Category:

Do You Even Sew Bro?

9/1/2014

Do You Even Sew Bro?

Do You Even Sew Bro?

We're not talking about making a dress, but a simple skill that will allow you to mend clothing, repair a gear bag maybe ever stitch a wound....

When the zombies rise manufacturing will shut down, new items will be looted and existing gear will wear out over time. Sometimes we concentrate on prepping, storing food or water and learning things like fire making but can easily overlook more mundane things like sewing on a button.

We know grown men that don't even own a spool of thread. Yeah, they can rock a Glock like nobody's business but probably can't thread a needle.

Ok, so we've used a stapler to fix a hem on a pair of uniform pants at roll call but long term you gotta fix your gear.

Practice with your guns but learn to work a needle and thread. Make friends with someone who knows how to work an old school foot powered sewing machine.

Be well rounded, learn a skill yo.
Get ready for the apocalypse.

Check out our other blogs at www.zombietacticalcord.com/blog

#zombietacticalcord #blog #zombieplan #ZTC #zombie_tac_cord See More

0 Comments

Always have a pot to pee in

7/14/2014

1 Comment

My daughters are less than enthused to be without toilet privileges the next 3 days while the floors are being redone in the bathrooms.
Is it good or bad that we already had the toilet seat and 5 gallon bucket ready for just such an "emergency".
This zombie plan just pays off all the time. Always have a pot to piss in.

5 Gallon Bucket, hand sanitizer, toilet paper, baby wipes, trash bags with some cat litter in the bottom (for #1's) and a toilet seat lid:
https://goo.gl/vEog8x

#zombietacticalcord #ztc #zombie_tac_cord #zombieplan #honeypot

1 Comment

Anatomy of a Zombie Kill

3/19/2014

2 Comments

Anatomy of a Zombie Kill

The preferred definition of a zombie is a relentless adversary that had at one time died and been revived by some type of biological virus. The only thing that will stop the undead is destruction of the brain.

As seen in some movies and TV shows decapitation only removes the biting portion and creates what has been referred to by other zombie experts as a “land mine”. Being that our brain controls all of our bodily functions, both voluntary and involuntary, it is of course well protected. The majority of our vital organs are protected by bone, muscle, and/or cartilage. The skull of a typical adult human has an average thickness of around ¼”. In the early to mid-twenties a human’s skull fissures are fully sealed. The brain itself is completely encased inside the skull except for the opening in the atlas that allows the connection of the brain stem to the spinal cord. This fact is especially evident when high velocity low mass impact occurs within the cranial vault. Hydrostatic pressure is created inside the cranial vault that presses the brain against the inside of the skull and cuts the four neural strips that cross the brain. At the same time it presses the brain stem down into the opening of the atlas severing the connection to the spinal cord and the rest of the body. This is the most effective way to dispatch the undead although not the best overall as the gunshot from the high powered rifle will certainly attract more undead as well as the living.

The quiet ways of destroying the brain of a zombie are hindered by the very thing that is meant to protect our brains from damage. The thickness of the skull makes penetration by smaller edged weapons all but impossible on anything but a severely decomposed body. When the body dies and the head is in a downward position pressures can build within the cranial vault and cause separation in the fissures or other weaker areas of the skull. This can give you an entry point into the skull to scramble the eggs. Without the benefit of decomposition a heavier weapon will be more able to breach the skull and cause significant damage. I’ve seen it take someone more than 15 minutes to get into a skull using an oscillating saw and chisel. With blunt force trauma it is more effective if the force is focused on a smaller point. With a knife the ease that it pierces the skin is determined by the sharpness and fineness of the point. Think of it like a needle vs. a chisel. If the force of the blow from a heavy weapon is focused on a smaller point more energy is transferred to that spot and therefore more damage is done. (Use code " blog5 " for 5% off in our store)

So in short, when deciding on a weapon to use keep in mind the basic anatomy of a zombie and the things that are needed to defeat the skull and reach the brain. Something with enough mass to do damage, and a smaller area to focus the energy to the skull and more effectively destroy the brain. Good luck, and good hunting. - Country1059

2 Comments

Blades for the Apocalypse (part 3)

2/18/2014

0 Comments

Defense/Offense

We all know that the most fun part of the apocalypse will be killing the undead, or is it re-killing? Either way the tools we are talking about can be used as defense as well from other humans and animals. Once again they all have their strengths and weaknesses. The key thing to remember about zombies (George Romero style) is the brain must be destroyed, not just the head removed from the body.

The survival knife wouldn’t seem to be a good choice at first glance. It doesn’t give you distance from the target that the machete or axe will. That’s where this particular brand of knife comes through. Since the handle is hollow it can be attached to a long limb to create a decent spear. Remember how the handle was sealed? Well it ain’t sealed with concrete; it’s just rubbery plastic that can be easily removed if so needed. This allows the knife to be used effectively at a farther range than either the machete or the axe. It stills suffers on mass. With a sturdy spear handle though, the mass of the weapon is increased and the knife is more easily used for stabbing. You’re still probably not going to get it through a skull plate easily if at all.

The machete that we are using is definitely not good for stabbing. As it was designed to do it’s made for hacking and slashing. A large kukri style machete would be better suited for both, but we have to run what we brought. The machete is just as good for removing limbs from bodies as it is from trees. A severed artery will incapacitate a large person or animal rather quickly. The problem with the penetration of the cranial vault by a machete is once again depending on its mass. The heavier bladed the machete the greater likelihood enough force could be generated to get to the brain. Decapitation seems a better alternative for dispatching Zed.

The axe excels where the other two have lacked, the category of mass. The 3.5 pound head can easily produce enough force to split the skull plate and destroy the brain. The back of the axe head can be used for crushing flesh and bone and produce some amazing blunt force trauma. There is no way possible to stab with an axe. Unless you have a medieval pike axe, you’re stuck with chopping and crushing. The length and sturdiness of the handle also makes it good for blocking and parrying, just not as good as the spear. Like I’ve said before, there is a reason axes have been carried into battle for so long. They do what they do quite well.

Stay tuned for part 4! - Country1059

0 Comments

Blades for the Apocalypse (part2)

2/11/2014

1 Comment

Making Fire and Shelter

To make a fire you need three things: heat, fuel, and oxygen. Building the basic setup for a fire you need to have tinder, kindling, smaller wood, and larger logs. Any of the three tools being discussed will be able to produce tinder and kindling. When it comes to gathering limbs and larger logs it’s easy to see that the axe has its advantages. The axe is able to chop down larger trees, cut them into manageable pieces, and split those into smaller wood for fire building. The machete can easily cut small and larger limbs. The problem faced is that the machete doesn’t do so well for splitting anything smaller. Basically, you get what you get. A good sized machete is still able to easily chop through four inch limbs or trees to make good fire wood. The survival knife is more limited in the sizes of material it can be worked through. The weight of the knife simply does not allow for chopping through large items. In order to cut larger through larger pieces of wood the wood should be placed under stress by bending and then the knife should be struck on the spine using something that would not inherently damage the blade. The knife can also be used to “baton” larger pieces up to around four inches thick into smaller kindling.

Getting the fire started is another issue. The easiest way to start a fire is of course gasoline and a lighter. What if you don’t have a lighter? Any of these can be used with a magnesium bar or a flint a steel technique to create a spark. What about a more primitive method? The bow drill is a fast way to create a coal for starting a fire provided you have some cordage (why do you think we wear the awesome ZTC bracelets?). Making the spindle, fire board, and bearing block becomes the issue. The knife can easily be used to whittle cedar into a spindle and carve the notch in the fire board as well as making the fire board from a block of cedar. The machete with its saw tooth spine can easily carve out the notch in the fire board. The whittling of the spindle is more difficult with the larger blade, but still achievable. The axe on the other hand makes it much more difficult to carve or whittle as that is not what the blade is intended to do.

Shelter making depends on your surroundings and the type of shelter you are trying to make. For a simple debris hut you need lots of loose material to create the heat-trapping, water resistant barrier. This is what the machete is made for: Clearing brush and grasses that would be perfect for bedding and a roof. The knife will also work well, whereas the axe would suffer for collecting brush and grass. A stick framed lean to shelter is made easier by the ability of the machete and axe to easily work through larger material. The knife can be used, but the same technique of stressing the wood along the cut and striking the spine with another one to two inch piece of wood would need to be used. For something more substantial and permanent such as a log Hogan the axe is the only choice. The amount and size of wood required could only be accomplished with the use of an axe. The other two tools just do not have the weight to get through the larger logs needed.

Stay tuned for the next episode! - Country1059

1 Comment

Blades for the Apocalypse (part1)

2/5/2014

0 Comments

We’ve all seen the movies and TV shows featuring the survivalist or the zombie hunter with their favorite melee weapon. Most use a machete as their “go to” for hacking and slashing. In the upcoming apocalypse it will be more than skill in dispatching the undead that will be needed. The tool or tools you decide to carry will have to be used for basic survival as well as defending against the walkers and the other living that might look to take what is yours. I’m going to look at a few basic tools/weapons that are commonly used and easy to find: The survival knife, the machete, and the axe. I’m going to see how each one does in a few different situations: mainly cutting/splitting wood for a fire and shelter, hunting/trapping, and killing zombies. I’m not endorsing any of the items I’m using…it just happens that these three are the brands and models that I personally have at home. We’ll start off by just talking basics about each group and what I’ll be using for the testing.

Survival Knife
When most people think of a survival knife the first thought that comes to mind is Rambo. All of us that were kids when First Blood came out immediately fell in love with the survival knife that could carry a saw, fishing line, hooks, fire starter, and the kitchen sink. These all had one inherent problem in construction and that was the tang. The tang was basically short and threaded and a nut and washer used to hold the hollow handle on. This was of course the weakest point in the entire knife and lead to breakage. The knife I’m using is a Cold Steel Bushman survival knife where the handle and blade are all one unit. The downside to the knife is the handle is open at the top and the bottom…but it can be sealed with Plasti-Dip. You can also make a “plug” with paracord and wrap the handle. The problem with this is the bottom is still open and all of your gubbins will fall out. I recommend a combination of the plastic dip and the paracord wrapping without the plug. That way you have the goods sealed in and the paracord around the handle to give more grip and there when you need it. The upside is it’s a very strong blade and can be used aggressively without worry that the blade will break off from the handle, and the sheath has a large pouch for carrying a magnesium bar and other necessities.

Machete
A machete is made for clearing brush and trailblazing through thick plant life. The machete can also be used for cutting larger trees and limbs for survival, and we’ve all seen them used for removing limbs from people. A machete is a machete…subtle differences between styles (e.g. Bolo vs. Kukri) can make some better at chopping rather than slashing, but all in all they are the same. The one we’ll be using is the Gerber Gator. It has a good sized blade in more of the Bolo shape with saw teeth on the spine. The handle is rubberized and comfortable when cutting for longer periods and the hand strap actually helps save some of your grip.

Axe
When I was in Boy Scouts I had a Scoutmaster that said that if he could only take one tool into the woods with him it would be the camp axe. He said you could do whatever you needed to with it. They are very versatile, but I’m not sure about doing “whatever you need” with one. You absolutely can work larger pieces of wood and it’s much better for hammering and chopping. Fine detail cutting with smaller wood would seem to be more difficult. The weight of this is more than double the heavier of the other two choices which can be both good and bad. As for defending yourself the axe has been used for centuries in battle from Knights to Vikings to Lewis and Coach in Left 4 Dead 2. The axe I’m using is just the Rockforge 3.5 lb fiberglass handle axe from Home Depot. I keep a file lashed to the handle of the axe so I always have one for sharpening…because what good is a dull axe?

Stay tuned for the next episode! - Country1059

0 Comments

Lights out! Get the kit out!

12/17/2013

1 Comment

Do you have a Zombie Plan? Of course you do!
Do you tell your family all of it? NOPE!
(cause your kids will steal the clean socks out of the bug out bag you built for them when they run out!)

But your family should know about the basics you have set aside...

We made this Power Outage kit for use in the first minutes of the power going out due to a thunder storm, or zombies or a zombie thunderstorm!

It's in a closet in the brightly colored container that the family can find easily with the light from their cell phones or even in the dark because it's in a central closet where everyone knows about it.
The emergency radio sits in the window so it will stay charged but the LED lantern is in the container and we just plug it in to keep it charged.

Do you have an immediate action lights out kit?

(Somebody get on that zombie thunderstorm movie script, hey if sharknado can be made why not Zombie Thunderstorm The Motion Picture?)

As a thank you to our blog readers, get 5% off your order with code " blog5 " at www.zombietacticalcord.com

#zombietacticalcord #zombieplan #hurricaine #survival #plan

1 Comment

Fight the zombie blues... in your head

12/12/2013

0 Comments

Keeping morale up after the apocalypse is very important, you must keep your brain engaged and spirits up.

Be sure to put a pack of playing cards or simple games in your bug out bag to keep your survivor group from falling into a post-disaster depression.

THAT BEING SAID: Never put UNO in your emergency kit! Many a friendship and probably a couple marriages have been ruined by this card.

Just think of the consequences of throwing down the Wild Draw Four Card with a group of tired, scared, starving and armed survivors.
It will probably get you stabbed or shot and thrown to the zombies.

Always exercise discretion when battling the zombie apocalypse blues.

0 Comments

Identify your target

10/31/2013

0 Comments

Grab your flashlights, everyone remember: identify your target!

Tonight you might see zombies walking around, they may even be in the company of witches, vampires or lions and tigers and bears. Oh my!

Do not be alarmed! Tomorrow night if you see zombies it might be a different story, Though if you see some dude in a Captain America costume he's probably hung over and just trying to make it home from the party.

Zombie Hunt Responsibly

0 Comments

Bottle Of Water and a Glow Stick Zombie Plan.

10/27/2013

2 Comments

The ZTC Bottle Of Water and a Glow Stick Zombie Plan.

Grab a bottle of water and a glow stick. This will let you survive a couple hours longer than someone who doesn’t have anything. Water to hydrate and a glow stick to light the way so you don’t fall down and you can spin it over your head on the string that comes with them as a signaling device. The idea is to survive one minute, one hour, one week, one month, one year longer etc.
The most important thing of prepping is: just start! This doesn’t mean put a drawbridge on your house, just start a plan.

You don’t buy try to buy everything at once. Every time you go to the grocery store buy one thing for your plan, a can of peaches, a lighter, and a box of band aids whatever just throw one item extra in your buggy. Eventually they will add up and you might find a coupon for buy one get one free. Over time you will end up with an extra tank for your gas grill, a case of water and a baseball bat you find on clearance.

On a budget, walmart and harbor freight are your friend. You don't need a $200 5.11 tactical bag. Start with a book bag; throw a couple cans of beanie wienies, a can opener, and couple bottles of water, bag of dryer lint (fire starting kindling), matches and a lighter. Grab a flashlight and some double AA batteries to go with it. A tarp or an emergency blanket can go a long way as shelter /cover. A steak knife out of the kitchen drawer will do until you get something better. Some duct tape and rope paracord are immensely useful and throw a roll of toilet paper in there (take out the cardboard tube and flatten it. Throw an extra pair of socks and undies in there, a pair of sweat pants and an old t-shirt. If you have a nice
pair of old shoes that are broken in great, put them in. A pair of $5 work
gloves from harbor freight can protect your hands. You can put everything in
ziplock bags or if you have one of those food saver vacuum sealer things it’s a
plus. Oh and a towel, always know where your towel is :)

You can throw a basic bug out bag together in a few minutes just walking around your house. Then you can start adding extra things as finances allow. Foot powder and basic first aid supplies should be high on your shopping list. 4”x4” bandages are great, a roll of electrical tape can be used for some fist aid incidents because it is flexible but the tendency will be to wind it too tight so use caution.

Weapons: touchy subject for many people.
Short answer is: you absolutely need one. A big stick, baseball bat, hatchet,
knives, guns… whatever you feel comfortable and is in your skill set. If you
don’t know how to use something learn, ask questions. A crow bar is a good start (paging Gordon Freeman). We have some excellent products such as the trucker’s friend which is one of our favorites. Grab a shovel or a hammer if you don’t have access to anything else.

Level UP! Over time you can start replacing basic items for better ones and eventually you will have two bags! Bug out Bags on a budget can be tough when money is tight, Christmas is coming up and everyone has a birthday so ask for prepping presents for things that are more expensive. Things you shouldn’t cheap out on are flashlights, a good knife and a multi tool. You can get cheap ones for $10 each and starting out, you absolutely should, something us usually better than nothing. But you can get a very decent multi-tools, knives and some great flashlights starting at $30- $40 range.

Phone A Friend: find someone you can talk to about prepping. Your buddy might have an extra back pack that they will trade you for that extra poncho liner you have laying around. Work together; hit those buy one get one free sales.

We will update this blog as we have time. This is just very basic ideas and we hope you start doing something. There is a multitude of excellent sites with much better information that we have. Zombease has some great info and tons of articles. Z-poc nation did a quick video on building a bug out bag in walmart. The CDC has a list of what to have in a survival plan. Will find the link and post it too.

Oh and don’t buy anything with someone’s name on it, except something like a Applegate-Fairbairn knife (those are pretty kick ass) or a chainsaw signed by Bruce Campbell lol.
Zombie Tactical Cord bracelets are awesome but if you’re broke but go buy a 100’ of paracord from an army navy store.

Just start, get a plan and survive. Go grab that bottle of water and tape a glow stick to it and start your plan.

2 Comments

Do You Even Sew Bro?

Always have a pot to pee in

Anatomy of a Zombie Kill

Blades for the Apocalypse (part 3)

Blades for the Apocalypse (part2)

Blades for the Apocalypse (part1)

Lights out! Get the kit out!

Fight the zombie blues... in your head

Identify your target

Bottle Of Water and a Glow Stick Zombie Plan.

Archives

Zombie Tactical Cord

Categories

Check out our Store: Zombie Tactical Cord
$5 Flat Rate US shipping and US orders over $25 Ship for Free!
(international shipping varies)

Hours: Always open

Email: [email protected]

Archives

Zombie Tactical Cord

Categories

Check out our Store: Zombie Tactical Cord$5 Flat Rate US shipping and US orders over $25 Ship for Free! (international shipping varies)

Hours: Always open

Email: [email protected]

Check out our Store: Zombie Tactical Cord
$5 Flat Rate US shipping and US orders over $25 Ship for Free!
(international shipping varies)