The Sunday Spread & HubGuv

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Scored a wooden ammo box at a local retro store, gonna keep tools in it. It's about the same size as a metal .30 cal box, so it's probably sized to hold .30-.06. Wasn't cheap, but it is priceless. Sound condition except for the leather handle, which is torn and ready to break. Never seen one before. Be interesting if it was made of wood due to a scarcity of metal during WW II.

Below, a Mora Knife: Alone, and with basic mods including a velcro handle strap, a fire steel w/velcro straps and some cord to keep everything secure. This configuration is strictly for my BOB or the truck - I'd never normally need a fire steel in camp, and the handle strap would be a gigantic pain in the arse. One of the best things about this Mora is the awesomely simple sheath, which allows for easy removal of the knife. The strap would only be useful if I was in dire life-or-death straits, and losing the knife meant not surviving. There is absolutely no way to remove the knife with the strap in place.

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HubGuv

Fuck taxes, fuck government, fuck bureaucracy, fuck budgets, fuck red tape, fuck politicians, fuck the system, fuck the economy, fuck corporations. I've figured out a way to bypass all of them. It's an organic, grass-roots system called HubGuv, which fills in the cracks left by mainstream (corporate) government. HubGuv is, by definition and intent, collapse-proof. Therefore, it has no budget. Ever. It is a flexible, self-governing system by which people directly participate in self-government thru personal responsibility. HubGuv only functions by necessity. It relies on community, simplicity and common sense. It is essentially, but not strictly or dogmatically, libertarian. HubGuv is all about helping people to help themselves, and creating a society of responsible, self-sufficient people. The first rule of HubGuv is: Talk about HubGuv. The most important aspect of HubGuv is gardening, which is viewed as the basis for self-sufficiency, local economy and community.

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Had a strange idea, one that could prove useful & innovative. It was for some webbing that fits on a person's arms much like shirt sleeves or very long gloves. The purpose of this webbing would be to hold gear and tools. Like, I'm an urban survivor in the year 2023, and I wear a short sleeved army shirt with these arm sleeves velcro'd to it, and I keep a knife, a wrench, lighter, smart phone, some ammo, maybe even a ballistic knife, clipped to them. It's kind of like the concept of those drop-down thigh holsters, but for your arms. Many years ago I once saw a wild-looking urban cowboy on the streets of the Haight Ashbury, and he had tools strapped to his forearms. It was one of the coolest things I've ever seen. To this day I refer to that guy as Mr Bartertown. Maybe his memory has been percolating in the depths for all these years...

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Multi-Purpose Survival Tools

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Been researching multi-function wilderness survival tools, and found several quality examples that are in current production and can be purchased online. Here goes:

Above we have the TOPS HAKET, produced by TOPS Knives. From what I've seen and read online, this tool rates among the best. It consists of a hollow chrome moly handle, a detachable tomahawk head, and an Alligator Alley spear head. The hawk head can be used as a stand-alone knife, scraper, etc, as can the spear head. The hawk head can be attached to the handle via a sturdy bolt, while the spear head can be lashed to a shaft for use as a spear. The hollow handle can be filled with a survival kit. A review of this tool can be found HERE. More to follow on this item when mine arrives in the mail. Cost: US$155 - 250 + tax & shipping. Hint: Do some research and go with the best deal! Prices vary widely.

Above is the ECO HAWK, a tomahawk head that functions as a stand-alone weapon/tool/knife when it is not lashed to a handle. It comes with a survival kit, which does not interest me (I make my own). I like the compactness of this tool, and strongly considered buying it til I came across the tool featured below. Cost: US$85 + tax & shipping.

Above we have the RS6 MOhawk, made to order by Red Scorpion Six out of Sulphur, Oklahoma. Like the ECO HAWK, it functions as a stand-alone weapon/tool/knife when not lashed to a handle. Unlike the ECO HAWK, it is handmade, with a variety of finish options and a high-quality Kydex sheath with leather belt loops. It also comes with a handle. Admittedly, the inverted blade is a very strange shape. BUT...I ordered one anyway, and have high hopes for it. Build time is 4-6 weeks. Stay tuned for a review once it arrives. Cost: US$125 + tax & shipping.

Above we have the TOPS Hoffman Harpoon, available in small, medium or large. The item pictured is the medium (standard) version. It functions as a stand-alone blade, a neck knife, or a spear point. IMHO, probably the most useful, expedient and realistic of this selection of survival tools. Why? It's small, simple, and very functional. Check out this review HERE. This knife has BOB written all over it. Price: US$69 - 79 - 89 + tax & shipping.

And finally, we have the ATAX, pictured above. A very strange and unique survival tool, it was designed by that survivalist dude called Hood, of Hood's Woods fame. FYI: It seems he passed away recently, so if you want one of these tools, better get it while they are still available online. They were only produced in small batches. This gadget has many uses, and I urge you to follow the hyperlink and read up on it. It has applications as an arrow launcher, an axe, a knife, a skinner, a clock, a nail puller, a range finder, and a whole range of additional uses that perplex my simple mind. Also, it has a hollow handle. It was described by one owner as "a beast". I tried to like this strange tool, but in the end I couldn't get into it. It's just too weird, too big, too clumsy and too unwieldy. Probably useful to a true backwoodsman, but THAT I am not, nor will I ever be. Cost: US$199.95 + tax & shipping.

Enjoy the long weekend!
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Yard Sale Score

Ten bills for the wagon & two for the homemade chest.

Friday Stuff

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So, here is a list of the mass shootings that took place in the United States in the past few days: CLICK THIS & WINCE. Notice it doesn't count local gun mishaps or the Oslo massacre. We live in a truly fucked up world. How are you dealing with this? Enough said.
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I like a lot of things about Creek Stewart's website. He talks a lot about Bug Out preparations, which rocks. His bug out wagon, below, is right up my alley:


Time for me to go sleepy-bye. Honk-zzzzzzzz, honk-zzzzzzz, honk-zzzzzzz.
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Sunday Stuff

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Planted 2 blueberry bushes last week, harvested 2 blueberries. That's right: 2 blueberries. They were good. Tomatoes and strawberries coming in, but none of them are particularly sweet or tasty. It's just not hot enough. Harvested a 1/2 grocery bag of plums last week, gave them to a friend to make jam out of. My potato plant is growing like mad and I harvested 2 potatoes a week ago. That's right: 2 potatoes. :-) I have been watering my garden significantly more than I used to, and the growth rate is exponential. Lesson learned.

If I had to live off of my container garden, I'd get about 2 days worth of food, and that would be in the form of potatoes. So, it's not like I'm busting my own food bank account with this experiment. But I maintain that gardening is nonetheless a worthwhile exercise - it's relaxing & therapeutic, I learn more by experience each season, it seems to make everyone more happy, and if TSHTF I can always rapidly expand the garden to include 3 to 4 times as many plants. AND, my neighbor caught the bug, which rocks!
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Looked at my knife collection the other day and thought: None of these quite do me right, except for the Mora. So I bought 2 additional blades. Will review all my knives at a later date. It dawns on me that you need several knives for survival work, as no 1 knife will do all you need. The Mora rocks for cutting vegetables or twine & for skinning, but it is small & not able to chop or split wood. Something bigger & heavier is required...as well as a functional boot dagger for backup protection.
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I want to bring to YOUR attention that mass shootings are becoming a weekly, even daily, occurrence, worldwide. Since Friday we have had the Oslo massacre, as well as at least 2 mass shootings in the United States, as well as a little girl hit by a stray bullet in Oaktown. And believe me when I say that that is probably not half of the mass murders that have occurred since Friday. Probably not a quarter. If I went and did a google search right now, the numbers would at least double. So, what Penny Kelly describes in ROBES is happening: Slowly, we will stop going out in public, due to the the endless stream of mass violent acts that occur in public spaces. Think about this and the implications it has for your future. We are becoming desensitized to an increasingly horrific world. What are YOU going to do about it? Think about that one long and hard, Fellow Survivalists!

Here is a quote that makes my blood run cold. I feel that it perfectly describes this century and the last:

“The faith that humans originally invested in God, they will now invest in barbaric nationalistic brotherhoods interested solely in plundering non-brothers. In the 20th century this will lead to wars catastrophic beyond all imagining.” The First World War was the beginning episode of Nietzsche’s prophecy. And he foresaw something even worse that would follow the great wars.

“In the 21st century will occur something worse than the great wars: namely, the total eclipse of all values. For without a profound belief in an almighty diety or deities, so-called ‘values’ become arbitrary and capricious. The pain the human beast will feel when he realizes he can believe in … nothing … will be worse than any he has felt before.”

-Neitzsche

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Peace out, Brohims.
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Lanyards & Skull Beads & Other Shite

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CLICK HERE for The Lanyard Zone.

CLICK HERE for Creek Stewart's custom built survival shotgun (an odd but innovative contraption).
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Today the bomb went off in Oslo, and over 80 people were massacred nearby at a children's camp, all of it done by a white psycho dressed as a cop. It's a new low, a terrible & immense mass murder. It feels like the beginning of the future. There is a deeper seriousness in me now...I know that one day I really will carry a pistol or a knife or a Taser for daily protection....or maybe all three. One day these incidents will be so commonplace & widespread that we will stop going out at all except when we have to, and then when we do we will have to traverse a bleak & hostile wasteland to reach our destination. It's gonna be weird raising kids in that world. It's gonna be a fucked up future.
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CLICK HERE for Willow Haven Outdoor, Creek Stewart's website. It has a store full of quality outdoor tools & goods, plus a lot of killer Bug Out concepts and articles. Creek is a cool dude. I'll review his Bug Out book once it's published.
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Cool Gadgets & Gizmos

Here's a photo of some cool stuff I scored from County Comm & the local thrift store:

Clockwise from top left corner:

•Metal storage tins, large and small, w/plastic covers. I like the smaller ones more. High cute factor, also very usable.
•Small driver, orange. High quality, with numerous heads stored in the grip. For small-ish screws.
•Israeli trauma bandage. For treating gunshot- or stab-wounds. The real thing. Expires in 2014.
•Plastic tube vaults. 1st one filled w/disposable towelettes, 2nd one filled w/new button compasses scored from the local East Bay Center for Creative Re-Use for a nickel each.
•Black Delrin safe, ie: a waterproof storage tube. Awesome to the extreme.
•Spool of black Spectra line, 90 lb test, 100 yards. Used for fishing nets, probably usable for repairing clothes & fabrics. The line could be cut into 1/3rds & the 1/3rds woven together to make a 100 ft-long, 270 lb "rope" that would be scarcely thicker than dental tape.
•Blue gun-cleaning stick. Small & not very strong, but inexpensive & usable.
•Black "cord supervisor". Something to wrap cord around, with a quality wire attachment clip.
•Black Delrin storage tubes, sized for AAA batteries & strung on a stainless wire key ring.
•Bag containing mini shears & OD plastic cord ends.
•New signal mirrors, purchased at the East Bay Center for Creative Re-Use for a quarter each.
•An Army robotics technician's key driver & 2 AA-sized Delrin storage tubes, strung on a stainless wire key ring.
•A micro-pen, a micro-pry bar, and a split pea Zippo-type lighter strung on a key ring.
•A wire key ring & an odd clip.

Cool shit, Maynard. If you add it all up, it wasn't cheap, but I'm not complaining. Some of it I'll use in the desert, some I'll keep in my day pack, some in my BOB. If I had to recommend anything above anything else, I'd say go for the Delrin containers & the drivers.

Peace out!