90 Resources for Disaster & Emergency Preparedness

90 Resources for Disaster & Emergency Preparedness

On this page we will make suggestions for different types of

equipment and the sources for them.

These are items that I have and have used. There are many

other pieces of equipment out there that are as good or better.

This is not a forum for discussing which items are better than

others.

I can only recommend items that we have used, some items we

have used will not be shown on this page because I can not

recommend them.

In many instances I will use eBay as a source for some items

on this page.

When bidding or purchasing on eBay please follow

their guidelines for your protection.

The following are links to each catagory:

Water

Heating

Cooking

Heating Water

Fire Starting Methods

Knives Saws & Sharpening Tools

Sanitation

Communications

Lighting

Water

The best place I have found for clean water storage drums is:

Emergency Essentials

They also offer a nifty siphon pump which consists of some heavy

clear tubing with a foot valve on one end.

For virus protection, water should be pre-treated before

running it through the filter.

There are a number of pre-treatment products available such

as Micropur by Katadyn.

photo copyright Katadyn USA

For fresh water filtering I like the Katadyn Pocket model.

It uses a ceramic filter which can be cleaned and or replaced.

photo copyright Katadyn USA

These can be purchased directly from Katadyn or on eBay.

For more information please click onto the following link:

Katadyn water filters

Another one we like is the Triton M3 in-line filter.

These can be found at various places on the internet, we purchased a

few on eBay.

The units are connected in series, each unit performs a specific

function.

image coyright by Prismedical Corp.

The following link is to the manufacturer:

Triton M series

For water distallation on a stove top you might consider the

Waterwise 1600.

image copyright Water Wise

They will distill water much faster than a solar still.

You need to follow the directions and keep watch on it.

They are a little pricey but the only other non-electric option

I know of would be to make one yourself.

There are many companies selling these on the internet,

we purchased ours on eBay.

The following like will take you to their site:

Waterwise Products

For salt water desalinators I would recommend two items

from Katadyn.

These force salt water against a membrane which passes

the fresh water and all but a minute amount of salt is blocked.

These hand-held reverse osmosis water makers do a pretty

good job.

They have two hand-operated models which are the

Survivor - 06

Image copyright by Katadyn.

and the

Survivor 35

Image copyright by Katadyn.

The street price of the 06 runs about $ 900.00 and

for the 35 runs about $ 1,950.00.

For specifications please click onto the following link:

Katadyn desalinators

The U.S. Government has sold off many of these which were

held in storage since the 1990's.

Many of these are being offered for sale on eBay as "New and

Unused" - Don't fall for that line.

Some components will degrade over time and need to be replaced,

even if they are kept unused and sealed.

The most expensive part is the membrane.

Here is what we did last year.

First off, I contacted Katadyn to get an approximate cost range to

refurbish both models.

Then I purchased a Survivor 35 on eBay for about $ 195.00.

I got a work order number from Katadyn and sent it in.

They refurbished it for around $450.00 and at the time it took

around four weeks to turn it around.

I then purchased a Survivor 06 on eBay for about $ 70.00.

Katadyn refurbished it for about $ 290.00 and it took about

five weeks to turn it around.

We came out okay on both of these water makers.

Catagory links on this page. Back to Top

Heating

For propane heating we have a small Mr. Heater (app. 15,00 btu)

tank top (refillable type tank) radiant, a small Century radiant heater

for mounting on top of a disposable propane bottle or on top of a

Prest-O-Lite post as well as a Coleman 45,000 btu for use with

refillable tanks.

For kerosene heating I can recommend the following heaters:

Kero-Sun Moonlighter convection heater with glass cylinder which

allows the flame from the wick to add light to the room.

Always allow fresh air to come in to replace the oxygen in the room

that the heater consumes.

Over the last couple of years I have seen these sell on eBay

from $ 50.00 for a fair one to $ 250.00 for one New In Box.

This is my favorite convection kerosene heater.

They put out a nice gentle heat, are easy to transport and the

glow (the glass has metals in it to change the color of the light)

is just nifty.

Occasionally you can find a clip on reflector that redirects the

light, and a little of the heat in one direction.

_____________________

Aladdin Tropic S-281 radiant heater which has the tank on the bottom

and is compact.

These are easy to carry around and to take outside for refueling.

This is one of the nicest radiant heaters we have.

These can occasionally be found on eBay.

A nice clean one will run from $ 125.00 to $ 200.00 depending

on condition.

Always allow fresh air to come in to replace the oxygen in the room

that the heater consumes.

_____________________

American Wick mod. AWHR-2010 kerosene radiant heater

which has a removeable tank.

This heater has a narrow angle of heat and a tall chimney

to better concentrate the heat.

This is an example of two things, knowledge is power and

knowing who to ask is just as important.

I saw a couple of these on eBay and they looked familiar.

The first thing I did was to ask Miles at http://www.milesstair.com/

He said it was actually a Corona mod. SX-2 that was made for

American Wick.

Sure enough, the heater is marked as being made by Corona.

On eBay mint ones sell for around $ 175.00 and a new in box

one can bring up to $ 275.00.

Always allow fresh air to come in to replace the oxygen in the room

that the heater consumes.

Miles steered me right and I picked this one up, new in the box,

for $ 115.00 including shipping.

I have asked him questions in the past and he has probably forgotten

more about kerosene heaters than I will ever know.

For kerosene heater and stove wicks, along with accessories, I can

easily recommend Miles - every order we have placed has been on the

money and shipped fast.

http://www.milesstair.com/

For replacement Corona heater parts I can recommend:

http://www.coronapartsusa.com/

A note on purchasing heaters and stoves on eBay.

Don't hesitate to ask for and pay for, extra padding when

the item is shipped.

That is the voice of experience speaking.

For alcohol heating I would recommend the Origo Heat Pal 5000 series.

These produce a gentle heat and are sometimes offered as a

combination heater/stove.

They are a nice, safe heater but I can not imagine cooking on

one because of the low heat output.

You will see these offered on eBay.

I would only have one with the plastic knob like the one shown

above.

Early ones used cotton wicks.

I would stay away from them and only look at the later models

which use a removeable metal fuel tank like the Origo stoves use.

The tank has a synthetic filler to hold the alcohol and the heater

uses a sliding shutter to control the heat output.

Always allow fresh air to come in to replace the oxygen in the room

that the heater consumes.

Here is something that most people have never seen.

This is an old enamelled cast

iron heater by Sterno.

It uses Sterno canned gel fuel.

Some day I will actually try it out.

Catagory links on this page. Back to Top

Cooking

For stoves these links will take you to the following sections:

Solid Fuel Stoves

Liquid Fuel Stoves

Solid fuel stoves for use with wood and other organic

matter as well as for use with fuel tabs.

For solid fuel stoves we have a number of suggestions, some

are basically designed for backpacking, others are not.

These will be shown in order of ease of use and portability.

Four Dog titanium trail stove

Pyromid stoves

BushBuddy woodgas backpacking stove

Four Dog titanium Bushcooker DX stove

Rocket Stoves

Stoves for use with fuel tablets or fuel bars.

Pyromid Pyro Pocket solid fuel stove

Stove In A Pocket

Simple Stoves.

A few recommendations for a simple, also known as a hobo,

stove would be these:

This stainless steel Trail Stove is well made

and simple to use. It comes with a metal

tube attached to a rubber hose to aid

in starting the fire. Just above the air vents

on the bottom is a rack to hold the wood

for good combustion.

The large hole in the front is where wood is

added during cooking.

A down-side is that it is not collapseable -

so you just stow supplies in it.

At around $ 25.00 plus shipping - it is a good

deal.

http://www.trailstove.com/

This is the Littlebug stainless steel

stove. It comes in two sizes, the

Littlebug Sr. and Littlebug jr.

The body of the stove un-hooks so

it can be stored flat or rolled up with

other gear. It burns most solid fuels and

the Sr. model will handle a good sized

pot or pan. The sliding plate in the front

allows it to be used with a small alcohol

stove - the plate rests on the alcohol stove

and controls the heat output. The stove as

shown is set up for burning wood - for alcohol

the two pieces sticking out the top would be

flipped over so the pot rests directly on the stove body.

These are very well made and the design has been thought through

carefully. http://www.littlbug.com/

The Honey Stove is a slick backpacking

stove that is comprised of eight stainless

steel pieces that can be assembled in a

number of configurations. It burns solid fuels

such as wood, twigs and dry leaves. The

piece leaning up against the stove is designed

to hold an alcohol stove, such as a Trangia in

the Honey Stove.

These are very well made and are available from:

backpackinglight

It took a little over a week to get ours.

The S.P.S 2 stainless steel backpacking

stove from Makaira Metal working is a

nice backpacking stove. It appears to be

made by plasma arc cutting stainless

steel sheet. Ours is nicely made and shows

no signs of metal distortion. They also make

a mild steel version called the Wild Wood I.

You might take a look at their website:

http://www.makairametal.com/outdoorgear.htm

Four Dog trail stove.

Four Dog Bushcooker LT 1, 2 or 3 titanium backpacking stove.

The open bottom has fins to provide for better for turbulent air

intake and a cleaner combustion.

These stoves come in three sizes and are very well made.

Being made from titanium, they are extremely lightweight.

As these are made to order, the lead time can run from three to

four weeks. For more information please click onto the following

link: http://www.fourdog.com/

For a larger solid fuel burning stove I would recommend a couple of the

Pyromid stoves.

In the 1990's Pyromid made a number of pyramid shaped stoves for use

with charcoal and wood (and just about any other dry biomass).

They made stoves from a folding model, the PyroPocket which used solid

fuel tabs, up to a full blown campsite stove and stove/oven combination

that was over three foot tall.

Pyromid products were made of stainless steel and the workmanship

ranged from pretty good to excellent.

All of the Pyromids fold flat for storage and transportation.

These items are no longer made but are sometimes found on eBay.

We use a Carbochi a couple times a week with charcoal for fish and

chicken.

Of the many models made I can recommend three for emergency use

in addition to the PyrPocket model.

Except for the two large campsite models, these are the only two that

can be refueled without removing the cooking grill.

This is the PyroBachi and has a

12" by 12" cooking surface.

As you can see, there is a door in the

front for adding fuel along with an

adjustable air vent.

Everything folds flat into the base.

This is the PyroDuo stove.

They were made in 6" by 12" and

8" by 16" sizes along with a small

single unit.

These will pretty much burn any solid

fuel and can easily be reloaded while

in operation. The adjustable vent in the

loading door allows you to control the

burn. You can easily lean slices of

bread against the sides, the bottom

has a lip that the body fits into.

As can be seen, this has a grill and griddle top.

Pyromid model PCF -- 7 stove.

This is the 4" by 7" Camp Fire

stove. It folds flat and doe not

weight much. These are very

difficult to find.

A note on the pyromids.

Sterno has made some similar stoves for both their canned fuel and solid fuel

which appear to have been based on the Pyromid design.

I have picked up a couple of these on eBay.

They look pretty decent.

Wood/Gas stoves.

A wood/gas stove is more complicated than a simple backpacking stove.

They are designed in a manner which combustion air comes into the bottom

and along the top of the burning fuel. As some say, this converts the wood

or other dry biomass into charcoal as the gases burn and then the charcoal

burns. A wood/gas stove is very efficient and gets the most out of the

available fuel.

Because of the way they work they are much more difficult for most people

to use than a conventional hobo type stove.

These stoves need very dry fuel and must be protected from the wind.

But, if you are willing to learn how to use it and practice, it is worth having

in your emergency equipment box.

There are around a half-zillion plans available on the internet for making

a wood/gas stove. Several outfits make these and we have several of

them ourselves.

There are only two well made wood/gas stoves I would rely on.

Bushbuddy trail stove.

This is the Bushbuddy stove by

F.H. Enterprises.

It is made of stainless steel.

The top part, the pot holder, is inverted

into the stove for storage.

Wood is added during cooking through

the cutout in the pot holder. Fritz ships these

in a wooden box wrapped in paper. When I first

opened the package I thought that this was too pretty

to use - but I got over that. Having worked in stainless

steel for over twenty years all I can say is that this

stove is a work of art.

The bottom is enclosed for safety.

For more information and to purchase, please click onto the following link: http://bushbuddy.ca/

Four Dog Bushcooker DX.

The Bushcooker DX1 and DX2 are well designed wood/gas trail

stoves. They have an open bottom and like the Bushcooker T series,

the fuel platform has angled slots for improved combustion.

The titanium construction gives them strength and low weight

along with high corrosion resistance.

The lead time on these made to order stoves is three to four

weeks.

For more information please click onto the following link:

http://www.fourdog.com/

Rocket Stoves.

There are about a zillion designs for rocket stoves on the internet.

Most of them are for a fixed location inside a building.

For a pre-made portable rocket stove we have a few recommendations.

First off - Never, yes I said Never use one of these indoors.

This is a Stovetec portable rocket stove.

It is designed for burning wood only.

A very portable stove and easy to lug aroung.

As you can see, wood is fed into the stove on

a rack into the burning chamber. Air comes in

under the wood. The vertical burning chamber is

surrounded by thick insulation to make for a clean

a burn as possible. This also increases the heat

delivered to the cooking vessel.

They also have a wood/charcoal model.

This model has a sliding door for use with

charcoal. You load the stove and put in the

removeable insulated insert and slide the

door closed. The bottom door allows you

to control the air intake.

For use with wood you will use the feeding

rack and remove the wedge shaped insulated

insert that goes in the top door.

For emergency use I would prefer, we have both,

the wood only model as it has less parts.

As far as durability, with the lightweight ceramic insulation liner, I doubt

that these would take a sharp blow.

These are available at a modest cost from:

http://www.stovetec.net/us/

Another rocket stove I can suggest would be the Grover Rocket Stove.

This is a portable rocket stove that is very

durable.

Ours was made from recycled propane

and butane cylinders.

It is not as compact as the Stovetec stoves,

the legs are welded to the body, but I would

think it would take more abuse.

Also, the feeding tray and legs are welded in

place.

We purchased ours on eBay.

You might want to visit their website at:

http://www.stockstorage.com/index.html

As you can see, these rocket stoves are made for use with small pieces

of wood. In a disaster, that might be all that is available.

Pyromid Pryo-Pocket

pyromid pyro pocket folding solid fuel stove

This stainless steel folding stove was made by Pryomid and is

no longer in production.

These are designed for use with fuel tablets such as the Esbit

tabs.

When you open it up, the fuel tab rest folds down.

These are okay, but as you can see, they can only handle small

fuel tablet and bars.

You can occasionally find these on eBay from around $ 20.00 for

a beater like this one, to over $ 100.00 for one that is in new

condition.

Always have plenty of ventilation when using this type

of stove.

Stove-In-A-Pocket

This pocket stove is made by Van Ben Industries, Inc. and is

fairly well thought out.

The rack drops into the stove body for storage which leaves room for

the storage of fuel tabs.

The stove will also accept larger Trioxane solid fuel bars.

A nifty little stainless steel stove which can usually be found on

eBay for around $ 25.00. in new condition.

Always have plenty of ventilation when using this type

of stove.

Catagory links on this page. Back to Top

Liquid fuel stoves for use with kerosene, alcohol and

Sterno.

And multi-fuel stoves.

There are many liquid fuel stoves available: kerosene, white gas and

alcohol as well as for use with transportation fuels.

Kerosene Stoves

Alcohol Stoves

Multi-Fuel (liquid) stoves

Kerosene

First off, never use any fuel other than kerosene in

one of these stoves.

You can just about guarantee another disaster.

When looking for a kerosene stove please consider ease

of use and availability/cost of replacement wicks.

I have seen some beautiful Japanese made kerosene stoves

for sale but the replacement wicks were in the $ 25.00 range.

There is not much to go wrong with a kerosene stove but

parts availability is not that great.

For emergency use I would stay away from stoves that use

a glass fuel container.

They are bulky and in my opinion, that and a dollar will buy you

a cup of coffee, are fragile to move with the glass fuel bottle

hanging on the end.

Kero Sun mod. K stove

Alpaca mod. 808 stove

There are two kerosene stoves I can recommend.

Kero-Sun model K stove.

The Kero-Sun model K cookstove is one of the finest portable

kerosene stoves made.

They are extremely well made and thought out.

Replacement wicks are readily available.

Though long out of production, these can be found on eBay from

$ 50.00 to $ 150.00.

I saw a new in box one go for over $ 200.00 last week - that was

an aberation.

On a scale of one to ten, this is a ten in my book.

Alpaca kerosene cooker mod. 808.

The Alpaca mod. 808 and 909 (which is taller), are a good

alternative if you can not find a Kero-Sun mod. K stove.

It is similar to the Kero-Sun, the replacement wicks are

fairly easy to find.

On a scale of one to ten, ten being a Kerosun model K, this is a

seven.

You can find these on the internet and on eBay from $ 60.00 to

$ 120.00.

Catagory links on this page. Back to Top

Alcohol Stoves

There are a number of stoves that operate on either liquid or

gelled alcohol.

Sterno stoves.

Trangia alcohol stove.

Origo alcohol stove.

Sterno stoves have been made for use with gelled fuel since the

early 20th century.

They have made stoves from nickel plated steel, porcelain over

cast iron, painted sheet steel and aluminum.

I would recommend the latest version folding stove which is made

of aluminum and has a steel rack.

For a liquid alcohol stove I have a couple of suggestions.

The first is the Trangia or Silva type stove design.

You put alcohol in the center to fill the reservoir and light it.

As the fuel heats up, alcohol vapors will jet out of the small holes

around the center and ignite.

These stoves require some method of support a cooking pot,

such as a windscreen.

Some of the wood burning trail stoves are designed to accept

one of these which allows you to burn alcohol.

When you purchase one of these second hand make sure the

rubber seal in the cap is good.

If the cap is put on (to keep from losing fuel in transport) while the

stove is hot, the rubber seal will melt.

These sell from five to fifteen dollars.

Pot supports and wind screens will run five to ten dollars.

Origo mod. 1500 alcohol stove.

For a larger full sized stove you might want to consider the Origo

mod. 1500. These are designed for use in boats.

This stove requires no pumping, the fuel is stored in a fuel tank

under the burner and is held in a synthetic filler.

The heat output is controlled by the knob on the front which swings

a shutter over the opening on the fuel tank.

A couple of words of caution when purchasing these second hand.

You will see a six pointed flame spreader in the center of the burner.

Often these stoves will be offered for sale with this missing.

You will also want to make sure that the rubber disk, which is placed

on the fuel tank to prevent fuel evaporation when not in use, is

neither missing nor melted to the fuel tank.

The stove needs to cool down before putting the rubber disk in place.

I have seen these sell on eBay from $ 50.00 to $ 125.00, depending

on condition.

There have been many small alcohol stoves made in the past fifty

years, some for camping and some for civil defense (especially

in the 1950's). If you are considering one of these stoves please

make sure that none of the parts are missing and any rubber parts

are in good condition.

Multi-Fuel stoves.

There are many stoves available which can burn different

petroleum based fuels, some will even operate on canned

butane or propane.

In a disaster situation a stove which will operate on white gas,

automotive gas, kerosene or diesel fuel could save the day.

When choosing a multi-fuel stove you really need to do your

homework.

Each has its strong and weak points - we will not debate them here.

A couple of suggestions:

The first would be the Primus OmniFuel.

For more information please click onto the following link:

OmniFuel

My second choice would be the Optimus Hiker + stove.

For more information please click onto the following link:

Optimus Hiker +

Both of these stoves can easily be found on the internet

as well as on eBay.

The Primus OmniFuel runs from $ 100.00 to $ 130.00 and

the Optimus Hiker + runs from $ 140.00 to $ 175.00.

Catagory links on this page. Back to Top

Heating water

Besides putting a pot of water on a stove, there are several

pieces of equipment which can heat water quickly using

very little fuel.

These have many names such as the Kelly Kettle, Volcano

Kettle and the Thermette.

This drawing shows how these slick water heaters work:

You load small pieces of wood or twigs in the fire base.

The water chamber surrounds the chimney for maximum

heat transfer from the fire to the water.

Once the fire is going you can carefully add more wood through

the chimney.

There are a number of companies that make these.

We have used a couple by Kelly Kettle and one by Thermette.

Kelly Kettle

The Kelly Kettle is available

in three sizes.

All three sizes are made of

aluminum, the large size is also

available in stainless steel.

The fit and finish of these is

excellent.

An optional pot holder is available

which allows you to put a pot or

a pan on top of the Kelly Kettle.

These are made in England and

can be purchased directly from

Kelly Kettle's website at:

https://kellykettle.com/

These are also available on eBay.

Thermette

The Thermette is huge.

It it made of copper and includes the cooking ring as shown

on the right.

The cooking ring can be placed on top of the Thermette

as a cooking surface for a pot or pan. This helps capture

as much of the heat from the fire as possible. It can also

be used with the fire base as a small wood burning

stove.

I have not used it enough to see how durable it is, but

in all candor, the fit and finish leave something to be

desired.

These are available from:

http://www.thermette.com/

Catagory links on this page. Back to Top

Fire Starting Methods

Windproof/waterproof matches.

My first choice for lighting a propane/liquid fuel heater or stove

would be waterproof matches.

They look light a standard wood match except that the head,

and sometimes the whole match, is covered in a sealer.

These require a separate striking strip which is usually attached

to the container they came in.

When using a propane or liquid fuel device these are preferable

to the windproof matches which sputter and throw out burning

particles. The burning particles can damage your stove or

lantern. If the wind is blowing hard enough to need windproof

matches your lantern (unless it can be lit in a sheltered area) or

stove will probably not work.

For solid fuel stoves I am a big fan of windproof/water proof

matches.

They are sometimes offered as lifeboat / survival matches.

The act like a road flare (fusee) in that once they light, even

submersing them in water will not put them out.

You need to be very careful when using these as they will

burn like a Fourth of July sparkler.

These also need a separate striking strip.

In the picture above, the matches on the left are very good -

the ones on the right are even better.

These can be found on eBay as well as on many websites.

For waterproof matches you can expect to pay from three to

five cents each.

For windproof/waterproof matches they will run from fifteen to

twenty-five cent each.

These would be expensive on a dry sunny day, but when you

need a fire and are drenched in water - any price would be

reasonable.

Above you will see several survival fire starting devices.

One advantage of these over matches, is that in most cases you can

get thousands of lights before they wear out.

From left to right:

Aurora fire starter shown with its screw-on cover, RAT Cutlery fire starter,

Sparkie fire starter, home grown ferrocerium model with high speed

steel scraper, DOAN magnesium starter along with two other ferrocerium

starters.

The two on the left are made of "misch metal" and when scraped

throw a few sparks but mostly balls of burning metal. These work

well with damp tinder and in the wind. Please note that these

two need a pretty sharp scraping edge and are rough on a knife

blade.

The first one is the Aurora fire starting tool, as you can see I keep

one on my key ring. It has a screw-on cover with a scraping edge

in the end. As clumsy as I am, I use a knife to work the fire starter.

The manufacturer's website is: http://www.soloscientific.com

They can be found on eBay from twenty-two to thirty dollars, depending

on what kind of scraping blade is in the cover.

The next one is by RAT Cutlery. These have a hollow handle for

storing dry tinder and are very well made.

The manufacturer's website is: http://www.eseeknives.com

They can be found on eBay from twenty-six to thirty-one dollars.

The following fire starters use a ferrocerium rod. These produce

a shower of sparks and work well on dry tinder. Because of

their design, some can be used as a signalling device at night.

The next one is a Sparkie which uses a spring-loaded

ferrocerrium rod with a scraper in the body opening.

These are nifty and can be had from twelve to fifteen dollars on eBay.

The next one is made up by a seller on eBay. It has a plastic handle

and comes with a scraper made from a piece of high speed

steel tool stock.

The next is the Doan magnesium fire starter. It is a block of magnesium

which you scrape shavings off onto your tinder. Then you use a sharp

edge to throw sparks from the rod on the back of the block.

This was the first type of fire starter I have ever used.

A down-side is that in a strong wind the magnesium shavings can be

blown away.

If you choose this type of fire starter I would recommend the Doan starter.

There are many less than wonderful imported look-a-likes for sale.

These sell on eBay from seven to ten dollars.

The manufacturer's website is: http://www.doanfirestarter.com

The next is a Blast Match ferrocerium rod type with a storage

compartment for tinder in the housing.

The scraper is mounted in the cap which is held in place by the cord.

These can be had for fifteen to twenty dollars.

The last one is a cheapo "Swedish Fire Steel" that I picked up on

eBay for a couple of dollars. The scraper is a section of hack-saw

blade.

There are many primitive methods of fire starting.

The only one I have used is a fire piston.

In all candor, I would suggest that you stick with the fire starting

methods shown above.

The primitive methods are nifty but in an emergency I will stick

with a fire starting rod of some type.

Catagory links on this page. Back to Top

Knives, Saws & Sharpening Tools.

It used to be, carrying a pocket knife was as common

as wearing shoes. I guess that as we have become more

technologically sophisticated this tool has lost some

of its meaning. Well some of us are still a little rough around

the edges and would no more venture past the front door

without a knife than go outside without any clothes on.

That said, in an emergency situation, tools can make the

difference between life or death.

A knife is the number one tool, followed by a saw and

anything else your imagination can come up with.

The following picture shows a number of knives along with

a folding pruning saw.

The following is very biased and based on over forty-five years of being

a knife carrying city boy. I got my first pocket knife when I was around

nine or ten.

First off, buy a decent knife - a knife that can't keep a sharp edge is

next to useless.

Use a knife that makes sense, be it a fixed blade sheath knife or a

pocket knife.

The top knife is a "survival / tactical" knife with a "tanto" style blade.

This blade is basically made for stabbing - they don't work well for cutting

and with the sharp angle on the edge they are a drag to sharpen.

The second knife has a utility blade - it is a good all around design

and fairly easy to sharpen.

For a fixed blade knife I would recommend a blade length from four to

six inches. By the way, the knives with the spiffy serrated edges - the

serrations can get in the way during regular use and are a bear to

sharpen. As for a knife with with sawteeth on the back, why not get

a small saw instead. The sawteeth on most knives are pretty useless

and only succeed in making the knife look mean.

A good fixed blade knife will cost from forty dollars to the skies the

limit.

In a folding or pocket knife a blade length of three to four inches would

be the most useful. A locking blade can make the knife safer to use and

in some instances a second blade with sawteeth can come in handy.

The top folding knife in the picture has a utility blade which locks open.

The bottom knife is an old Swiss Army knife with a nice sawtooth blade.

A downside to sawteeth on a pocket knife is that with the short blade

length, using it will wear you out.

A good folding knife will cost from about forty dollars to over one-hundred

dollars.

There are many fancy survival saws on the market, I have used a number

of them and for me, I prefer a high quality folding pruning saw.

There are pocket chain saws, wire saws and large folding camp/game

saws.

Call me silly, my preference is a folding pruning saw with a six to eight

inch blade. These run from ten to twenty dollars. I like the Fiskars and

Gerber saws. The folding saw pictured above is made by Gerber.

Another tool category hatchets and axes. A good lightweight hatchet

or axe could come in handy during an emergency. Be it for rescue or

fire wood gathering, one of these can make the impossible possible.

There are many good lightweight hatchets available, Fiskars makes

a nice one and the old ones made by Buck are easy to lug around and

use.

I can no longer handle a full sized axe with a wood handle. The Fiskars

axe with the synthetic handle is a breeze. I doubt if I will ever use it

often enough to see how durable the handle is.

There is a tool that's been around for over fifty years and is basically

unchanged from the start.

courtesy of Pro Tool Industries

This is the Woodman's Pal. There are a number of variations and

in a disaster situation I would want one of these hanging from my

belt. I can not say how well they work in the woods, but they work

just fine the the backyard. Depending on the model, the cost

is from $ 70.00 to a little over $ 100.00. The nylon belt sheath

is a must for this tool.

For more information please click onto the following link:

http://www.woodmanspal.com/index.html

As for knife sharpeners, there are tons of them out there.

You can find them which use a ceramic, diamond or carbide

sharpening surface.

I have used lots of them and these are my two favorites.

Above is an Eze-Lap diamond knife sharpener. It has

a belt pouch and the sharpening rod stores in the handle.

The one pictured is over twenty-five years old and still

works. This will work on many blade shapes and does

a fine job on the curved hook blade on a Woodman's Pal.

This one is the Redi-Edge sharpener which is sold

under many different names such as Benchmade

and MATCO Tools.

It has replaceable carbide inserts like a machining tool.

The standard model is about 3" long by 3/4" wide by 3/16"

thick. They also make a smaller one, which I have on my

keyring, but I will stick with this size for regular use.

They work well and I have used one on a Bob Dozier knife

made of D2 tool steel with a very hard blade.

An item that might be handy to have around is a multi-tool.

First off I will say that whatever these tools can do, a regular

tool can do it better.

That said, if it is a choice of a multi-tool or nothing, I will

choose the multi-tool.

These are for the most part folding pliers with a number of

tools in the handles.

These tools can range from a wood saw to a diamond faced

file and many other things in between.

I have used a number of these and some were nifty but did not

work out well.

The ones pictured above are made by Leatherman and from the

top down: a first year production of the WAVE, a SURGE and a

SUPERTOOL 300.

These have some tools in common.

My main gripe about multi-tools is that they usually have a lesser

quality of cutlery steel in the knife blade.

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Sanitation

As we mentioned in page 28, sanitation is important

for many reasons in an emergency.

Besides the sanitary aspects of where do you go when

you need to go, the psychological needs are just as

important.

I described many substitutes for a working toilet but I

have one that we can easily recommend.

It is a little pricey but effective.

This is the Pett Go Anywhere toilet system.

It uses two bags, one holds and gells the waste,

the other holds the first bag for disposal.

These can be found on the internet as well as on

eBay.

A place that I can recommend is:

http://www.easycaretoilet.com/

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Communications

There has been a disaster, out here it would more than

likely be an earthquake, you cell phone has just become

a plastic paperweight.

The first thing that comes to mind is a radio so you can hear

what is going on.

One that could run off of the sun or a built-in generator.

There are a zillion of them available for sale and most

are of dubious quality.

What would I want to have on hand.

First, for AM and FM reception, I would look for a old

Baygen FreePlay windup radio.

A dead mint one (made in South Africa) should cost

from $ 75.00 to $ 125.00 on eBay.

These do not have batteries which can go bad.

You wind up the spring motor and as it unwinds it turns a

generator to power the radio.

For shortwave as well as AM/FM I have a suggestion.

Panasonic RF-3100

I bought ours over twenty years ago. Besides the multi-bands

and it quality, this radio takes eight "D" cells.

That means it operates on 12 volts d.c., just like your car.

If push comes to shove, you can run it off of a vehicle battery

or a 12 volt alternative energy system.

They are seldom seen for sale, occasionally on eBay, but

if you find a clean one (all bands are working), it should cost

from $ 100.00 to $ 200.00.

Another suggestion comes from the days citizen band (CB)

radios were the hot ticket.

A number of companies, like GE and Radio Shack, had

portable emergency units for automobiles.

These set-ups consisted of a hand-held CB radio, a power

cord with a lighter plug, an antenna with cable and a magnetic

base - all in a carry case.

These are often found on eBay from $ 12.00 to $ 25.00 plus

shipping.

It is a good idea to hold the seller's feet to the fire as to the

operating condition of one you are interested in purchasing.

This is a Realistic emergency radio.

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Lighting

In a disaster situation portable lighting can make all the

difference in the world.

On page 28 we mentioned kerosene and propane lamps

and lanterns.

If you are interested in kerosene lanterns you might want to

visit: http://www.lanternnet.com/

These folks have a wide instock selection of lanterns,

accessories, parts as well as good information.

For flashlights I have some suggestions.

The three flashlights shown above are led flashlights

by SureFire.

These use lithium batteries and have very good light output

and long run times.

Above, from left to right: Mini Mag-Lite with extension, Surefire

9N rechargeable incandescent and SureFire 6R rechargeable

incandescent. I have been using these lights for well over

ten years.

Above from left to right: Streamlight Survivor LED which

has a single led and is rechargeable (in this configuration)

from a 12 volt d.c. power source, Streamlight SL40 LiteBox

which uses an incandescent lamp and can be charged from

a 12 volt power source (a note, I have had this light for around

twenty years, it still works but the plastic housing has become

brittle from age) and a more current model Streamlight Litebox.

The bottom line, buy the best you can afford and it will both

last for ages as well as be a tool you can depend on.

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