Blacksmithing as a prepping skill

• 07 May 2013
• ekim
• 2 responses

I’ve always been interested in Blacksmithing, both as a link to past skills and as a possibly useful prepping skill. Early in 2012 I began looking into how I might be able to start learning this craft.

I quickly found ABANA, the Artist Blacksmith Association of North America. As the organization’s name might imply, most people doing blacksmithing today are doing it as an art or for ornamentation purposes. Through ABANA, I was pointed to our local Utah ABANA chapter, the Bonnevile Forge Council.

This local chapter has meetings on odd numbered months for its members and those interested in learning about the club and blacksmithing. These meetings are often centered around demonstrations of hands on projects. The club members try to make it less intimidating for newcomers who have never heated metal to 2000 degrees before.

I was able to attend the March 2012 meeting and meet many of the club members. I haven’t missed a meeting since. The next meeting for the club will be this coming Saturday in Provo and focuses on teaching forge welding. I hope any of you who are interested will be able to make it out. Please see the meetings link above for details.

If you are not able to make it to the meeting this weekend, the club president is hosting a short class on making flint strikers which will teach several basic blacksmithing skills. This three hour class will take place the evening of Wednesday, May 15, 2013. More information is here.

We recently posted about an all day introductory blacksmithing class taught by the club President and Mark Henderson, both accomplished blacksmiths. I was informed that the class filled up quickly, mainly due to interest from those who heard about the class through this site. I’d like to hear any feedback any attendees have on the class as well as gauge interest in additional introductory classes and other courses of instruction.

Tags: Education, Event, gear, meetup

Introductory Blacksmithing course this month!

• 02 Apr 2013
• ekim
• 0 responses

The Bonneville Forge Council (Utah’s Artist Blacksmith Association of North America group) Is hosting an introductory Blacksmithing course on April 20th. Mark your calendars. More information is below and at BFCSmiths
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Tags: blacksmithing, Community, Education, Make

Build the Perfect Bug Out Bag – Book Give Away

• 04 Dec 2012
• ekim
• 1 response

Back in May, I pre-ordered the book “Build the Perfect Bug Out Bag: Your 72-Hour Disaster Survival Kit”. When it arrived a short time later I read through it and was immediately impressed with the job the author Creek Stewart had done. As I was reading it the thought kept emerging that this book was exactly the sort of detailed how-to that we like to do here at Utah Preppers, but on a larger scale. As it turns out, the book initially started out as a blog post on the art of manliness blog. After receiving a good response, Creek decided to work on expanding the concept into a comprehensive how to guide.
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Tags: 72 Hour Kits, BOB, Books, EDC, Evacuation Kits, G.O.O.D. Bags, gear, giveaway, Howto, preparedness, reference, Reviews, Survival

2012 Summer ERC Face to Face meeting and picnic

• 29 Aug 2012
• ekim
• 1 response

Many of our authors have their HAM radio licenses and participate in disaster planning and during real life emergencies such as the recent fires in Utah. Below is an invitation we received for an annual event coming up next month.

To the members of the Utah South Area, Emergency Response Communications (ERC) Lindon Facility VHF NET …

You are invited to the 2012 Summer ERC Face to Face meeting and picnic. This is a great opportunity to meet those you hear on the ERC Net and talk Face-to-Face. We will have a presentation on Jump Kits by Cory Reilly KE7NRV followed by “Fun with Radio”– please bring a radio and its manual.

So that we can plan appropriately we ask that you RSVP (if you are coming) via the form that will be sent to you. This will help us all coordinate the dishes. This year we will have grills fired up so bring your own meat or main course item and a side dish to share (salad, veg. tray, chips, drinks or dessert — somewhat organized pot-luck). Plan on enough for 2 to 4 times the number coming in your party.
Date: 18 September 2012
Location: Orem Windsor Stake, West Pavilion, 60 East 1600 North, Orem, Utah
Time: 6:30 PM (1830 hours) until 8:30 PM (2030 hours)

Tags: Event, HAM, meetup

FEMA guidelines and instructions for CERT drills and exercises

• 08 Jun 2012
• ekim
• 0 responses

FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has long supported CERT (Community Emergency Response Teams) in locales large and small by providing training material, grants and other support. This week they released a new set of FEMA guidelines and instructions for CERT drills and exercises. These exercises cover the gamut and include tabletop exercises, functional exercises, full scale exercises, and competitive events.

Find out more about these drills and exercises after the jump.
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Tags: Community, Education, Links, Networks, preparedness, Preppers, reference

Preparedness items at local Sam’s Clubs

• 06 Jun 2012
• ekim
• 0 responses

I work near a Sam’s Club and sometime head over for a lunchtime visit. It is hard to beat a Polish Dog and soda at $1.50 for lunchtime frugality. While I am there I often browse through the store to see what seasonal items are on display. Over the last couple months I’ve noticed a few preparedness items at local Sam’s Clubs.

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Tags: Books, Education, Evacuation Kits, Food, Food Storage, Gardening, gear, preparedness, preps, Survival

Preparedness related show coming to NBC this fall

• 05 Jun 2012
• ekim
• 3 responses

A few weeks ago, NBC released the trailer for a preparedness related show coming to NBC this fall. It is titled Revolution and we at Utah Preppers are excited that another show with prepping overtones has been green lit for prime time. I don’t want to give too much away so watch the trailer below and let us know what you think. Will this get a rabid fan following like Jericho?

Creating your own Bug Out Location

• 24 Apr 2012
• ekim
• 1 response

You have a perfectly set up 72 hour kit/bug out bag for each member of your family. They are located in vehicles or in a grab and dash spot so you can be on the road and on your way within seconds. Now what? Where are you going? Generally speaking, an evacuation plan should include a few set locations that you and those you are bugging out with are familiar with. One common solution is to head to a family member’s house some distance away. This solution might work in some scenarios, but in many circumstances you might find that you’ve placed a burden on your family by bringing more mouths to feed in an extended crisis. In other situations you might find it difficult to get to your family member’s home due to distance, lack of fuel or inaccessible roads depending on the nature of the disaster that has caused you to leave your home.

When starting your journey down the rabbit hole of preparedness you’ll often see terms referenced such as GOOD (Get out of Dodge), BOL, BOB (Bug out Location, Bug out Bag) and other acronyms that hint at evacuating an area should there be a disaster, civil unrest or many of the other events that we prepare for. One question that can’t be answered by a simple acronym however is WHERE?

My nearest family is about 10 hours away and in either highly populated areas or in areas with limited access in a disaster, so my family needs to consider something more local for our evacuation plan. We decided that as part of our general preparedness efforts we would like to work towards obtaining a property to eventually build a bug out location as well as provide a place for our family to camp and enjoy nature on a frequent basis. I’d like to share some of the things I learned in this process on creating your own bug out location.
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Tags: Bug Out, evacuation, evacuation plans, GOOD, Land, preparedness, Preppers, preps, Property, Travel, Vacation

Utah County Amateur Radio Emergency Service New HAM night tonight!

• 27 Mar 2012
• ekim
• 0 responses

HAM Radio

I received this email announcement from a HAM Radio friend.

For any of you who

• have recently received your amateur radio call sign
• are thinking about getting it and want to know more
• you’ve had your call sign for awhile but never really been introduced to the UCARES organization

This is a good event. You can meet some of the organizers and people who’ve been in it awhile, and talk to them about what the organization is all about. Runs from 7 – 8:30PM.

More info here
put your mouse over the New Ham Night on the right.

Directions

Tags: Community, Event, HAM Radio, meetup

Preppers and recent media interest on Prepping

• 07 Mar 2012
• ekim
• 2 responses

Prepping has seen a large spike in interest lately with several shows on cable TV networks currently on the air. From our own Phil Burns on “Meet the Preppers” to Doomsday Bunkers to Doomsday Preppers, interest in people preparing for hard times is at what seems like an all time high. Our recent post on Prepper coverage on NBCs Today Show is just one example.

The reason behind this increase is debatable with some contributing it to the hype surrounding the 2012 Mayan apocalypse myth. Others see a fundamental flaw in the monetary system which could cause widespread supply problems. Any one of these things could potentially happen, but for the most part, we merry band of preppers are just preparing for the unknown.

Regardless of how much the media attempts to marginalize or sensationalize what it means to be a Prepper, it really comes down to one thing. Whether it is a sudden lay off, a tornado, famine or the zombie apocalypse we know that being prepared for the worst will help us survive and thrive in tough times and we want to help others prepare too. UtahPreppers author Jayce says it well in this TheSpectrum article on prepping with:

“People need to know what they are preparing for and they want to help others when they figure it out,” Hall said. “People naturally want to share what they learn and we end up helping each other.”

What do you think about the recent spike in prepper interest?

Tags: Media, Politics, Preppers

Prepping featured on the Today Show this morning – Today Show Preppers

• 05 Mar 2012
• ekim
• 6 responses

As I was getting for work this morning, like most mornings I had the morning news on so I can try to be up to date on those events that are reported on. As I was finishing up and getting ready to walk out the door, the Today Show on NBC came on following the local news. One of the first things they mentioned? The growing number of “preppers preparing for the end of the world”.
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Tags: Article, Education, Food Storage, Gardening, preparedness, Preppers, preps, Reviews

The EDC Song

• 02 Dec 2011
• ekim
• 4 responses

Keeping your sense of humor alive and well is an often overlooked part of preparedness. It is easy to forget mental health preparedness when we are focused on skills and equipment. One of our readers pointed out hilarious video on the Every Day Carry portion of preparedness. Check it out below.

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Tags: EDC, humor