A.K.W.N Archives - Page 3 of 5 - Knowledge Weighs Nothing

How To Make A Soup Can Forge

October 27, 2018

We have done several posts about making your own knives, arrowheads and other small tools over the years, but the main stumbling block preventing most folks having a go is that the tutorials usually require a blacksmiths forge to heat, shape and harden the steel.

Building, or buying a full-sized blacksmiths forge is beyond most people, however, how about building a small DIY forge from a soup can or similar? I think most people interested in kife making could manage that, especially as this soup can forge is simple to make and costs very little to build. A DIY soup can forge like the one in the video tutorial above would be perfect for those interested in making and forging their own knives or arrowheads etc.

Watch the video above to see how to build this simple soup can forge. I guess if you wanted to make larger tools such as axe heads, you could just use a larger can or a paint tin and make a larger forge in the same manner.

(Image from: LifeBuzzN)

600 Reasons Turmeric Is The World’s Most Important Herb

September 20, 2013

Turmeric is one of the most medically and scientifically studied plants/herbs on the plant, but most of us just know it as one of the main ingredients in Indian curries.

As a keen runner I was aware that turmeric has very powerful anti-inflammatory painkilling properties. It is widely used by sports men/women as a natural alternative to taking ibuprofen to reduce inflammation and injuries. Turmeric has also been proven to reduce the pain and inflammation of arthritis… Below is a website that lists 600 studies where turmeric was successfully used to treat a whole manner of health conditions. It makes very interesting reading, and if you suffer from one of the conditions covered, it could be worth doing some research on dosage/preparation and giving turmeric a go.

600 Reasons Turmeric Is The World’s Most Important Herb

(Photo from: thedabblist)

Effective Stink Bug Home Remedies For Home & Yard

June 10, 2017

Stink bugs are a huge pain in the a**. Once these small pests take over your home, most people call for pest control professionals with their chemicals to eradicate them for good. Before you resort to the professionals spraying your entire home with chemical insecticides, why not give some of these traditional stink bug home remedies a try fist?

Before we get to the stink bug remedies, I should point out that once you have stink bugs in your home, the number one most effective (safe) way of getting rid of them is with stink bug traps. A while back we wrote a post showing how to build your own, incredibly effective DIY stink bug trap (see the link!), instead of purchasing the largely ineffective and expensive store-bought versions. I highly recommend you check out this stink bug post first. You can then build some DIY stink bug traps and use them in conjunction with some of the traditional stink bug remedies below.

Soapy Water Stink Bug Spray

A soapy water solution sprayed on stink bugs basically causes them to dry up and die. It works on eggs as well as the adult bugs, but the problem is that you must spray it directly on the bugs for it to work properly. This solution works best when combined with other natural remedies for a full home eradication of the pests.

To make the solution, combine around a liter (32 oz) of warm water with 180 ml (3/4 cup) liquid dish detergent. Put the solution in a spray bottle and get hunting.

Garlic Stink Bug Spray

This solution is perfect for fleas as well, both inside and outside of the home. Garlic spray is made by mixing boiling water with garlic and allowing it to steep overnight. Once added to a spray bottle, the concentrated solution can be sprayed on entryways as a barrier to prevent the stink bugs from entering your home, or practically anywhere else within the home. It needs to be sprayed at least once a week to prevent stink bugs from returning.

Mint Spray Stink Bug Repellent

The scent of garlic may be something that you simply do not want to have in your home in which case there is a less odorous way to prevent stink bugs. Mint is a deterrent for many bugs including stink bugs. Mix the spray by adding around 10 drops of peppermint essential oil to two cups of water. Again, you can spray the solution throughout your home on any type of surface to prevent bugs from entering and ward off the ones that are already there.

Eradicate Stink Bugs in the Garden

One of the easiest ways to prevent stink bugs is by eliminating their favorite places to hide. Although most stink bug infestations are not noticed until the bugs find their way into the home, they all start outside. A well-groomed yard free of weeds and debris is the best way to keep away stink bugs; they tend to hide out in weeds of all types and simply wait for an opportunity to enter the home. You can also use a garlic yard spray to kill stink bugs outdoors. See our garden yard spray for fleas post. This same spray is equally effective against both stink bugs and fleas.

A stink bug infestation should not be ignored. It will not simply go away and will only get worse if not dealt with properly. Stink bugs can find their way into any home at any time of the year, so make sure that you keep your home as clean as possible and employ some of these preventative solutions. Your home is for you and your family and not for the hordes of pests attempting to infiltrate it. Try these stink bug remedies first, before resorting to spraying potent chemical insecticides throughout you home and outdoor spaces.

(Stink bug images from: Wikipedia)

Homemade Natural Bug Spray Recipe

May 26, 2014

If you purchase bug spray it will likely contain a chemical called DEET. Simply put – DEET is nasty stuff, so unless you are plagued by mosquitoes and have no other option, I would steer clear of the stuff. I accidently sprayed some DEET on a tent when camping once… It melted the material! Below is a natural, safer homemade bug spray recipe for you to try. It is very cheap and easy to make and it works well for us.

Ingredients

1 cup of boiled water (left to cool)
1 cup of apple cider vinegar
50-60 drops or peppermint essential oil (you can also try lemongrass or lavender oil too)

You will also need a spray bottle or two.

Instructions

Add all the ingredients to the spray bottle. Give it a really good shake and it’s ready to use. Simply spray on exposed skin and you are ready to go outdoors.

Notes

As it is a natural recipe it does wear off after a while, so be sure to reapply every hour or two.
Be sure to give the bottle a good shake before spraying to ensure the mixture is well mixed.
If you find the spray still smells a bit vinegary, add a few more drops of peppermint oil. You could also experiment by adding different essential oils too.

(Image from: Wikipedia)

2 Minute Trick To Clean/De-Haze Headlights

April 15, 2014

I have known about this tip/trick/hack for years, to be honest, I thought everyone did so it was a huge surprise when a friend of mine told me she has just paid $20 to have her headlights cleaned… Anyway this made me think that perhaps there are lots of people out there paying professionals or purchasing expensive cleaning products to clean their headlights, so I thought I would do this quick post just in case.

2 Minute Trick To Clean & De-Haze Headlights

Go out and buy a cheap $1 tube of toothpaste – squeeze some on a paper towel and rub onto the headlight. (Be careful not to rub too hard as this could cause tiny surface scratches). Now take a clean paper towel or two, and polish the toothpaste off the headlight. You should be left with a crystal clear, haze free headlight.

This takes around 2 minutes of your time and costs you $1, and your tube of toothpaste will likely last for another 5-10 cleans.

(Photo from: Wikipedia)

How To Open A Locked Padlock With A Soda/Beer Can

August 16, 2018

There are many emergency and survival scenarios where you may need to get past a locked padlock, but you don’t have the key. To be honest, there are also many non-emergency times you may want to open a locked padlock too. For example, I once lost the key to the padlock that secures one of our sheds. It wasn’t an emergency, but I wanted to get in without damaging the door of the frame.

There are obviously ways around smaller padlocks – smashing/hacksawing them etc, but in a SHTF scenario these can attract unwanted attention and might not be successful on larger padlocks anyway. Below is an excellent way to hack a soda can to make a tool which can be used to pop open a locked padlock. The video below shows how to make the shim tool and how to open the two most common types of padlocks using it.

This technique of opening padlocks has been around online for years. It is not new knowledge, but if you are now concerned about the security of gates and buildings you have padlocked, read on, and find out how to make your padlocks shim proof so they cannot be opened with the above method in the video.

How To Secure A Padlock With A Soda Can (To make it shim-proof)

When we posted the video above showing how to make a shim from a soda/beer can, LOTs of people complained… They said we were showing folks how to access and steal their goods. With this in mind I searched around to see if there was a method to make padlocks shim-proof. Guess what? There is! And it uses soda/beer cans too.

In a similar way to the original – where you make a small tool (shim) out of the can to pop open the padlock, this time you are making a small insert tool from a can which when used correctly, will stop a shim from working and being able to open the padlock. There we go, the balance of power has been restored!

By the way – you can use any beer or soda can!

(Photo from: Lftndbt via Instructables)

Shipping Containers For Underground Bunkers: Read This First!

October 18, 2018

Anyone who watches Doomsday Preppers on TV will be forgiven for thinking that you just purchase an old shipping container, dig a hole, throw it in the ground, cover it over, and there’s your bunker. True enough, purchasing a shipping container to use as a bunker can be a good way to build a bunker; they cost around $2000-$5000. Some come already insulated and some are ready wired for electricity with lights, sockets and switches etc.

The problem is that shipping containers were not meant to be put in a hole in the ground and covered with tons of soil… Shipping containers are designed to carry weight across the floor and across their four corners, the sides and roof themselves are not designed to carry weight or resist pressure. There are ways around this problem, such as building a Gabion Basket, but it is above the scope of this post to cover that, so Google is your friend here.

There are also several logistical issues with shipping containers; sure the company selling the container will likely deliver it to your site, but firstly, if you are building your bunker at a remote bug-out location, can a large flat-bed truck even access the site? Secondly, how are you going to get your shipping container into the hole that has been dug for it (actually how are you going to dig the hole, can you get an excavator on-site?) Most shipping containers are delivered on roll-off flat-bed trucks… There will be no facility to drop the shipping container in place, into the hole dug for it, so how are you going to achieve this? You will likely need to hire a fork-lift or a crane and once again, get it to the site. Also is the site ground safe for a fork-lift or crane to operate? A muddy, rocky and uneven site is going to cause further problems here.

To summarise – shipping containers can make excellent underground bunkers, but there are some serious logistical considerations; how to ensure the shipping container can handle the pressure of being buried under tons and tons of soil, and also planning the location of your underground bunker, so the shipping container can be safely delivered to site and manoeuvred into its final resting place (hole).

This post is not in any way supposed to cover ALL the pros and cons of using a shipping container for an underground bunker; there are many considerations. The purpose of this article is to get you thinking about the logistics should you be considering purchasing a shipping container to use for an underground bunker. I hope it gives you food for thought and encourages you to do further research and planning before committing to purchase a bug-out location, or possibly buying a container which will end up sitting on-site, unused for several years because the project was not thought out properly.

Homemade Rat Poison That Works & Costs Pennies

October 9, 2018

From time to time, we have had problems with rats… We have a cat who is useless! Last year I watched as she was sitting 2 meters from our apple tree, a rat came out from the bushes, went over to the tree, climbed up a bit and started eating from a bird feeder. The cat just sat there watching it, and to be honest, the rat couldn’t have cared less.

Whilst considering how to deal with the rats I stumbled on a homemade rat poison recipe, that I tried with good results. Here’s the recipe –

Homemade Rat Poison Ingredients

Oatmeal
Sugar
Plaster of Paris
Water

Homemade Rat Poison Recipe/Instructions

Measure out equal amounts of oatmeal and plaster of Paris into a mixing bowl or bucket, add a handful of sugar and then add water to mix into a dough.
Once you have a basic dough, break off chunks and roll it into golfball sized balls.
Simply place these balls of DIY rat poison in locations where rats have been seen. As with conventional rat poison, don’t position the bait anywhere pets, children or other wildlife will come into contact with them.
Check each day and replace where they have been eaten. Keep replacing daily until they are no longer being eaten.

The homemade rat poison apparently works because once consumed, the plaster of Paris partially sets in the rat’s stomach and can’t be digested. It’s not a pleasant death, but none of the commercially available rat poisons provide a painless, quick death either. In fact most cause an agonising slow death as the rat ingests more and more poison over days and weeks.

You may be wondering why someone might try a homemade recipe, but the thing most people don’t realize about conventional rat poison is that rats have to keep eating it over several days for it to build up in their system enough to kill them. With this in mind, to effectively treat a rat infestation, you need a lot of poison (which gets very expensive) as you need to keep putting it down day after day until it is not getting eaten anymore…

The ingredients in this homemade rat poison recipe cost pennies, so it is very cheap to keep using until all the rats have been killed. Additionally commercial rat poison can be very dangerous to pets and children when it is stored unused. This DIY rat poison recipe is made and mixed as required. When it is stored, it is simply a bag of oatmeal, a bag of sugar and bag of plaster of Paris.

K.W.N Grayman Knives: Ground Pounder Review

September 14, 2018

This is my review on the Grayman Knives Ground Pounder knife, but firstly a bit about Grayman Knives.

Grayman Knives are small husband and wife company in the US. Sue does the website and orders etc and Mike designs and makes the knives. All Grayman fixed blades are hand-ground by Mike and made in the USA. Initially, Grayman knives were only available to the military and law enforcement, but as Mike slowed down on other projects, it freed up more time to for knife making and they made their knives available to everyone.

Grayman Knives Ground Pounder Specification

Back to the Ground Pounder! Firstly in case you were wondering, it is called the Ground Pounder in honour of the US Military’s ground forces. I’ll give you the knife’s specifications here and then I’ll give you my thoughts, opinion and conclusion below the photos.

The Ground Pounder is 1 3/4 inch wide with a 6-inch blade, 12 inches in length overall.
It is made from 1/4 inch thick 1095 steel with a black DuraCoat finish. It has a heavy-duty textured G10 handle (available in green or black).
The knife has a drop-point tip, it has a single bevel and ships with what Mike refers to as a ‘toothy working edge’ (more on these later).
The knife comes with a Cordura sheath with a Kydex insert. The sheath is MOLLE/belt compatible

Grayman Knives Ground Pounder

Ground Pounder in its Cordura sheath

Ground Pounder and Cordura sheath

Grayman Knives - Ground Pounder knife with sheath

Ground Pounder full-tang spine

Ground Pounder measurements

The Grayman Knives Ground Pounder is a big, heavy-duty knife, that is designed and made to be used. It is a very serious knife if I had to choose one word to describe it is would be ‘hefty’. It’s a hefty knife that wants to cut, chop and pry all day long. If I had to survive in the wilderness and I could take just one tool with me, it would be a knife like this (actually it would be this knife!).

I have had this knife for several weeks and I have used it for many different things, I have used it to cut all manner of material; I have chopped branches, batoned wood for fires and made feather sticks. I even did some digging with it! The knife’s biggest strength is its only weakness. It is one big, heavy-duty knife that wants to be abused. It is a jack of all trade, but also a master of most of them as well. The weakness is the size, it is just too big to be great for really nimble/delicate tasks. That said the well-designed choil does make the knife a lot more nimble for its size.

Quality and dependability aside, the unique thing about the Ground Pounder is that its blade is ‘single-bevel’, this means the blade edge is ground on only one side (most knives are ground on both sides), similar to a chisel, actually it is sometimes referred to as a ‘chisel grind’. There is a more in-depth explanation on single bevel grind and why it is used on the Grayman Knives website. I really like this feature as it makes sharpening the knife much quicker and easier when you are away from home or base camp. I also found that the single bevel design actually aids branch chopping etc. I think it is as much to do with the 1095 carbon steel used to make the knife, as it is the single bevel edge, but with a bit of work, this knife can be made scary sharp! Additionally, I found it remained sharp for quite some time.

The Ground Pounder ships with what Mike refers to as a ‘toothy working edge’. It is basically a more aggressive, raspy edge with tiny rough ridges. Personally, this edge was not for me. I can totally see why it would be great for military heavy-duty use etc, but I didn’t find it ideal for finer tasks such as making feather sticks. I actually ended up sharpening it out to a finer edge, which I felt was much sharper, but to be honest, this is all just personal taste. You might love the ‘toothy working edge’, but if not, you can sharpen the knife, it’s not an issue.

I wasn’t sure if I was going to be a fan of the DuraCoat finish, but it has held up really well. It protects the steel against rust and it makes the knife easy to clean. It also stops the knife reflecting light if you are in a covert situation, although this works in reverse if you are in a survival situation, as you cannot use the knife blade for signalling for help etc.

The G10 handle is comfortable and has a great grip. One thing I would say is it’s a big old handle and I don’t think it would be that comfortable for folks with smaller hands. In front of the handle is a choil, which is an excellent feature as it enables you to have much better control over the blade for more precise/delicate tasks.

The Cordura sheath has a Kydex insert and it’s MOLLE/belt compatible. It’s not pretty, but it does what it is supposed to do – it holds and protects the knife (and you!) very well. The webbing makes it very easy to attach to a pack which is a great feature.

Grayman Knives Ground Pounder Conclusion

I get emails all the time asking for me to recommend knives for bug-out-bags and for wilderness survival. Typically people ask – what one knife would you recommend for my pack, that is dependable and has multiple uses, so it will save me carrying several tools?

I am by no means an expert on knives, but it seemed that all the knives I have had experience of, have some kind of limitation. With this in mind, I set about finding a ‘one knife for every situation’ that could cover all bases in a survival situation. This was when I stumbled across Grayman Knives and I was immediately drawn to the Ground Pounder and that leads us to where we are today.

I already liked the look of the Ground Pounder which is why I got hold of one to review. I have high expectations for my gear and tools and I think the Ground Pounder is as close as you will get to one knife for every task in survival situations. It excels at the hard tasks of cutting, chopping, digging and prying, but largely due to the well-implemented choil, it can tackle the finer tasks as well. It is not as good at the finer tasks, but you can get them done with a bit more time and care. You are never going to get a tool that can chop wood, hack down branches and dig holes, that is also great for carving, dressing game and preparing food. To be honest, I’ll also carry a smaller folding knife for preparing food etc, and I would recommend doing this, BUT you don’t absolutely need to.

If you don’t want to carry a separate machete, hatchet, entrenching tool and knife, then the Grayman Knives Ground Pounder could be the tool for you. It excels at the tough work and yet still just about manages to be nimble enough to get the finer tasks accomplished as well. If you only want to carry one tool, this is that tool!

The Ground Pounder comes with several different blade choices. The one featured here is the single bevel, single edge option and it currently costs $195. Yes, this is a sizeable amount of money, but each knife is hand-ground and made in the US by Mike, and if you purchase one, the money you spend is an investment rather than a cost, as you are investing in a knife that will have your back and won’t let you down, no matter what situation you find yourself in, for the rest of your life… Another thing to bear in mind is – if you are considering purchasing this knife for a bug-out-bag or survival kit and you want to travel light, having this knife saves you the cost of having to purchase a separate machete, hatchet and possible an entrenching tool.

Finally, there is also the Grayman Knives fixed blade warranty: “Free sharpening anytime. You pay postage, and I’ll sharpen her up and send her right back. If you break it (yeah right) send it back and I’ll fix or replace it post-haste. If you sell it, give it away, or will it to a family member or fave charity, the warranty goes with it.” You can’t ask for much more!

I highly recommend the Grayman Knives Ground Pounder knife! It is now the knife packed in my bag and it sits there ready for adventure…

K.W.N Kelly Kettle Base Camp (Stainless Steel) Review

September 11, 2018

This review is on the Kelly Kettle Base Camp model in stainless steel. Kelly Kettles come in three different sizes, with some made from aluminium and some made from stainless steel. The Base Camp model is the largest in the range, but other than their size, all of the other Kelly Kettles perform in the same manner.

The Kelly Kettle is the original outdoor kettle. The first Kelly Kettle was developed in the 1890s by the great grand-father of the current company directors. These days the Kelly Kettle is often imitated, but never bettered. You might find a cheaper alternative, but the build quality of the Kelly Kettle is so good, it will likely last you a lifetime. You’ll probably end up handing it down to your kids..

So what does the Kelly Kettle do that makes it so unique? Well firstly, check out the image below which shows how the kettle works. It is simple, yet genius!

Kettle removed from fire base

As you can see, I simply used some cardboard to light the fire. I put the kettle on the base, dropped several pine cones down the chimney and lit the fire via the small hole (just about visible in the photo below) in the fire base. A few more pine cones and seven minutes later I had 1.5 litres of boiling water!

You can burn pretty much anything you can fit in the fire base and chimeny; twigs; pine cones; tree bark; dry grass; paper and cardboard. The thing that makes the Kelly Kettle truly unique is the speed with which it boils water. I managed to boil 1.5 litres of cold water in seven minutes and the timer started when I first lit the fire. When trying to boil water with the kettle (when a fire was already established and burning well) I repeatedly managed to boil 1.5 litres of cold water in around five minutes. Now that might not sound amazing when compared to your electric kettle at home, but anyone who has boiled water on outdoor stoves or over fires, will know that that is astonishingly fast…

Kelly Kettle boiling water

Kelly Kettle with pot support and pan

Aside from boiling water, there are also some accessories available which allow you to cook on the Kelly Kettle. There is the pot support (above) and the the two piece fire base grill (below). Now these are great additions, but they don’t come as standard, but I would recommend purchasing both. However there are limitations.

Firstly, if you will be using the Kelly Kettle for cooking on, it is recommended that you purchase the stainless steel version as it is more durable and heat resistant than the aluminium version. The second limitation is that it is stated that you should only really use the Kelly Kettle for cooking quick meals such as noodles, oatmeal, eggs, sausages and bacon etc. This is because the kettle needs to have water in it when in use. If you use it for cooking on without having water in it, you will damage it.

So basically you have five to ten minutes of cooking time using the pot support on the top of the kettle, but if your food isn’t cooked in this time, you can remove the kettle from the fire base and add the grill attachment and finish off your food on there. I discussed cooking with Patrick, one of the directors at Kelly Kettle, and he explained that cooking on the kettles is a relatively new thing, with historically the main purpose of the kettles being to boil water in super quick time.

He did give me two great tips for cooking on the Kelly Kettle though:

When cooking noodles etc on the top of the kettle, first boil some water which can be poured over the noodles to speed up cooking time. You can then refill the kettle and cook them before it boils again.
If you want to continue cooking on the top of the Kelly Kettle after the water has boiled, it is ok (with caution!) to continue cooking for a short period, with the water continuing to boil.

Fire base with to piece grill attachment

Cooking/boiling water on the fire base grill

Conclusion

The Kelly Kettle has been around for over a 100 years and it is probably more popular now than it has ever been. There is a reason for this – it is a very well made, high quality bit of kit that boils water outdoors faster than any other reasonable method. I would give it 10/10 for build quality and 10/10 for its main ability of boiling water. I would give it 7/10 for cooking on, but we need to remember that cooking is the Kelly Kettle’s secondary use, and as long as you are aware of the limitations, it is perfectly fine. The problem is the kettle is just so efficient at boiling water, it doesn’t give you a great deal of time for cooking!

I think the Base Camp Kelly Kettle would be ideal for: fishing, car camping, preparedness, Scouts, picnics and construction sites. Personally I wouldn’t use it for hiking or wilderness camping as it is too big and bulky. That said, the Base Camp is the largest kettle in the range, there is also the Scout Kettle and Trekker Kettle. Another thing to note is that if you purchase the additional pot support and cook set (pan/lid, handle and two piece grill) , these all fit and are stored inside the kettle for storage, so they don’t take up any additional space.

Overall, I completely recommend the Kelly Kettle. If you’ve read my review, you understand its strengths and limitations, if you think it suits your needs and you are thinking of getting one, don’t hesitate! It will likely last you a lifetime. Additionally, I have nothing but great things to say about the folks from Kelly Kettle. They couldn’t have been more helpful and friendly.

Cost

For this review I received a Kelly Kettle Base Camp in stainless steel, which came as part of a kit which included the the pot support, pan/lid, handle, grill and bag. This kit currently retails at $108.99, although you can purchase the kettle alone for $89.99, the aluminium kettles are cheaper again. Kelly Kettles can also be purchased directly from Kelly Kettle (UK, Ireland & Europe) and Kelly Kettle USA.