Stop the Bleed

When I said "Today is National Stop the Bleed Day", it was correct when I said it (March 31), but it's not correct when you're viewing it (April 6).

Go here to find a class near you.

Once you've gotten your training, get a bleeding control kit here. 

Storing Winter

Spring is attempting to appear where I live. It has been a rough winter; many areas broke records for cold and snow and I've heard several reports that it was one of the worst in the last 30 years. I can believe those reports, because most of the “kids” of that age had never seen snow like we got this year. I'll be glad when it's gone so I can finally put away the cold-weather gear that has been part of my daily life since the end of October.

The folks who live in the southern half of the country won't have some of the problems that we northerners face, and needing a large supply of warm clothing is one of those problems. I'm one of those accursed people with a high metabolic rate and almost no body fat, so I have a lot of clothes that I need to wear just to work outside:

• From some time in October to roughly the same point of March, I wear thermal underwear (long johns) every day; they vary from lightweight (35-40°F) to heavy duty (below 10°F), and I have several pairs of each weight. 
• I have at least a dozen pairs of each of three levels of socks to suit the daily winter temperatures. 
• I have formal, informal, and work coats suitable for whatever conditions the local winter may present. 
• Stocking caps, gloves, scarves, and miscellaneous extreme cold-weather gear have accumulated over the years (I have four warm, functional Santa hats, now). 
• Coveralls and overalls, from un-insulated to Arctic weight and boots to match are expensive, so I generally only have one set of each weight. 

All of that stuff has to go somewhere for the seven months of each year that I won't be needing it, so here's how I store my winter wardrobe.

Preparation

• Never store anything dirty! Always clean your clothes before putting them away. I've tossed dirty boots in a closet and hung up coats without cleaning them in the past, and it didn't work out very well.
• The presence of even slight amounts of corrosive chemicals will destroy them given time and humidity, and the presence of food, or even food odors, will attract rodents and insects.
• Wash what you can, send the delicates to the dry cleaner, brush off the boots and apply a fresh coat of waterproofing if needed. Leather should get a coat of neat's-foot oil or other softening treatment to keep it from getting stiff while in storage.
• Check your gear and make repairs and replacements as you get things ready for storage. 
• I wear out socks pretty quickly, so I make sure I check my stock as I'm storing them. Worn-out natural fibers (mainly cotton and wool, but a few silk) go into the rag bag for use as cleaning supplies; polyester and other man-made fibers go into the craft bag for use as stuffing for toys.
• Inexpensive coats tend to have low-quality zippers that fail, so I always check and lubricate (using a wax candle) the closures on my coats. Zippers are a PITA to replace, so a bad zipper is usually a death penalty for a coat. Patch the holes and use a comb to clean out the Velcro.

Storage

• Unless you're putting gear away for just a month or two, you're going to need a good container. If your warm season is that short, just hanging the warm clothes in a closet will suffice.
• Folding cloth organizers may look nice, but offer no protection from dust, pests, or damage. I can see these being used to organize clothing that is in the daily rotation, but not for storage.
• Cardboard boxes aren't much better. I know they're cheap or free, but cardboard is a poor choice for storing clothing since it does nothing to stop pests or moisture and may actually provide a breeding ground for insects. They also tend to collapse unless filled to capacity if any weight is put on them.
• Plastic bins with tight lids are a good choice. The weather-proof versions with latching lids will keep out dust, insects, and water, but won't stop a determined or bored rodent. I use 20 gallon plastic bins from a big-box store, they're fairly cheap and last for several years.
• Neither cardboard boxes nor plastic bins don't handle being stacked on top of each other very well. 
• The old-fashioned cedar chest was used for long-term storage of wool and linen goods. The cedar wood contains an oil that seeps out for decades, producing an odor that we find pleasant but repels insects that would feed on the stored items. If properly made, a good cedar chest will keep out most dust and moisture.
• For top of the line storage, look for metal or fiberglass storage containers. They'll stop most rodents (nothing is truly rat-proof; they'll chew through concrete given enough time) and insects, are generally water-proof, and are dust-tight. They're also better for raw stacking, but their weight makes them hard to sort through.

Organization

• The modern version of Schroedinger's Cat is the cookie tin that can contain either cookies or sewing supplies but you don't know which until you open it. Having multiple plastic bins stacked in a corner of the basement is a similar issue, especially if you bought them on sale and they are all the same color. My wife likes to shop after holidays to get the differing colors when they go on sale, so this is less of a problem for me.
• Keep your containers segregated by user. My wife and I wear different sizes, and she doesn't work outside as much as I do, so I keep her winter gear in a separate set of bins. This makes it easier for me to dig out my stuff without having to dig through hers. When I had kids around, it made it easier to donate the clothes they'd outgrown over the summer.
• Label your containers. This may sound simplistic, but after shifting a couple of dozen boxes around to get to the one on the bottom, unlabeled boxes will get confused.
• Use a sturdy rack. It will take up more space, but will allow you access to individual containers without disturbing the others. Wood planks and cement blocks make good storage racks; they're modular and can be adapted to differing sizes of containers. If you live in earthquake-prone areas, use a quality construction adhesive between the blocks and wood to tie them together. Metal store shelving is available if you look around, but it can be expensive.

Take care of your gear and it will take care of you when you need it.

Prudent Prepping: Semi-Monthly Buffet Post

The dust has settled and the First 72 Hours have passed. Follow along as I build a long term plan via Prudent Prepping. 

It's here again, the post where a bunch of topics too small to stand alone are put together!

Car Maintenance
First up is a quick update on my car. Other than these two issues I had no other problems, and have an oil change due in about a month.

Wiper Blades
With the weather getting crazier than normal in California, my car needed a set of wiper blades sooner than I had planned. Normally I buy two sets a year, one about May and one around October. Since there has been longer than normal warm and dry spells mixed in with the regular rain, the current blades are hard and not moving water off the windshield 100%. Last weekend I left home and turned on the wipers and washer to clear off some pollen, and it left streaks that made it really hard to see when driving into the sun.

Tires 
I had to replace a valve stem on one wheel due to a slow leak. Over time all tires will deflate a small amount, but I had one that was losing about 3 lbs a week. The tire shop checked for a a nail or other damage, but there wasn't an obvious cause. They checked the tire bead-to-rim area for a leak and the only place where any bubbles formed was around the stem. They also rotated the tires for me at this time.

Prepping Projects
Since the weather is on the way to being warmer and dryer, I have moved some of my cold weather gear out of my GHB. Some food items, like my favorite candies (Werther's Butterscotch), somehow collected some moisture and became soggy even inside a ziploc bag. I suspect that's from being in the trunk of my car where it gets hot and cold, repeatedly.

Other Changes 

• The Buckets of Holding are halfway sorted, and canned goods close to their 'Sell By' dates are being swapped out and replaced. Older items are going to the Food Bank.
• My stored water jugs were dumped, rinsed and refilled. I know that doing this twice a year is excessive, but I have the time and the water.
• Another friend asked about a walking stick and when the end arrives, I'll help them do a proper shaping and help install the tip.
• In preparation for several weekends out in the country, I pulled all my Sawyer water filters out and looked at the pouches for wear or tears from storage. 

Boots
One thing still on my list is a proper pair of boots. I have some lightweight hiking boots for my job (they're really tennis shoes with a hiking sole) that work well, but they aren't a real boot. With a high arch and EEE feet, some of the very popular and durable shoe brands are already a no-go. I really, really hate mailing returns back and waiting for the 2nd, 3rd or 4th choice to arrive, so Danner and a couple others are out. Red Wing has boots that come in my sizes and will probably be where I buy boots, when I can afford them.

Long-Term Food
I still haven't found an affordable (for me) way to buy truly long-term food. The products are there, quality and reputation are there, but the holdup is price; the best and most economical way to do it involves larger quantities than I want pay for right now. I may have to purchase smaller lots, even if it means spending more per-pack than I'd like.

The Takeaway

• Keeping spare wiper blades in your trunk or garage will age them almost as fast as mounting them.
• There is nothing wrong with 'making do' with what you have. Waiting for perfect means not using good enough right now; what's important is that you have it now, and can build from there.
• Set a schedule and try to stick to it for looking over your preps. Things can go bad when you least expect it.

The Recap
Two things were purchased this week:

• One set of Rain-X wiper blades: $19.98 plus tax from O'Reilly Auto Parts. Similar blades can be purchased from Amazon, but I needed them now. 
• One valve stem and tire rotation: $15 for the stem and labor. Shop branded tires were rotated free, even if I didn't buy them or have the paperwork!

Just a reminder: if you plan on buying anything through Amazon, please consider using our referral link. When you do, a portion of the sale comes back here to help keep this site running!

If you have comments, suggestions or corrections, please post them so we all can learn. And remember, Some Is Always Better Than None!

NOTE: All items tested were purchased by me. No products have been loaned in exchange for a favorable review. Any items sent to me for T&E will be listed as such. Suck it Feds.

Getting Jiggy With It

Tool work can generally be done freehand pretty successfully, but sometimes you need more consistency or accuracy than you can achieve unassisted. In those cases you need a jig, and I'm not talking about the festive dance.

A jig is a work-holding fixture used to hold a workpiece in a set position, at a certain angle, or maintain some other consistent characteristic. They allow for fast, consistent work across a series of parts, or precise results on a single item. They can be incredibly simple or very complex, and are made from a variety of materials.

Woodworkers use jigs to set angles and lengths when making cuts for cabinets and other complex pieces, clamping their material against a stop piece and quickly turning out parts that mate up cleanly. Welders use jigs to hold materials together so that they can have both hands free to lay their bead, and to prevent parts from shifting while they work.

In this video, I show how a bench vise can be used as a depth jig while correcting one of the weaknesses of a Mora knife.



Learn to properly use jigs for your tasks so that you can work faster and easier.

Lokidude

Smith & Wesson SWHRT9B Review

I will sometimes purchase several different kinds of tools over a period of time in an attempt to find exactly what I want... or at least that's the excuse I give for why I have so many knives.

I purchased the Smith & Wesson H.R.T. in an attempt to find a good fixed-blade carry knife. My experience with S&W's knife offerings has been that they make products that are a good value for the price. It cost $15.99 on Amazon with Prime shipping at the time of publication, which I felt would be a good value if the knife worked well for my intended uses.

https://amzn.to/2uFoPKp

The Pros

• It has a solid build quality. I carried this around on a daily basis for over a month, and it looks almost factory fresh. 
• The sheath is thick black leather, tight around the blade, and has not notably scuffed nor has the clip shown any notable wear. 
• The stitching is even and appears to be well done, and none of it has come loose, despite me getting the knife wet several times. 
• The blade itself seems to be well made, with an even grind for the edge. 
• It seems to hold an edge well. It has cut through wood, plastic, nylon, paper, and a number of other materials, and seems not to have any issues. The coating on the blade is still intact, and does look good. 
• I have not sharpened it yet, so I don’t know how easy it is to sharpen. 
• The handle is well designed and grips well even when my hand is wet or covered in oil. It is grooved, and has a hole in the end that you could string something through. 
• It makes a surprisingly good throwing knife. I am certain that this voids the warranty, but it is light, the balance is decent, and it sticks in the log that I use as a target.

The Cons

• The sheath is solid, but the retention mechanism (a snap) is difficult to work with. It takes much longer than it should to put away and secure the knife, and is a pain in the rear if you are in a hurry. 
• The hole at the end of the handle is too small to fit paracord, even though it looks like it should. I spent half an hour trying, with no success. 
• The clip does not retain as well as I would wish. It seems to do okay if you have it on the outside of your belt, but it does not hold well if you try to use it as a boot knife, or wear it inside the waist band, or if you put it on a retaining strap on a pack. In short, it seems to do very poorly when you need it to really hold, and I don’t feel like I could trust that clip in an emergency. If someone from Smith and Wesson is reading this, that clip alone would keep me from purchasing this knife if I had known about it before hand. 
• I really don't know what to do with it: 
• It doesn’t work well as a general utility knife because it's not large enough to be comfortable for me as a fixed blade. 
• It isn’t large enough to make a comfortable combat knife, either. 
• Nor does it work well as a boot knife. This is mainly because of the clip, but also because it digs into me. 
• Rather ironically, it doesn’t conceal well on me either. For whatever reason, it prints quite badly, and jabs into me more than similar knives.

Overall
I would not recommend this knife as a general carry knife. With a custom sheath, this knife would be fantastic for its price, but as nice as the blade itself is, I don’t want to pay more for the sheath than I did the knife.

In all, it's too big to carry, too small to use effectively, and doesn't retain well. If you want a fixed blade for your bug out bag, it seems like it would be acceptable, but expect to keep it in the bag instead of on your belt.

America’s Mass Consumerism is a Prepper's Friend

A few weeks ago, I talked about how we buy goods in this country. Today, I show you how that consumerism is helpful for thrifty preppers.

Prudent Prepping: Feeding Your CA-Legal AR

The dust has settled and the First 72 Hours have passed. Follow along as I build a long term plan via Prudent Prepping. 

Now that you have a CA-compliant Modern Sporting Rifle, what do you do next?

Before I go too far into this post, I need to mention that the love and attention shown to any of the AR fill-in-the-blank platforms by the State of California applies equally to their ComBloc equivalent, the AK and all of its related variations too!

Carefully Feeding Your AR
Our esteemed and quite patient Editrix Erin shared a video to my Timeline weeks ago, showing a CA-compliant magazine system.

The company that makes this is called CompMag and there is a very good write- on their website.



This is a clean and rather elegant answer to the "Fixed Magazine" requirement found in recent CA (and other states) laws. As a southpaw, this is not as convenient for me as some of the systems shown last week, but it's still a contender.


A different take on the "Fixed Magazine" loading drill is from MEAN Arms and their magazine-to-load-your-magazine, the MA Loader, shown here:




This is another pretty cool way to load, since the MA Loader (shown with their optional loading guide) fills your magazine through the ejection port, which is a Lefty Friendly way to go. From the MA Loader page:

"Our new MA-Loader is a California compliant, 10-round bullet loading device that will allow you to safely and efficiently reload your fixed magazine without the need to break down the firearm. Simply place the MA-Loader into your AR-15's ejector port and press the thumb-ring slider to quickly load or reload. It is that simple!"

"But what about having to buy multiple MA Loaders?" you ask. Well, I am willing to bet that most people have more than 2 magazines, so purchasing half a dozen of these, while more expensive, is what California residents might have to do.

Oh, just for a comparison, 10 round Magpul magazines retail here for $25.

Filling Those Magazines
Now that there are ways to have a loaded Modern Sporting Rifle, what do you put into it and how do you re-supply yourself?

Again, since this is California, the answer is "With some difficulty."

What Has Changed: 

• Recently passed laws require all ammunition sellers to be registered with the state separately from their firearms licenses. 
• Those forms and what needs to be done are still in flux since this past January. 
• Another problem is there can be no shipments of ammunition into the state to private parties. 
• Ammunition purchases will have a minimum $1 fee at the time of sale for a background check. 
• No ammunition purchased out-of-state may be brought by car into California after January 1. 
• Many stores are refusing to accept ammunition shipments from retailers to private parties, since the paperwork is not finalized. 
• The only bright spot is there is no restriction on reloading supplies. For now. 

Doesn't all this sound like fun? 

 The Takeaway

• There are even more private businesses helping the law-abiding citizens of the State of California to follow the rules and regulations! 
• You can't stop the signal.

The Recap

• Nothing was purchased this week ... but I will probably get something mentioned either this week or last. 
• All items mentioned can be purchased from various online retailers or in some cases, directly from the manufacturer. Shop around for your best price!

Just a reminder: if you plan on buying anything through Amazon, please consider using our referral link. When you do, a portion of the sale comes back here to help keep this site running!

If you have comments, suggestions or corrections, please post them so we all can learn. And remember, Some Is Always Better Than None!

NOTE: All items tested were purchased by me. No products have been loaned in exchange for a favorable review. Any items sent to me for T&E will be listed as such. Suck it Feds.