consuming to invest 6

CONSUMING TO INVEST #6

Manual Tools

( note: I'm taking a vacation day tomorrow, so no comments or e-mail )

I’m a big advocate of all things manual.  Mainly to really cut down on what I need for power generation, but also on another practical and philosophical level.  Power tools cost a lot more, plus they want fuel, plus they break quicker.  Not a great combination for the post-apocalypse future we are quickly barreling towards.  I understand all you macho burley types get a squishy feeling in your colon at the thought of doing without your chainsaw to fell entire forests in a single afternoon, and will wax philosophically about it ( “why, with my Gustovus Adolfus brand Swedish seventy two inch bar self lubricating chain saw, I can construct tank traps and village defense walls and heat twenty three McMansions my brother preppers are living in.  So you see, I must simply have this power tool.  Non-negotiable.  Why, without it I might as well strip naked armed only with a steak knife and go squelch a riot in Harlem the week after Food Stamps run out” ).  Or, here’s a thought.  Stop needing to heat too large modern constructed dwellings.  Stop living in an easily accessed area.  Get a better class of survivalist friend ( like, from a trailer park ).  And start thinking of how to survive without luxuries.  Chainsaws are great while they work, and then you are screwed.  And don’t tell me you will stock chainsaws AND bow saws.  Because more than likely you will die of a heart attack trying to use the manual tool- you did everything prior to that the easy way and are in ZERO kind of shape for the apocalypse.  Manual tools are exercise equipment, both mentally and physically.  Power tool guys have expense rifles, with a scope costing more than the gun, getting to a pre-fabricated tree stand by an ATV that cost more than most peoples cars, hauled by the costliest truck and toy travel trailer combo, once every three years because his good paying city job will lay him off once he goes below 75 hour work weeks.  In fact, he thinks the Pakistani mail room boy might be there in disguise, ready to jump in at half salary.  The manual tool guy just wants to get some deer in the freezer to supplement the food budget, and car pools in his buddies eighteen year old Corolla to go bow hunting with a cheap non-compound unit he got at a garage sale and practices on weekends with.

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There is enough that we will lose after a collapse, items never to be duplicated again ( modern firearms and ammunition, 12v batteries, etc. ).  It behooves you to simplify everything else as much as possible.  You might not be able to replace a lot of manual tools, but you can stretch the time you have them far longer than with power tools.  And just the exercise mentally forcing yourself to constantly down-sizing will be innovating in areas you hadn’t thought of.  Now, obviously, there are some things not suitable for powering down.  I can’t replace my computer word processor with a manual typewriter for the simple reason I sell ( okay, I give away free then guilt a payment ) electrons rather than papers.  Yet, I don’t need a computer after a collapse ( the important stuff is in old school books ) so it doesn’t matter.  But the weeds in my fire prone yard will always grow, even after all the gasoline is gone, so I have a sickle now rather than a weed-wacker.  A powered unit is $50 plus, a sickle $15.  I save money up front and constantly from NOT needing gas and oil and spools of plastic line.  I don’t power cut my areas of sagebrush, but by hand with a saw and tree clippers.  I didn’t cut the lumber for my dwelling with power saws, but by hand.  Sure, cutting a piece of plywood like that is a gold plated bitch.  But rather than a power saw left over from the project, after costing me extra money, I instead have a hand saw getting dull that now works on that sage brush handily.  By digging by hand, rather than renting a backhoe, I still have the $30 in tools AND a better set of muscles I can employ next time ( not that I WANT to, just that I CAN if needed.  Unlike your ability to rent a backhoe once you are unemployed or they were taken by a warlord to be used as armored vehicles ).  Manual tools now save lots of money and earn you a valuable skill ( there will be plenty of fat out of shape office workers bewildered as to how they are useful in the future-don’t be one of them.  Believe it or not, plain manual labor will be in demand with few able-even if willing- to do it ).  Others will follow, so it will be a short term advantage.  But still useful.  In the meantime, you can bank the difference in tools, even still paying less and still having multiples of quality units. 

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