Tag Archives: skill sets

Nuts & Bolts by Nick: Overlanders

Posted on by
2 

by Nick Romaniello

Overlanders: One man’s survival is another man’s vacation.

PeterandKayForwoodI’m going to stray away from my home improvement centered writing from time to time; today I want to discuss another passion of mine and it’s overlooked connection to the world of prepping.

While the term “Overlanding” may still be unknown to many, it is in fact a long standing segment of the adventure travel community that traces it’s roots to earliest days of the automobile when brave souls set out to see the world on wheels. Overland Journal, the leading publication on the subject, defines overlanding as:

“Self-reliant adventure travel to remote destinations where the journey is the primary goal. Typically, but not exclusively, accommodated by mechanized off-highway capable transport (from bicycles to trucks) where the principal form of lodging is camping; often lasting for extended lengths of time (months to years) and often spanning international boundaries”.

LandCruiserWith many of these travelers now blogging as they go, it’s easier than ever to follow along as individuals, teams, and families with kids traverse continents and even circumnavigate the globe and to learn from their unique experiences. Dealing with war zones, limited supplies, civil unrest, stranded vehicles and lack of medical care can all be part of daily life for the LandRoveroverlander. The techniques and gear of these hearty world travelers are tested and proven in the harshest environments on a regular basis–rather than just in theoretical end-times scenarios–and should be looked at by preppers as a valuable resource. An overlander may find themselves in the Amazon, the Sahara, or Siberia and have to be ready for anything. People from all countries and cultures are often quick to assist these travelers, in ways we would never expect in the west. But there are also frequent occasions when an overlander will find themselves in a situation where they are completely dependent upon their own skills and equipment to get themselves through tough situations or terrain.

Motorcyclist Tiffany Coates found herself confronted by AK-47 wielding bandits in Kazakhstan. Pablo Rey’s 4WD broke down in the uninhabited desert of Sudan. Simon Thomas had to ride out of the Brazilian rainforest–with a broken neck after–after his motorcycle veered off a wooden bridge. Anything that can happen in a collapse situation has already happened to members of the overlanding community, and it rarely stops them from continuing on their amazing journeys. Even their day to day living activities such as generating electricity, communicating, and replenishing food stores that many Americans would consider unbearable are just part of the adventure when roaming the globe. The enjoyment of interacting with fascinating cultures and seeing awe inspiring natural wonders far offset the hardships of this method of travel, but the need to prepare is absolute.

ovexpo25Like preppers, overlanders love gear and training. Catalogs and websites provide a wealth of options for mobile self-reliance equipment. Skill building is equally important both before departure and learning location specific techniques from indigenous people while traveling. Knowledge of vehicle recovery comes in handy where tow trucks fear to tread, and medical training can mean the difference between life and death when the nearest hospital is 400 miles away on unpaved roads. Events such as the annual Overland Expo in Arizona or the Horizons Unlimited meetings held worldwide offer clinics and lectures on subjects vital to successfully managing a global journey with confidence.

It’s well worth looking into the world of overlanding to see survival and self reliance skills and gear in action by people who are having the time of their lives. Below are some great links to get you started:

http://www.overlandjournal.com/

http://www.overlandexpo.com/

http://bodeswell.org/

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/

http://www.expeditionportal.com/

 

Sarah’s View: Knitting

Posted on by
3

I started working on a number of knitting projects in the last few weeks and realized that, while I tend to knit for fun, it’s also a worthwhile prepping skill. I originally tried knitting in high school, but never quite got the hang of it. Periodically I would try again, but it wasn’t until a few years after college that I really got it, to the point where I could follow a pattern without someone nearby to assist. I’m pretty sure my first (and second and third) project was a scarf. Not a bad item in a disaster, it’s amazing what a difference keeping your neck warm can make!

My knitting tends to go in phases as I usually knit during my commute and it just isn’t comfortable to have a knitting project on my lap in the warmth of the summer. So, around October I start to think about knitting again. I find my unfinished projects, sitting since spring, look through my bag of yarn and get started again. This leads to many more unfinished or abandoned projects than completed items. For example, my most recently completed project is a baby blanket. The child the blanket was originally intended for is now three years old; I will need to find it a new home. Over the years I have attempted many projects and managed to complete a number of them. Some of my successful items include: hats, Christmas stockings, drawstring bags, more scarves, stuffed hippos (possibly my favorite project as I created the pattern myself) and fingerless gloves.

In some ways knitting is a great prepper skill and in others it’s probably not as useful. I would still be dependent on yarn as we don’t currently, nor are likely to, have a natural supply via an alpaca or sheep (not to mention the sheering, carding and spinning involved). I could, with a supply of yarn, probably create a blanket, at least one sock (since I’ve done Christmas stockings just never two matching socks), and I likely could manage a sweater. It is also requires no electricity, keeps fingers and mind occupied, which is useful when the power is out. As a (wife of a) prepper I should work on more useful projects, but at this point it is just nice to know that while most of my knitting is for fun/gifts these days, if necessary I could provide warmth and comfort for family and friends, even if they didn’t fit quite right.

 

Sharpening Knives, Part 2: Actually Doing It

Posted on by
4

Last week I wrote Sharpening Knives, Part 1: Choosing The Right Sharpener. As I stated, “what makes it easier to sharpen a knife is to have the right sharpener”. Now that you have a good ‘whetstone’, how do you get a good edge on your knife?

“Knife Sharpening is the process of making a knife or similar tool sharp by grinding against a hard, rough surface, typically stone”.

Assuming you have a DMT folding sharpening stone (like I prefer/recommended) start by holding the stone in your non-dominant hand and holding the knife in your dominant hand. If your blade is dull start sharpening it on the coarse side of the stone; if it has a decent edge maybe you can start off with the finer side. As you sharpen the knife you don’t need to apply much pressure, just a gentle firm push/pull across. As you work the blade across the stone some people like to imagine that they’re trying to shave off a very slim piece of the stones surface.

When you’re sharpening a knife the most difficult part is finding, then maintaining, the correct angle. You want to position the knife at approximately 20 degrees (or about the angle that is already visible on the blade’s edge) against the stone. It takes practice to develop a “feel” for the correct angle. There are sharpening guides available that hold the knife at the proper angle–but as a prepper I believe it’s worth taking the time to learn the skill. The smaller the angle the sharper the knife will become, but the less strength the edge itself will have and it will bend much easier (e.g. a straight razor has a much smaller angle to produce the razor edge, it is then stropped each time to make sure the edge is straight and polished). Practice. You’ll get it, then you’ll get faster.

Both sides of the blade need to be sharpened equally, when you’re working on the coarser side of the stone it’s easier if you do about half-dozen on one side before you turn it over and do the other side. Make sure to do the same number of strokes, maintaining the same angle, holding the same amount of pressure, over the entire surface of the blade’s edge. Once the knife is noticeably sharper, switch to the finer side of the stone and this time alternate strokes one on each side of the knife.

The knife is sharp when you think it is. You’re not going for a razor edge, unless you’re sharpening a razor. For most knives sharp enough is good enough. As you practice it’ll become smoother, faster, and more natural. As you develop the habit of keeping up the edge you’ll find you just need to do a few strokes across a fine stone to keep it ready.

Here’s a good, how-to, knife sharpening video that sums all this up:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWJMEWck3WI&feature=relmfu

(Wednesday: Sarah’s View)

 

 

 

 

When I Was Sick, An Introspection

Posted on by
2

We’re (I’m) Not Superman
– –
I want to preface this by saying, I don’t get sick. Because of genetics, lifestyle choices, and dumb luck I’ve lived a healthy and active life. But last week I was sick. I had gastroenteritis, an unspecific medical diagnosis, commonly known as stomach flu. Maybe it was food poisoning (though both Sarah and I ate pretty much the same things), who knows. What matters is that it sucked. Really sucked.

Gastroenteritis is defined as “a medical condition characterized by inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract that involves both the stomach and the small intestine, resulting in some combination of diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal pain and cramping.” And I had it all. For over 24 hours I was miserable. Most of the time–when I wasn’t in the bathroom–all I could do was sit quietly on the couch; for a time I laid on the floor with my knees pulled up. It passed. Of course I lived. But I also learned.

I mention this because it made me realize that no matter how much we (including me, or as my wife would say “especially” me) view ourselves as superman, sometimes we’re not — we can’t be. Sometimes no matter how much desire there is to get up and do the job or even defend the home; physically there’s no way it’s going to happen. That afternoon, lying in an almost fetal position wishing the pain would stop, the most I might have been able to do would have been to crawl a short distance to get out of the way. I wanted to write about this soon after the incident because already my brain is starting to revise history, to minimize how bad I felt, and trying to justify that if I would have had to, I could have. But I can still remember how I felt laying there sweating, my gut spasming in intense pain, just trying to breathe.

I learned that we need to have redundancies built into our preparations, and not with stuff this time but with skills. If you can’t do it, who can? You don’t even have to be sick or hurt, maybe you’re just not there. Have you taught your spouse, partner, or children the skills that need to be done? Is there a family member, friend, or neighbor that has the knowledge and ability, and would be willing to help? Hopefully this person is nearby because maybe someone driving to your home isn’t an option (time or opportunity).

To be truly prepared for a disaster, or especially a collapse, we must have strong social support systems. We can’t survive on our own. Humans are social creatures. We’re meant to live in supporting communities to learn from, teach to, share with, barter with, care for, and protect each other.

Becoming Mentally & Physically Prepared

Posted on by
6

Buying Stuff Is Easy

“Mental and physical preparation. People die with all of the things they need to survive because they don’t maintain the will to survive. . . . the most important thing is the person using the technology.” This was recently emailed to me by one of my oldest and closest friends. In the military they taught us: improvise, adapt, and overcome. Knowledge and ability, once gained, are yours forever; stuff can be lost, broken, or taken away.

Though few of us can buy everything we’d like, the actual concept of saving up the money, going to the store, selecting, paying, and bringing it home is easy. It’s easy and we feel good because we now have this item; we believed we needed it for our preps, we saved for it, and now own it. But this is only a start, now we have to mentally and physically develop the skill set to use it. New items typically fall into one of two categories: it is something we are already familiar with and just need to figure out the new one, or it’s something we’ve never used before and need to learn a brand new skill (which take time and effort).

Mental preparation: developing a survival/can-do attitude and learning useful skill sets. Physical preparation: keeping yourself physically capable of surviving and accomplishing those skill sets.

We all have stuff sitting around our homes that we’ve bought but really don’t know how to use. We understand the basic concept and we’re fairly confident that if we needed to we could “figure it out”, but we haven’t taken the time to – yet. This can be a precarious position. Now that we’ve bought said item we feel we have checked off that box; there are other new and interesting things, to buy. Figuring it out “one of these days” frequently never quite happens.

It is imperative that we do “figure it out”. Take the time to learn the skill, then get your hands dirty and practice it – watching a video isn’t good enough. For example, It’s easy to buy a few 2x4s, some dirt, and a few seed packets; that is most everything needed to build and plant a raised bed garden. But how many more steps are there between buying and harvesting healthy vegetables?

What about the generator we’ve been told we need? Home generators are relatively simple to operate: add fuel, open fuel lines, choke, turn on, pull starter, and it should fire up. But, doing this for the first time in the dark is not simple nor stress-free. (That is not the time to realize you never stored any fuel.) What are you going to power with it, why, and for how long? Take the time to figure it out before the power fails. Consider developing your skill set further–and here I need to take my own advice–and learn some basic maintenance.

Or, one of the common prepper flaws: owning lots of guns, lots of ammo, and never having taking a defensive firearms course. “I know how to shoot” many will say, but how about shooting effectively in a high stress, low light, fatigue filled situation, where people might be hurt? Sure you can shoot the center out of the paper targets every time. Sure you assume that if the SHTF you’ll be just fine. But have you ever practiced for failure? What have you really done to mentally and physically prepare the skill set that could protect your family?

The list continues. You have the great BOB; can you carry it? Sure it’s in a quality backpack, but have you put it on, cinched it up and walked any distance? What about good footwear? You bought good boots; but finding out they needed breaking in when you are a mile into your ten-mile trek, is too late.

It was easy to buy it, but investing the time to learn new things, with our busy schedules and hectic lives, is tough – really tough. Especially when it all has to be self-motivated, there’s no ‘financial’ return, and you’re learning it for something that might happen, someday, maybe. So how do we self motivate? ‘Because we should’ isn’t (usually) good enough. Everyone knows they should exercise, eat right, etc. but you need to be able to articulate your own reason and goal.

I don’t have any brilliant insights to give you. You have to find that motivation; start with your plan. Set short-term achievable goals, working toward a reachable long-term goal; continue to eat that elephant “one bite at a time.” Begin with the Five Basic Needs and build from there. Yes, there are certain things you have to ‘get’, but, more importantly, you have to develop the skills to utilize those things and prepare yourself mentally and physically for the tasks that may be ahead.

(Wednesday: A List)