two lanterns, a 19th century railroad lantern and a 1920s Dietz cold blast contractor’s lantern, just reeked when burned inside with K-1. There is almost no kerosene smell at all with the new fuel. The Dietz burns far cleaner than the railroad lantern and I couldn’t smell anything from it. Most of the smell came from the other one. From the Klean Strip website: Klean-Strip® Klean Heat® My understanding is that the alternative produces slightly less light and heat, but probably imperceptible. Consider the kerosene alternative if you use kerosene in any of your heating/lighting equipment. It’s spendy but seems to be a better option if forced to use such fuels indoors in an emergency. Read More 10 1 Gear ⛺ Springbar, aka Kirkham Tent? JBinAZ - September 20, 2022 We’re thinking about splurging on a Springbar tent and would like to hear real-world feedback on them. Our reasons for wanting to get one are: 1. Heavy duty: we live in the Arizona desert and everything here is rocky. 99% of our plants and trees have thorns and thorns. Our desert eats up tents 2. 4 season: we hit high temps (like 115) in the summer and can hit in the 30s in the winter. We need something that “breathes” in hot temps but can insulate in cold 3. Storms: We have a monsoon season, and that means wind gusts up to 80 mph and rain that lashes sideways 4. We’d like to be able to “hot tent,” i.e. use a small wood stove in the winter inside the tent, as you can do with canvas tents. 5. Durability: We’d like this tent to last more than a year (or, sometimes, a trip) 6. Color: We like that they have a color (“Suntan”) that really blends into our desert7. Critters: We need to sleep “zipped up” or mostly zipped up as we have rattlesnakes and scorpions…we’ve been stung by scorpions and our dog took a rattlesnake bite, last year. 8. Usage: For a car bug-out situation to our “base camp” as well as enjoying it throughout the year on our adventures. Anyway, it doesn’t seem like anyone has written about this brand, yet, according to my searching on here. Would love to hear your feedback and experiences, or suggestion for an alternate option. ⛺⛺⛺⛺⛺⛺⛺⛺⛺⛺⛺⛺⛺⛺⛺⛺⛺⛺⛺⛺⛺⛺⛺⛺⛺⛺⛺⛺⛺⛺⛺⛺⛺⛺ Read More 9 1 Gear Hikers caught in a wildfire Kira - September 19, 2022 Hi all, Came across this article about how two hikers that got caught in a wildfire survived (no pay wall) and thought some of y’all might be interested: https://www.khq.com/news/hikers-stranded-atop-mountain-by-bolt-creek-fire/article_d6cc054e-322e-11ed-9165-231473ca123d.html They assumed the smoke was coming from the other side of the mountains. They weren’t able to be evacuated by first responders, came close to the fire several times, ran out of water, and nearly fell of a cliff, but were ultimately able to find their car and evacuate. I’m curious what, if any, different choices or preparations you might have made? I’d have avoided going outside in smoke full stop (it’s thick enough to coat my yard in ash, and I’m several towns over!) and would have checked the fire map (again, thick smoke). Read More 11 21 News Will you choose a portable greenhouse in the fall? Lena - September 19, 2022 Now is the best season of the year to start your backyard gardening. Will you begin greenhouse gardening this fall? It seems that many gardening enthusiasts love hobby greenhouses, especially portable ones. Will you choose a portable greenhouse? tunnel greenhouse, mini greenhouse, walk-in greenhouse…..what kind of portable greenhouse would you prefer? Read More 5 1 Phones for prepping Ant0kneeguy - September 19, 2022 Phones are a communication tool that can be used to save someone’s life. But are they reliable enough to be trusted in an emergency situation? I think important considerations should be: – Repairability Phones are so complicated and so often used that breakdowns are inevitable. But electronic circuits are not designed to be repairable, and so have to be replaced when they fail. Whether you’re choosing a new phone or sticking with one you’ve got, try to find (and later stock up on) replacement parts – especially the screen and battery, which need to be replaced most often. That way, you can take your phone to be repaired by a specialist (or do so yourself if you have the skills) even once the phone and spare parts are no longer being sold. However, some phones are much more repairable than others. On one side of the extreme, some phone manufacturers actively design to reduce repairability (often citing tenuous security or safety concerns) by gluing parts together or serialising individual parts so that the phone will refuse to work with new ones. On the other side of the spectrum, a few rare phones are made with repairability as an express goal. They’re known as “modular” phones and are designed to be taken apart by their owners using simple tools. The companies producing these phones may even be happy to sell you spare parts. A (non-comprehensive) list of phones and their repairability can be found on iFixit, a website dedicated to making electronics repair accessible to consumers. – Battery life The difficult truth (for my generation at least) is that “dumb” phones are most certainly better in this regard. Even with a battery bank, you can only extend the life of a typical smartphone for a few days of normal use (compared to the month’s battery life of a dumbphone), and this brings with it extra storage requirements and greater vulnerability to any one piece of equipment breaking. Not to mention the stress of worrying whether it is sufficiently charged, or having to remember to charge it regularly. In an emergency situation, this is one thing you don’t need on your mind. A dumbphone is far more practical and reliable in the case of, say, a flood, where you may not be safely able to charge your phone for an unknown period of time. And if you can swap out the batteries, you can also carry around a spare so that you don’t need to charge immediately. Fewer charging cycles also means that the batteries will get worn down more slowly and will last much longer. This does bring up an interesting point: according to Sane Prepper Rules, preps shouldn’t make life harder for ourselves now. Which begs an interesting question: do smartphones make our lives better? They make us better connected and easily entertained, but do they make us happier? They provide a lot of utility, but could we find that same utility elsewhere? – Ruggedness It’s all well and good being repairable, but just as important to not need repairing in the first place. Beware that just because a phone is marketed as rugged, or has “active”, “tough” or similar words in the name doesn’t mean that it will actually last (I write this from experience). Look for real-world tests that put the phone through its paces. I note here the lack of manufacturers rating their devices for impact resistance. The most fragile part of a phone is the screen, and the bigger the screen, the more prone to breaking it will be and hence another advantage of dumbphones. For smartphones, a screen protector and case that provides a “lip” that extends above the screen should be a bare minimum. Water/dust resistance: the IP (Ingress Protection) scale gives two numbers to indicate a phone’s dust and water resistance, e.g: a phone rated IP68 is rated a 6 for dust protection and 8 for water protection. To find out what each number means, look it up in an IP code table. Two things to note here: these are tested in labaratory conditions and your phone may react differently to, say, salt water as opposed to pure water, and secondly, resistance to the elements is not a permanent condition and can become less effective over time. (Credit due to PCMag for a lot of the info about IP ratings.) – Your considerations I’ve only given 3 suggestions. What considerations do you think preppers should have when choosing a phone (smart or dumb)? Read More 10 24 Gear Tons of great bushcrafting and survival books on HumbleBundle this month Jose Martinez - September 18, 2022 There are a lot of well known and quality bushcraft and survival books on sale this month on HumbleBundle. The proceeds of your purchase goes to charities I believe. They are digital copies, so just be aware of that. Some of the ones I am interested in: The Dave Canterbury bushcraft series (like the bushcrafting bible), survival hacks, first aid, home preparedness, building tiny home with recycled materials, weather 101, RX from the garden, Modern-day pioneer, improvised weaponry. Here are pictures of some of the books you can get. There are even more! Read More 14 4 Gear The impending moon wobble and expected effects Frozen22 - September 15, 2022 The title may sound weird, but I wonder how many have read about this phenomenon, expected to increase disasters in coastal areas. However that also means ports, hence supply chains, etc. All that joy. I note that this multi-year event is also expected to coincide with the peak of solar activity, and whatever that may bring. Happy Monday everyone! https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/16/science/moon-wobble-rising-tide-sea-level.html Read More 9 8 COVID at home: prepare for a severe case July LewisContributor - September 14, 2022 Covid might seem so January 2022, but if it stays true to form, there is likely to be another variant and another peak at some point. So I thought this was worth posting! We had a covid case in the family during the omicron peak that became somewhat serious despite the person being vaxxed, boosted and taking paxlovid. (one bad night, but all turned out fine). In most ways I was prepared, but I had one important gap, which was figuring out in advance how to get medical help and support after hours. This was for that all important “should we go to the ER??” call in the middle of the night when we knew the ERs were completely overwhelmed, and my relative was fighting me on it, and I didn’t know what to do. If I had thought to find out ahead of time what my after hours resources were, I would have been better prepared. My overall suggestion is to remind people that even now, covid can randomly hit you hard, and it’s good to prepare in advance and also the second you get a positive test – just in case it does. Here are my tips! Ahead of time: Have at-home rapid tests so you can test as soon as symptoms appear. Have a primary care doctor if you can. If you have barriers to health care, try to identify a free clinic or other medical resource you can turn to if needed. Know ahead of time if/how you can get medical help/advice after hours. Many primary care services have an on call doctor, and health insurance companies may have a nurse help line. You may also have a close relative or friend who is a medical professional. Have a pulse ox and a thermometer at home Ideally have a blood pressure cuff and know how to use it Have basic meds on hand like tylenol, chloraseptic, anti-diarrhea Have gatorade, pedialyte or similar on hand Have plenty of easy to prepare food in the house Have a plan for who you can turn to for errands and other help As soon as you get a positive test: Contact your doctor or a clinic and find out if you can get an anti-viral pill or other treatment. DON’T WAIT for it to get serious!!!! Start the ball rolling now, even if you feel mostly fine. It sometimes takes time to get it, and it is most effective if you take it as soon as you get symptoms. Go over the list above and address any gaps. Order or have a friend/family member drop off any meds/equipment/food you need. If you don’t already know how to get medical advice/help on weekends or after hours, find out now! If covid does take a turn for the worse, it’s practically a given that it will happen in the middle of the night or on a weekend. Take a baseline pulse ox reading and temperature, write it down, and keep monitoring. Familiarize yourself with emergency symptoms. Go over them with your household so you are on the same page about when to get help. Trouble breathing Persistent pain or pressure in the chest New confusion Inability to wake or stay awake Pale, gray, or blue-colored skin, lips, or nail beds, depending on skin tone Remember hydration! You need to drink more when you have a fever, and things like sweating and diarrhea make you require even more fluids. If you already feel horrible, you might not notice you are getting dehydrated. My relative’s bad night was in part due to dehydration, which led to low blood pressure and passing out. Low blood pressure made it hard to get a pulse ox reading. Scary! That’s a LOT of bullets but it really doesn’t take that much time to go through. If you get covid, you will probably be fine – but just in case, prepare! Read More 21 68 Advice So many types of camo out there Bradical - September 14, 2022 I recently got an email about a new type of camo that is supposed to break up a silhouette better than previous types. It’s by a brand called Hiden. This got me going down a rabbit hole about all the various types of camouflage that have been thought of and produced over the years, but I had to stop myself from going too deep because there is a lot! Did you know there is an entire encyclopedia about camouflage? https://camopedia.org/ It shows various colors and patterns used by countries all over the world. You have the traditional kind You have the digital pattern which I imagine was designed and useful in the early 2000’s when digital cameras and scopes were being used by the military and the digital pattern made people blend in with other pixels on screens. There’s the abstract pattern that looks like a bunch of watercolor spots The popular leaves and limbs And this unique one by Sitka There are tons more, but these are the ones I’ve seen out and about as being common and easily available. I know the prepared and many of you discourage camo because it actually does make you stand out as possibly owning guns and being a bigger target versus the gray man blend in with the crowd, but there are also times when some camo might be useful when needing to hide and breaking up a silhouette. What are people’s thoughts on camo and do you prep with it? What pattern do you use? It will be very dependent on the environment you are in or are planning on being in, each pattern comes in various color schemes, and the above pictures are not good representations of how good they actually are in the real world because these are on a solid white background. Read More 7 8 Gear Study: scientists should research possibility of human extinction from climate change Ant0kneeguy - September 12, 2022 A study was published on August 1st (Edit: 2022) in a collaboration from researchers from various countries and universities, including the esteemed Oxford and Cambridge. It doesn’t assess the likelihood of human extinction, but instead looks at how much research has been done on this crucial topic. And a popular news broadcaster in the UK even took up the story.The authors conclude that science is sorely lacking. To quote the paper directly: “The closest attempts to directly study or comprehensively address how climate change could lead to human extinction or global catastrophe have come through popular science books”. Not scientific, peer-reviewed research. Pop-sci books. As far as I can tell, the closest current science actually gets is examining individual risks (e.g: how food production will be affected by rising temperatures) rather than taking them together, let alone looking at how risks might cascade into or exacerbate each other.But I suppose what surprised me the most, and why I’m writing about this, is this. Exisitential risk is actually making the news in a highly-regarded, mainstream news outlet, and is becoming the subject of serious research from respected academic institutions. The fact that Cambridge University actually has a Centre for the Study of Existential Risk at all I think shows the beginnings of a step change in attitudes. Naturally, we have a way to go. I laughed out loud at how the news article described the study: “The researchers said that seriously studying the consequences of worst-case scenarios was vital, even though it might scare people.” It would seem that most are (understandably) still of the attitude ‘we shouldn’t talk about scary things because it paralyses people’, but things may be beginning to change. What do you all think about this? The study is here, and the news article talking about it is here. Read More 11 13 News Making jerky without an oven or dehydrator. Is this safe? Alisa Felix - September 11, 2022 I watched a video where a guy slices some lean meat into thin strips Seasons it with some normal spices And then laid the strips on baking sheets with just a fan blowing over them. After 24 hours they are perfectly done. How is this done and is it safe? Is it that the jerky is dried out faster than bacteria can form on it? If so, this could be a good meat preservation method to do during the summer where you don’t want the additional heat from an oven or dehydrator going. You could also do this during a power outage with a battery powered fan when other methods might be too power intensive. Read More 8 3 Advice First widespread public safety power shutdowns in W. Oregon Barb LeeContributor - September 11, 2022 Here we sit, waiting for the hot east winds to come shrieking over the Cascade Range, bringing down humidity and increasing the threat of wildfire. After the disastrous 2020 fire season, public and power authorities are taking no chances. The PSPS have already begun in some areas, although the wind has yet to materialize. We are not in a designated PSPS area, but power outages are very common in wind events here (lots and lots of trees!) So… we are in a good space to weather power outages. Wildfire evacuation – I could have done better to prepare for that, though I have lots of notes from the 2020 evacuation and know where stuff is. Our problem is evacuating with two horses, a dog and a cat! Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that! In the meantime, I’ll spend today codifying all my previous evacuation notes into a quick reference, and following my husband around while he checks out and tests the big generator! Read More 15 14 How to prevent brown sugar from clumping so it can be used in a shaker bottle marrah - September 10, 2022 ok, so I’m trying to learn what I need to do to dark brown sugar to make it not clump up when I put it in with other ingredients to shaker for a rub. I bought a pourable brown sugar but it sucked. I want to use regular dark brown sugar. What do I do? @brownsugar Read More 6 7 Making your own solar panel adapter cables Gideon ParkerStaff - September 9, 2022 Over the past year, I have built up quite a collection of power stations while doing reviews for The Prepared. An issue I ran into is that the one solar panel I have can only charge one of the three power stations because the plugs are not interchangeable. Reviews for each power station: Orange ammo can, green Joyzis, blue Xtar and solar panel. Looking at all the power stations and adapters, I realized they have one thing in common, a car cigarette lighter adapter. I couldn’t find an 8mm (size of the solar panel cable) to cigarette lighter adapter on Amazon or eBay, so I decided to make one. Note: This type of DIY cable making is very straight forward and hard to mess up for my small use case. While you can make your own cables and adapters for larger setups and different connectors like MC4 or Anderson, make sure you know what you are doing so you don’t fry your system or shock yourself. Even the parts for this build were difficult to find, with AliExpress being the only place I could get them. I like Aliexpress because things are often a fraction of the price for the same item you would buy from a reseller on Amazon or eBay. The parts are shipped in from China, so they take a while to get here, but these arrived very quickly in less than a month. Female car cigarette lighter socket ($1.38) and 8mm female adapter ($3.78). If you haven’t ever done any electrical work like this before, it’s not that complicated. Pair up the red with red and the black with black wires using electrical tape, or for a stronger connection, solder it together as I did. I twisted the cables together, applied some solder, then slid some heat shrink tubing over the connections to insulate and protect them. The finished product worked perfectly and I now can charge all three of my power stations from the one solar panel. Read More 8 0 GearSkills Reuse wet N95? Hardened - September 9, 2022 I’ve switched up my workout routine in the gym and when I leave my N95 is soaked with my sweat. If I let it dry for a few days is it safe to use again? Read More 9 4 Gear Is marzipan a good food prep for long-term storage? Calvin - September 9, 2022 This Reddit comment says that “Store-bought marzipan with high sugar content still in the original air-tight packaging is totally fine for up to three years. Unless you live in a hot place room temperature is good, no need for a fridge. The sugar preserves everything (just like jam) and the airtight foil prevents it from drying out.” Meanwhile, apparently 42g of marzipan has 180 calories (8g fat, 32g carbs, 2g protein). This makes it roughly comparable to peanut butter in terms of calorie density. It obviously has less protein and vitamins, but it seems like a decent source of calcium and fiber compared to peanut butter. What do you all think? Read More 9 6 How to set up a new axe for first use Josh CentersContributor - September 9, 2022 Even if you buy a quality axe, it’s very unlikely it will arrive from the factory ready for first use. Here are my tips for preparing the handle and sharpening the blade on a Council Tool Boy’s Axe, a gift from my wife that she found from TP’s best survival axes roundup. Unlike the cheap axes you tend to find in hardware stores, the Council Tool axe is made in America with quality materials and is well hung. A lot of times, you can pick up an axe in a hardware store and the head is already loose, which is unacceptable. The Council Tool Boy’s Axe is an incredible bargain at well under $100. Summary: The handle has a factory varnish finish, which you’ll want to scrape off and replace. After scraping the handle, sand it to get it silky smooth. Oil finishes are usually preferred for tool handles. Raw linseed oil is safer than boiled linseed oil and works great. Apply multiple thin coats of oil on a warm, sunny day. Linseed oil can combust. Lay oil-soaked rags flat when not in use and soak them in water before disposing. Once the handle can’t accept any more oil, sharpen the blade. A Lansky sharpening puck is a convenient sharpening tool for axes. Buy a good sheath to protect the axe blade (and yourself). More: Want to become a sharpening pro, especially with limited tools? Check out TP’s video lesson. A boy’s axe is enough for a man When looking at axes, you may be tempted to pick a big, heavy axe. I also made that mistake. Yes, a heavier axe can more-easily cleave through wood with less applied force, but when you’re using an ax, you’re going to be swinging it. Over and over again. A heavy axe will tire you out quickly while you can swing a lighter axe for much longer. A heavy axe is also harder to pack into the woods unless you’re car camping. A boy’s axe, with a head weight of about 2.25 pounds and a 28-inch handle, is the best general-purpose axe for most people. It’s just heavy enough to handle most tasks, but light enough to be easy to carry. You can also manipulate an axe of this size for basic wood shaping (think holding near the head and doing fine-control work). You also want a poll or single-bit axe. A double-bit axe can be handy, but having a cutting edge on both ends of the head adds extra risks. Plus the flat poll is handy for driving in wedges and smashing things in a pinch. If you become a serious woodsman, you’ll likely assemble a collection of axes. If you split a lot of wood you may want a full-size axe with a duller blade. And hatchets are handy for bugging out, camping, and dispatching roosters. But the boy’s axe is a good starting point. Preparing the handle If you have an axe with a factory handle, or the next time you pick one up in a store, feel along the handle. Most axe handles come from the factory covered in a rough varnish. Those spots may not feel rough as sandpaper, but imagine the handle sliding along your palm hundreds of times. You want your handle to be as smooth as possible. The first step is removing the varnish, which takes only a few minutes. Take a knife (not one of your fancier ones) and scrape it at a 90-degree angle across the handle to scrape off the varnish. You could also use a cabinet scraper if you have one around. Don’t cut into the handle, just scrape the surface. The finished result should look like bare, pale wood. Next, smooth the handle with some sandpaper. A lot of people use 250-grit sandpaper for this, but I had finer 800-grit so that’s what I used. Fold the sandpaper on itself like an accordion to make it easier to grip. Then wrap the sandpaper around the handle and lightly move it up and down. You’re not trying to remove a lot of material here, just smoothing out the surface. You’ll probably find that it’s hard to move the sandpaper up to where the handle wides. So when you finish with the narrower part of the handle, unwrap the sandpaper and lightly sand the wider bits. Run your fingers along the handle, feeling for any rough spots. Sand them down. When the handle is smooth, wipe the wood dust off with a rag. Choosing a finish You can’t use a bare wood handle because moisture will soak into the wood and it will eventually rot. So you need to apply a finish. Wood finishing is a complex topic and I could go on at length about various pros and cons. For our purposes, there are two types of finish: exterior coatings (varnish) and finishes that soak into the wood (oils). The problem with exterior coats like varnish is that they only cover the surface of the wood. When they inevitably flake off, it exposes the wood to the elements. They’re tricky to apply correctly, and even trickier to repair — you basically have to strip the wood and apply varnish again. Many woodsmen like oil finishes, which penetrate and soak the wood to repel water from the inside out. They’re easy to apply and maintaining the finish is as easy as applying more oil. You have to apply the oil more often than you’d have to redo varnish, but the application takes just a minute. There are two types of oils: drying oils like linseed and tung, and non-drying oils like coconut and tallow. You want a drying oil for tool handles, which will polymerize so that it won’t be slick. If you soak a handle in something like coconut oil, you could be dealing with a greasy handle for a long time. The often-recommended oil for this is boiled linseed oil (BLO), which is cheap, quick-drying, and makes for a nice finish. The problem is BLO is a misnomer, as the oil isn’t actually boiled. Instead it’s mixed with solvents and heavy metals like lead to speed up drying time. You don’t want that stuff in contact with your hands, which is why I avoided the handles when I treated my scythe snath with BLO and turpentine. A better choice is raw linseed oil, which allegedly takes a bit longer to dry but is all-natural and non-toxic. However, I found that it dried as quickly as BLO without toxicity concerns. Properly oiling a tool handle It takes a long time to get the first layers of linseed oil in a handle. You won’t want to slather on a thick coat all at once, because it will dry into a tacky mess that’s a pain to remove. You want to apply multiple thin coats to let it soak into the wood. Check the weather forecast and pick a couple of warm, sunny days for this project. The warmer the better, as heat helps the oil penetrate deeper in the wood, and sunlight will help speed up drying. Pick a spot that gets good sun that has a stump or fence post to drive the blade into. I used a fence post in a sunny spot. Chop into your wood so the axe is firmly in place and won’t fall off. That will give you a safe, stable base to work from. Pour a little linseed oil onto a clean rag and wipe the handle down with it. Wipe it thoroughly to keep a thin, even coat. And don’t forget both ends of the handle — the end grain is extra absorbent. While you’re at it, wipe down the blade on your first pass to protect the steel from the elements. Wait 10-15 minutes to let oil soak into the wood and then wipe off the excess with a clean rag. If you’re busy and can’t go out that often, wipe down the initial coat with a clean rag to thin it out a bit more. Warning: Linseed oil can spontaneously combust when soaked into wadded-up rags. Lay your oily rag flat outside and put a rock on it to keep the wind from blowing it away. When you’re finished with it, soak it in water before throwing it away. Give it an hour or so, feel the handle to see if the oil has soaked in, and if it has, do the same thing again. Expect this to take a couple of days. Take the axe inside at night to protect it from the dew. I applied seven coats total: five on the first day and two on the second. You want to repeat this process until the oil is no longer soaking into the wood. After a day of applying oil, the finish already looks richer. You can keep repeating this process over time. Consider oiling it once a week or so until the finish gets dark enough for you. I plan to do a second round of oiling this summer when the temperatures are much warmer and the oil can soak in better. Sharpening the Council Tool Boy’s axe The factory edge of the Council Tool Boy’s axe is okay, but not especially sharp. More experienced axemen might want to reprofile the head with a file, but I didn’t feel it was necessary. There are many tools for sharpening axes. Even a simple bastard file works. But I’m a big fan of the Lansky sharpening puck, which is cheap, easy to transport, and made for axes. You want some sort of lubrication. Many people put oil on their stones, but I’m not a fan of oil for two reasons: once you oil a stone you have to keep using oil and oil makes a thick layer between the steel and stone, making it cut less effectively. Some recommend kerosene or diesel, but I like plain water and keep a bucket nearby when I’m sharpening. Water is safe and can be found just about everywhere. You can spit on the stone if you need to. You want a stable sharpening surface. Putting the axe in a vice would be the best, but I wanted to simulate field conditions. I sat down with my stone and bucket and laid the axe across my knees, with the head on one knee, facing away from me. I dunked the puck in the bucket and then using the fine side of the puck, ran it in a circular motion up and down the blade’s bevel. When that side was done, I’d switch sides (and knees). But that’s an oversimplification. Sharpening is intimidating when you’re new at it, which is why TP offers a whole course dedicated to it. Part of the learning process is getting a feel for the blade. That starts with carefully running your finger across the blade edge to feel for the “burr,” which is a rough spot in the edge. You want to work that burr to smooth it out, which then folds the burr over to the other side of the blade. Then you work on that side to smooth the burr out. You keep repeating this process with progressively lighter stone grits and pressures until you end up with both sides of the blade meeting in a sharp, smooth edge. Don’t run the stone across the entire blade unless you’re planning to reshape it. You want to put the puck on the bevel (the end of the sharp edge of the blade) and angle it so that it “catches” the bevel. That takes some experience. The key is trying to maintain an even angle across the bevel. After about 30 minutes of light sharpening, I had an edge sharp enough to shave hair off my arm. I decided to take the axe for a test run. I hacked down a couple of annoying saplings in the edge of the woods near my house, and tested the edge by peeling bark from them. Once your axe is good and sharp, you want to be careful with the edge, not only to prevent injuries but to avoid damaging the edge. You definitely want some sort of sheath to carry it around in. I like leather because it plays nicely with oil. In the meantime, you can hang it up in a safe place. Read More 19 15 GearSkills Feeding catfish with an eagle watching RedneckContributor - September 5, 2022 Yesterday evening, while I was headed to the pond to feed my catfish, I noticed both bald eagles sitting out on dead trees in the pond. Those trees are normally underwater but we haven’t had any heavy rains this summer. As I got closer to the pond, one eagle flew off but the other hung around for a bit. I don’t know what it is, but I so love watch eagles. I likewise enjoy watching the catfish splash around while feeding. Read More 8 17 What to do about a personal data leak or breach – Before and After brownfox-ffContributor - September 2, 2022 This recent news roundup mentioned that the state of California has leaked and mishandled data on thousands of gun owners. This has come up before. Data leaks and breaches always seem frustrating and sad. While I would love to see strict penalties for poor security and mishandling that lead to data leaks and exposure, this also got me thinking – what _can_ we do to prepare for or prevent a personal data leak? The Prepared site has excellent articles and forum posts on general digital security and preparedness. But what about data breaches specifically? Here are some intro steps from a bit of light research: What to do before and after a data breach: Before: Use encrypted text messages. Install Signal – the most secure, open source, encrypted text messaging app. Keep your data private. You can use Signal for all texts on your phone – it will simply use encryption with anyone else who also has Signal, but still send regular text messages to those who do not. Then you can invite them to improve their texting too. Use a password manager. Don’t store your sensitive information inside emails etc. Don’t give out your Social Security Number (SSN). Or other very sensitive info. This may depend on geography. In North America there are usually only two places that need to know about your SSN: Your employer (so you can get paid), and your bank. That is it. Many other places try to ask and get this information. Tell them no. Often you may find them sheepishly admit the information was “optional”, and they will back down. Sign up your email address at https://haveibeenpwned.com/ . This is an interesting website that monitors data breaches and will email you if it finds that your email address has been included in a data leak. A good way to at least be aware that your information may have been exposed. Get a backup credit card and/or bank account. If you have the ability, having one main credit card but also a backup card can help to ensure you still have a way to operate or pay your bills if your main card is stolen or compromised. Likewise – opening two different bank accounts at different _types_ of institutions with different risk profiles – e.g. one large national bank and one local credit union. Storing some funds in each can help to make sure you still have access to some of your money. Keep some cash on hand. So you can keep operating even if everything goes down. Freeze and set a PIN on your credit file. Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion will let you set a PIN – like a password – that must be used to unfreeze your credit account. This should prevent or make it more difficult for anyone to take out a loan in your name or otherwise access your credit. If you want to take out a loan or apply for credit yourself, you can simply call them with the PIN to unfreeze, and then re-freeze your account. Get and read your own credit report every six months. This can be a painful process, but the three firms above should let you get a free copy of your own credit report. Emphasis on free: they are not allowed to charge for it. However, they often make this intentionally difficult and confusing by adding many “upgrade” tiers and options, and changing the name to things like “consumer disclosure report” instead. Checking your report e.g. every six months can help you to spot if anyone used or tried to use your credit account. Consider credit- or identity-protection. I am wary of these services and have never tried them. I am not sure how much they actually help in the event anything happens. Would love to hear from anyone who has had good or bad experiences with identity protection. After: Call the company or organization and confirm whether your data was included in the breach or leak. Find out what type of data was affected. If your credit card info was leaked, you probably want to call your credit card company to cancel and replace the card. See if the company now offers help, or offers free identity protection after the fact. They may be able to help you get back to normal. Change the password on any accounts that were affected. What other ideas or actions can you think of? References Forum post “Getting Weekly Credit Reports”. Thanks to community member Supersonic for posting. https://www.tomsguide.com/us/data-breach-to-dos,news-18007.html https://us.norton.com/internetsecurity-emerging-threats-what-to-do-after-a-data-breach.html https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/finance/how-to-protect-yourself-after-data-breach https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/small-business/business-data-breach-insurance Read More 16 8 AdviceScenarios < Prev 1 2 3 … 18 19 20 … 60 61 62 Next > Recently Active News for the week of 2025-08-25 - 7 days agoNews for the week of 2025-08-18 - 2 weeks agoNews for the week of 2025-08-04 - 4 weeks agoNews for the week of 2025-07-28 - 1 month agoNews for the week of 2025-07-21 - 1 month ago RULES This forum is heavily moderated to keep things valuable to as many people as possible. Full community policies are here. The basics: 1. Be nice to each other. 2. Stay focused on prepping. 3. Avoid politics, religion, and other arguments. 4. No unfounded conspiracies, fake news, etc. 5. Debate ideas, not people. FILTER Show all Advice Gear Meta News Scenarios Skills

Lightweight and cheap hand saw for your bug out bag

Gideon ParkerStaff - September 23, 2022

In a forum post that I can’t seem to find now, a member shared the World’s Lightest Backpacking Saw. Coming in at only 3.95 oz (112g) this minimalist collapsible saw would be a great addition to throw in a bug out bag. However, this commercial product is no longer being made. So if I wanted one, I was going to have to make one myself. 

I am going to share two designs that I came up with so this type of saw will be accessible to those on a tight budget with no tools to work with or if you want some additional features, you can take it to the next level. Video of completed product at the end of this post.

Design #1 – Cheap, quick, and minimal.

For this first model, you will need to get a 9” or 12” sawzall blade from the hardware store ($4-$8), a 9.25” long ½” diameter PVC pipe ($3) (they can help you cut it at the hardware store or you can use your saw blade), a piece of paracord, and a small stick the length and diameter of your finger.

This is really easy. Thread the paracord through the hole in the saw blade, stick the paracord through the pipe, tie a knot at the end, thread the stick through the hole of the paracord knot and twist until the blade is firm in there.

That’s it!

Design #2 – Slightly more expensive, requires more tools, but has more features

This design does require a bit more work, but is far superior in my opinion. One of the things I didn’t like about the commercial product and Design #1 is that you had to store your blade next to the handle and it had potential for cutting up other gear in your pack. I wanted a larger diameter tube in Design #2 to be more comfortable in the hand, and offer a storage space for the saw blade inside. 

With the larger diameter tube however, the saw blade would just slip through. To fix this, take a ½ inch diameter 1” long piece of PVC pipe, sanding down the outside until it fits snuggly inside the ¾” pipe, and apply some PVC glue to keep it secure. By doing this, it creates the necessary diameter for the saw to sit in while still maintaining the ability to store the saw inside the handle. An additional modification that I did with Design #2 is to cut slits in the ½ inch pipe so that the blade has a secure slot to sit in and won’t spin around when you are tightening down the rope.

You can just stick with threading the paracord through the hole in the blade, or go with the cotter pin attachment that the commercial version uses. I don’t really see the benefit of the cotter pin besides being able to remove the rope without having to untie the knot, or maybe distributing the tension between two points instead of one. I probably wouldn’t bother buying the cotter pins again, but if you want to I’ll show you how to bend and use them.

Get some ⅛” X 1” cotter pins ($1.25/pack of 5) in the nail and screw aisle of the hardware store, thread it through the hole of the saw blade, pinch slightly up on the cotter pin with some pliers and bend the legs of the cotter pin over the pliers teeth.

The finished product will look like this.

Another modification I made with Design #2 is to sand little ridges in the base to lock in the stick better than a smooth surface. The commercial product gets around doing this by just really cranking the line until it won’t move and holding the stick while you saw, but I like the grooves better. You can recreate this by wrapping a pencil in sand paper and running it back and forth over the end of the pipe.

Comparing the DIY version with the commercial product.

To be honest, I like the PVC pipe version much more than the commercial product because of the low cost, and additional features.

Comparing Design #2 to the top recommended hand saw in The Prepared’s Best survival handsaw article, the Silky Gomboy costs and weighs three times as much and doesn’t have cheap easily replaceable blades.

The commercial product uses a better rope called Zing-it that is lighter weight, stronger, and doesn’t have any stretch. I couldn’t find Zing-it anywhere cheaper than $27 for a roll and the paracord works perfectly for me, so I am sticking with that.

For $1 more, I could have gone with the superior saw blade that the commercial product uses, the Diablo carbide teeth blades. The reason I went with the Milwaukee blade is because that fits inside the ¾” PVC whereas the Diablo blade was just slightly too wide. In the future, I would like to get the Diablo blade and grind down the wide spine so that it will fit inside the handle. The commercial product also went with a long 12” blade which is much faster at cutting with its longer draw length, but for this compact version I stuck with a 9” blade. Here’s a short video showing what the Diablo blade can do compared to a similar sized Fiskers saw.

There is enough room inside the handle of Design #2 where you could have both a wood and metal saw blade. Perhaps you have this in your bug out bag and use the wood blade to cut firewood or build a shelter with, and the metal blade could be used to cut a chain link fence or padlock if you are stuck somewhere and need to get through during SHTF.

Video of completed Design #2

https://youtu.be/ltvS1SPyACc

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Gear

Brushfire information resources

Alicia - September 22, 2022

A brushfire started very near my home this afternoon while I was at work. Luckily, a neighbor was home and alerted me.  I am fortunate enough to have the flexibility to return home, work from there and monitor the situation.  I have Fire Department alerts to email but don’t check my personal email often during the workday.  No other alert was raised as evacuations have not been declared yet. So I have some work to get better alerts. In a couple hours the fire went from 5 to 107 acres and had the wind stayed in its original direction, an evacuation would have been more likely for my neighborhood.  But luck was on our side today, and the wind changed to away from homes.  There are 4 helicopters and I don’t know how many firefighters. It’s looking like they’re succeeding in containment based on the reduction in smoke and frequency of helicopter flyovers.

These resources were quite helpful in assessing the fire as it had not yet made the news:

Local Fire Department alerts – once I heard, I could check my email and see a map pin that was near (but also from experience not ON) the fire location. Satellite map of potential fires – zoom to your location.  The squares grew over time. Live tracking of aircraft website. If you click on a helicopter it will show the recent flight path. That showed the water pickup to dump location loop. Quite helpful. Live tracking of wind direction website – indicates the direction the fire may move. MyRadar phone app.  @eric has shared this for fires.  For this event, it’s not showing this fire, or it’s in the wrong spot.

This appears to have been a near miss for me so far.  And an opportunity to learn how to be better prepared for next time.

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Scenarios

Review of Juan Pablo’s book THRIVE

Carla Almaraz - September 22, 2022

Holy mole! Talk about a comprehensive book! I learned something about survival on virtually every single page. I have dozens of books on survival but this one takes the cake for every topic. If you are considering staying in the wild, this is the book for you.

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Low-bandwith website recommendations for when you have poor service

Adriaan - September 22, 2022

Looongtime internet user here. I have pretty bad service at my house, any text-only sites that you recommend?

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FAQ: Apple AirTags for prepping

Josh CentersContributor - September 22, 2022

Of all of the products Apple released in 2021, perhaps the one that’s received the most press — for good and ill — is the AirTag, a small, cheap (for Apple), tracking device. The idea is that you slip it into a bag or attach it to your keys and you can easily track down the AirTag’s location with your iPhone. The other side of the coin is it’s feared to be a potent tool for stalking and auto theft.

What makes the AirTag different from Tile and other trackers?

The concept of a small, portable tracking device isn’t new. Ham radio operators have been using APRS for such devices for decades, and object tracking entered the mainstream with the Tile trackers. But what makes AirTag different is the power of Apple’s extensive Find My network. Tile trackers aren’t very useful because most of the time, it’s limited by the transmit distance of Bluetooth, about 30 feet. The AirTag also works by transmitting a Bluetooth signal, but it uses every nearby iPhone, iPad, and Mac with the right system requirements to relay the signal, and there are a lot of those out there in the wild — millions and millions. Tile has a similar networking technology, but the network isn’t anywhere close to as extensive.

To clear up some confusion: there is the Find My app on iPhones that you use to see the locations of devices, friends, and AirTags, and then there is the Find My network, which relays signals from AirTags and other devices.

The Find My network works silently in the background. If you have an Apple device, you won’t notice it being used. And the Find My network uses encryption and other technologies to protect your privacy from the devices relaying the signal.

How extensive is the Find My network? Kirk McElhearn mailed one to a friend and discovered that he could track it practically in real time. Every time the AirTag gets near a compatible Apple device, it relays its location to Apple’s servers.

How does an AirTag help me track objects?

The AirTag has three mechanisms to help you pin down its location:

It displays its approximate location on the map in the Find My appIt supports radar-like precision tracking on the iPhone 11 and laterIt features a small speaker that can be triggered from the Find My app to help you audibly track the AirTag

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckqvG0Rj35I

Do I need an iPhone to use an AirTag?

For all practical purposes, yes. You can view an AirTag on the map with the Mac and iPad versions of Find My (not the web version on iCloud.com), but you need an iPhone 11 or later for the precision tracking that helps you find the AirTag once you’re in the general proximity. You need an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to set up the AirTag.

Apple has considered what happens if a good samaritan without an iPhone finds your AirTagged item. There is an NFC chip built in that can be scanned with an Android phone, displaying your name, phone number, address, or whatever information you decided to share on the AirTag.

What can I use the AirTag to track?

Apple envisions you tracking things like backpacks, keychains, purses, and bicycles. In terms of preparedness, you can expand this a bit to things like:

Go-bags Individual First-Aid Kits Tool boxes Ammunition boxes

Keeping an AirTag with your kits can help you find them when you need them and can’t remember where you put them. It may also help if your bag or other kit is stolen, assuming you’ve hidden the AirTag well and the thief isn’t actively looking for one.

There are creative uses for AirTag as well. An Army wife stuck one in her family’s stuff so they could track a moving truck. When the driver kept delaying and making excuses, she tracked the AirTag location to quickly figure out that he was full of it.

Can an AirTag be used for stalking?

There have been a number of media and police warnings about AirTags being used by criminals, including a model finding one in her pocket and people finding them attached to their vehicles.

Apple shipped the AirTag with a number of anti-stalking protections. Most notably, you’re alerted if an AirTag not registered to your iPhone is found nearby. It can lead to false alarms, like if you’re on a bus with someone who has an AirTag in their backpack. And it only works if you use an iPhone.

To help address this concern, Apple has shipped an Android app, called Tracker Detector, which doesn’t automatically detect foreign AirTags but lets you manually scan for them. Oddly, you can’t manually scan for AirTags with an iPhone and you can’t be automatically alerted of them with an Android phone.

Expect Apple to do more soon to address criminal usage of AirTags (and the bad press).

Can I share an AirTag with a family member?

Find My lets you track the locations of members of your Family Sharing group, as well as their registered Apple devices. That’s really helpful when, say, your spouse has lost their iPhone. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way with an AirTag. An AirTag is tied to a single Apple ID and isn’t shared. That can be really annoying if you borrow your spouse’s keys with an attached AirTag and get stalking warnings.

How long does the AirTag battery last?

Apple says the AirTag battery should last about a year. Amazingly for an Apple product, the AirTag takes a standard CR2032 battery that you can easily replace yourself.

How do I attach an AirTag to stuff?

The AirTag is a smooth disk without any holes or other ways to attach it to things. It’s easy enough to slip one inside a bag or box, but you need some sort of case to attach it to things like keys. Apple would like for you to buy one of their high-dollar designer AirTag cases, but there are cheap and perfectly serviceable AirTag cases on Amazon.

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Advice

Can a carport help me protect my car from the heat?

Lena - September 21, 2022

I always park my car in my backyard. But summer coming, and the temperature gradually increases. Now, it is hot. I found online that a carport can help me protect my car in the summer. It is true? And how should I pick a carport?

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Klean Strip/Klean Heat kerosene alternative for oil burning lanterns and lamps

Barb LeeContributor - September 20, 2022

Klean Heat kerosene alternative is about as pure as kerosene gets, and is recommended on one of my favorite lantern websites.  It’s taken me a long time to find it (buried in the Home Depot labyrinth) but I found it last week.  Just now refitted my two antique lanterns with new wicks and filled them with the new product, then lit them.

It is unquestionably a far superior product in the old lanterns than either K-1 kerosene or lamp oil!  My two lanterns, a 19th century railroad lantern and a 1920s Dietz cold blast contractor’s lantern, just reeked when burned inside with K-1.  There is almost no kerosene smell at all with the new fuel.  The Dietz burns far cleaner than the railroad lantern and I couldn’t smell anything from it.  Most of the smell came from the other one.

From the Klean Strip website: Klean-Strip® Klean Heat® My understanding is that the alternative produces slightly less light and heat, but probably imperceptible.

Consider the kerosene alternative if you use kerosene in any of your heating/lighting equipment.  It’s spendy but seems to be a better option if forced to use such fuels indoors in an emergency.

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Gear

⛺ Springbar, aka Kirkham Tent?

JBinAZ - September 20, 2022

We’re thinking about splurging on a Springbar tent and would like to hear real-world feedback on them.  Our reasons for wanting to get one are:

1. Heavy duty: we live in the Arizona desert and everything here is rocky. 99% of our plants and trees have thorns and thorns. Our desert eats up tents

2. 4 season:  we hit high temps (like 115) in the summer and can hit in the 30s in the winter. We need something that “breathes” in hot temps but can insulate in cold 

3. Storms:  We have a monsoon season, and that means wind gusts up to 80 mph and rain that lashes sideways

4. We’d like to be able to “hot tent,” i.e. use a small wood stove in the winter inside the tent, as you can do with canvas tents.

5. Durability: We’d like this tent to last more than a year (or, sometimes, a trip)

6. Color: We like that they have a color (“Suntan”) that really blends into our desert7. Critters: We need to sleep “zipped up” or mostly zipped up as we have rattlesnakes and scorpions…we’ve been stung by scorpions and our dog took a rattlesnake bite, last year.

8. Usage: For a car bug-out situation to our “base camp” as well as enjoying it throughout the year on our adventures.

Anyway, it doesn’t seem like anyone has written about this brand, yet, according to my searching on here. Would love to hear your feedback and experiences, or suggestion for an alternate option. ⛺⛺⛺⛺⛺⛺⛺⛺⛺⛺⛺⛺⛺⛺⛺⛺⛺⛺⛺⛺⛺⛺⛺⛺⛺⛺⛺⛺⛺⛺⛺⛺⛺⛺

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Gear

Hikers caught in a wildfire

Kira - September 19, 2022

Hi all,

Came across this article about how two hikers that got caught in a wildfire survived (no pay wall) and thought some of y’all might be interested:  https://www.khq.com/news/hikers-stranded-atop-mountain-by-bolt-creek-fire/article_d6cc054e-322e-11ed-9165-231473ca123d.html

They assumed the smoke was coming from the other side of the mountains. They weren’t able to be evacuated by first responders, came close to the fire several times, ran out of water, and nearly fell of a cliff, but were ultimately able to find their car and evacuate. I’m curious what, if any, different choices or preparations you might have made? I’d have avoided going outside in smoke full stop (it’s thick enough to coat my yard in ash, and I’m several towns over!) and would have checked the fire map (again, thick smoke).

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News

Will you choose a portable greenhouse in the fall?

Lena - September 19, 2022

Now is the best season of the year to start your backyard gardening.  Will you begin greenhouse gardening this fall? It seems that many gardening enthusiasts love hobby greenhouses, especially portable ones. Will you choose a portable greenhouse? tunnel greenhouse, mini greenhouse, walk-in greenhouse…..what kind of portable greenhouse would you prefer?

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Phones for prepping

Ant0kneeguy - September 19, 2022

Phones are a communication tool that can be used to save someone’s life. But are they reliable enough to be trusted in an emergency situation?

 I think important considerations should be:

– Repairability
Phones are so complicated and so often used that breakdowns are inevitable. But electronic circuits are not designed to be repairable, and so have to be replaced when they fail. 
Whether you’re choosing a new phone or sticking with one you’ve got, try to find (and later stock up on) replacement parts – especially the screen and battery, which need to be replaced most often. That way, you can take your phone to be repaired by a specialist (or do so yourself if you have the skills) even once the phone and spare parts are no longer being sold.

However, some phones are much more repairable than others. On one side of the extreme, some phone manufacturers actively design to reduce repairability (often citing tenuous security or safety concerns) by gluing parts together or serialising individual parts so that the phone will refuse to work with new ones. 
On the other side of the spectrum, a few rare phones are made with repairability as an express goal. They’re known as “modular” phones and are designed to be taken apart by their owners using simple tools. The companies producing these phones may even be happy to sell you spare parts.
 A (non-comprehensive) list of phones and their repairability can be found on iFixit, a website dedicated to making electronics repair accessible to consumers.

– Battery life
The difficult truth (for my generation at least) is that “dumb” phones are most certainly better in this regard. Even with a battery bank, you can only extend the life of a typical smartphone for a few days of normal use (compared to the month’s battery life of a dumbphone), and this brings with it extra storage requirements and greater vulnerability to any one piece of equipment breaking. Not to mention the stress of worrying whether it is sufficiently charged, or having to remember to charge it regularly. In an emergency situation, this is one thing you don’t need on your mind.

A dumbphone is far more practical and reliable in the case of, say, a flood, where you may not be safely able to charge your phone for an unknown period of time.
 And if you can swap out the batteries, you can also carry around a spare so that you don’t need to charge immediately. Fewer charging cycles also means that the batteries will get worn down more slowly and will last much longer.

This does bring up an interesting point: according to Sane Prepper Rules, preps shouldn’t make life harder for ourselves now. Which begs an interesting question: do smartphones make our lives better? They make us better connected and easily entertained, but do they make us happier? They provide a lot of utility, but could we find that same utility elsewhere?

– Ruggedness
It’s all well and good being repairable, but just as important to not need repairing in the first place.
Beware that just because a phone is marketed as rugged, or has “active”, “tough” or similar words in the name doesn’t mean that it will actually last (I write this from experience). Look for real-world tests that put the phone through its paces. I note here the lack of manufacturers rating their devices for impact resistance.

The most fragile part of a phone is the screen, and the bigger the screen, the more prone to breaking it will be and hence another advantage of dumbphones. For smartphones, a screen protector and case that provides a “lip” that extends above the screen should be a bare minimum.

Water/dust resistance: the IP (Ingress Protection) scale gives two numbers to indicate a phone’s dust and water resistance, e.g: a phone rated IP68 is rated a 6 for dust protection and 8 for water protection. To find out what each number means, look it up in an IP code table. Two things to note here: these are tested in labaratory conditions and your phone may react differently to, say, salt water as opposed to pure water, and secondly, resistance to the elements is not a permanent condition and can become less effective over time.

(Credit due to PCMag for a lot of the info about IP ratings.)

– Your considerations
I’ve only given 3 suggestions. What considerations do you think preppers should have when choosing a phone (smart or dumb)?

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Gear

Tons of great bushcrafting and survival books on HumbleBundle this month

Jose Martinez - September 18, 2022

There are a lot of well known and quality bushcraft and survival books on sale this month on HumbleBundle. The proceeds of your purchase goes to charities I believe. They are digital copies, so just be aware of that.

Some of the ones I am interested in: The Dave Canterbury bushcraft series (like the bushcrafting bible), survival hacks, first aid, home preparedness, building tiny home with recycled materials, weather 101, RX from the garden, Modern-day pioneer, improvised weaponry.

Here are pictures of some of the books you can get. There are even more!

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Gear

The impending moon wobble and expected effects

Frozen22 - September 15, 2022

The title may sound weird, but I wonder how many have read about this phenomenon, expected to increase disasters in coastal areas. However that also means ports, hence supply chains, etc. All that joy. I note that this multi-year event is also expected to coincide with the peak of solar activity, and whatever that may bring.

Happy Monday everyone!

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/16/science/moon-wobble-rising-tide-sea-level.html

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COVID at home: prepare for a severe case

July LewisContributor - September 14, 2022

Covid might seem so January 2022, but if it stays true to form, there is likely to be another variant and another peak at some point. So I thought this was worth posting!

We had a covid case in the family during the omicron peak that became somewhat serious despite the person being vaxxed, boosted and taking paxlovid. (one bad night, but all turned out fine). In most ways I was prepared, but I had one important gap, which was figuring out in advance how to get medical help and support after hours. This was for that all important “should we go to the ER??” call in the middle of the night when we knew the ERs were completely overwhelmed, and my relative was fighting me on it, and I didn’t know what to do. If I had thought to find out ahead of time what my after hours resources were, I would have been better prepared. My overall suggestion is to remind people that even now, covid can randomly hit you hard, and it’s good to prepare in advance and also the second you get a positive test – just in case it does. Here are my tips! 

Ahead of time:

Have at-home rapid tests so you can test as soon as symptoms appear. Have a primary care doctor if you can. If you have barriers to health care, try to identify a free clinic or other medical resource you can turn to if needed. Know ahead of time if/how you can get medical help/advice after hours. Many primary care services have an on call doctor, and health insurance companies may have a nurse help line. You may also have a close relative or friend who is a medical professional. Have a pulse ox and a thermometer at home Ideally have a blood pressure cuff and know how to use it Have basic meds on hand like tylenol, chloraseptic, anti-diarrhea  Have gatorade, pedialyte or similar on hand Have plenty of easy to prepare food in the house Have a plan for who you can turn to for errands and other help

As soon as you get a positive test:

Contact your doctor or a clinic and find out if you can get an anti-viral pill or other treatment. DON’T WAIT for it to get serious!!!! Start the ball rolling now, even if you feel mostly fine. It sometimes takes time to get it, and it is most effective if you take it as soon as you get symptoms. Go over the list above and address any gaps. Order or have a friend/family member drop off any meds/equipment/food you need. If you don’t already know how to get medical advice/help on weekends or after hours, find out now! If covid does take a turn for the worse, it’s practically a given that it will happen in the middle of the night or on a weekend. Take a baseline pulse ox reading and temperature, write it down, and keep monitoring. Familiarize yourself with emergency symptoms. Go over them with your household so you are on the same page about when to get help. Trouble breathing Persistent pain or pressure in the chest New confusion Inability to wake or stay awake Pale, gray, or blue-colored skin, lips, or nail beds, depending on skin tone Remember hydration! You need to drink more when you have a fever, and things like sweating and diarrhea make you require even more fluids. If you already feel horrible, you might not notice you are getting dehydrated. My relative’s bad night was in part due to dehydration, which led to low blood pressure and passing out. Low blood pressure made it hard to get a pulse ox reading. Scary! 

That’s a LOT of bullets but it really doesn’t take that much time to go through. If you get covid, you will probably be fine – but just in case, prepare!

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Advice

So many types of camo out there

Bradical - September 14, 2022

I recently got an email about a new type of camo that is supposed to break up a silhouette better than previous types. It’s by a brand called Hiden. 

This got me going down a rabbit hole about all the various types of camouflage that have been thought of and produced over the years, but I had to stop myself from going too deep because there is a lot! Did you know there is an entire encyclopedia about camouflage? https://camopedia.org/ It shows various colors and patterns used by countries all over the world.

You have the traditional kind 

You have the digital pattern which I imagine was designed and useful in the early 2000’s when digital cameras and scopes were being used by the military and the digital pattern made people blend in with other pixels on screens.

There’s the abstract pattern that looks like a bunch of watercolor spots

The popular leaves and limbs

And this unique one by Sitka

There are tons more, but these are the ones I’ve seen out and about as being common and easily available. 

I know the prepared and many of you discourage camo because it actually does make you stand out as possibly owning guns and being a bigger target versus the gray man blend in with the crowd, but there are also times when some camo might be useful when needing to hide and breaking up a silhouette.

What are people’s thoughts on camo and do you prep with it? What pattern do you use? It will be very dependent on the environment you are in or are planning on being in, each pattern comes in various color schemes, and the above pictures are not good representations of how good they actually are in the real world because these are on a solid white background.

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Gear

Study: scientists should research possibility of human extinction from climate change

Ant0kneeguy - September 12, 2022

A study was published on August 1st (Edit: 2022) in a collaboration from researchers from various countries and universities, including the esteemed Oxford and Cambridge. It doesn’t assess the likelihood of human extinction, but instead looks at how much research has been done on this crucial topic. And a popular news broadcaster in the UK even took up the story.The authors conclude that science is sorely lacking. To quote the paper directly: “The closest attempts to directly study or comprehensively address how climate change could lead to human extinction or global catastrophe have come through popular science books”. Not scientific, peer-reviewed research. Pop-sci books.

As far as I can tell, the closest current science actually gets is examining individual risks (e.g: how food production will be affected by rising temperatures) rather than taking them together, let alone looking at how risks might cascade into or exacerbate each other.But I suppose what surprised me the most, and why I’m writing about this, is this. Exisitential risk is actually making the news in a highly-regarded, mainstream news outlet, and is becoming the subject of serious research from respected academic institutions. The fact that Cambridge University actually has a Centre for the Study of Existential Risk at all I think shows the beginnings of a step change in attitudes. Naturally, we have a way to go. I laughed out loud at how the news article described the study: “The researchers said that seriously studying the consequences of worst-case scenarios was vital, even though it might scare people.” It would seem that most are (understandably) still of the attitude ‘we shouldn’t talk about scary things because it paralyses people’, but things may be beginning to change.

What do you all think about this? The study is here, and the news article talking about it is here.

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News

Making jerky without an oven or dehydrator. Is this safe?

Alisa Felix - September 11, 2022

I watched a video where a guy slices some lean meat into thin strips

Seasons it with some normal spices

And then laid the strips on baking sheets with just a fan blowing over them. After 24 hours they are perfectly done.

How is this done and is it safe? Is it that the jerky is dried out faster than bacteria can form on it?

If so, this could be a good meat preservation method to do during the summer where you don’t want the additional heat from an oven or dehydrator going. You could also do this during a power outage with a battery powered fan when other methods might be too power intensive.

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Advice

First widespread public safety power shutdowns in W. Oregon

Barb LeeContributor - September 11, 2022

Here we sit, waiting for the hot east winds to come shrieking over the Cascade Range, bringing down humidity and increasing the threat of wildfire.  After the disastrous 2020 fire season, public and power authorities are taking no chances.  The PSPS have already begun in some areas, although the wind has yet to materialize.  We are not in a designated PSPS area, but power outages are very common in wind events here (lots and lots of trees!)  So… we are in a good space to weather power outages.  Wildfire evacuation – I could have done better to prepare for that, though I have lots of notes from the 2020 evacuation and know where stuff is.  Our problem is evacuating with two horses, a dog and a cat! 

Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that! In the meantime, I’ll spend today codifying all my previous evacuation notes into a quick reference, and following my husband around while he checks out and tests the big generator!

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How to prevent brown sugar from clumping so it can be used in a shaker bottle

marrah - September 10, 2022

ok, so I’m trying to learn what I need to do to dark brown sugar to make it not clump up when I put it in with other ingredients to shaker for a rub. I bought a pourable brown sugar but it sucked. I want to use regular dark brown sugar. What do I do?

@brownsugar

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Making your own solar panel adapter cables

Gideon ParkerStaff - September 9, 2022

Over the past year, I have built up quite a collection of power stations while doing reviews for The Prepared. An issue I ran into is that the one solar panel I have can only charge one of the three power stations because the plugs are not interchangeable.

Reviews for each power station: Orange ammo can, green Joyzis, blue Xtar and solar panel.

Looking at all the power stations and adapters, I realized they have one thing in common, a car cigarette lighter adapter. I couldn’t find an 8mm (size of the solar panel cable) to cigarette lighter adapter on Amazon or eBay, so I decided to make one.

Note: This type of DIY cable making is very straight forward and hard to mess up for my small use case. While you can make your own cables and adapters for larger setups and different connectors like MC4 or Anderson, make sure you know what you are doing so you don’t fry your system or shock yourself.

Even the parts for this build were difficult to find, with AliExpress being the only place I could get them. I like Aliexpress because things are often a fraction of the price for the same item you would buy from a reseller on Amazon or eBay. The parts are shipped in from China, so they take a while to get here, but these arrived very quickly in less than a month.

 Female car cigarette lighter socket ($1.38) and 8mm female adapter ($3.78).

If you haven’t ever done any electrical work like this before, it’s not that complicated. Pair up the red with red and the black with black wires using electrical tape, or for a stronger connection, solder it together as I did.

I twisted the cables together, applied some solder, then slid some heat shrink tubing over the connections to insulate and protect them.

The finished product worked perfectly and I now can charge all three of my power stations from the one solar panel.

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GearSkills

Reuse wet N95?

Hardened - September 9, 2022

I’ve switched up my workout routine in the gym and when I leave my N95 is soaked with my sweat.  If I let it dry for a few days is it safe to use again?

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Gear

Is marzipan a good food prep for long-term storage?

Calvin - September 9, 2022

This Reddit comment says that “Store-bought marzipan with high sugar content still in the original air-tight packaging is totally fine for up to three years. Unless you live in a hot place room temperature is good, no need for a fridge. The sugar preserves everything (just like jam) and the airtight foil prevents it from drying out.”

Meanwhile, apparently 42g of marzipan has 180 calories (8g fat, 32g carbs, 2g protein). This makes it roughly comparable to peanut butter in terms of calorie density. It obviously has less protein and vitamins, but it seems like a decent source of calcium and fiber compared to peanut butter.

What do you all think?

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How to set up a new axe for first use

Josh CentersContributor - September 9, 2022

Even if you buy a quality axe, it’s very unlikely it will arrive from the factory ready for first use. Here are my tips for preparing the handle and sharpening the blade on a Council Tool Boy’s Axe, a gift from my wife that she found from TP’s best survival axes roundup.

Unlike the cheap axes you tend to find in hardware stores, the Council Tool axe is made in America with quality materials and is well hung. A lot of times, you can pick up an axe in a hardware store and the head is already loose, which is unacceptable. The Council Tool Boy’s Axe is an incredible bargain at well under $100.

Summary:

The handle has a factory varnish finish, which you’ll want to scrape off and replace. After scraping the handle, sand it to get it silky smooth. Oil finishes are usually preferred for tool handles. Raw linseed oil is safer than boiled linseed oil and works great. Apply multiple thin coats of oil on a warm, sunny day. Linseed oil can combust. Lay oil-soaked rags flat when not in use and soak them in water before disposing. Once the handle can’t accept any more oil, sharpen the blade. A Lansky sharpening puck is a convenient sharpening tool for axes. Buy a good sheath to protect the axe blade (and yourself).

More: Want to become a sharpening pro, especially with limited tools? Check out TP’s video lesson.

A boy’s axe is enough for a man

When looking at axes, you may be tempted to pick a big, heavy axe. I also made that mistake. Yes, a heavier axe can more-easily cleave through wood with less applied force, but when you’re using an ax, you’re going to be swinging it. Over and over again. A heavy axe will tire you out quickly while you can swing a lighter axe for much longer. A heavy axe is also harder to pack into the woods unless you’re car camping.

A boy’s axe, with a head weight of about 2.25 pounds and a 28-inch handle, is the best general-purpose axe for most people. It’s just heavy enough to handle most tasks, but light enough to be easy to carry.

You can also manipulate an axe of this size for basic wood shaping (think holding near the head and doing fine-control work). You also want a poll or single-bit axe. A double-bit axe can be handy, but having a cutting edge on both ends of the head adds extra risks. Plus the flat poll is handy for driving in wedges and smashing things in a pinch.

If you become a serious woodsman, you’ll likely assemble a collection of axes. If you split a lot of wood you may want a full-size axe with a duller blade. And hatchets are handy for bugging out, camping, and dispatching roosters. But the boy’s axe is a good starting point.

Preparing the handle

If you have an axe with a factory handle, or the next time you pick one up in a store, feel along the handle. Most axe handles come from the factory covered in a rough varnish. Those spots may not feel rough as sandpaper, but imagine the handle sliding along your palm hundreds of times. You want your handle to be as smooth as possible.

The first step is removing the varnish, which takes only a few minutes. Take a knife (not one of your fancier ones) and scrape it at a 90-degree angle across the handle to scrape off the varnish. You could also use a cabinet scraper if you have one around. Don’t cut into the handle, just scrape the surface.

The finished result should look like bare, pale wood.

Next, smooth the handle with some sandpaper. A lot of people use 250-grit sandpaper for this, but I had finer 800-grit so that’s what I used. Fold the sandpaper on itself like an accordion to make it easier to grip. Then wrap the sandpaper around the handle and lightly move it up and down. You’re not trying to remove a lot of material here, just smoothing out the surface.

You’ll probably find that it’s hard to move the sandpaper up to where the handle wides. So when you finish with the narrower part of the handle, unwrap the sandpaper and lightly sand the wider bits.

Run your fingers along the handle, feeling for any rough spots. Sand them down. When the handle is smooth, wipe the wood dust off with a rag.

Choosing a finish

You can’t use a bare wood handle because moisture will soak into the wood and it will eventually rot. So you need to apply a finish.

Wood finishing is a complex topic and I could go on at length about various pros and cons. For our purposes, there are two types of finish: exterior coatings (varnish) and finishes that soak into the wood (oils).

The problem with exterior coats like varnish is that they only cover the surface of the wood. When they inevitably flake off, it exposes the wood to the elements. They’re tricky to apply correctly, and even trickier to repair — you basically have to strip the wood and apply varnish again.

Many woodsmen like oil finishes, which penetrate and soak the wood to repel water from the inside out. They’re easy to apply and maintaining the finish is as easy as applying more oil. You have to apply the oil more often than you’d have to redo varnish, but the application takes just a minute.

There are two types of oils: drying oils like linseed and tung, and non-drying oils like coconut and tallow. You want a drying oil for tool handles, which will polymerize so that it won’t be slick. If you soak a handle in something like coconut oil, you could be dealing with a greasy handle for a long time.

The often-recommended oil for this is boiled linseed oil (BLO), which is cheap, quick-drying, and makes for a nice finish. The problem is BLO is a misnomer, as the oil isn’t actually boiled. Instead it’s mixed with solvents and heavy metals like lead to speed up drying time. You don’t want that stuff in contact with your hands, which is why I avoided the handles when I treated my scythe snath with BLO and turpentine.

A better choice is raw linseed oil, which allegedly takes a bit longer to dry but is all-natural and non-toxic. However, I found that it dried as quickly as BLO without toxicity concerns.

Properly oiling a tool handle

It takes a long time to get the first layers of linseed oil in a handle. You won’t want to slather on a thick coat all at once, because it will dry into a tacky mess that’s a pain to remove. You want to apply multiple thin coats to let it soak into the wood.

Check the weather forecast and pick a couple of warm, sunny days for this project. The warmer the better, as heat helps the oil penetrate deeper in the wood, and sunlight will help speed up drying.

Pick a spot that gets good sun that has a stump or fence post to drive the blade into. I used a fence post in a sunny spot. Chop into your wood so the axe is firmly in place and won’t fall off. That will give you a safe, stable base to work from.

Pour a little linseed oil onto a clean rag and wipe the handle down with it. Wipe it thoroughly to keep a thin, even coat. And don’t forget both ends of the handle — the end grain is extra absorbent. While you’re at it, wipe down the blade on your first pass to protect the steel from the elements.

Wait 10-15 minutes to let oil soak into the wood and then wipe off the excess with a clean rag. If you’re busy and can’t go out that often, wipe down the initial coat with a clean rag to thin it out a bit more.

Warning: Linseed oil can spontaneously combust when soaked into wadded-up rags. Lay your oily rag flat outside and put a rock on it to keep the wind from blowing it away. When you’re finished with it, soak it in water before throwing it away.

Give it an hour or so, feel the handle to see if the oil has soaked in, and if it has, do the same thing again.

Expect this to take a couple of days. Take the axe inside at night to protect it from the dew.

I applied seven coats total: five on the first day and two on the second. You want to repeat this process until the oil is no longer soaking into the wood.

After a day of applying oil, the finish already looks richer.

You can keep repeating this process over time. Consider oiling it once a week or so until the finish gets dark enough for you. I plan to do a second round of oiling this summer when the temperatures are much warmer and the oil can soak in better.

Sharpening the Council Tool Boy’s axe

The factory edge of the Council Tool Boy’s axe is okay, but not especially sharp. More experienced axemen might want to reprofile the head with a file, but I didn’t feel it was necessary.

There are many tools for sharpening axes. Even a simple bastard file works. But I’m a big fan of the Lansky sharpening puck, which is cheap, easy to transport, and made for axes.

You want some sort of lubrication. Many people put oil on their stones, but I’m not a fan of oil for two reasons: once you oil a stone you have to keep using oil and oil makes a thick layer between the steel and stone, making it cut less effectively. Some recommend kerosene or diesel, but I like plain water and keep a bucket nearby when I’m sharpening. Water is safe and can be found just about everywhere. You can spit on the stone if you need to.

You want a stable sharpening surface. Putting the axe in a vice would be the best, but I wanted to simulate field conditions. I sat down with my stone and bucket and laid the axe across my knees, with the head on one knee, facing away from me.

I dunked the puck in the bucket and then using the fine side of the puck, ran it in a circular motion up and down the blade’s bevel. When that side was done, I’d switch sides (and knees). But that’s an oversimplification.

Sharpening is intimidating when you’re new at it, which is why TP offers a whole course dedicated to it. Part of the learning process is getting a feel for the blade. That starts with carefully running your finger across the blade edge to feel for the “burr,” which is a rough spot in the edge.

You want to work that burr to smooth it out, which then folds the burr over to the other side of the blade. Then you work on that side to smooth the burr out. You keep repeating this process with progressively lighter stone grits and pressures until you end up with both sides of the blade meeting in a sharp, smooth edge.

Don’t run the stone across the entire blade unless you’re planning to reshape it. You want to put the puck on the bevel (the end of the sharp edge of the blade) and angle it so that it “catches” the bevel. That takes some experience. The key is trying to maintain an even angle across the bevel.

After about 30 minutes of light sharpening, I had an edge sharp enough to shave hair off my arm.

I decided to take the axe for a test run. I hacked down a couple of annoying saplings in the edge of the woods near my house, and tested the edge by peeling bark from them.

Once your axe is good and sharp, you want to be careful with the edge, not only to prevent injuries but to avoid damaging the edge. You definitely want some sort of sheath to carry it around in. I like leather because it plays nicely with oil. In the meantime, you can hang it up in a safe place.

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GearSkills

Feeding catfish with an eagle watching

RedneckContributor - September 5, 2022

Yesterday evening, while I was headed to the pond to feed my catfish, I noticed both bald eagles sitting out on dead trees in the pond.  Those trees are normally underwater but we haven’t had any heavy rains this summer.  As I got closer to the pond, one eagle flew off but the other hung around for a bit.  I don’t know what it is, but I so love watch eagles.  I likewise enjoy watching the catfish splash around while feeding.

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What to do about a personal data leak or breach – Before and After

brownfox-ffContributor - September 2, 2022

This recent news roundup mentioned that the state of California has leaked and mishandled data on thousands of gun owners. This has come up before. Data leaks and breaches always seem frustrating and sad. While I would love to see strict penalties for poor security and mishandling that lead to data leaks and exposure, this also got me thinking – what _can_ we do to prepare for or prevent a personal data leak?

The Prepared site has excellent articles and forum posts on general digital security and preparedness. But what about data breaches specifically? Here are some intro steps from a bit of light research:

What to do before and after a data breach:

Before:

Use encrypted text messages. Install Signal – the most secure, open source, encrypted text messaging app. Keep your data private. You can use Signal for all texts on your phone – it will simply use encryption with anyone else who also has Signal, but still send regular text messages to those who do not. Then you can invite them to improve their texting too. Use a password manager. Don’t store your sensitive information inside emails etc. Don’t give out your Social Security Number (SSN). Or other very sensitive info. This may depend on geography. In North America there are usually only two places that need to know about your SSN: Your employer (so you can get paid), and your bank. That is it. Many other places try to ask and get this information. Tell them no. Often you may find them sheepishly admit the information was “optional”, and they will back down. Sign up your email address at https://haveibeenpwned.com/ . This is an interesting website that monitors data breaches and will email you if it finds that your email address has been included in a data leak. A good way to at least be aware that your information may have been exposed. Get a backup credit card and/or bank account. If you have the ability, having one main credit card but also a backup card can help to ensure you still have a way to operate or pay your bills if your main card is stolen or compromised. Likewise – opening two different bank accounts at different _types_ of institutions with different risk profiles – e.g. one large national bank and one local credit union. Storing some funds in each can help to make sure you still have access to some of your money. Keep some cash on hand. So you can keep operating even if everything goes down. Freeze and set a PIN on your credit file. Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion will let you set a PIN – like a password – that must be used to unfreeze your credit account. This should prevent or make it more difficult for anyone to take out a loan in your name or otherwise access your credit. If you want to take out a loan or apply for credit yourself, you can simply call them with the PIN to unfreeze, and then re-freeze your account. Get and read your own credit report every six months. This can be a painful process, but the three firms above should let you get a free copy of your own credit report. Emphasis on free: they are not allowed to charge for it. However, they often make this intentionally difficult and confusing by adding many “upgrade” tiers and options, and changing the name to things like “consumer disclosure report” instead. Checking your report e.g. every six months can help you to spot if anyone used or tried to use your credit account. Consider credit- or identity-protection. I am wary of these services and have never tried them. I am not sure how much they actually help in the event anything happens. Would love to hear from anyone who has had good or bad experiences with identity protection.

After:

Call the company or organization and confirm whether your data was included in the breach or leak. Find out what type of data was affected. If your credit card info was leaked, you probably want to call your credit card company to cancel and replace the card. See if the company now offers help, or offers free identity protection after the fact. They may be able to help you get back to normal. Change the password on any accounts that were affected.

What other ideas or actions can you think of?

References

Forum post “Getting Weekly Credit Reports”. Thanks to community member Supersonic for posting. https://www.tomsguide.com/us/data-breach-to-dos,news-18007.html https://us.norton.com/internetsecurity-emerging-threats-what-to-do-after-a-data-breach.html https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/finance/how-to-protect-yourself-after-data-breach https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/small-business/business-data-breach-insurance Read More

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