E&E belt kit

[knightoftheroad]

Along these lines there is a site called www.donrearic.com/

Check the section on survival kits. He mtns about military kits and it might be an interesting addition to e&e kit.

[knightoftheroad]

I read the book about the fellow who escaped from Devil's Island. Don Rearic's site mentions it.

The prison author had his own e&e kit except it's not a ahmm... belt kit.

For further ideas check out a book about the SOE in the WWII UK. I forget the title but it is an old book and they had some interesting pictures and information on SOE escape items. Also some of the older books about Allied POWs give some interesting pictures of how innocent items can conceal other items meant for not innocent uses.

[TacAir]

I read the book about the fellow who escaped from Devil's Island. Don Rearic's site mentions it.

The prison author had his own e&e kit except it's not a ahmm... belt kit.

For further ideas check out a book about the SOE in the WWII UK. I forget the title but it is an old book and they had some interesting pictures and information on SOE escape items. Also some of the older books about Allied POWs give some interesting pictures of how innocent items can conceal other items meant for not innocent uses.

POW gear -

During World War Two, the Department 9 of the British Directorate of Military Intelligence (M.I.9 - Escaped British Prisoners of War/POW, Debriefing, Escape and Evasion) developed a great number of secret means to conceal tools and instruments in harmless looking objects for everyday use. The means the pilots carried with them during the air raid were called pre-capture.

These comprised many items like uniforms or shoes, that could easily be converted in civilian plain clothes but also see saws, food, etc. This department also sent to the POW's in the Offizierslager, short Offlag called camps (using fancy organizational names) parcels with escape aid items (called post-capture).

About one in 5 parcel contained such materiel concealed in tooth-brushes, pencils, playing cards, etc. The "empty" ones were called dove and the "hot" ones naughty.

http://www.compassmuseum.com/esc/esc.htm for images


Book - "Official Secret", Clayton Hutton, 1961

[TodaysBushcraft]

Great discussion and input. I really enjoyed! Thanks.

[knightoftheroad]

TacAir,

that's one of the books...the Hutton one!

Thanks also for that very interesting website as well.

[acropolis5]

I'm currently reading a history of the WW II Brtish and U.S. escape organizations entitled "MI 9", by M.R.D. Foote and William Langley. Both were WW II British escapers and Foote is an especially well known British military historian. It's a bit dry in spots, ie long lists of who filled which sub-office. BIG BUT, the escape stories are captivating. They read like a novel. The American off-spring of MI 9, MIS-X, is also covered. The book was written in 1979, but it's out of print. You may have to have your public library do an inter-library search. I purchased the book thru one of the out-of-print sellers on Amazon. I had to wait for months, but they finally sent me a very slightly used library bound and covered edition for about $15.00, plus a small shipping charge. A great book!

[olaf_yahoo]

Knightoftheroad- Thanks, its something that had been on my mind for a while before I began this. I've been absent a bit but its good to see that this is still going.

[knightoftheroad]

If anyone is a summer reader check out your public library and wander around the WWII section especially the European area. Usually in that section you come across books on POW escapes and most of these books mention e&e items.

There was another book besides the Hutton book that I cannot recall the title which dealt with WWII escape items.

For modern items there is a book usually in the public library by Minnery? about CIA gadgets and such. It is interesting to see the range of items and also the thinking behind them...how items are concealed/look innocent.

There was one item which was an escape kit-files and such which was concealed in operative's nether regions in a toothbrush holder like container that I thought was interesting. i figured if the company that made it could make something similar for outdoors use it might be very handy.

[knightoftheroad]

Related to this topic I am reminded of an item I read about in a book years back called The Control of Candy Jones. Unusual book but an item that was mentioned in the book was a rubber? necktie that could be used to disable an attacker....

I also saw something recently on TV at the airport-one of those auction shows were showing where these old firearms-gambler's weapons were brought in for sale. The host explained how gamblers in the old days had pistols build into innocent looking items to cover themselves if the gambling went bad.

Has anyone ever come across information on how spies of the World War I era and earlier were equipped and trained? It would be interesting to see what low tech items they had.

[Mr_Sheesh]

Hmm, haven't read that book but I figured out a way to use a short piece of rope (maybe in the same way as the necktie?), years ago. Need to show it to someone and see if I still remember how to do it from muscle memory.

Modern tech is going to make E&E even easier; Led dazzler flashlights etc. can be tiny, now.

[Gunmetal Crew Chief]

Those kits with the Ceramic Razors are darn nice. I have a few of those myself. Have you guys seen the SERE "V" Cutter or the CKC TAT Cutters? They're both really nice.

[knightoftheroad]

Another UK author's book is The Hidden Catch by Charles Connell. I am pretty sure it is a different book from the Hutton book but alsodealing with e&e items and knicknacks.

[olaf_yahoo]

I thought I would stop in and add some new stuff I've come across in the past while. Bear in mind that while most of the following photo content is geared towards escape and evasion that this type of belt system makes an excellent EDC addition. The vast majority of us aren't very likely to ever really need this sort of gear as none of us are James Bond so if you go through with getting a similar belt, some basic survival related items would probably serve you better and be used more often than a plastic handcuff key. Though on the topic of E&E gear, the Diamond wire saws you see are normally listed at $5 or so a piece, you can get 10pc sets of Diamond jeweler’s files for about $8 and the file length is almost double. You could cut them in half with a rotary and have twenty of them for way less than these sites are selling them for. The same goes for the handcuff shims, get some .5 millimeter spring steel stock which is wicked cheap and cut them out yourself, you can make dozens of them for less than the cost of a happy meal.

For escaping zip ties here's a few common items that work very well speaking from personal experience. I've been fascinated by Harry Houdini and "escapeology" as its commonly called now since I was a kid and this takes up some of my free time. Larger zip ties are easier to shim/pick than smaller versions because the ratchet and area it functions is bigger and allows more room for a tool to manipulate it. A simple safety pin is very effective at opening these, just press the pin between the ratchet and the other section of the tie and a tiny bit of force will allow you to open the tie effortlessly. The only exception is if they are on VERY tight, so tight that they will cut off circulation. The problem is that the pressure keeps the ratchet pressed into the teeth making inserting your improvised tool much more difficult.

Even so, with a little patience you can still free yourself, sometimes attacking the ratchet from the side and wiggling the safety pin between the two operating pieces works best. This is also simple with any sort of pin, sewing needle or similarly thin and pointed piece of steel. There are only two ways to shim the ratchet of zip ties, directly on from the front or starting at one side and levering inwards to get the tool between the ratchet and other zip tie section. Technically you could attack the mechanism from the "underside" that is against your skin but having enough room, the freedom of movement and an appropriate tool makes this less than effective. The time required is an order of magnitude greater than any of the other picking/shimming or cutting methods. If you are somehow unlawfully restrained by zip ties then time is precious and wasting it attempting to escape isn't advisable. Bobby pins simply don't work unless you remove the little plastic end caps and those can be a bitch to get off sometimes. You could just bend them back and forth to break em off but that wastes time. Even if you get one off they aren't the best tool in the world, I've tried.

Any slim, pointy wedge will work, most pocket knives and their variations will do nicely as a knife blade is just a very finely ground wedge. On the topic of actually cutting the zip tie instead of attacking its locking mechanism this can take some time depending on if you are bound with your hands in front of you or behind your back. The difficulty with picking zip ties from behind is MUCH greater than with your hands in front where you can see what you are doing and have much improved freedom of movement. As whomever has restrained you will most likely do so with your hands behind your back this moves us out of the shimming/picking area of techniques and into the world of cutting directly.

To address the small ceramic, carbide or steel razors you commonly see with online E&E kits such as those pictured here, they just aren't very helpful. Don't get me wrong, any tool is infinitely better than no tool at all however when choosing any tool, you want one that will do the job as effectively as possible. Knives will do the job but require sawing and this again, takes time. The tiny size of these razors means there is NO secure handle, now that's bad because you might hurt yourself but more importantly, you can't GRIP the blade well enough to apply the force necessary to defeat the tough plastic material. In general, as far as knives go depending on your range of movement and the type/size of blade you have to work with, escape time is measured in minutes. On the other hand two tools that will allow you to escape from zip ties in seconds whether your hands are in front of you OR behind your back are scissors and V shaped cutters. There are excellent cigar type folding scissors on the market but they are cost ineffective as they range from $40 and up. On the other hand you can pick up folding pocket scissors for less than $10 at Sears or similar hardware store that easily fit on a key chain and are well suited to restraint escape.

The V shaped cutters are by far the most effective line cutters for two reasons. First, they are constructed with individual razor blades instead of a ground and sharpened notch which is almost always conically shaped (a crescent or half moon). The tiny razor blades are much thinner than a one piece ground blade that is part of a larger tool and the second, most important reason they are so effective is their shape. As material is pulled through the opening of a V shaped cutter it encounters cutting force on both sides that magnifies as the material is pulled deeper into the blades. A V shaped cutter will go through even thick zip ties with a single pull but before you can do this you need to add a length of paracord sheath, Kevlar line etc to the tool to allow you to manipulate it easily. This can then be looped over a shoe or your bare foot or something in your environment, one simple pull and you're free. You can also attach one somewhere to your shoelaces and tuck it under the tongue or however so it is concealed. This gives you an easily accessible tool that can be accessed with your hands behind or in front of you and remain concealed until the moment you are ready to use it without having to remove it from a hidden location.

The scissors are also very effective and can be easily utilized whether your hands are in front or behind your back, you just need to have them concealed in a way that you can get to them without drawing attention. Medical tape is excellent for this purpose and will stay adhered to your skin for several days without maintenance, even after showering. Cloth med tape is by far the most effective and user friendly tape for securing items directly to your body in my experience and while it stays on rather well, it comes off without too much fuss. It may sound extreme to tape something directly to your skin but for those folks who may actually need E&E gear ie. active military, overseas contractors etc its something you may want to consider as you might be relieved of or even lose your shoes/pants or what have you.

Hacksaw blades can do the job but are a bit of a pain, make a good deal of noise while using them and only metal cutting blades are worth anything. The tightly spaced teeth work best, any other type will just frustrate you. My best time at cutting through large zip ties while restrained is 3 minutes and 24 seconds, as opposed to two - five seconds with a mechanical pencil, less than three seconds with a safety pin and about two to four seconds with any number of small knife blades when shimming. So... while useful for other things, hacksaw blades aren't nearly the best choice for zip ties. I've not yet used a diamond file to try to cut through but I've got some coming to me soon as I use them often for filework (decoration on the spine of knives) with the knives I make so I'll update when I've tried it.

I even tried breaking some zip ties with the bend method, back and forth over and over while not restrained. I did this test 18 times, the fewest number of complete bends necessary was 23 for total breakage and the highest was a surprising 67 but this was a fluke as all other tests were much less. The average came out to 33 complete bends to break a large zip tie, as this is next to impossible to do even once while restrained it simply isn't viable. One interesting thing to note is that a clean, very shallow cut to the outside of the zip tie facilitated breakage in only one or two bends, several times the tie broke cleanly in two with just one bend. Now you'd have to make a cut to the zip tie for this to be possible in which case you probably have some sort of tool which makes the technique rather obsolete but you never know. Its kinda hard to bend the zip tie in half even with your hands in front of you but CAN be done using your teeth however I don't recommend it.

There are a number of things that aren't strictly E&E related that would be useful both in an evasion or merely survival situation that this kind of belt system would be great for carrying. Granted they would be small quantities/size items but would remain on your person regardless of forgetting/leaving behind/being separated from your other EDC gear ie. bags, backpacks, organizer or whatever. You would have whatever you crammed in there so be creative. I wear a belt every day even though its not to keep my pants up and I'm sure a lot of you do as well, regardless whether you need it for that reason so give it some consideration and share your experiences about it, good or bad.

Here's a few things that could make your time "there" more survivable or just more comfortable.


pry tool
hacksaw
fire starter
v cutter
duck tape
compass
photon micro light/batteries
lighter
leatherman micra
iodine drops in a key chain pill capsule
motrin, pepto, tums - in some waterproof container or at least a tiny ziplock
neosporin, also in a pill capsule, include an application tool like a toothpick, etc
tin foil
magnifying lens
band aids
needles/thread
small knife
money
spare keys
bailing wire
whistle
fishing line/hooks





I don't know why this second one has all the blank space at the bottom, I edited it three times and it won't go away, viewed on my computer it isn't there so go figure.














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For some reason three files would NOT upload despite being under the maximum size nor would they link saying they were still too large, whatever, hope you enjoy!

[TacAir]

A few years back, Gerber made a knife in a belt buckle, most folks don't notice it...
called the Touche'

Still can be found on eBay and a couple of specialty sites.

[acropolis5]

Olaf_yahoo: Nice kit. The belt in your last post, with the dual ring buckle, is new. Please share the website source? Same question on the diamond files and the hacksaw blade based knife. Thanx in advance.

[Gunmetal Crew Chief]

I'll add a few items to the 'mini kit' list of E&E gear...




These are the "True Utility Scixors"...I dont know the shear force, or strength you can put behind them, but they are very compact.

Now, these Mini Scissors on the other hand, I CAN Speak to their strength...cause I have a pair from Maratac/County Comm.


I will look thru my archives...but its well know that these E&E and SERE blades and Items have existed many years thru WWII and before. I personally like looking at the old SOE/OSS gear cause it can sometimes set you on the right path to finding what your looking for as far as 'escapeology' goes.
Like a Blade kit used by OSS and SOE Instructors.


Or a Shoe Knife.


Or a Pencil Spike.


Then we run into some newer gear that I get emails about ALL THE TIME...Ti-Escape Ring/Mini-Saw...



Or this fine piece of gear, replaceable blade and all...$0.50 coin, hollow slot, held together by silicon rubber banding, I have one if anyone wants me to review the little guy.


Or these neato cuff shims...got one of these too.



As for the SERE "V" Cutters...well if you saw my "Oscar Delta/SnakeDr Bracelet reviews, you would have seen the SERE "V" in it. Damn fine cutter. I carry one around my ankle now, tied on with a small piece of 550. it never leaves me.


Enjoy.

[olaf_yahoo]

I'm familiar with everything there but the ring shim which is interesting but way too pricy. Simple steel would have been a tenth of the cost or even Aluminum if you are worried about metal detection but something that size isn't likely to set off a detector anyway. Plus I'm not sure how you get the tool out of the ring after its been seated in the groove. If it fits in there completely then there isn't anything to grab onto with the little saw to pull it out. It'd be damned hard to cut zipties with that thing being so tiny, much like the super small razor blades but it could be used to shim them like cuffs if the ratchet were accessible. Those scissors are pretty cool too, did you pick those up locally or online?

[Gunmetal Crew Chief]

I'm familiar with everything there but the ring shim which is interesting but way too pricy. Simple steel would have been a tenth of the cost or even Aluminum if you are worried about metal detection but something that size isn't likely to set off a detector anyway. Plus I'm not sure how you get the tool out of the ring after its been seated in the groove. If it fits in there completely then there isn't anything to grab onto with the little saw to pull it out. It'd be damned hard to cut zipties with that thing being so tiny, much like the super small razor blades but it could be used to shim them like cuffs if the ratchet were accessible. Those scissors are pretty cool too, did you pick those up locally or online?

Ya I feel you. I have one of the Saws, but the rings were sold out in my size...and your right, they are mighty tiny. No clue how you would get them out of the ring at all...I tied some blue kevlar cord to my little saw so I could access it easier. Its not as hard to use with a small length of cord attached...but you have to have some major dexterity, and you can forget about using it if your hands are wet, or cold, or lacking good circulation, or whatever. I think I will drill another hole in the other side though to tie on another pc of cord. Yep, its great as a shim too. I think to deploy it from the ring, you would need a small piece of cord attached and to store it with the cord, you'd just feed it into the groove that holds the saw too. Cant say for sure though.

The $0.50 piece Coin Knife is neat cause you can exchange the blade for a new sharp one anytime.

The Super Small Razors are ok for what they are, but too small for me to use for much.

The Orange Scissors are made by Maratac, but sold thru CountyComm... http://www.countycomm.com/miniutilityscissors.html <--there you got, black, orange, and green handles. 3.5" OAL, $3.00 a pair. (Not too bad)...they also have the 'compact' 5.75" EMT Shears- $4.00 pr. http://www.countycomm.com/compactshear.html ...then they have the Full-Size/Normal Size Premium EMT/Combat Shears at $7.00pr http://www.countycomm.com/premshears.html

Hope that helps some.

[olaf_yahoo]

Sorry, I meant the little ones, they look like they'd be well suited to this sort of thing.

[Gunmetal Crew Chief]

Sorry, I meant the little ones, they look like they'd be well suited to this sort of thing.

My bad...those are made by "True Utility" and are quite small. I have a pair on the way here from the UK(which is where T.U. products are made), so when it arrives, maybe I can run some tests on them and see if they will cut flex cuffs, zipties, etc. What do you guys think?

Another great option for zipties and flexcuffs...the Scarab cutter from ASP. It made just for cutting ZipTies...and I believe its only $30 or so. Small too.

[olaf_yahoo]

Now that's pretty cool, a little bigger than some other options but certainly effective.

[Gunmetal Crew Chief]

Now that's pretty cool, a little bigger than some other options but certainly effective.

Yep, the Scarab cutters are very cool looking. I been trying to get one sent here to see how well they really work, but cant get ahold of ASP.

I wonder if something could be fabricated that was kinda like the SERE "V" Cutter, but had a fold out handle on the shorter side of the blade that could be used to provide additional compound leverage on the 2 shearing razors. Hmmm...

[olaf_yahoo]

Of course it could be done but they work great as they are. When I got mine I wasn't prepared for just how small they are but for concealment that's an obvious plus. The painted ones however don't work as well as the non painted piece, the paint coats the blades and makes them less effective so I'd carry the uncoated set if you plan to use these for emergencies.

[freeballer]

love this thread!
I usually keep some edc items on me; small multi-tool, flashlight
I wonder where you found the TINY lock pick set, and the hooked blade (SERE "V")?

The ziptie cuter looks great. I keep some large plastic ties as "restraints" in my bob... Even if I might never use them