3 Ways to Remove Rust from a Pocket Knife

If you carry a knife and use it, chances are it’s going to start getting a little rust to go along with the character marks. A pocket knife or a belt knife makes no difference: From hunting, from countless chores, from getting wet, getting drenched in sweat or just extended forays into misty and rainy backcountry, your knife has to put up with a lot.

No matter what kind of steels your knife is made of, eventually it will start to corrode. Corrosion, of course, means rust.

If your knives are conversation pieces, mantelpiece queens kept under glass or curiosities to be collected, no doubt a little rust forming on them will send you into fits of histrionics. But on the other hand, if you’re a hard-working prepper like most of us reading articles on this website, a little rust is just part of a knife’s life.

Just as the edge has to be sharpened, the metal has to be scoured clean of rust. Nothing to get too excited over so long as you know what you’re doing.

There’s more than one way to skin a cat, and more than one way to remove rust. In this article, I’ll show you three ways to do just that.

What Am I Dealing With?

I’m not going to deeply dive into a thorough chemical or metallurgical analysis of rust. While no doubt very interesting, it is beyond the confines of this article, and learning exactly what makes rust, well, rust will not help you prevent it or deal with it.

At any rate, I’m not a metallurgist or a chemist so perhaps I should not opine on such things. That being said, everyone knows that the more you know about your enemy, the easier it is to defeat him. Rust is no different.

Those orange, reddish, or brown spots, streaks and patches that you see breakout on metals of all kinds are rust, in one form or another. Rust itself is just an iron oxide.

Iron oxide is formed by, as you might have guessed if you paid attention in high school science class, a reaction between iron and oxygen molecules in the presence of moisture. It won’t have to be wet, per se, the moisture in the air is enough to get rust forming.

Lots of metals will react in a similar way, undergoing chemical changes that will alter the surface composition. One famous, and arguably beautiful reaction in the same category, is patina, or verdigris which forms on copper and bronze when exposed to the elements.

This greenish, grimy appearance actually has a benefit in that forms a protective skin over the rest of the metal, holding any further reaction and corrosion.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for rust. For raw iron or steel rust is the opposite of protective; it is destructive!

If rust goes unchecked long enough any mass of iron, including your favorite pocket knife, can completely corrode away to nothing but a pile of dust and flakey detritus.

It also means that even a small instance of rust can go deep into the metal, instead of wide, leaving unsightly pitting and scarring on the surface.

The rust you are seeking to combat can take many forms. It may appear as the stereotypical brown, cracking and flaking deposits on metal surface, it may appear with crisp edges left behind by a bead of sweat or a drop of water that was missed during a wipe down.

It might even take the form of a thin veneer of dust, unimaginatively called “dust rust”, which is easy enough to wipe away.

No matter how it looks and no matter what form it takes you have my assurances you absolutely do not want it on your knife, and you shouldn’t leave it there!

Practical Causes of Rust

Enough with the amateur chemistry hour already: what do you do, or fail to do, that leads to rust forming on your treasured knife? Well, quite a few things as it turns out.

As I mentioned, rust begins to form on any metal containing iron so long as there is moisture present, even in the air. How fast rust begins to form, and how fast it propagates from there, is dependent on several factors.

One of the most important factors is the type of steel itself. Carbon steels rust far more readily and quickly than stainless steels. Stainless steels themselves are fairly rust resistant, but are not rust-proof as is commonly thought.

Modern steels with high nitrogen content are extraordinarily rust resistant. Obviously, if your knife is not steel, meaning made of ceramic, carbon fiber, plastic or something else, it cannot rust at all.

The finish on your knife also plays an important factor. Many knives are unfinished, bare steel, which means all other things being equal they are more vulnerable to rusting and require more care.

Knives with a surface coating will resist rust the greater or lesser degrees depending on the finish. Note that some surfaces on the knife, typically the bearing surfaces on a folding knife, and the edge itself will always be more vulnerable to rust because they will not be finished.

Aside from that, the two most important factors in determining how vulnerable your knife is to rusting is how often you care for it, and what kind of environment it’s exposed to.

The environment is usually the chief concern; areas with high humidity or, even worse, salt, water air will cause corrosion to form quickly. Obviously a dunk in water or leaving a knife wet, will greatly accelerate rust.

One factor that many knife owners don’t consider is the corrosive quality of sweat coming out of the human body. While this factor is highly variable, some folks sadly seem to have battery acid for sweat based on how quickly it corrodes metal that it gets on.

The only way to find out if your sweat is particularly corrosive is to pay attention to the metal surfaces you interact with regularly.

If you notice brown fingerprints left behind on the blade of your knife, or on your pistol if you carry one, chances are you have some pretty harsh sweat and should be aware of this. Your knife will need maintenance more often.

3 Ways to Remove Rust

Well, it happened. Despite our best efforts and our diligent care our pocket knife has a rusty spot on it.

Maybe it’s on the blade. Maybe it’s on the bolsters, or the guard. It might even be on the screw. No matter why, no matter how it got there, it’s time to take it off.

Before we go any further, this is the part where I have to warn you that if your knife is badly rusted through or showing serious scarring and pitting on steel surfaces, especially locking and action surfaces, you may want to take it into a knifesmith for assessment.

Remember! Rust corrodes metal away and may render your knife unsafe! If you lack the skills and experience to make the call on the metallurgical and mechanical soundness of your knife seek professional assistance!

But we’ll assume that the rust you have is of the common sort and furthermore not too bad. If you’ve not done this before, chances are you don’t have the things you need handy around the house.

Below you’ll find a supply list for tackling the job properly. Note that each of these three methods sort of Nest together one within the other, like those strange Russian nesting dolls.

You’ll start with the least aggressive method, move on to the next one if that fails and if the middle message fails and you move on to the big guns with the last step.

Items you need will be available at any well-stocked gun shop or knife specialty store. If you don’t have one of those around, check out your friendly neighborhood hardware store. You can likely get these items or close approximations there:

• Rust Remover: Look for a specialty rust removing solution, particularly one formulated for knives. Lacking this, you can use common Hoppe’s No. 9 bore cleaner for guns. It is common, available everywhere, and inexpensive.
• Oil: Use any quality knife oil of your choice.
• Copper Scrub Brush: You use a copper brush to get after deposits that just won’t come loose with a rag after a soaking. Be sure you get a copper brush, not a bronze brush, as the two look very similar. Bronze is far more likely to scratch finishes and leave swirl marks on your blade.
• Steel Wool: Get a selection of 000 and 0000 steel wools. We won’t turn to these right away, as all steel wools have a very high chance of marring your finish, and leaving marks in bare steel. Even so, sometimes nothing else will do on stubborn rust.
• Natural fiber rag: I specify natural fiber rag because synthetics can sometimes behave badly as a result of harsh chemicals, melting, and dissolving, and generally making a mess. Stick with natural fibers like wool, cotton, etc.
• Penny: Actual copper penny. This should not be too hard to find. If you want to be double sure the pain is actually copper, get one that’s dated 1981 or older. You’ll use this to scrape rust that is really bad and built up.
• Gloves: Nitrile gloves work fine for this purpose and still afford you a pretty good grip. Working with rust removers and other harsh chemicals you don’t want on your skin means you need to take steps to protect your health. A lot of that stuff will smoke your kidneys!
• Eye Protection: Forgive me for nagging you like your mama, but scraping, grinding, and brushing rust can raise dust particles that you definitely don’t want to get in your eye. Ask me how I know.
• Bench Vise with Padded Jaws: This is strictly optional, but it can make working on a stubborn rust deposit on your knife much easier. Sometimes you just need an extra pair of hands!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AR8ZxSR8KPE

Getting Started

Begin by assessing the location and extent of the rusting on your knife. An isolated spot or a couple of patches that you can see, and more importantly know how they got there, will not necessitate disassembly of the knife.

If your knife is rusty all over from a dunk in water or soaking in your sweat from riding in your pocket or on your belt all day, then a detail strip is probably in order, assuming your knife can be disassembled.

Disassembled or not, lay a shop mat or an old towel under the knife. Now’s the time to don your protective gloves, and eye protection. Getting some specks of rust or rust cleaning solution in your eye will absolutely burn like hell. Don’t let it happen to you!

Try the methods below in order. They ascend from least aggressive to most aggressive with correspondingly less or correspondingly more risk to your knife’s finish and steel.

If you get to the end of Method Number Three, and have no obvious change in the status of the rust, it’s time to take it to a specialist.

Method #1 – Soak and Wipe

This method is about as simple as it gets. All you’ll do here is attack the rust directly with little bit of rust remover. A short soak might be in order, too. This method will usually work on so-called “dust rust” and rust deposits that formed recently, and haven’t had a chance to go too deeply into the steel.

1. Wet cloth with rust remover.
2. Wipe rust spot repeatedly in direction of grain. Observe for removal of rust.
3. If the rest is stubborn, place a cloth soaked with the rust remover on the offending rust patches. Be sure to read the instructions on the rust remover, and don’t leave it soaking longer than prescribed.
4. After the soaking, wipe the rust again and see if it will come off. If Successful, go to Step 5. If unsuccessful, go to Method #2.
5. After all traces of rust are removed, wipe down knife with dry, clean cloth.
6. Lightly oil all metal surfaces on the knife with quality oil.

Method #2 – A Good Scrubbing

If the first method fails, you’ll need to bring out more aggressive tools, specifically the copper brush you purchased above. Note that, as with all aggressive cleaning functions, there is a chance of marring your blade’s finish or leaving swirl marks on the steel. Just be warned.

1. Wet rust-affected area with rust remover.
2. Wet copper brush with rust remover.
3. Using gentle pressure, scrub rust spot back and forth with brush in direction of grain of steel. Observe for removal of rust.
4. If no change in status of rust, begin using increasing pressure. Remain careful to follow the grain of the steel. Periodically refresh rust remover solution on affected spots. If Successful, go to Step 5. If unsuccessful, go to Method #3.
5. After all traces of rust are removed, wipe down knife with dry, clean cloth.
6. Lightly oil all metal surfaces on the knife with quality oil.

Method #3 – Scrape and Scrape some more!

This is the last stop for practical rust removal. Anything more aggressive than this, and you risk serious marring of your knife, or are using chemicals that are so aggressive they may potentially do more harm than good.

I heartily recommend that, if this method fails, you just take your knife to a shop for service, or send it back to the manufacturer. Hopefully, you don’t need a new knife!

1. Wet affected area with rust remover. Let soak for recommended time.
2. Using a penny, scrape rust deposits in direction of grain. A copper penny is hard enough to cut through rust, but will only leave marks that can themselves be removed. That’s why I recommend a copper penny for the task!
3. When heavy deposits of rust are removed, reapply rust remover, and switch to steel wool.
4. Using 0000 steel wool, buff rust in direction of metal grain. Do not swirl or go in circles! This will leave tough-to-remove cobweb-style scratches on your blade. Observe for rust removal.
5. If previous step fails, switch to 000 steel wool, and repeat Steps 3 and 4.
6. After all traces of rust are removed, wipe down knife with dry, clean cloth.
7. Lightly oil all metal surfaces on the knife with quality oil.

And that’s it! Hopefully your knife is now rust-free. But, in the aftermath of this rust removal operation don’t need to keep a close eye on any areas that were afflicted by rust previously. Pitting left behind by rust it significantly more vulnerable to rust in the future because it is likely to trap moisture. Be sure you stay on top of it and keep those areas oiled.

If the rust starts to get out of control even after your best removal efforts, and is turning into more of a headache to remove, consider having the knife professionally refinished with a protective coating.

If done properly, this will lock out moisture from reaching the steel itself, and keep rust from propagating again. At least, until the finish is breached…

Keep the Rust Off Next Time!

As with most things, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Any knife, no matter what steel it is made from, no matter what kind of finish is applied to it can potentially rust.

A regular preventive maintenance routine will keep this rust at bay and save you a lot of scrubbing, sweat and cursing. There are also a few tricks you can employ to make sure rust doesn’t creep up on your knife when you least expect it.

First, don’t keep your knife in any kind of soft case or pouch, especially ones made with fabric. These containers are notorious for trapping moisture directly against the steel of your knife and are a surefire way to get some rust started.

Leather is another major culprit. A leather holster is traditional, but aside from trapping moisture against the blade, chemicals can also leach out of the leather which are highly corrosive. That’s no bueno. Don’t store your knife in anything leather. Carry is fine, storage is not.

If you were actually carrying and using your knife, you know, the way you’re supposed to, it is almost impossible to keep it from getting wet one way or another. The answer is not “stop carrying the knife”; the answer is to keep it oiled.

A quick wipe down with an oily rag that takes about 15 seconds is all that is needed to prevent 99% of the rust you might encounter otherwise.

If a knife does get wet, from water or sweat, wipe it dry as quickly as you can and then oil it when you are able. And for the record you don’t need to go crazy with the oil either; one light coat is all that is required!

How often you’ll need to oil and maintain your knife is dependent on the type of steel, where you live and how often knife is handled or used.

If you’re constantly getting really sweaty when you carry your knife, that’s going to be hard on it. Check it more often.

If you live near the ocean where there is a lot of salt in the air, that is going to be hard on it. Check it more often. If you carry your knife through rain and storm, and use it all the time, the way it is meant to be, that is going to be hard on it. You should, you got it, check it more often. Most of this is common sense.

Lastly, if there is a knife you love and it works well for your purposes but you are having a lot of trouble keeping the rust off of it, you should consider an aftermarket non-metallic finish that will defeat rust utterly.

Cerakote is by far the most popular and one of the best. And also happens to be one of the most cost-effective. Its superior wear qualities are a bonus in this case.

Conclusion

Rusting has always been a major problem for pocket knives, but it need not be the end of the world. Armed with the methods provided in this article, you can get rust off with very little effort and energy to keep your treasured blade from crumbling away into nothing.

With just a little extra effort and preventive care, you can keep rust from forming in the first place so hopefully, in the future, you’ll have no need of the rust-removal methods presented in this article!

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The Basics of Prepping

More and more people are preparing today. Why? There are a lot of reasons and if you are visiting this website; you likely already have yours. The bottom line is – this world is not a safe place, and it is just flat out common sense to put some supplies back, just in case.

So, where do you begin? If you are just getting started in prepping you will have a little bit to do, and even though it might look like a lot on paper you will find if you approach the task of taking responsibility for your own well-being in a logical manner it will be possible to digest it in bite-sized chunks.

In this article we will provide you with a basic roadmap for getting started and prep it, both the procedures and the supplies that you will need to sustain you in an emergency or even during a prolonged disaster.

Procedures

Prepping is not just all about buying the latest and greatest outdoor or tactical gear, and then hoarding a lifetime supply of baked beans and TP. Prepping is about knowing what to do in a given situation, and to do that you need to know both what you are dealing with and how to correctly react to a threat. You can accomplish this by following the procedures in this section.

Faith

“Where do I begin?” is a very common question and I always have the same answer – God. In the worst of times as well as the best, God can provide needed guidance. Never underestimate the power of faith when the sky goes dark, the seas roar and the mountains begin to heave.

Assessment

Before you can begin to prepare, you need to know what you are facing. Some threats are universal, while others are endemic do certain places or regions, or only in certain situations or times. Learning how to properly assess your lifestyle and your environment for threats is the first procedure you must learn.

For instance, some of the most statistically likely emergencies to befall you are simple accidents. Car crashes, household mishaps and simple human error are likely to result in injuries of all kinds. You would be wise to prepare for these mundane events despite how small they seem before moving on to larger and more spectacular ones.

Speaking of spectacular ones, no matter where you live, you will have to be on the lookout for various natural disasters. These could be hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards, landslides, floods or even volcanic eruptions. nature’s fury is not to be underestimated.

Sadly, we must also be prepared for dealing with human threats. Bad guys could threaten you in the commission of a crime such as robbery or home invasion, or you might be facing a more persistent threat during times of civil unrest and political upheaval.

Dealing with human-centric threats is entirely different from dealing with natural ones, though you will still need too many of the same skills. Only once you know what is most likely end of most concern, and your life should you begin to plan accordingly. 

Planning

Planning is the process of analyzing what actions you will need to take, and what materials you should have on hand in order to survive a given emergency or disaster determined during the assessment phase previously.

Though many skills in prepping are universal, you will not approach every problem in the same way. Dealing with a tornado looks very different from dealing with a flood, and both look very different from dealing with a home invasion or active shooter.

Consider also what material goods you will need, both for survival in the short-term and the long-term. What are some of your favorite foods that can be stocked away? Where will you keep everything? How many flashlights do you need?

Blankets? How much propane do you have for the grill? No power, no refrigeration, no microwave, no lights, no running water – how will you cope? Taking a few steps now will make things a lot easier later.

The planning phase is when you need to start considering whether or not bugging out or bugging in will be the best solution we’re dealing with a particular problem. You also need to take into account your living arrangements and family situation; your response might look very different if something occurs, and you have to round up your scattered family members.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hzyfx-GJVU

Preparation

The preparation phase is where you will start putting skin in the game. It is in this phase that you will begin to accumulate to the needed items and provisions that you identified in the previous phase, along with building any skills that you might be lacking.

Everybody started somewhere, and the longest journey begins with a single step so don’t feel intimidated or less than just because it seems like you have a lot to do in this phase.

You will find the as you grow in experience and effort during your prepping travels that many items and skillsets are useful in multiple situations. This is because the basics of survival never change.

Later on, identifying a new problem or emergent threat that needs addressing means you will probably have less to do overall in order to prepare for it compared to your first initial forays.

Also keep in mind that the preparation phase includes getting everyone in your family or group on the same sheet of music. Even the most rudimentary introduction to an emergency plan and disaster procedures can help to keep everyone calm and alive.

Remember, you might not always be able to take care of everything you would like to do in order to get prepare; do what you can with what you have and you will still wind up far better off than the average person who doesn’t make any attempt at all to get prepared.

Detection

The detection phase is the one where you actually determine that a threat is both legitimate and imminent, though there are varying degrees of imminent depending on what you are dealing with.

A hurricane that is a week away is still an imminent threat, though one not quite as urgent as the pair of toughs who are bee-lining towards you across a parking lot preparing to hold you up and shake you down.

Detecting a threat relies on both your senses and external apparatuses; you might be able to see a threat coming or hear it, either a natural or man-made one. You might rely on a weather forecasting service to tell you if a tornado watch or warning is in effect, or maybe you have text alerts setup to warn you of anything from riots to avalanche conditions.

Generally speaking, the more advance notice you have of a potential threat, the better off you are, although the very nature of certain threats means you will have but minutes or even seconds to preempt them or attempt to mitigate the damage; these you are usually dealing with in the aftermath!

Execution

This is where the rubber meets the road in prepping. All of your planning and preparation has led up to this moment, all the practice and rehearsals have sharpened you for this. It is happening, this is not a drill!

Though your life and the lives of people you care about might be on the line, you will find that you will likely be staying calm while everyone around you is busy losing their head; that is what we strive to do!

You might not have thought that much of it at the time, but as it turns out practice, proper previous planning and cultivating the correct mindset will do much to keep you effectively during any crisis, and that will keep you alive.

Thanks to your skills and material preparation, and perhaps a little bit of luck, you will live to see another day. Just to make sure you are prepared to survive in the aftermath in case of a long-term situation!

Other Prepping Concepts

Some common tenets to prepping are ideas or concepts that don’t fit cleanly into the simple procedures outlined above. You should familiarize yourself with these below.

Group Up

The popular conception in media that involves one supremely skilled individual taking on the world, tackling any crisis, all on their own with no help is largely just a work of fiction. Though periodically throughout history, there have been some singular individuals who, against all odds, survived seemingly impossible situations all on their own, but they are a vanishingly rare minority.

People typically survive in groups, relying on mutual support and a broad variety of skills in order to accomplish work, provide security and quite literally put more heads together when needed.

It is always in your best interest as a survivor to establish a go-to group of people who you are going to survive with when the chips are down. For many of us, this will be our family members, the good, the bad, and the annoying uncles.

Having even untrained people to watch your back can be valuable, and if you can become the change you want to see in your family they might follow your lead and get serious about getting prepared. The family that trains together survives together!

For those who lack a family or just like family members who are willing to contribute in any meaningful way, a mutual assistance group, or MAG, is an ideal solution. There are as many varieties and variations in local and regional MAGs as there are stars in the sky.

Some of them work together as a sort of built-in family for each other, members sometimes lacking families of their own. Others function as sort of a loose collective or coalition of members, with each member knowing they can call on or draw upon the resources of another member when they are in need.

If you cannot find or cannot join a MAG in your area, you might start your own, and try to draw to your banner people who are of like mind. MAGs often form the core of readiness for a given community or a given area, a sort of prepping “militia”, but one bent towards survival instead of combat.

Bug Out or Bug-In

The most quintessential choice facing many preppers when disaster looms near is whether or not they will attempt to run from it, to get away from it so that they will not be hurt by it. This is known as bugging out.

Conversely, other preppers would prefer to shelter-in-place if at all possible, taking advantage of their home bass stocked with all of its many provisions and tools, and further augmenting their chances of survival with a thorough knowledge of the surrounding terrain, and hopefully some neighbors or friends they can call on when they need help.

I know everyone has their preference, both are entirely valid choices, know some situations lend themselves better to one response over the other. Learning when to make the call on whether or not you should bug-out, as well as being able to handle all of the various factors involved in the bug out, is essential.

You’ll need to know where you are going, how to get there, what you will need to get there, and what you will do in case plans A and B fail.

Bugging in is always somewhat easier, but now the onus will be on you to know when to give up a deteriorating situation. If you wait too long, you might be overtaken by events when you try to evacuate. If you leave too early, you could jump the gun leaving behind a major advantage in the form of your home survival stash.

Both of these concepts are fundamental to prepping, and you will find no shortage of information on both of these topics on this very website. 

Homesteading for Sustainability

Sort of the ultimate extension of the bug-in lifestyle, homesteading is an approach that sees you produce everything or nearly everything you and your family might require on your own property. This usually takes the form of some kind of working farm, or at least some acreage but you can raise livestock and grow some food on.

Though this is seen as sort of an ultimate “goal” in prepping today, and a crown jewel of preparation and self-sufficiency, not too many decades ago this was just called life for most people! The skills and procedures needed for this type of lifestyle are far from lost to history, however, and dedicated interest groups and communities have sprung up around the concept.

For most of us, this is something we will have to work up to gradually, as jumping in all at once and making such a drastic change is likely impossible, both culturally and financially.

Nonetheless, it is still probably somewhat easier than you might be thinking, and one of the best possible things you can do to insulate yourself from the risk inherent to dependency upon civilization to provide your survival necessities. 

Disasters You Should Prepare For

You will regularly read about preparation advice urging you to get ready for doomsday, the “big one” or the end-of-the-world, and though some consideration for such events is worthwhile, if you focus only on the truly catastrophic you will miss the more mundane but far more common threats that can still kill you and your loved ones very dead.

A holistic approach to preparation involves preparing for common, everyday accidents as well as disasters of all kinds, those caused by nature and those caused by mankind. Only by readying yourself for a full spectrum of potential mishaps and emergencies can you claim to have an all-around level of readiness.

Remember, when it comes to survival it is far better to be a jack-of-all-trades, an expert generalist if you prefer, than a master survivor ready for only one or two highly specific situations.

Below is a list of common everyday emergencies and various kinds of disasters that are far more likely to ruin your life and your weekend than any globe-spanning catastrophe. If you are going to start assessing your own risk profile, start with these and plan accordingly! 

Car Crash

Car crashes happen every day and all over America on the streets and highways, and sadly result in tens of thousands of deaths and hundreds of thousands of injuries annually.

An automobile accident is one of those things they can happen even if you do everything right and make no mistakes; a careless driver, a drunk, mechanical failure or just a sequence of seemingly harmless events that dominoes into a major pile-up. The result is the same burning rubber, mangled metal and smashed bodies.

You should be prepared to deal with the results of a car crash by keeping a vehicular fire extinguisher installed in the cabin, learning extrication techniques and carrying a comprehensive first aid kit along with the skills to use it. Learning defensive and performance driving techniques can help you avoid accidents, or if you can’t, lessen the severity.

House Fire

House fires are one of the most common, personal and most devastating emergencies that can befall us. Each and every, year hundreds upon hundreds of thousands of structures will be rendered uninhabitable, or even burn down completely along with everything inside.

House fires are an an all-or-nothing affair; if you act quickly, and have a little luck on your side along with a capable fire extinguisher you might be able to put it out or control it until the fire department arrives. But once a house fire has grown truly out of control, all you can hope to do is escape the flames.

Many people die in house fires from smoke inhalation, while others burn to death horribly. Regardless, even if you escape with your lives everything you own that was inside your home will be gone. A family fire evacuation plan, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, escape ladders and plenty of fire extinguishers are your best bets for combating them. 

Power Tool / Gun Accident

You know the old saying, accidents happen. They sure do, and anytime you are using a power tool or a firearm the potential for accident exists, either through inattention, simple human error or mechanical failure.

Any of them can produce devastating, grisly laceration or penetration injuries that require immediate intervention if you want to keep your digits and limbs, to say nothing of your life.

You can start to insulate yourself against such an unhappy outcome by getting training in their use, religiously following proper operation and safety protocols, and keeping a first aid kit with trauma supplies handy, along with the skills to use them on yourself or someone else.

Fall

A slip, trip or fall is not always the stuff of comedy. Even a fall from a standing position onto a comparatively level surface can result in gruesome fractures, concussions and internal injuries. A truly out-of-control fall- downstairs, off a ladder or after a skid on slippery tile- can be worse yet.

Household falls are overwhelmingly one of the most common accidents that occur throughout the country and around the world, and though the arrogant might roll their eyes at such an eventuality, knowing how to intervene and render aid after somebody takes a tumble might make the difference. You can prevent yourself from this embarrassing and painful fate by taking care to remediate conditions that will lead to falls and always exercising caution when on a stool or step ladder.

Tornado

Tornadoes are ferociously powerful wind events that can occur anywhere on Earth, but they’re overwhelmingly the most common in North America, especially parts of the Great Plains and Southwest known as “Tornado Alley”.

Tornadoes are capable of spawning quickly and producing the fastest sustained winds of any storm on earth, more than capable of toppling buildings and even hurling cars and trains through the air.

Smaller objects and debris will be turned into lethal projectiles, flaying alive anybody caught outside. There is not much you can do against tornadoes except take shelter in an appropriate location, but you can give yourself a leg up if you have a tornado readiness kit and bug-out bag packed just in case. 

Hurricane

Hurricanes are monster storms, but compared to tornadoes, these affect entire states and regions with powerful winds, inundating storm surge and biblical flooding produced by torrential rainfall.

Hurricanes are at their most threatening for people who live on or near coastal areas, but every once in a while they can remain ferociously powerful well inland. Perhaps the only good thing about them is that our modern weather surveillance technology lets us see these slow moving monsters coming with days or weeks worth of advanced notice.

Your best bet is simply to get out of the way, but if you can’t or won’t your survival skills will be put to the test as you’ll be living without power, water and essential services in the middle of a drowned and broken wasteland. You must have plenty of supplies and a contingency plan for losing your home if you hope to survive a hurricane. 

Rioting

The stresses of trying to live alongside each other and get along in a society that is increasingly divided along political and ideological lines is showing as an increase in outbreaks of violent rioting. This is not just a symptom of our modern era, as large masses of people have been gathering for destructive purposes and clashing with their counterparts since time immemorial.

There’s not much you can do to stop a riot; you can only hope to avoid and survive one. Learning riot indicators, maintaining awareness to ensure early detection and keeping a go-bag with you at all times to give you the tools you need to survive in case you have to run for your life will be essential for surviving riots that occur in suburban and urban areas. 

Terror Attack

Terrorists, motivated by ideological, religious or political purposes have and will continue to attack the most innocent among us wherever they can find a juicy, soft target. Terror attacks often occur swiftly with virtually no warning, and are typically carried out via explosives, massed gunfire or vehicular ramming.

The shock and carnage are immediate and stunning, exactly what the terrorists want. Terror attacks can occur anywhere that a suitable target presents itself for the people hell-bent on carrying it out.

You can help keep yourself and your loved ones safe from terror attacks by paying attention to terror alerts and regional threat reports, avoiding places where terror attacks are on the rise or likely, staying sharp and on the lookout for pre-attack indicators and suspicious activity, carrying a compact trauma kit, and learning self-defense skills, both armed and unarmed. You don’t have to save the day, but you might have to fight to keep yourself and your loved ones alive. 

Home Invasion

Possibly the most terrifying thing that can befall any of us is a brazen attack aimed at our very home. What is supposed to be our sanctuary might be turned into a deadly battleground when one or more attackers kick in the door and start rampaging through the house, every effort bent on capturing you and your family before meaningful resistance can be mounted.

Protecting your “castle” against home invasions is a matter of hardening your home externally and internally against forced entry and learning how to defend yourself, with a firearm if at all possible. As always when combat is expected, learning first aid skills for repairing holes in the aftermath is going to be essential.

Supplies

When it comes to survival having the right supplies definitely makes the difference. One thing to keep in mind when purchasing and storing supplies is whether or not you are planning on bugging out or bugging in, generally.

If you are bugging out, weight and space will both be at a premium and you should buy accordingly; you cannot take it all with you!

On the other hand if you are bugging in you can take advantage of your home’s ample storage space to pack in way more supplies than you could reasonably expect to ever haul on your back or even in your vehicle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4GYjhwfvwU

Bug-Out Bag, INCH Bag, Go-Bag

Every prepper’s very favorite piece of survival equipment is the BOB, short for “bug-out bag”, followed closely by the INCH bag and go-bag. Every one of these oddly-named pieces of survival luggage is your combination escape pod, survival shelter and mobile supply room that you will take with you when it is time to bug-out, truly head for the hills or to accompany you on your day today travels, respectively.

Each of these bags will be equipped with varying levels of all of your survival necessities. The bug-out bag is your “generic”, all-purpose backpack that is loaded with everything you need to survive while transiting to your fallback location in case you have to evacuate.

The INCH bag, which stands for “I’m never coming home”, is exactly what you might suspect; a bigger, beefier BOB with emphasis on long-term sustainment systems that can help you set up a new home, however primitive and temporary, wherever you might be.

Lastly, the go-bag can be thought of as your “just in case” kit that you take with you whenever you are leaving your home.

This will typically ride with you in your vehicle or even be kept at your workplace if you have personal storage, and contains items predominately designed to deal with the most likely threats that you could face, and might even have items that will facilitate you getting home on foot should you become stranded in disaster strike while you are away.

A considerable amount of ink and effort has been spent to define what each of these bags means in concept, and for you as an individual no matter what your situation might be.

With just a little investment and study I am confident this will quickly become your go-to piece of survival equipment also. We have plenty of articles to get you started right here on this site.

Food

Next up is food. We all need food to survive, and going just a short time without it decreases our ability to perform needed tasks and reduces our ability to think. Depending upon the situation it is very likely that being able to think and make critical decisions will be important.

Having the ability to perform work such as spreading tarps, stringing rope, gathering wood, transport water, etc. will be decreased if you do not have the food to fuel you. Make sense?

What food? Well, there is a saying, “Store what you eat and eat what you store.” This basically is telling you to buy extra of those foods that you find in your pantry and cupboards. Obviously those foods with an extended shelf life are preferable.

Examples of these are canned soups, vegetables and fruit, rice, beans, pasta and sauce, flour, and any other foods that will keep for several months. On weekly trips to the grocery store buy a few extras for your preparedness stockpile.

Keep in mind that food is often heavy and bulky, and if you are planning on bugging out, you will not be able to haul an entire store room’s worth of food with you on your excursion unless you are making use of a trailer, or pack animals!

No matter what your survival strategy is, always focus on high “bang for the buck” foods that have long shelf lives, and provide ample calories.

Water

Water is the next component for consideration to include your preparedness supplies. At a minimum, put back a few cases of bottled water. On a budget? Refill soft drinks bottles (after cleaning of course) with water, record a date on them, and store water very inexpensively. Rotate every 6-12 months.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26TQ40sSaXk

A water filter/purifier is a great idea if you can afford one. I am not talking about one which you buy at Wal-Mart – though they are better than nothing. Should you find yourself with no clean running water and the stored water has already been consumed – then puddles, ponds and lake water will look mighty refreshing.

Water from those sources can be contaminated and be very hazardous to consume. A good water filter such as the Big Berkey will filter the water for safe drinking.

Of course boiling will kill cysts and bacteria in the water – but the floating “debris” still won’t go down too good. A coffee filter (or twelve!) will filter out many larger contaminants.

Light

No power? No light. There is really no getting around it unless you’re prepared ahead of time with some flashlights, headlamps, lanterns, and batteries/fuel. Today’s lighting technology allows for brighter lights for longer periods of time.

A trip to your local Wal-Mart along with $20+ can supply you with a couple of good flashlights and a few extra batteries. Stock up on as many batteries as you can afford and make sure you buy LED flashlights.

A good flashlight is going to be your go-to lighting tool for most tasks since it is adapatable and portable enough to go with you literally anywhere. Modern LED flashlights are super-rugged, have excellent runtime’s compared to old incandescent lights, and often feature many useful options like multi-mode functions for brightness and even various colors for different tasks.

You might even consider getting one that is rechargeable so you can ditch batteries entirely; with an accompanying solar charger you can refuel your flashlight no matter where you go!

While shopping – grab a few candles. They are cheap and provide comfort when sitting in the dark. Kerosene lanterns can also work well. Remember – they are fire hazards so be cautious!

First-Aid

Depending upon the nature of the “event” you may find yourself going through rubble, being exposed to jabs from sharp sticks and branches, as well as tripping over whatever may be laying around. Years ago I saw the aftermath of Hurricane Hugo.

The cleanup was hazardous as trees, electrical wires, and all kinds of other objects were everywhere. Point being that cuts and bruises were not uncommon. Have a good first aid kit stored away.

Beyond simple injuries, you should endeavor to be prepared for serious trauma; penetrating injuries, lacerations, major fractures and burns. This will require more specialized gear, things like tourniquets, splints, hemostatic gauze and more. More importantly it will require the skills and training to make use of it, so plan on getting the skills you need from a vetted teacher.

If you regularly take prescriptions and/or require special medical needs consider what you can do now so those needs can be met after the “event”. Talk to your physician and simply explain your intent; it is not out of the question for a doctor to write prescriptions for “just in case” antibiotics and even painkillers in certain circumstances.

Shelter

Without shelter you will be exposed to the elements. Depending upon your geographic location and the season the elements could very well be the most threatening aspect of your situation. At the very least stock up on a few tarps, some nylon rope, and an inexpensive tent. With those three basic components along with a few tools a campsite can be constructed to shelter you from the rain, the sun, and the wind.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_ve7ExM29Y

Shelter is not just for survival outside your home; it might be needed to supplement the protection provided by your home.

During times of power outage or just during emergencies in cold weather you might be best served to stay in your home and create a smaller space inside an existing room to make use of and preserve the most heat. This “microclimate” strategy can be easily accomplished with plastic sheeting, tape and extra blankets.

Don’t underestimate the risk of exposure! Lack of shelter in adverse conditions is the most common killer in a disaster or wilderness setting, so prioritize accordingly!

Communications

Maintaining or establishing communications is essential for staying abreast of the situation and staying safe during times of crisis.

Unfortunately, most modern methods of communication like cell phones and land lines are highly intricate systems that are vulnerable to disruption along multiple vectors, so you’ll need to be prepared for this eventuality.

Basic communication would consist of an AM/FM disaster radio. This will allow you to receive situation-specific updates from government run stations. Getting news about what is going on is critical, as information pertaining to evacuations, supply drops, or even the weather would be useful.

Another good option is to invest in some simple handheld radios that can allow you to communicate with your family or group members who are a short distance away. Portable radios come in hand-held and vehicle mounted varieties, and you can even move all the way up into ham radio for the ultimate in self-contained communications capability.

One good, generally disaster-proof option is a satellite phone. Though high-tech by most people’s standards, the good news is that the satellites responsible for the function of these comm. Networks are in orbit, completely safe from all terrestrial disasters. This means they will likely continue to work in place of cell phones after a particularly bad event. A

This is certainly by no means an end all list of supplies to stock up on. There is still sanitation, defense, gardening, heat, etc. But it is a start and will definitely help you survive the majority of events that might occur.

Conclusion

Getting serious about prepping is usually a lifestyle change, and though that sounds like an intimidating undertaking it does not have to be difficult or even that laborious. With the right road map, a logical approach and a little bit of effort you can quickly get prepared for many of life’s most common curve balls.

No matter how safe we try to make things is always a matter of when, not if, so start getting ready and start preparing without delay!

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Minnesota State Knife Laws

Minnesota is a state with odd, and seemingly contradictory knife laws. While the Minnesota statutes are quite lengthy, and the intricacy of the wording often gives the impression that a law is more restrictive than it actually is, the state is surprisingly permissive when it comes to the type and style of knives that you may carry.

The only type of knife that is expressly forbidden is the switchblade, or automatic. You may not possess, carry or manufacture one in the state of Minnesota.

Other than that, you may own and carry any kind and length of knife you desire, though the state is marred by a complete lack of statewide preemption and that could potentially get you into trouble; quite a few cities and towns throughout Minnesota have knife laws that are significantly more restrictive than the statewide standard.

We will tell you everything you need to know about the state laws in the rest of the article below.

What You Need to Know

• What Kind of Knives Can I Own?: Any kind of knife except an automatic “switchblade”.
• Can I Carry a Knife Concealed Without a Permit?: Yes, any legal knife.
• Can I Carry a Knife Concealed With a Permit?: Yes, any legal knife.
• Can I Carry a Knife Openly?: Yes, with caution. See below.

General Ownership

Though knives are not mentioned by name in Minnesota’s definition of dangerous weapons, a dangerous weapon is defined as any device designed as a weapon capable of producing death or great bodily harm, or any other device that, according to the manner in which it is used or intended to be used, is likely to produce death or great bodily harm.

It does not take a genius to figure out that any knife of any kind can potentially produce great bodily harm or death when employed against another human being.

Do take care that, when choosing a knife, ones with a more aggressive appearance or combative design pedigree are more likely to be adjudged dangerous weapons.

Switchblades are not permitted to be possessed or carried in the state of Minnesota, but the statutes accomplish this by a fairly circuitous route.

Minnesota declares the mishandling of any dangerous weapon as a misdemeanor, with mishandling meaning using it or wielding it in a way as to endanger the safety of another person.

In the same section they declare manufacturing, transferring, or possessing any switchblade knife that opens automatically as an equivalent crime.

This brings us to an important consideration regarding switchblades: Minnesota has failed to define a switchblade with any precise language, and due to the way they have worded several state statutes concerning switchblades, it is likely that assisted-opening knives might be lumped in under that definition.

Unfortunately, Minnesota has not revised statutes to include the now ubiquitous “bias toward closure” language that protects these common and popular knives from switchblade statutes in various states. Proceed at your own peril if you choose to carry an assisted opening knife in Minnesota.

Be advised that Minnesota’s lack of statewide preemption means that certain cities and counties will have regulations on knives that are far stricter than the state standard.

Concealed Carry, No Permit

You may carry any legal knife concealed on or about your person without a permit in Minnesota, though you should be warned that many localities have their own laws concerning the concealment of weapons.

Concealed Carry, With Permit

Minnesota makes no distinction between carrying any legal knife with a permit as opposed to without. Additionally, having a permit issued by the state of Minnesota or recognized by the state of Minnesota does not grant you any additional privileges with regards to the carry of knives.

Open Carry

Open carry of knives is legal, but it is worth mentioning that Minnesota still has on the books one of these strangest laws of its kind concerning knives and other weapons.

Any person who is armed with a dirk, dagger, sword, pistol, or other dangerous weapon without “reasonable cause” to fear an assault on their person may, upon complaint of another, be required to pay a surety bond to the complainant for a term not exceeding six months.

You can think of a surety bond as a sort of monetary guarantee that you won’t run amok or cause trouble with the weapon. Good grief! Let that be reason enough to keep your weapons concealed in Minnesota!

Prohibited Places

Any government buildings in the capitol, any courtroom or court facility and any school, school grounds, recreational facility or sports field. The state statutes go on at some length as to what precisely is and is not allowable regarding carry of weapons in these places, and it is worth a read in case you are someone who is exempted.

Assessment

Minnesota is a knife permissive state overall, but the extreme length and wordiness of the state statutes does not inspire much in the way of certainty. Switchblades are not permitted, and thanks to a weakly worded statute, assisted-opening knives might be a perilous choice.

Though you can carry any other kind of knife concealed safely, make sure you check local laws before proceeding; Minnesota completely lacks any statewide preemption concerning knives.

Important Minnesota State Statutes

Section 609.02 — DEFINITIONS.

…

Subd. 6. Dangerous weapon. “Dangerous weapon” means any firearm, whether loaded or unloaded, or any device designed as a weapon and capable of producing death or great bodily harm, any combustible or flammable liquid or other device or instrumentality that, in the manner it is used or intended to be used, is calculated or likely to produce death or great bodily harm, or any fire that is used to produce death or great bodily harm.

Subd. 7. Bodily harm. “Bodily harm” means physical pain or injury, illness, or any impairment of physical condition.

Subd. 7a. Substantial bodily harm. “Substantial bodily harm” means bodily injury which involves a temporary but substantial disfigurement, or which causes a temporary but substantial loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ, or which causes a fracture of any bodily member.

Subd. 8. Great bodily harm. “Great bodily harm” means bodily injury which creates a high probability of death, or which causes serious permanent disfigurement, or which causes a permanent or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ or other serious bodily harm.

…

Section 609.66 — DANGEROUS WEAPONS

Subdivision 1. Misdemeanor and gross misdemeanor crimes. (a) Whoever does any of the following is guilty of a crime and may be sentenced as provided in paragraph (b):

(1) recklessly handles or uses a gun or other dangerous weapon or explosive so as to endanger the safety of another; or

(2) intentionally points a gun of any kind, capable of injuring or killing a human being and whether loaded or unloaded, at or toward another; or

(3) manufactures or sells for any unlawful purpose any weapon known as a slungshot or sand club; or

(4) manufactures, transfers, or possesses metal knuckles or a switch blade knife opening automatically; or

(5) possesses any other dangerous article or substance for the purpose of being used unlawfully as a weapon against another; or

Section 625.16 —PRESERVATION OF PUBLIC PEACE – CARRYING DANGEROUS WEAPONS

“Whoever shall go armed with a dirk, dagger, sword, pistol, or other offensive and dangerous weapon, without reasonable cause to fear an assault or other injury or violence to person, family, or property, may, on complaint of any other person having reasonable cause to fear an injury or breach of the peace, be required to find sureties for keeping the peace, for a term not exceeding six months, with the right of appealing as before provided.”

609.66 DANGEROUS WEAPONS

…

Subd. 1d. Possession on school property; penalty.

(a) Except as provided under paragraphs (d) and (f), whoever possesses, stores, or keeps a dangerous weapon while knowingly on school property is guilty of a felony and may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than five years or to payment of a fine of not more than $ 10,000, or both.

…

(e) As used in this subdivision:

…

(2) “dangerous weapon” has the meaning given it in section 609.02, subdivision 6;

…

(4) “school property” means:

(i) a public or private elementary, middle, or secondary school building and its improved grounds, whether leased or owned by the school;

(ii) a child care center licensed under chapter 245A during the period children are present and participating in a child care program;

(iii) the area within a school bus when that bus is being used by a school to transport one or more elementary, middle, or secondary school students to and from school-related activities, including curricular, cocurricular, noncurricular, extracurricular, and supplementary activities; and

(iv) that portion of a building or facility under the temporary, exclusive control of a public or private school, a school district, or an association of such entities where conspicuous signs are prominently posted at each entrance that give actual notice to persons of the school-related use.

(f) This subdivision does not apply to:

(1) active licensed peace officers;

(2) military personnel or students participating in military training, who are on-duty, performing official duties;

(3) persons authorized to carry a pistol under section 624.714 while in a motor vehicle or outside of a motor vehicle to directly place a firearm in, or retrieve it from, the trunk or rear area of the vehicle;

(4) persons who keep or store in a motor vehicle pistols in accordance with section 624.714 or 624.715 or other firearms in accordance with section 97B.045;

(5) firearm safety or marksmanship courses or activities conducted on school property;

…

(7) a gun or knife show held on school property;

(8) possession of dangerous weapons, BB guns, or replica firearms with written permission of the principal or other person having general control and supervision of the school or the director of a child care center; or (…)

…

Subd. 1g. Felony; possession in courthouse or certain state buildings.

(a) A person who commits either of the following acts is guilty of a felony and may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than five years or to payment of a fine of not more than $ 10,000, or both:

(1) possesses a dangerous weapon, ammunition, or explosives within any courthouse complex; or

(2) possesses a dangerous weapon, ammunition, or explosives in any state building within the Capitol Area described in chapter 15B, other than the National Guard Armory.

…

(4) persons who possess dangerous weapons in a courthouse complex with the express consent of the county sheriff or who possess dangerous weapons in a state building with the express consent of the commissioner of public safety.

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Ohio State Knife Laws

Ohio is a state with knife laws in an absolutely awful state of repair. Ohio is fairly unique among states in that most types of knives are legal for ownership and you may open carry any knife that is otherwise lawful based on the pertinent features.

But by happenstance, lack of attention or deliberate malevolence, the state statutes regarding concealed carry leave citizens nowhere to go; all concealed carry of knives in Ohio is potentially illegal thanks to some extremely choppy wording of statutes and their interactions between each other.

This is obviously perilous for a citizen who just wants to carry a simple knife without worrying about where they are going or whether or not they could run afoul of the law.

With so much of the decision for the initial charge left in the hands of a police officer, it is far from inconceivable that a rookie cop or just one with a chip on his shoulder might wind up hauling you into jail over your ordinary knife because they could not correctly interpret the law.

It is a sad state of affairs, but we will do our best to help you make sense of it below.

What You Need to Know

• What Kind of Knives Can I Own?: Any kind of knife except a ballistic knife.
• Can I Carry a Knife Concealed Without a Permit?: Concealed carry of any type of knife is legally perilous in Ohio.
• Can I Carry a Knife Concealed With a Permit?: Concealed carry of any type of knife is legally perilous in Ohio.
• Can I Carry a Knife Openly?: Yes, any legal type of knife.

General Ownership

The only categories of knives that are expressly forbidden from ownership in the state of Ohio are ballistic knives. Ohio defines a ballistic knife as any knife with a detachable blade that is propelled by a spring operated mechanism.

For clarity, these are knives that launch their blades as projectiles. If you wanted to be cute or funny, you might obtain a ballistic knife that propels its blade via compressed air or some other gas, or even potentially chemical propellant instead of a spring, though I would bet any amount of money it would still be an expressly illegal weapon in the state so don’t try your luck.

Sadly, Ohio does not have anything in the way of preemption laws, so you will very likely have to contend with even more stringent regulations in various locales. Several cities with known restrictive knife laws are Clanton, Cleveland, and Columbus, though others abound.

Make sure you thoroughly investigate any relevant local laws when traveling throughout the state with your knife, even when carrying openly or just in basic possession. Ignorance of the law is never an excuse!

Though Ohio seems amenable to the ownership of most kinds of knives, it is the carrying of knives concealed that presents the biggest legal furball.

Concealed Carry, No Permit

Regarding the concealed carry of knives, it is always imperative that a citizen determine exactly what kinds of knives are or are not okay to carry concealed. As far as Ohio regulations are concerned, we only need worry about the concealment of what they call deadly weapons.

Ohio defines a deadly weapon as any instrument, device or thing capable of inflicting death and designed or adapted for explicit used as a weapon, or anything possessed, carried or used as a weapon.

Chances are you are already tracking on what the problem is. Almost any kind of knife except perhaps something intentionally dull like a butter knife is capable of being used as a weapon, and all knives are more than capable of inflicting great bodily harm or death.

The addition of the phrase “carried, or used” in the statutes (which you can reference below) is actually calamitous for citizens; its inclusion means that a person carrying a knife must affirmatively prove beyond doubt in the eyes of the law that they were not carrying the knife as a weapon.

Anyone with even a rudimentary understanding of the law and legal procedure knows how perilous such a thing is.

Concealed Carry, With Permit

To compound matters, the statutes when read in their entirety leave no doubt that the concealed carry of any deadly weapon except a handgun is not allowed.

What’s more, they double-down on this fact by stating that a concealed handgun permit only gives one remit to carry a handgun, not a knife, and no other deadly weapon.

It is highly regrettable, but there is no other way to square it: As written, it is likely that concealed carry of virtually any knife except, perhaps, the smallest and most useless, could potentially get you charged with concealed carry of a deadly weapon.

Obtaining a concealed handgun license or possessing a concealed weapons permit that Ohio recognizes does not grant you any additional permissions, or provide any additional protection.

The only place that you may truly carry concealed without concern is your home, your place of business, or on any real property that you own.

Do not delude yourself into thinking that you will not reach a negative outcome because you are a “good guy” and you don’t break the law, and your knife isn’t a weapon and it isn’t that scary and, really, like everyone knows what the law means, and that’s not what it’s for blah, blah, blah.

The law says what it says, and there have been enough negative outcomes in court already concerning knives in the hands of citizens who otherwise did nothing wrong that you do not want to run that risk.

Open Carry

It is not much consolation compared to the absolute mess that Ohio’s concealed weapon laws are, but you may open carry any otherwise legal knife in the state of Ohio, though it is definitely your best interest to brush up on what is considered concealed versus unconcealed.

Prohibited Places

Though the statutes are incredibly long and detailed, I can save you some trouble and a little bit of reading by telling you definitively that you cannot carry any knife inside a school building, onto the grounds of a school, or into any courthouse.

Assessment

Ohio is a state of extremely stark contrast when it comes to the ownership of knives. On one hand, you may legally own nearly any kind of knife, save ballistic knives. You may open carry any legal knife.

But when it comes to concealed carry, you are placing your future, quite literally, on the line as Ohio’s poorly written statutes make potentially any kind of knife illegal due to the phrasing used to classify a deadly weapon. You must use the utmost caution if you plan to carry concealed absolutely any kind of knife in Ohio.

Important Ohio State Statutes

2923.11 Weapons control definitions.

(A) “Deadly weapon” means any instrument, device, or thing capable of inflicting death, and designed or specially adapted for use as a weapon, or possessed, carried, or used as a weapon.

…

(J) “Ballistic knife” means a knife with a detachable blade that is propelled by a spring-operated mechanism.

…

(N)

(1) “Concealed handgun license” or “license to carry a concealed handgun” means, subject to division (N)(2) of this section, a license or temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun issued under section 2923.125 or 2923.1213 of the Revised Code or a license to carry a concealed handgun issued by another state with which the attorney general has entered into a reciprocity agreement under section 109.69 of the Revised Code.

…

2923.12 Carrying concealed weapons.

(A) No person shall knowingly carry or have, concealed on the person’s person or concealed ready at hand, any of the following:

(1) A deadly weapon other than a handgun;

(2) A handgun other than a dangerous ordnance;

(3) A dangerous ordnance.

…

(C)

(1) This section does not apply to any of the following:

(…)

(2) Division (A)(2) of this section does not apply to any person who, at the time of the alleged carrying or possession of a handgun, either is carrying a valid concealed handgun license or is an active duty member of the armed forces of the United States and is carrying a valid military identification card and documentation of successful completion of firearms training that meets or exceeds the training requirements described in division (G)(1) of section 2923.125 of the Revised Code, unless the person knowingly is in a place described in division (B) of section 2923.126 of the Revised Code.

(D) It is an affirmative defense to a charge under division (A)(1) of this section of carrying or having control of a weapon other than a handgun and other than a dangerous ordnance that the actor was not otherwise prohibited by law from having the weapon and that any of the following applies:

(1) The weapon was carried or kept ready at hand by the actor for defensive purposes while the actor was engaged in or was going to or from the actor’s lawful business or occupation, which business or occupation was of a character or was necessarily carried on in a manner or at a time or place as to render the actor particularly susceptible to criminal attack, such as would justify a prudent person in going armed.

(2) The weapon was carried or kept ready at hand by the actor for defensive purposes while the actor was engaged in a lawful activity and had reasonable cause to fear a criminal attack upon the actor, a member of the actor’s family, or the actor’s home, such as would justify a prudent person in going armed.

(3) The weapon was carried or kept ready at hand by the actor for any lawful purpose and while in the actor’s own home.

(E) No person who is charged with a violation of this section shall be required to obtain a concealed handgun license as a condition for the dismissal of the charge.

…

2923.20 Unlawful transaction in weapons.

(A) No person shall do any of the following:

(1) Recklessly sell, lend, give, or furnish any firearm to any person prohibited by section 2923.13 or 2923.15 of the Revised Code from acquiring or using any firearm, or recklessly sell, lend, give, or furnish any dangerous ordnance to any person prohibited by section 2923.13, 2923.15, or 2923.17 of the Revised Code from acquiring or using any dangerous ordnance;

(2) Possess any firearm or dangerous ordnance with purpose to dispose of it in violation of division (A) of this section;

(3) Except as otherwise provided in division (B) of this section, knowingly solicit, persuade, encourage, or entice a federally licensed firearms dealer or private seller to transfer a firearm or ammunition to any person in a manner prohibited by state or federal law;

(4) Except as otherwise provided in division (B) of this section, with an intent to deceive, knowingly provide materially false information to a federally licensed firearms dealer or private seller;

(5) Except as otherwise provided in division (B) of this section, knowingly procure, solicit, persuade, encourage, or entice a person to act in violation of division (A)(3) or (4) of this section;

(6) Manufacture, possess for sale, sell, or furnish to any person other than a law enforcement agency for authorized use in police work, any brass knuckles, cestus, billy, blackjack, sandbag, switchblade knife, springblade knife, gravity knife, or similar weapon;

…

2923.122 Illegal conveyance or possession of deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance or of object indistinguishable from firearm in school safety zone.

(A) No person shall knowingly convey, or attempt to convey, a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance into a school safety zone.

(B) No person shall knowingly possess a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance in a school safety zone.

(…)

(1) Whoever violates division (A) or (B) of this section is guilty of illegal conveyance or possession of a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance in a school safety zone. Except as otherwise provided in this division, illegal conveyance or possession of a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance in a school safety zone is a felony of the fifth degree. If the offender previously has been convicted of a violation of this section, illegal conveyance or possession of a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance in a school safety zone is a felony of the fourth degree.

…

2923.123 Illegal conveyance of deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance into courthouse – illegal possession or control in courthouse.

(A) No person shall knowingly convey or attempt to convey a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance into a courthouse or into another building or structure in which a courtroom is located.

(B) No person shall knowingly possess or have under the person’s control a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance in a courthouse or in another building or structure in which a courtroom is located.

(…)

(1) Whoever violates division (A) of this section is guilty of illegal conveyance of a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance into a courthouse. Except as otherwise provided in this division, illegal conveyance of a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance into a courthouse is a felony of the fifth degree. If the offender previously has been convicted of a violation of division (A) or (B) of this section, illegal conveyance of a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance into a courthouse is a felony of the fourth degree.

(2) Whoever violates division (B) of this section is guilty of illegal possession or control of a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance in a courthouse. Except as otherwise provided in this division, illegal possession or control of a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance in a courthouse is a felony of the fifth degree. If the offender previously has been convicted of a violation of division (A) or (B) of this section, illegal possession or control of a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance in a courthouse is a felony of the fourth degree.

via Modern Survival Online https://ift.tt/3fz0k56

Who Will and Who Won’t Survive SHTF in the Woods

If bugging out is a mainstay plan of prepping in general, then bugging out to the woods is about as bread-and-butter as that plan can get.

Anyone you talk to, so long as they don’t live in the desert, will regale you with their idea of just heading off into the woods to find a nice little clear patch next to a babbling brook before setting up camp and waiting for the whole situation that sent them scurrying to blow over. Sure is a nice idea…

And an idea is pretty much all it is. This is because surviving in the wilderness, even in the woods, is no picnic, and it sure as hell isn’t just recreational camping.

The context of survival places many more demands on people who would exist in the midst of nature, even in an environment thought to be so bountiful as the woods.

I can understand the appeal; daydreams of pure, clear streams, wholesome game animals both big and small prancing and capering everywhere, ample fuel for fires and material for shelter. What could be better?

Well, lots of things, for one, though it could always be worse too. Surviving in the woods is no joke, and people who go deep with the idea that they will be coasting on Easy Street are in for a rude awakening, and potentially a miserable death.

Surviving away from society, or even the ruins of society, is not for everyone and in today’s article I will present you with a list of people that I believe will stand the best chance of surviving in the woods and those that should hang up their hopes before that fateful day ever comes.

The Woods, Dark and Deep

While the appeal of a forest in a recreational capacity is absolutely undeniable and it is true that the woods are a biome that is generally more plentiful than one like the desert, the reality is it is still a challenging environment to survive in, especially for the unprepared.

This makes the irrational enthusiasm some preppers exhibit toward bugging out into a remote patch of the woods particularly troubling.

Too many among us believe that they will be able to drop their packs after a hike of some exertion in a picturesque clearing near a ready-to-drink source of water before they stretch, have a snack and meander off into the woods to shoot some animal or another before dragging it back for dinner along with some fresh picked fruit or berries.

And all of this sent to the backdrop of a society that is tearing itself apart somewhere, out there, beyond the edge of the forest.

It is gauche poetry, and for the vast majority of us who attempt such a thing it will look quite different. You will be in an environment that is extremely easy to get turned around in.

One with water sources, but water sources that are contaminated by the fecal matter and corpses of animals along with innumerable kinds of plant and fungal debris.

What animals there are in the woods will easily evade people who are not skilled hunters, and the “natural bounty” of fruit, fungi and leaves are just as likely to be toxic as not, some fatally so.

Well before proper sunset the environment will become incredibly dark, as little in the way of light filters down through the canopy save in winter, and though fuel for a fire is ample in the woods this means that one must constantly be on guard that their fire does not get out of control and turn into a raging conflagration.

Surviving in the woods is just that: surviving. It sure as hell isn’t camping, and it won’t feel like a pleasure hike. If it does, you have probably bugged out for nothing.

Also keep in mind that the vast majority of people, and some preppers specifically, are nearly entirely dependent upon their survival gear and provisions that they bring with them.

I have heard the analogy before, and it is a good one that this is akin to the tank of air a scuba diver uses to descend into the depths of the ocean. So long as the air holds out the diver can remain, but once the air (or the supplies) run out they must surface in order to resupply, or die.

It will be much the same for many survivors who head into the woods at the first sign of trouble. They may yet be able to remain comfortably enough so long as their supplies hold out, but only those with a considerable amount of skill and experience living in wooded country will be able to make a proper stay out of it if required.

One must also consider that the popularity of this idea, well-informed or not, means that plenty of other people will have the exact same plan you do, and if you are not heading into the remotest parts of rarely traveled forest you might have more company than you’re planning on…

With all of that said, let us get to the list. There are two lists below, those who will survive in the woods in my estimation, and those who won’t. The list is not entirely conclusive, nor is it complete.

You can probably think of several additional categories of people who would belong to one or the other, and everybody knows someone in a group who defies expectation, and is either the second coming of Tarzan or the Mr. Magoo of survival. Regardless, based on my travels and experience both of these lists hold water.

Those Who Will

Boy Scouts, current and former

This as you might expect was an auto-include on the list of those who would survive an extended stay in the woods. The Boy Scouts have long placed an emphasis on self-sufficiency, preparedness and survival skills, complete with many exercises that build confidence and provide a lived experience for exactly these circumstances.

Even a Boy Scout of modest rank could be expected to self assess, prioritize based on the situation he found himself in, create a serviceable shelter, get a fire going. and tend to it before locating food in the form of safe mushrooms, berries or other plant matter and even bagging some kind of animal protein, all the while being cautious and acting intelligently.

In this regard, it is easy to view scouting as a sort of “disaster-proofing” in addition to being a fulfilling pastime.

I know quite a few men who attained the rank of Eagle Scout after a great many years scouting while they were boys and young adults, and let me tell you they are all regular MacGyver’s and serious outdoorsmen, more than capable of surviving in the wilderness using a little more but a pocket knife and a button compass.

I hope the people who mocked their uniforms when they were young lads don’t wind up in the same situation; they will be starving, lost, and freezing, while the target of their mockery is having a comparatively easy go of it elsewhere.

Soldiers, Marines, etc.

The training necessary to become confident in certain professions can wind up serving you well long after your time on the job is done.

Anyone who served in the military is probably better suited for surviving in the woods than nearly anyone else, since so much of their career centered on surviving and even thriving and natural environments under the worst conditions.

It also helps that these people are conditioned and used to hard and grueling work, work that is often necessary when the time comes to survive in the forest.

Beyond being generally comfortable in an outdoor setting, in uncertain circumstances and under a considerable amount of pressure folks in this category are often confident and capable at improvising shelter, and taking care of other considerations attendant with survival outdoors, including those of security.

As they say, when the going gets tough the tough get going, and you will rarely find people tougher than these men and women.

And beyond their occupational training, quite a few members of the military benefit from what is known as SERE training, or “survival, evasion, resistance and escape” training.

This training curriculum focuses in part on survival techniques when poorly equipped and in hostile environments, including the construction of various shelters, provisioning of food and signaling for rescue when applicable.

Training of this nature is invaluable in a wilderness survival situation, even when people with guns aren’t hunting you.

Hunters

Chances are most hunters will be going into a woodland survival scenario with a major leg up over the rest of us. If there is one group of civilians you’ll be able to count on having already spent a long time in the woods, it will be these guys and gals.

Contrary to popular belief there is a lot more to hunting then just clambering up into a tree waiting for some hapless animal to walk by. Serious hunters who are dedicated to bagging the quarry they seek will put in a lot of time in the woods, gaining an intimate familiarity that few others will be able to rival.

From investigating probable routes of travel to looking for watering holes, sources of food, and all kinds of other nuances that most people miss, your average hunter will be very comfortable in the woods.

They will also be confident at maintaining their bearings, as traipsing all over creation through an environment that is very easy to get lost in will quickly impress upon the unwary how important is to keep your heading.

Naturally, when push comes to shove and tummies are grumbling a seasoned hunter is most likely to nab the big game that is needed to substantially supplement food stores.

Even if their chosen game is not available, the skills they learned in the pursuit will serve them well when the time comes to shoot or catch something else.

Ultimately, time spent in the woods is never wasted if you’re trying to prepare for a lengthy escapade, and your average American Hunter will have drastically more time under the branches of the canopy than most anyone else.

Hikers

Hikers are another category of civilian whose pastimes will likely serve them well when the time comes to bug out in the woods.

Although the typical skill set for hiking is not quite as comprehensive as the one for hunting, it nonetheless will do much to acclimatize someone to the challenges and rigors of surviving in the woods, particularly when it comes to navigation.

Long-distance hikers will also be more than capable of locating the best campsites and picking the best wood for fuel.

Hikers also tend to be fit, a major advantage when it comes to surviving in the woods as there is no shortage of work that must be done more or less around the clock in order to improve your position.

Also of particular import is the likelihood that they will be very familiar with their favorite trails and stomping grounds, an informational advantage that can give them a major boost in confidence when the time comes to bug out.

If they already know the lay of the land, especially in various seasons, they will be able to head to the best spots for survival and avoid the worst.

Additionally, hikers are also aware through study or bitter experience of the various hazards that reside in the woods, among them terrain that is likely to see them slip, stumble, or fall, perhaps resulting in an injury to a leg that they can ill afford, as well as live hazards like dangerous big game and venomous snakes.

You will rarely see a hiker that will put their hand any place that they cannot see and they will never carelessly overturn rocks, branches or logs for any purpose, lest they disturb a resting, venomous reptile or agitate a swarm of insects.

Naturalists

Plenty of other people spend a lot of time in nature and crave interaction with it, from amateur botanists to mushroom hunters, birdwatchers, wanderers, game wardens, and others will all stand a pretty fair chance of surviving in the woods so long as they have a proper basis of survival skills to back up their general comfort and competency in such an environment.

Experience in an environment, even experience spent in some other pursuit besides survival, is still valuable when it comes to a survival situation because you will be learning a little bit about how to move, live and otherwise operate in that environment.

Just because you were out looking for the ideal patch where a rare mushroom or moral might grow does not mean you are failing to learn what other lessons that the environment can teach you.

Even if they are niche skills, niche skills still count, and people who have an affinity for nature on a practical level will benefit from those skills in a survival situation. A person who is enthusiastic about the plant life in their region will know which plants to avoid and which are helpful for nutritional or medicinal purposes.

Mushroom hunters will be able to easily supplement their calorie intake with delicious and nutritious fungi while avoiding the ones that will make them sick or kill them.

Game wardens will be familiar with the travel routes and behavior of various animal species, as well as those of poachers, giving them a leg-up on avoiding potentially compromising interactions.

The bottom line is that the people who spend more time in the woods voluntarily, those who embrace the environment, are the ones who are more likely to survive its perils and make the best use of its assets.

Those Who Won’t

Gear Fanatics

There are some people who believe every problem can be solved by simply having the right gear. You don’t necessarily need the skills, the experience, or the dues paid in sweat and blood to get something done, you just need the right gadget!

If only that were true. Unfortunately quite a few Americans believe this fallacy and we have our fair share right here in Prepperdom.

While it is true that having the right equipment is going to make your job easier, there is no amount of equipment that can replace experience and confidence when living in the woods, especially in austere conditions.

The right tools, the right tent and the right gadgets will not replace knowing how to build and tend a fire, knowing where you should and where you should not pitch your camp, which plants to avoid and which to eat and how to avoid becoming disoriented and lost.

All of that takes experience, and even gadgets that can help ameliorate these problems are prone to failure and don’t always work in all circumstances.

While none of us are perfect, the one thing you will always be able to depend on the most is your own wits and knowledge. This is the first and most important tool, and without that the best technological gadgets that money can buy won’t amount to a hill of beans when trying to survive in the forest.

Urbanites

Urbanites are, in my mind, distinct from mere city-dwellers. Lots of us live in the cities, even if it’s not our first choice, and plenty of us can’t wait to leave, or at least get away from these teeming hives of humanity.

Urbanites are different; an urbanite is a city dweller who loves the city, who is truly part of it, and their existence inside a metropolis is their baseline. If they’re not surrounded by towering spires of steel and concrete they don’t feel comfortable.

When they are forced out into a natural setting, or even a less built-up area, they start to feel profoundly out of place, and anxious.

As you might expect, these folks will not do well in a forest survival setting. This might come as a shock to some readers, but I know more than a handful of urbanite preppers that are nonetheless serious about the craft, and want to be prepared for every eventuality.

Some among them actually entertain the notion that when things invariably deteriorate into an unsurvivable condition inside the city limits that they will bug out “upstate”, or out of state into the woods to live a more pastoral existence in the meantime. These self-same preppers cannot even be bothered to go on a hike!

Deprived of electricity, modern convenience and a reassuring rigidity of man-made roads and other paths that make it impossible to get lost, they will founder and possibly die. This is not intended to insult or belittle such folks, but a person must know their limitations.

Animal Caretakers

Lots of people care for animals in one way or another, from your average everyday American with their pet dog or cat, to those who must tend to herds or flocks of livestock as farmers.

In many ways our domesticated animals are integral to our lives, and most people will go out of their way to accommodate them be it through professional dedication or sincere affection. Unfortunately, most animals will make a surviving in the woods more difficult, not less.

People with pets would be cautioned before choosing the forest as a bug-out location if they have the dog or cat in tow.

There are lots of ways for both to get into serious trouble in the woods, either through ingesting something poisonous or investigating a venomous creature that will not take kindly to the intrusion upon its space.

Most pets are also noisy, and will do much to both attract attention when you are trying to maintain a low profile as well as scaring off game that could potentially fill your cook pot.

Securing a domestic pet while in the middle of the woods so it does not escape or wander off is also challenging.

Farmers who have any ambitions about taking their animals with them when bugging out, even if it is a small herd or flock, will face many of the same challenges above and their animals will struggle to find good pasturage upon which to rest or eat.

There are other places to bug out that can indeed accommodate pets and livestock better; the forest should not be your first choice if you have animal companions in tow.

The Unfit

People who are badly out of shape are going to have a hard enough time surviving in most conditions if they cannot bug in, but their troubles will be multiplied tenfold if they have to bug out into the forest. Surviving in the forest is hard work!

Again, it isn’t like camping. You will always have much to do, and plenty of strenuous chores to attend to if you want to maintain and improve your situation.

From scouting campsites and moving your camp to gathering and processing wood to fuel your campfire, clearing brush and debris, foraging for food and water and so much more; you’d better be ready to roll up your sleeves, put in the hours and get a good sweat going!

The forest might provide more for you to make use of then some other environments, but making use of it still takes quite a bit of effort on your part.

If you are out of shape, flabby, and otherwise incapable of strenuous activity for any length of time, your work capacity is going to be reduced. Reduced work capacity means your margin for error when surviving gets smaller and smaller.

What if you have to deal with the snap of cold weather that sees you powering through your supply of firewood even quicker? If you are so exhausted that you didn’t gather more the previous day or couldn’t process it to get it ready for efficient burning you might have a problem.

Rain or wind that forces you to move your campsite in order to seek better shelter means you will be doing a lot of packing and schlepping; you’d better be up to the task.

Generally, the less fit someone is, the less the woods will be to them as a bug-out location.

The Arrogant

For many of us the woods have an undeniable appeal and a certain mystique. The peace, tranquility and sense of grounding we get is almost enticing enough to see us head there during a bug out if only because it will help us calm down and center our thoughts.

This is undoubtedly true, but as I’ve stressed continually throughout this article the woods are extremely dangerous for most of us who enter unprepared, and are particularly dangerous for those who are arrogant.

If someone is ignorant of the dangers that lurk in the woods and all its many forms, or even worse just complacent, knowing better and not caring and doing better, they are probably not going to be long for this Earth during a woodland survival scenario.

You cannot cheat the forest; disregarding proper procedure, flagrantly acting in defiance of what is sensible and safe will see you gravely injured or killed, and the woods can oftentimes kill you in slow motion, inflicting an agonizing and torturous death.

Ignoring the danger posed by slick logs or rocks could result in a stumble and fall that earns you a compound fracture of the leg or ankle. Immobilized and crippled, you’ll be helpless.

Eating the wrong berry or mushroom could make you gravely ill, dehydrating you to the point of incapacitation, or it might kill you outright, clutched by seizures as your diaphragm shuts down and you suffocate, your heart beating its final beat.

You can be bitten by snakes and torn apart by bears. You might just get lost, never to be found and never to emerge.

Survival in the woods is not for the unwary or the inexperienced, and it is definitely not for the arrogant.

Conclusion

Bugging out to the woods is a valid strategy for dealing with an SHTF situation, but only if you have the right experience, the right attitude and the right skills. It is definitely not for everyone, and should not be your default response to every situation, counter to what is often asserted.

Only by assessing your skills, advantages and disadvantages, and survival objectives in totality can you make the right call. There are some people that are just not suited for survival and the dark corners of the forest.

via Modern Survival Online https://ift.tt/3fpH9us