Indholdsfortegnelse for December 2019 i American Outdoor Guide

As you may imagine, I spend quite a bit of time researching, reading about and fact-checking the articles our subject matter experts submit to ASG. If you’ve been reading our magazine for any length of time, you know we don’t confine ourselves to a narrow range of prepping and survival topics. We cover everything from the basics of food, water and shelter procurement, personal safety and security and first aid to less-common topics such as mental health, childbirth, global communications and many others that we think you should, and want to, know more about. Of course, every area we cover (we try to organize them into the Six Pillars of Survival: Water, Food, Shelter, Security, Health and Communications) involves the use of tools or gear of some sort, so we…

If you are using plastic containers for storage, consider using something like a FoodSaver system to further protect crucial items inside the container. On a tight budget? Metal ammo cans are a good choice for waterproof containers. Ensure the seams and gasket are intact and the lid clamps tightly. You should feel some resistance when you close the lid. Consider putting crucial items in Ziploc kitchen-size or closet-size bags. Food-grade, airtight, waterproof plastic buckets can be purchased from stores such as Lehman’s, where a 4-gallon bucket is about $10. Pelican is well known for their airtight, waterproof, rugged and impact-resistant cases that are made in numerous sizes and styles, but they can be expensive.…

Anyone who picks up a Nordsmith-branded knife will no doubt notice the sharp 90-degree spine. Those who have been around the knife world for a while know there are very few shops that produce such a precision-ground spine. In fact, there is only one shop that will typically come to mind. One of David’s longtime mentors has been L.T. Wright. L.T. has a long-standing, and well-deserved, reputation as one of the most respected knifemakers in the industry. When David had his designs down pat and wanted to put them into production, it was a no-brain-er to contract with L.T.’s shop. L.T. and his crew make every knife by hand at their shop in Winters-ville, Ohio. David is very involved, of course, and ensures that every knife bearing his brand meets…

While the WCSK is adept at cutting chores best suited to smaller, thinner knives, William Collins recognized that it was not always the best tool for the job. When developing the WCNK (William Collins Neck Knife), William wanted to convert the utility and design language of its bigger brother into a compact, easy-to-use knife for all those times when a hard-use survival knife was overkill. The NK uses a similar blade profile to the SK but adapts the grinds to be more efficient when cutting and carving. The WCNK uses a full-size handle that is an absolute joy to use. Like the handle on the SK, the NK handle is comfortable in every grip position I tried. The blade is made from 0.125-inch AEB-L stainless steel with William’s proprietary heat…

Name: Watercress (Nasturtium offi cinale) Watercress is a member of the Mustard family. There are five species of Nasturtium worldwide. Description Watercress is a weak-stemmed annual that is always found along streams or slow-moving waters. Each leaf is pinnately divided, a typical Mustard family configuration. The stems are hollow, and the roots are white on the underwater part of the plant. The flowers are white and, as with all members of the Mustard family, consist of four petals, four sepals, one pistil and six stamens (four tall and two short). Yes, you might need a magnifying glass to see this! Areas Found Found worldwide, watercress is restricted to the edges of lakes and streams, and springs. It can be found in the lowest elevations, along the streams that enter…

Growing up on a self-sustaining farm, we preserved enough food annually to last until the next harvest and beyond. Rotation was easy: as we preserved, the date was written on the jar and jars were stored on shelves in free-standing wooden cabinets in the basement. Shelves were built to accommodate pints, quarts and gallons without stacking them, and the doors were plywood. At least one row (front to back) was left empty to enable us to reach into the cabinet and move jars without unloading the shelf. For example, in summer we made blackberry jelly; we went to the shelf containing blackberry jelly and moved any remaining jars forward, filling in the back with the new jelly. When I left the farm and began filling my own cupboards with a…

The Great Outdoors is, well, great, but there’s always a risk of coming face to face with one of its residents. Most of these encounters will be benign, but in some circumstances, you may not be so lucky. Let’s face it; if it’s got a mouth, it can probably bite you, whether it’s a fire ant, a polar bear, or your senile old Uncle Fred. In this article, we’ll talk about bites from the critters you might consider cute: the ones with the nice soft fur. They may live in the woods or right in your own home. The average person’s life is spent in close proximity to dogs, cats, and other mammals, so it pays to know about animal bites as well as their treatment and prevention. ANIMAL BITES…

William Collins will be the first to admit that he is a knifemaker, not a sheathmaker. While he is capable of providing a serviceable sheath for his knives, he wants to ensure that his customers have access to a sheath that is as unique and bombproof as the knives that they are designed to carry. For this, William has collaborated with Randy Smith from Stitched Gear Outfitters. Randy has been making leather goods of extreme quality for many years and it shows in his designs and attention to detail. The sheath system that Randy designed for the WCSK is as tough and durable as the knife it holds. The body of each sheath is made from 10-ounce skirting leather. The leather has been waterproofed using a proprietary beeswax impregnation process.…

ELEVATORS, HARDLY A MODERN CONVENIENCE Yes, the modern elevator has enabled man to expand upward exponentially since the late 19th century, but its history and usefulness have been around for over 2,000 years and perhaps even longer. Archimedes, an all-around genius of his time, invented the first elevator around 235 BC. Using the properties of pulleys and winches, he developed elevators that could be lifted upward under human and animal power. The Romans then adapted Archimedes’ invention and added it to the world-famous Colosseum in Rome, evident by shafts found at the ancient site. Finally, style was all the rage in the late 1800s, as elevators were once called movable rooms, and what better to be put into rooms? How about furniture, chandeliers, decorative carpeting and ornamental rugs. The process…

When defending a home, the default is to rely on firearms, but possessing firearms is only half the equation. Being able to utilize the appropriate firearms in the proper situations and locations is the crucial half. If someone is attempting to enter your home and take your supplies, they are in a state of desperation and personal fear. Generally, they are attempting to take your supplies because they were too lazy to prepare their own or did not have proper defenses to protect their own goods. To avoid this situation, a home should be set up with progressive fallback locations. Heavy and longer-distance firearms should be set near the windows to protect from outside threats entering a building. Smaller and powerful firearms should be set up along doorways and hallways…

ELEVATORS ARE MUCH SAFER THAN YOU THINK Even though thousands of people have anxiety concerning every aspect of an elevator, the truth is that they are, by far, extremely safe. Sustaining an injury or dying while riding one is extremely rare. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are about 30 fatal elevator accidents every year, which includes elevators and escalators, with only about half of them being passengers. The other half are workers who fell down the shaft or got caught in moving parts. Injuries from elevators include people getting caught between the doors as they close and losing their balance as the elevator lifts or descends. On average, there are about 900,000 elevators operating in the United States today, with 325 million rides every day. Interestingly…

In an effort to get out of New England’s cold and snow, and to get a good look at how climate change is affecting other areas, I traveled to Florida in March of this year. What I found really opened my eyes. Day one found me dealing with air temperatures that were in the mid-30s, not much warmer than what I had left in New Hampshire; not the norm for Florida. Temperatures were not the only issue. According to some of the locals, this past winter had been extremely dry. Winter is normally their wet season, so this lack of rain would definitely show its effects during the summer. To inspect the environment, I took to a kayak and made my way down the Homosassa River. Despite the lack of…