EMP Survival Guide: 8 Analog Tools That Work When Everything Else Fails

EMP Survival Guide: 8 Analog Tools That Work When Everything Else Fails

Friends, welcome back. I am Jason and we're discussing when the grid goes down, when the EMP strikes and it all goes black. There's a few items that you can still count on no matter what.

After 30 years messing around in the outdoors and doing some contract work with Navy Special Warfare folks, I've learned something pretty straightforward: when everything goes sideways and the lights go out for good, the stuff that keeps working isn't usually the high-tech gear we get excited about.

Today I want to walk you through eight simple tools that'll still be working when your smartphone becomes about as useful as a paperweight.

The Day Everything Changed: Why Analog Beats Digital

You wake up tomorrow morning and flip the light switch. Nothing. Check your phone. Dead. Try to start your truck. Click, click, nothing. Your fancy tactical flashlight? Dark as midnight. Welcome to the post-EMP world, where your $2,000 night vision goggles are about as useful as a screen door on a submarine.

But here's the thing that separates real preppers from the keyboard commandos, there are tools that have been keeping humans alive for centuries, and they'll still work when every circuit board in America is fried. Let me walk you through each one, starting with the most overlooked category in modern prepping.

1. Hand Tools: Your New Best Friends in a Powerless World

Here's a test for you. I'm holding up a tool right now. Can you name it? If you don't know what this is, you've already failed the first lesson in EMP survival, and that's not your fault. We've gotten so dependent on power tools that most people couldn't fix a fence post if their life depended on it.

The Reality Check: When the grid goes down, your cordless drill becomes a paperweight. Your impact driver? Useless. But a good old fashioned hammer, hand saw, wrenches, and socket set? They'll work the same in 2025 as they did in 1925.

I love my drill. I love my impact driver and all of that. I like my tools that make my life more convenient and easy. However, if the big EMP should come bearing down upon us and everything goes black, those types of tools potentially will no longer work and we'll be having to go back to resort to more primitive means of fixing things.

Now, along with that, we have to mention knowing how to use it. So, for example, here's a test. What is this? What is that called? In the comment section, if you don't know what this is, you failed the test and that means that you probably don't know how to use these types of tools. And it's not your fault, it's okay, it's not too late. There's no shame here, we're all friends. You just need to ask somebody and learn how to use things like that.

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I'm no expert, there's so many things that I don't know how to do. And when something like that pops up and I'm ignorant to the use of a tool or something, I could reach out to a buddy. I could reach out to someone in my community. And chances are, generally speaking, if someone's really, really good at something, like let's say a welder, and you reach out to them and you ask them questions about it, they're almost always so eager to share their knowledge and their skills because they're passionate about it.

Subscribe to my YouTube channel for detailed hand tool reviews and tutorials that actually work in the field. ~ https://youtu.be/8rpGWPo1X7E?si=SW6zaGnXaRwz8GYE

Most skilled tradesmen are passionate about their craft. Reach out to that welder in your community, ask questions. Nine times out of ten, they're eager to share their knowledge because they love what they do. Don't let pride stop you from learning these essential skills. Barter offer something valuable in exchange for his or her help.

What You Need:

Are you starting to see the pattern here? When modern technology fails, we go back to the methods that built this country.

2. Bicycles: The Ultimate EMP-Proof Transportation

Walking sucks. Let me be brutally honest about that. It's slow, exhausting, and in this Georgia heat and humidity, it's downright miserable. Where I live, it's hilly and steep, making foot travel even worse.

But this beat-up old bicycle sitting here, my trusty Beatrice, she's 84 years old and still chugging along. This single-speed piece of history is at least three times more efficient than walking, and that's a conservative estimate. With a better bike, something with gears, you could amplify that efficiency even more.

The Transportation Crisis: When the EMP hits, your truck won't start. Your electric bike's battery is dead and can't be recharged. Even if you had a working vehicle, where would you get fuel? Gas pumps run on electricity. Refineries need power. The entire fuel distribution system grinds to a halt.

Having an analog means of transportation isn't just helpful, it's survival critical. And if you really want to go old school, get yourself a horse. But that's a whole different level of commitment and skill.

Bicycle Survival Tips:

Which brings me to the next critical item that most people completely overlook...

3. Paper Maps: When GPS Fails, Geography Doesn't

I use GPS all the time. Got Gaia GPS on my phone, use Google Earth, just like everybody else. But there's going to come a time when that's no longer an option. Do you know your way around without that digital crutch?

The Navigation Challenge: A lor of people under 40 have never used a paper map. I'm serious about this. They can't read topographic lines, don't understand scale, and couldn't plot a route to save their lives. Literally.

I keep a paper map right here in my vehicle, and I've got road atlases covering the whole United States. What are those called again? Help me out in the comments, you know, the ones you used to buy at Walmart. My brain's drawing a blank on the name, but you get the idea.

Learning to read a paper map isn't rocket science, but it takes practice. You need to understand how to orient yourself, read elevation lines, and plot efficient routes. Will it be as fast as your GPS giving you the quickest route? No. But it's infinitely more reliable than a dead phone.

Essential Navigation Gear:

The old analog methods aren't always the most efficient, but they're definitely more reliable. Speaking of reliability...

4. Fire, Fuel, and Food Preparation: The Original Power Grid

How are you going to cook your meals when the power goes out? If you're on city gas, that supply is likely controlled electronically and will eventually stop flowing. Even if you have your own propane tank, what happens when it runs out?

The old standby, the reliable backup, is a simple charcoal grill. But here's where most people stop thinking. You don't even need charcoal. I can start a fire right in this grill using hardwood, let it burn down to a nice bed of hot coals, and cook just like our ancestors did.

The Cooking Reality: Do you have firewood? Can you collect it? More importantly, do you have the tools to cut, split, and process firewood? These are the questions that separate real preparedness from fantasy prepping.

Out here in Georgia, I'm surrounded by oaks and other hardwoods. With the right tools and knowledge, I've got an unlimited fuel supply for cooking. But it requires hand tools, physical strength, and the knowledge of how to safely manage fire.

Fire Cooking Essentials:

But what good is a fire if you can't light it reliably?

5. Fire Starting and Illumination: Light in the Darkness

I like solar panels and rechargeable batteries as much as the next prepper. This solar lantern here has been sitting in the back of my truck, staying charged automatically. But after an EMP, electronics might not work anymore, period.

When the sun goes down and you have no electrical lighting, life stops just like it used to. Our entire rhythm of life has been changed by electricity. We stay up late, work after dark, live completely different lives than our great-grandparents.

The Illumination Challenge: Think about it. Lights go out, batteries are dead, and you have no way to see in the dark. Your life would literally revolve around sunrise and sunset again. For short-term survival, you want ways to extend your useful hours.

Candles, oil lanterns, even simple kerosene lamps can provide that crucial light. But you need ways to light them. If you've only got one lighter floating around in your couch cushions, you're not prepared.

Lighting and Fire Gear:

But light isn't your only concern when society breaks down...

Check out my Substack community where we discuss different survival scenarios. https://on3ready.substack.com/

6. Analog Security: Fences, Gates, and Four-Legged Alarms

Your motion-sensing lights won't work. Your security cameras are dead. Your electronic door locks are useless. Time to go back to the fundamentals of perimeter security.

Look at this gate behind me. Sure, I could ram my truck through it if I wanted to cause some damage, or hop the fence if I was determined. But it's a deterrent. Most lazy bad guys will see this barrier and move on to an easier target. We never want to be the easy target.

The Security Mindset: Physical barriers force people to make deliberate decisions. They have to get out of their vehicle, damage their own property to ram through, or spend time and effort to bypass. Most opportunistic criminals will look for easier pickings.

And then there's Maggie, my four-legged security system. She's sitting right here in the front seat of my truck like she owns the place. Maggie's going to bark and make noise, and that's a deterrent. She's bitten quite a few people over the years, actually. She's known for her biting.

Will she kill an intruder? Probably not, but she'll slow them down, alert me to trouble, and make any would-be burglar think twice about sticking around. Best part? Maggie works even when the grid is down.

Physical Security Essentials:

But all the security in the world won't help if you can't access the most critical resource for survival...

7. Water: The 72-Hour Challenge That Becomes a Death Sentence

I'm standing on top of my well right now. It's about 300 feet deep, and normally we use an electric pump to bring water into the house for drinking, cooking, showers, and flushing toilets. When the power goes out, that's no longer an option.

Fortunately, we installed a hand pump that allows us to pull water manually and fill our pressure tank. As long as there's water in that tank, we can still flush toilets, wash dishes, and take cold showers. Then we refill it by hand. It's brilliant, but not everyone has a well.

The 72-Hour Reality: Water stops flowing to your house. Day one, you're okay, got some bottles in the pantry. Day two, you're getting concerned. Day three, you're in serious trouble. How much water can you possibly store? Where's your renewable source?

If you live in the city on municipal water, and that water stops flowing, you need a solution. Fast. Water storage is difficult, especially in apartments, because water is heavy. Eight pounds per gallon adds up quick.

Water Solutions:

Which brings me to something most preppers completely ignore...

8. Books and Community: The Lost Art of Analog Learning

Let's take a trip back to 1990. Not that long ago, really, but a different world. You had a question about something, wanted to learn a new skill. What did you do? You couldn't Google it. ChatGPT didn't exist. You had to pull from your own library or visit the public library and ask the librarian for help.

I think it's crucial for us to have our own collection of books covering a broad spectrum of subjects. We can't keep everything up here in our heads. I wish I had a photographic memory and could be a walking encyclopedia, but I don't. Maybe you've got that gift, but most of us need external references.

The Knowledge Crisis: When the internet goes dark, how do you learn to fix that part on your truck? How do you treat an infection? What's edible in your local area? Books don't need batteries or internet connections.

But even more important than books is community. Having a network of people with different skills makes you much, much stronger. That welder who knows the trick to reach that impossible bolt. The nurse who can treat injuries. The farmer who understands soil and crops.

Building Your Knowledge Base:

Reality Check: The Mindset That Saves Lives

Here's what separates the survivors from the victims: attitude. When everything goes wrong, when the lights go out and stay out, when your comfortable modern life disappears overnight, what's your response?

"What's the worst that can happen? Let's go On3. No excuses."

That's not just a catchphrase, it's a survival philosophy. Faith, fitness, and fortitude. Making yourself harder to kill in body, mind, and spirit. The people who survive aren't necessarily the ones with the most gear, they're the ones who adapt, improvise, and keep moving forward.

Join the Mission: Building Real Preparedness

I want to know what other tools we can count on when the grid goes down. What am I missing from this list? Drop your thoughts in the comments below.

If this reality check hit home, hit that thumbs up button and subscribe to the channel. Better yet, share this with someone who needs to hear it. The prepping community is full of fantasy scenarios and mall ninja gear. Let's spread some real-world preparedness instead.

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Bottom Line: The prepping and survival community is filled with fantasies. Let's spread some reality instead. Share this newsletter with someone who needs to hear it. When the EMP comes, the survivors won't be the ones with the fanciest gear, they'll be the ones who mastered the basics that have kept humans alive for thousands of years.

Until next time, friends, what's the worst that could happen? Let's go On3.

Survival Tools Breakdown. Axes, Knives, Saws and Gear That Keep Me Alive

Survival Tools Breakdown. Axes, Knives, Saws and Gear That Keep Me Alive

The Cutting Tools That Actually Matter (And Why A Lot Of People Get It Wrong)

So there I was, standing next to my truck looking at the cutting tools that live in there permanently - not staged for some fancy photo shoot, but the ones I actually grab when work needs to get done. And it hit me: most people are completely overthinking their cutting tool selection while missing the tools that would actually save their bacon when it matters.

Look, I get it. Walk into any outdoor store and you'll be bombarded with a thousand different options, each claiming to be the ultimate survival blade. But after years of using and abusing cutting tools in the real world, I can tell you that the difference between having the right tool and the wrong one isn't just about convenience - it's about whether you get the job done or spend all day fighting with inadequate gear.

Let me break down what actually works and why most people are making the wrong choices.

The Machete Reality Check

Alright, let's start with machetes because they're probably my favorite cutting tool, and I know that's going to trigger some axe purists out there. This ON3 machete that I designed with Bear Forest Knives might be my favorite blade I've ever owned, and yeah, I might be a little biased since it's my design, but I'm just trying to tell you it's probably the best one out there.

Here's why machetes dominate in my world: I live in Georgia, and where I live, there's lots of loose, hanging, viney briars and stuff where having that extra reach comes in really handy. A machete allows you to get down there and cut briars and thorns and clear your campsite out really efficiently without having to bend over constantly.

Now, a lot of people love axes, and I'm no different - I think an axe is a really valuable tool. But where I live, personally speaking, I find myself grabbing a machete way more often simply because of the environment. Your results may vary, but efficiency matters when you're trying to get work done.

I always wrap paracord on my blades so I can choke up closer to the center balance point, and that allows me to do more delicate small carving and chopping tasks. It makes the tool more multi-purpose and versatile.

The Axe Lesson I Learned the Hard Way

Check this out: I've got two axes here, and neither one of them is expensive. This Fiskars I've had for at least 20 years - probably longer. I think I might have been in high school when I bought this thing for about 30 bucks. It's made in Finland, has a pretty much indestructible handle, and just like my truck, you can't break the thing.

I use it for pounding stuff, beating on construction projects where I need to move a post with a thousand pounds of weight sitting on top of it. I'll take this axe and smack the crap out of it, and it just keeps working.

But here's the thing about axes - they can really hurt you if you're not paying attention. I was chopping wood one time, on my knees, working through a branch with a small hatchet. My brother looks at me and asks, "Hey, is that thing sharp?" I chop, look up at him, and say "Yep." The axe glances off the wood and goes straight into my leg, right above my kneecap.

Cut through my pants, laid my leg wide open like cutting into a raw steak. So much for the Thanksgiving Day party we were having - I needed stitches instead.

The Tools That Actually Get Work Done

Get this: if we're talking about getting firewood efficiently, it's really hard to beat a saw. This Silky Big Boy right here is just about the perfect portable but big-enough size where I can get some really good-sized firewood going. This thing can cut through a lot of firewood in a really short period of time, and it's a whole lot safer than swinging an axe around.

You can get cut with a saw for sure, and they're nasty looking when it happens, but rarely is it lethal. With an axe, you've got all that heavy weight with a razor's edge flying around at high speed - if it glances off at an inappropriate angle at an inappropriate time, it can really hurt you.

The Knife Philosophy That Changes Everything

Listen, I'm a fixed blade kind of guy. If you're talking about knives, I like fixed blade knives because they're so much simpler, more durable, and they're going to stand up to hard use. It's a lifetime tool, a lifetime investment, and I appreciate that.

This ON3 EDC knife I designed is big enough to get 99.9% of knife jobs done, but small enough to carry every single day without even noticing it's there. It's got a two-and-three-quarter-inch blade and a three-and-three-quarter-inch handle - big enough to get your whole paw wrapped around it.

The steel is 52100 ball bearing steel with a convex edge, which makes it last a long time without having to resharpen the thing. Talk to any guy out there that uses and abuses his tools - not a collector, not some bushcrafter doing fine feather sticks and posing for Instagram pictures (I'm not picking on anybody, but I'm picking on you) - ask anybody who really uses their tools: a convex edge is really handy.

I've cut insulation with this knife. I've pried paint cans open. I've pulled staples out of boards. I field dressed a deer from walking around being Bambi to in the freezer - took a deer from start to finish with this knife and never had a single complaint.

The Emergency Backup That Fits in Your Belt

Now let's talk emergency stuff. You've lost everything, you're lost in the middle of the wilderness surrounded by aliens, life as we know it is coming to an end, and you've got nothing but you need to figure out a way to survive.

If I'm wearing pants, I'm typically wearing a belt. I choose to wear a Wazoo cash belt because it's got all the necessities and I can carry it every single day without even knowing I've got it on. It's like an insurance policy.

In my belt, I have a spare blade and a fire starter - a small ferro rod and a teeny tiny ceramic blade. Trust me when I tell you this thing is sharp. It's scalpel sharp with a chisel grind, and this thing is wicked sharp. It'll lay you open if you're not careful because of how sharp it is.

I've cut through pretty good-sized saplings about this big with this tiny thing. I've gutted fish, cut paracord, done fire prep, created tinder - you name it. It's ceramic, so it's brittle and you've got to be careful with it, but there's nothing sharper out there. The sharpest scalpels on the planet are made out of either obsidian or ceramic like this.

The Multi-Tool Reality

Okay, let's talk multi-tools. I like them, I think they're great, but they're a little big and bulky and heavy to carry in your pocket all the time. So I don't carry them on my person, but I do keep them handy - in the door of my truck, in my packs, close by.

The knives on multi-tools are typically stainless steel, not that easy to sharpen, and there's a little bit of wonkiness and wobbliness in the blade because it's a folder. But if you need to cut tape, cut some cordage, scribe something, poke something, gouge something, the blade will get the job done.

This Leatherman Rev might be the cheapest Leatherman out there - I think they're like 40 bucks. But that pair of pliers alone with the wire cutters is just about the handiest thing on the multi-tool.

The Unconventional Tool That Surprised Me

Here's thinking outside the box a little bit: it doesn't have to be a knife or axe to be a cutting tool. This Russian special forces shovel is pretty handy actually. This happens to be a titanium one, super lightweight, and it's not going to rust on you. I can throw it into the ocean and it won't rust, which is really nice because I like low maintenance.

I don't like to work on stuff, I don't want to oil everything up all the time, I like it when it just stays the way it is. A shovel like this is pretty handy for a lot of situations. Is it as good as a great big full-size shovel? Absolutely not. But which one would you want to carry if you had to carry it?

Having a small portable shovel, I can get a lot of work done in a very short period of time. I can do some light chopping, some hacking, just like you could do with a machete - not quite as well, but it gets the job done. It's kind of a multi-tool, and I do like that. A very robust, strong, sturdy, simple multi-tool.

The Sharpening Secret Most People Miss

Listen, I keep it simple when it comes to sharpening. I use a fine diamond stone with two sides - coarse and fine. I almost never use the coarse side except maybe on machetes if I hit a rock. I use the fine side and just very lightly touch up my edge with a few strokes.

Generally speaking, that gets it back to where it needs to be, to a serviceable edge where it scrapes my thumbnail. That's what I do with all my cutting tools - just a few strokes on a diamond stone and it's back in action.

Having a 90-degree sharp spine on the back of your knife is pretty important because while you can scrape and scratch things with the blade edge, having that sharp spine saves the edge. If you're scraping something at 90 degrees to the blade, eventually you're going to get that thing pretty dull.

What Actually Matters in the Real World

Get this: my probably most-used cutting tool is the ON3 EDC that I keep on my belt because it's handy, convenient, and always there. Next to that, maybe a machete - I probably use my machete more than any other cutting tool.

An axe from time to time, not that much, but when I need firewood specifically, that saw is hard to beat. The point is, you need to match your tools to your environment and your actual needs, not what looks cool or what some YouTube bushcrafter says you should have.

Most people collecting knives and tools are like the guys with a hundred guns in the closet who haven't shot any of them and can't hit the broad side of a barn. They'll tell you they can do amazing things, but when it comes time to actually use the tools, reality hits different.

The difference between having cutting tools and knowing how to use cutting tools effectively is the difference between getting work done and spending all day frustrated with inadequate results.

What's your take on cutting tools? Are you a machete person, an axe person, or do you swear by something completely different? Let me know in the comments what actually works in your environment - specifics welcome.

P.S. Forward this newsletter to someone who needs to hear it. The prepping and survival community is filled with fantasies - let's spread some reality instead.

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