In Part I of this article I talked about some basic hand tools every household should have. The were basic PPE, screwdrivers, pliers, hex keys, hammer, measuring and marking tools, and saws. Those tools should get just about everyone started. Today I’m going to talk about a few more that I think are more or less essential and are still well within the realm of “basic” hand tools (and I wax philosophical here and there). Enjoy.
Housekeeping: SAR, Technical Rescue, Paramedic
Today I want to provide a personal update and let you know why I have been less active on the blog. As some of you may have noticed I have recently slowed down a bit on the blog posts. There are some reasons for that. I attempt to run this blog with some transparency so I’ll let you know exactly what those reasons are.
Know a Knot! The Scaffold Knot
Welcome back to Know a Knot! I know it has been a few weeks since I’ve posted a knot article and for that I apologize. This week I’m back with a reader request: could you demonstrate a knot that slips? Yes (based on some other text in his email I believe he mean “slip”as the ability to loosen or tighten the loop) I can! There are a lot of knots that slip but I really like this one because it is a very strong knot and you already know how to tie it. It’s called the scaffold knot.
Humaning 101: Basic Hand Tools, Part I
I recently got a reader request for an article on tool maintenance. I’m not necessarily the expert on tool maintenance but I’m willing to take a stab at it. Before I do that I think we should talk about one of those things every halfway competent human should possess: a set of basic hand tools.
Dry Fire Tools: The MantisX
I have written extensively about dry practice. I’m not even going to attempt to link to dry practice articles here because this blog is littered with them. I will, however, quickly extol the virtues of dry practice. It is very inexpensive, it is accessible in areas not optimized for live fire, it allows you to practice things your range doesn’t allow. As awesome as dry practice is, there are tools that can make it objectively better. Today I am going to talk about one of them: the MantisX.
Your Dry Practice Plan: 1 – 30 June 2020
During this month I introduce a couple skills that are completely new and novel. You’ve probably never seen these things in a range or dry practice training plan before.
Preparedness Part II: Prepare Your Mind
In my last article on preparedness I discussed preparing your body. In this article I am going to discuss preparing your mind. This is arguably just as important as preparing your body; all the supplies, food, ammunition, and “stuff” in the world won’t get you through if you aren’t mentally capable.
Image Based Decisional Drills
Uncertainty is very difficult to create in firearms practice sessions. Ninety-nine times out of a hundred when you draw your pistol you are about to execute a predetermined course of action. You know that you’re going to fire and exactly how many rounds you are going to fire. And you know this long before you draw. It can be difficult to build decision-making into the process of firearms training, and especially solo practice sessions. I recently discovered a product called Image Based Decisional Drills that is designed to help with that.
Preparedness Part I: Preparing Your Body
I may have mentioned that I have some plans to write a series of articles on preparedness. It has been difficult to decide where to start. Yesterday I was reading Sherman House’s Civilian Defender blog and saw an article about personal health. It really resonated with me, and immediately I knew where to start this series. This series will proceed in a logical fashion, beginning to the most important, most urgent priorities. Let’s begin with preparing your body.
Recommended Digital Tools and Services
I have written about a lot of security tools over the years. I generally prefer to focus on techniques and behaviors rather than tools. Security-minded behavior is generally more effective than security tools. It is easier and vastly more certain, for instance, to conceal a thought that was never committed to text than it is to erase it afterward. Tools can also create a false sense of security and cause a disregard for the importance of security behaviors.
In some instances tools are indispensable, however. Tools can provide capabilities that behavior alone cannot. This post will serve as a repository of my current recommended tools and services. It will host links to my articles/reviews about these products, as well as links to their host sites, and I will update it frequently.