# Tools that are a essential



## MikeyPrepper (Nov 29, 2012)

What to call essential as a prepper tool???


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## kevincali (Nov 15, 2012)

varies from region to region. You wouldn't want an axe meant to chop trees, when you're surviving in the mojave...take a look at where you'll be bugging out if needed. Look at the routes getting there, and what you'll need once you're there. Most Everyones most essential tools will be different. Mine is a shovel


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## Smitty901 (Nov 16, 2012)

I had the chance to buy one and two person saw that were used to clear the land we will stay on when it was settled. They have been brought back to new condition as best they can . Also the same axes that were used to clear this land.
Our farm back round here means we still have a lot of the old tools around.
We have been working tools for planting by hand we will be doing a lot of that. If things go bad and SHTF.
If not we have some really cool stuff for the grandchildren to enjoy.


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## rickkyw1720pf (Nov 17, 2012)

A tiller would be good to have to initially turn up as much land as possible for planting. Once it is turned up the first time it isn't nearly as hard to keep growing on it.


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## MikeyPrepper (Nov 29, 2012)

Well im nj. I would say security is crucial.


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## fedorthedog (Feb 28, 2012)

Cross cut saw one and two man, Scythe, axes, shovels, rakes, lots of gloves, chain, rope, pulley's, mechanics hand tool carpenter tool, draw knives.


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## Smitty901 (Nov 16, 2012)

MikeyPrepper said:


> Well im nj. I would say security is crucial.


 Security is always first without it all else is lost.


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## MikeyPrepper (Nov 29, 2012)

yes security first


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## Wquon (May 9, 2013)

knowledge & experience/practice


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## roy (May 25, 2013)

Take a look at what pioneers carried moving west.


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## PrepConsultant (Aug 28, 2012)

Don't forget cold weather clothing if you live up north.. People don't think about what it would be like without heating.. If it were an extended outage(like a grid down situation) even the propane and diesel will run out sooner or later. All there will really be is wood and maybe some natural gas in certain areas.. The cold is VERY unforgiving so you should be prepared. 

We used to be in Florida so it wasn't much of a consideration.. Now that we are in Montana, weather is always on the mind.. We have winter and preparing for winter for seasons here!!


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## Montana Rancher (Mar 4, 2013)

It's easy to say " security" but what do those tools look like?

Ok guns and ammo but what else then..

1. 10,000 cleaning patches with cleaning liquids, jags, brushes, etc
2. Body armor
3. 2 way radios, rechargeable batteries, a way to charge them
4. Night vision
5. Low/no light scopes or sights
6. Improvised intruder perimeter security (trip wire, mouse traps, cans)
7. LP/OP installed, maybe several 
8. 1000 sand bags, 10k better
9. Barbed wire, metal posts, locks, chains, nails, fetching nails

Other things 

A good volt meter, measure batteries, wire circuits, fix broken things.

A welder, torch, cordless drill, cordless saws all, mechanics tools, tap and die set, pipe threader, bolt cutters

Extra chain saw blade, sharpening files, sharpening stones for knives, syths, machettes

Sewer snake for unclogging problems.

Hand sickle, syth, hoe, corn shucker, chicken plucker, e I e I oh.


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## PrepConsultant (Aug 28, 2012)

Montana Rancher said:


> It's easy to say " security" but what do those tools look like?
> 
> Ok guns and ammo but what else then..
> 
> ...


Those sound like every day tools around here.. Most of em anyway..


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## Rigged for Quiet (Mar 3, 2013)

Smitty901 said:


> I had the chance to buy one and two person saw that were used to clear the land we will stay on when it was settled. They have been brought back to new condition as best they can . Also the same axes that were used to clear this land.
> Our farm back round here means we still have a lot of the old tools around.
> We have been working tools for planting by hand we will be doing a lot of that. If things go bad and SHTF.
> If not we have some really cool stuff for the grandchildren to enjoy.


There is an elegance and history to antique tools that make them just about some of the coolest things ever.


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## tango (Apr 12, 2013)

And don't forget to learn how to use the tools--- all of them


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## HuntingHawk (Dec 16, 2012)

Means to make coffee.


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## Montana Rancher (Mar 4, 2013)

PrepConsultant said:


> Those sound like every day tools around here.. Most of em anyway..


No shat Sherlock, I was stating the obvious not fantasying, it is easy to say "security", it is a lot harder to count the logistics.


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## Seneca (Nov 16, 2012)

So then it's knowledge that's the tool?


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## PrepConsultant (Aug 28, 2012)

Montana Rancher said:


> No shat Sherlock, I was stating the obvious not fantasying, it is easy to say "security", it is a lot harder to count the logistics.


Very true..


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## Montana Rancher (Mar 4, 2013)

Seneca said:


> So then it's knowledge that's the tool?


I say almost BS to this
Yes you need to know how, but without the proper tools it is much much harder or impossible.

To cut wood without a chain saw is possible, to weld metal together without electricity is almost impossible

Knowing how to fell a tree without an axe is only knowledge.


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## Fuzzee (Nov 20, 2012)

Two of the most important and it doesn't matter where you are is a knife and gun. Or even better, knives and guns.


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## inceptor (Nov 19, 2012)

Seneca said:


> So then it's knowledge that's the tool?


I would say that's half of the equation. Having the tools without knowing how to properly use them does little good. The best advice I can give is to learn how to fix what you have if you don't know now. We have become a throw away society. Many people would rather toss something than try to fix it. The result of that is that most people barely know what a screwdriver is let alone what to do with it. This will become a major asset to anyone who can. You can trade your knowledge and labor for things you don't have but need.


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## Seneca (Nov 16, 2012)

Thanks!
I had a WTF moment, and was going to call BS, but I get it and agree.


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## sparkyprep (Jul 5, 2013)

The most important tool is knowledge. Everything else is secondary.


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## retired guard (Mar 7, 2013)

Knowledge without tools/Tools without knowledge both are conundrums wrapped in an enigma. No one can Know all things prioritize start with the highest accumulate as you go along.


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## MI.oldguy (Apr 18, 2013)

PrepConsultant said:


> Don't forget cold weather clothing if you live up north.. People don't think about what it would be like without heating.. If it were an extended outage(like a grid down situation) even the propane and diesel will run out sooner or later. All there will really be is wood and maybe some natural gas in certain areas.. The cold is VERY unforgiving so you should be prepared.
> 
> We used to be in Florida so it wasn't much of a consideration.. Now that we are in Montana, weather is always on the mind.. We have winter and preparing for winter for seasons here!!


Agree on that.We live in the far north.warm clothing,chainsaw,different ways to heat,and implements to clear snow,spare fuel.water put away in a place where it wont freeze,at least 1 4X4 vehicle is what comes immediately to mind.


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## Prepadoodle (May 28, 2013)

I would add demolition tools like pry bars, a sledgehammer, hacksaws, and whatever else you need to take stuff apart and haul it home. It's much easier to take apart an existing abandoned building than it is to make your own lumber, windows, plumbing parts, electrical stuff, or whatever.


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## PrepConsultant (Aug 28, 2012)

Some nice bolt cutters make a universal key that come in very handy sometimes..


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## Montana Rancher (Mar 4, 2013)

Fuzzee said:


> Two of the most important and it doesn't matter where you are is a knife and gun. Or even better, knives and guns.


Sorry Fuzzee but you are dead wrong

If you cant drink or eat your most "important" are irrelevant.

First is food, then shelter, then security it is the natural progression. Without the 1st you don't need the second etc.


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## MrsInor (Apr 15, 2013)

Crap - my wants and needs list just tripled.


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## Rigged for Quiet (Mar 3, 2013)

MrsInor said:


> Crap - my wants and needs list just tripled.


If you and Inor are planning on doing a lot of the work yourself on your eventual house in Arizona you will, by necessity, accumulate a great many tools.


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## Gunner's Mate (Aug 13, 2013)

From an ole carpenter 
1. a tape measure 
2. a square 
3. a level
4 a plumb and string line 
5. a hand saw 
6. a brace and bit 
7. a chisel
8. a hatchet / single bit axe 
9. a shovel and pick

Now that assuming you have no power for electric tools and your bringing the one or two man buckin saw posted earlier you could build any 
thing. Now I,ve read a lot of posts and seems that everyone leaves out 1-3 or so just my 2 cents


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## Meangreen (Dec 6, 2012)

I love going to flea markets looking for tools. I never buy new lawn mowers, weed whackers, rotor-tillers and such because most people buy these products new and as soon as they stop working they throw them away and buy another. I found a $350 lawn mower a flea market and bought for $20. The seller told me it didn’t run and once I got it home I found a clogged carb and a dirty spark plug. It runs great. I did the same thing with a weed whacker and I have found great axes and brush clearing tool at yard sales and flea markets for real cheap. My latest find was a fireman's halligan for $10, I will make a great pry tool.


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## Gunner's Mate (Aug 13, 2013)

A hi lift jack and good come along and chain hoist


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## Gunner's Mate (Aug 13, 2013)

and a fluke anchor


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## Gunner's Mate (Aug 13, 2013)

Those I listed above should be in every BOV and they also have many alternative uses


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## Smitty901 (Nov 16, 2012)

rickfromillinois said:


> A military entrenching tool.


 Just happen to have a few of them.
Also you will need a couple spare axe and maul handles, sure if it last for years you may need to learn to make them but a few spare will save you time and work.


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## tango (Apr 12, 2013)

Hand powered tools-- hammers, saws, pry bars, hoe's, rakes, shovels, axes, wedges, etc.
If you don't personally need them, they will be good for trade/barter.
Of course the skill to use them all is invaluable, not only for use, but for training others.
Skills will always be valuable.


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## Gunner's Mate (Aug 13, 2013)

vice grips


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## BigCheeseStick (Aug 7, 2013)

Posting this under two threads cause if you camp, hunt, live anywhere there are tree's at all and need to clear a trail, or get firewood, you know how handy these are. And this is CHEAP!

21" Bow Saw GREAT DEAL!

Order online and shippings only $7. Given what you save in tax and gas to get to the store, that's a steal!

Just came back from Home Depot today and they sell this EXACT same saw painted black under the name "Fiskars" for $19.99! Replacement blades alone were $7.99! Looking very close at both saws, I'm _convinced _they came from the same factory, just painted different.


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## Inor (Mar 22, 2013)

The tool that I always forget about but use constantly is a dead blow mallet. - Use it for sealing or opening gamma seal lids on food; use it for assembling furniture parts for glue up.


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## inceptor (Nov 19, 2012)

BigCheeseStick said:


> Posting this under two threads cause if you camp, hunt, live anywhere there are tree's at all and need to clear a trail, or get firewood, you know how handy these are. And this is CHEAP!
> 
> 21" Bow Saw GREAT DEAL!
> 
> ...


I thought Harbor Freight was everywhere now. There are 3 within easy driving distance from my house.


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## Seneca (Nov 16, 2012)

Most homeowners with a few years under their belts have probably acquired a fair amount of hand tools and implements and the know how to use them. Goes with owning a home. The same tools used to perform repairs around the house or build will also be useful should the SHTF. Nails and screws come in handy yet are often overlooked.


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## The Tourist (Jun 9, 2016)

"a dead blow mallet"

Looks like I got here too late. When I was a rookie carpenter for The Master Lock Company I had to smash up lots of wood. Despite having superior custom carpenters (over 20 at that time) there was always wood that would split, warp or simply defy the colors the head carpenter demanded. That's when "summer help" was hired--meaning teenage kids, *like me*, who needed money for college and didn't know much about 'wood.'

As for that "mallet," I was the star of the show! You give me a mallet and I would be the boy-hero who worked for the apple-eyed executive artisan. That was *my dad* in those days.

I miss destroying things. After all, I bought all the expensive stuff in my house now, and I'm a bit more careful...


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## KUSA (Apr 21, 2016)

Inor said:


> The tool that I always forget about but use constantly is a dead blow mallet. - Use it for sealing or opening gamma seal lids on food; use it for assembling furniture parts for glue up.


Have you ever been hit square in the forehead with a dead blow hammer?


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## Wildecard (Oct 17, 2021)

Montana Rancher said:


> I say almost BS to this
> Yes you need to know how, but without the proper tools it is much much harder or impossible.
> 
> To cut wood without a chain saw is possible, to weld metal together without electricity is almost impossible.
> ...


, to weld metal together without electricity is almost impossible, 
*not if* you _know how to weld using an oxy-acetelene torch. Fair certain blacksmiths didn't have electricity when they were welding wagon wheel rims. _

Knowing how to fell a tree without an axe is only knowledge.
_I recall reading something, somewhere, about how the indigenous people used fire, clay, and rudimentary stone axes to fell trees.

My father told me, tools and knowing how to use them is an investment._


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## Wildecard (Oct 17, 2021)

Seneca said:


> Most homeowners with a few years under their belts have probably acquired a fair amount of hand tools and implements and the know how to use them. Goes with owning a home. The same tools used to perform repairs around the house or build will also be useful should the SHTF. Nails and screws come in handy yet are often overlooked.


Ayuh, that's the way it works.


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## Wildecard (Oct 17, 2021)

KUSA said:


> Have you ever been hit square in the forehead with a dead blow hammer?


Not a dead blow, but, a regular nail hammer, did it myself too.
Not one of my finer moments, good learning opportunity though. Ain't done it since.


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