Emergency Prep Knives

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I am not a Mormon, But I was in a Boy Scout troop sponsored by a Mormon church, and they didn't mess around. They take their prepping seriously. Even before it was the cool thing to do.

 

I used to do that for a large Methodist Church and for our district churches in Florida when I lived there. Here's a link to a sample plan that pretty much follows the guidelines the Methodist Church uses for local church and district-wide disaster preparedness. It does have a list of recommended equipment somewhere in the middle and the manual is not overly long. They aren't selling anything so I think it's OK to post the link.

http://shenpres.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/SampleChurch.pdf

 

I’d also go with stainless companion. It’s a good blade, but most people are going to stick them in a drawer / car / pack and not use them unless a need arises. A stainless Companion is the perfect balance here. Zero maintenance, useable sheath (usually), and capable for 90% of regular knife jobs.

Sabrecat - you can pick up a Mora Companion from many sources ranging from online knife shops to Amazon for under $20.

 

I think it can be done in one page. Probably a table or double table with a list of things.... 3-7 days food, generator, knife, heat source for winter months, gasoline, and so forth. A Mora works for this, but there is a lot of personal preference involved. Firearm, SAK and multi-tool too.

 

For kits that will be bought and built, or that are going to be lists, I like the mora, but for a different reason than stated so far. They are sharp out of the box, and are known to be. So you don't have to worry about tuning it up. LB Rebar is a good value tool, tougher than the cheap ones, but not break the bank expensive, and a good mix of tools.
Other gear. I know lots of guys like hatchets. But I'm not a fan of suggesting them to people who have not used them before. They are the sort of thing that people think is easy, but tend to hurt themselves with. Saws are better for rookies.

As for the aside on LDS and BSA, probably has more to do with the BSA wanting to keep its reach as wide as possible, and not wanting the baggage of troops that are more tied to a church body. Sad fact is that all churches are pretty bad at child protection, and are no longer a selling point. The BSA won't get any favors if they make even a slight mistake. Everything both do is seen with wider motivations, the reality is likely very simple. Could also be that the LDS want to start their own group, many denominations have them, like the Adventists. So I wouldn't read too much into the motivations, they are almost always simpler than the pundits claim.

 

If a person doesn't already have a knife they probably lack the skill to handle one outside of the kitchen. I agree with the Mora if you have to choose.
I would think you would start with supplies that will be needed at the church when the members start showing up. Give some thought to how many people will be there. How long will they stay? Other than the obvious water, food, and blankets what will they need? Don't overlook simple things like toilet paper, soap, toothbrushes/tooth paste, deodorant, and other hygiene products(for women and babies). Does the church already have toys, games, and books to keep the children occupied? Are the members close enough to the church to communicate with two-way radios? I know a few bear hunters who are very happy with the performance of the cheap radios they buy from the big online website for less than $15 each including chargers. Does the church have an emergency generator and fuel storage? I think a well thought out preparedness plan can be a good thing for your church if handled properly. Like most groups it will probably be a challenge for you to get a consensus on any idea that involves $
Best of luck

 

Esse 6 would for sure be in my bug-out bag

 

As a person who works in a risk management related field, I think both of these posts are excellent. Developing a threat (or risk) matrix is a great idea but the concept that Risk = threat (or likelihood) x impact is a tough one for non-risk people to catch up to sometimes. I recommend starting with threats (likelihoods) at a strategic or high level and then drilling down to more tactical or low level threat by way of decomposition.

This said, risk is also deeply tied to cognitive psychology which is deeply tied to social psychology and you can different stakeholders from different social/cultural groups with wildly different unspoken perceptions of threat. I'm imagining facilitating that discussion at our church and can't imagine getting consensus on anything.

So, as a former and many time church board member I'll add that this sort of thing is difficult among professionals and my experiences on church boards is they don't tend to be bastions of clear, level-headed, rational thinking. Just sayin'.

Bringing this around to knives, as much as I like Mora Companions, I would pick the Buck Bucklite Max Large fixed blade for this application. I think it's hollow grind will be more familiar to more people, will be plenty big and tough for about any task one can reasonably attempt with a fixed blade and will be easier to maintain for most US folks.

 

The truth is that for this type of

It’s natural that people like us will probably go to discussing knives / multitools / guns first... but they’re a small part of a much bigger job. The conversation on helping special needs / elderly people, food & water, hygiene, shelter, mutual assistance - is probably more important.

 

Is the idea that (1) every family buys an individual set of emergency gear (and every family buys roughly the same stuff), or (2) that the church buys a communal pool of gear, that is kept at the church, and that can be divvied up during an emergency or otherwise provided to those who congregate at the church on an as-needs basis?

 

Have them read One Second After by William Fortstchen for world changing emergency. It is an emergency that is almost impossible to prepare for a normal person. Scary scenario.

 

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Some varying perspectives there. Basically seems something along the lines of shelter-in-place at home with the church offering as support base. Things like winter weather or power outages. But of course the displacement (ie. 'Bug out')...think California wild fires...also needs consideration. Lots of variables and resources.

Bottom line, a little bit of prep work before its needed (when you have the luxury of time) can go a long way. Any cutting tools will most likely be considered from a light, compact, easily packable, inexpensive mindset for the non-knife folks.

Knife-types will be like 'Zombie apocalypse?!?! Finally!! Now...do I take the Becker BKT9 or Busse Battle Mistress? For the pouch...Sebenza or XM18? I know! BOTH!!! Bring it!!'

Boss