Preparing to go off-grid can be a daunting task, especially when it comes to ensuring you have all the tools you may need.
Then, once you are off-grid, finding an inexpensive option to buy tools becomes paramount when saving every penny matters.
That’s why attending flea markets and local swap sales can prove to be beneficial. In this article, we will look at some of the off-grid tools you might expect to find at a flea market.
Kitchen Tools
Being off-grid means you’ll want to have plenty of manual kitchen tools. This can include can openers, meat grinders, and mixing tools.
While these can be purchased from a standard retail operation, finding them in a flea market could mean huge savings. Finding these tools in a flea market is even better because they are often older, but better quality. We all know things aren’t made to last anymore.
The key to finding kitchen gadgets is to make sure they are operational before buying them. Make sure they have all the parts with no rust pits. Small rust spots can usually be remedied quickly, but if the metal is pitted by rust, it may not be worth your time and money.
Cookware
Pots, pans, and utensils are often a prominent fixture at flea markets. And, while one pan might do for most cooking scenarios, you’ll want to be sure you have the right pans for the right uses. For example, if you’re making a stew, a frying pan just won’t work.
Your best chance of versatile cookware will be cast iron. Cast iron is one of the only pieces of cookware that you can move from a stove to the campfire without harming the pan itself.
Remember, though, that cast iron is still at a premium, so don’t shy away from the pieces that need some TLC.
If you know how to restore cast iron, you can find some decent deals and save money.
Flashlights
Flashlights and batteries are something you can never have enough of on a homestead. You can often find them in bundle deals for cheap.
⇒ How to Power Up Your Home During a Blackout (No Generator Needed!)
And, if you find a booth dealing in just flashlights, chances are they will have survival flashlights that require cranking to work without batteries.
Maintenance Tools
Basic maintenance and construction tools, such as hammers, screwdrivers, and wrenches will always be a staple at flea markets.
When living off-grid, you’ll find these tools tend to have legs of their own and can never be found when you need them the most, so having extra is always beneficial.
One thing, too, you will want to keep an eye out for is buckets full of nails, screws, and bolts. Though they seem like an organizational nightmare, they can be good to have around, especially during construction projects.
Fishing/Hunting Gear
Regardless of where you decide to live off the grid, chances are you’re either hunting or fishing to find a sustainable food source. Rods, reels, and even guns can often be found for a fraction of the retail cost at a flea market.
Also be on the lookout for camouflage and fishing lures, especially if you are into fly fishing as many flea markets will have fly-tying supplies available.
Buckets and Storage Boxes
Organization is key to off-grid success, and you can never have too many buckets.
These items are often seen in bulk around flea markets and swap meets, making them extremely inexpensive.
This can also include barrels and drums; anything that can hold liquids, mainly water.
If you do intend to use these for water, you’ll want to be sure they are made of food-grade materials. You can use the barrels to build this cheap pressurized rainwater harvesting and purification system on your own property.
Old Military Gear
This kind of gear can include rucksacks, MREs, med kits, and canteens.
These items have been created to be rugged and long-lasting and often fill many of the needs you’ll face on an off-grid homestead. Old ammo crates, both metal and wood, make great storage containers.
Fabric and Sewing Supplies
Being off-grid comes also the need to fix things yourself. Buying new clothes won’t be as easy as going down to Walmart or other retailers as often as someone who lives in an urban area.
Therefore, you need to have both the knowledge and materials necessary to make and repair your clothing.
This might even mean being in search of a manual sewing machine if you have the space available.
Toys and Games
Chances are you’ll have your family with you when living off-grid and, while this lifestyle is a grueling one where the work never stops, there must be time made to enjoy your family as well.
Finding toys your children can play with and games you can enjoy as a family can be one of the most important purchases from a flea market.
Garden Tools
Gardening is a staple of any off-grid homestead. Plus, there’s always a need to either dig a hole/trench, rake the yard, or till the soil.
These tools, and the supplies to repair them, are easily found at flea markets. The need to inspect them, though, is the same with any metal equipment you buy.
Be sure they are free from rust and the handles are in good shape for the work you need to complete.
For those who are serious about growing their own food, I strongly recommend this comprehensive guide. It offers invaluable insights and practical advice for transforming your backyard into a self-sustaining homestead.
One thing I have noticed about many flea-market merchants is that they aren’t out to become rich.
Many are perfectly willing to barter, making their goods more appealing to an off-grid homesteader as you can use your own products or services to purchase items you need.
Regardless, don’t discount flea markets as an excellent source of items necessary to living off-grid.
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What is funny many used items in the shops are the crappy Chinese made products that don’t work anymore. The USA made products are being kept as family heirlooms like the previous old stuff the grandparents gave to us.
Good luck finding repairable items in blue states, many used and secondhand stores are going out of business as the Bidenomics strangles us.
In California the wannabe presidential candidate gov Newscum has ran the state into the ground while giving taxpayers money to the illegals lawbreakers to stay there.
People who can afford to move are, moving what is left of their businesses to other states.
The blue states have Islamic protesting burning, looting and murder like the past Antifa and BLM did in the Summer of love. This 2024 Summer of tough love terror will be interesting as we get ready to vote out the cancerous politics.
The negative thumbs down is probably from a liberal protester who hates the truth be told.
the first to go don;t worry about them
Or those who don’t think politics is the reason so much cheap chinese shit has been imported, because it’s been red AND blue over the years that has filtered this stuff in.
Or those who live in countries where it’s not all about whether you have blue balls or red balls…
Or those of who are sick of everything being reduce to politics instead of actually discussing hte merits of the article and contributing to the knowledge here.
A few years ago some states cracked down on home gardening. I think one gardener made the news from Detroit where she had a home garden in the front yard. The city cited her for not being in complainant with some zoning law.
I have bought some used garden tools that needed TLC and new wooden handles. The existing wood eventually cracked from old age. Found a lot of used crappy China made tools in those secondhand stores too.
I’m all for buying or bartering for good used tools, supplies at flea markets. Have found USA made items among the cheap China made garbage there.
Can people really go off grid?
Many families live in the suburbs and just outside the city limits where some states still require us to be connected to the utilities regardless. Being off grid in certain states has laws, regulations and fees set by the governing boards. Many restrictions are set by bureaucrats who don’t live in the poor areas that sets ridiculous rules to follow.
Wanna be “off grid” in town? Not sure about conflicting laws/ordinances governing such? Easy to handle. Just don’t pay water and electric bill for a couple months and they will get you off grid quickly! However, some cities are hostile to this approach and may try to condemn/lock up access to your property. Big yellow tape over entry doors and such. Bottom line is this, while the above procedure will get you off grid in a hurry and then you can see how living that way evolves, to be free of hands forcing you and/or fining you to live a certain way you’ll need to buy your own place in the country. For example, i can turn the main breaker in my box off at home for as long as i want. Due to fairly recent advances in multiplexing technology the electric company can tell when my power is off and will probably email me to ask if there is a problem. Other than that, i’m able to be off grid any time i want to be. And yes, i live outside of any city limits, and have my own water well.
“Yellow tape” VS. scissors or knife? Guess who MY $5 is betting on.
Be connected to utilities, that’s fine, but remember if you don’t pay your utility bill you will be disconnected. The companies will force you off grid due to non payment. Something to think about. I AM NOT telling you not to pay, I am reminding you to pay your utility bills.
if you have no shovel you seriously won’t turn your nose to a “china one” Your house is filled with chinese made products
Question, if these crazy electric mandates to buy electric battery operated tools fizzles out. Those gas powered tools being given away in states such as California will become a premium prize to keep as we start drilling for oil again.
People are finding out going green energy battery operated tools are not cutting it. Some cities in Coronado, California demand landscapers only use electric battery powered tools. The landscape crews have fork out tons of money to comply by green environmental regulations, some companies are moving.
I am looking into buying these gas powered tools for the day we realize gas powered tools work better than having to charge battery tools several times a day. Batteries need replaces and hazardous to the environment leaking chemicals into the groundwater.
Speaking of batteries, has anyone bought a used electric vehicle lately?
There really isn’t a used EV market, the replacement batteries cost more than the price of the used EV’s blue book value is worth. Replacement batteries are a wide range $10K to $50K depending on if there is a replacement.
What happens to the used EV, hazardous landfill, EV’s no one can work on at home?
I am keeping my old gas powered tools as America gets ready to drill for oil and gas again. EV’s and battery powered tools only make China rich over our economy. I want to buy good tools made in the USA, not Chinese cheap stuff, thank you.
God bless America.
If you can acquire good gasoline powered tools cheaply due to local “electric only” regulations, by all means buy them, clean em up real good, make sure they fire up and then peddle whichever ones you have an excess of on ebay. Some thoughts from my experience with battery powered tools. I’m a Dewalt and Milwaukee guy. I have several Dewalt cordless tools and the shop i work at has a lot of Milwaukee cordless tools. Both work very well and last good. It’s rare to have a battery issue stop progress either at home or work, as we both have several extra batteries to swap out. Those are good American brands that you can get plenty of parts and accessories for if needed. BUT, I think Dewalt is pioneering a new era in cordless tool technology, AKA 60 VOLT. Dewalt has a huge tool line, gobs of them in 20 volt and when you get towards the heavier duty, higher torque tools they go to 60 Volt. And they have some tools that run on TWO 60 VOLT battery packs OR you can plug in to 120V wall outlet. Very Versatile Indeed! One thing that i personally found out is that you can use the 60 volt batteries for your 20 volt tools, and that’s no secret, the 60 volt packs last MUCH, MUCH longer in a 20 volt tool. I’ve got one lil Dewalt cordless grinder that is a battery pack consumer until you slap a 60 volt pack on it. Then generally, you finish whatever job you were doing b4 it eats the pack. Big difference in runtime. Yes, those 60 volt packs are about double the size, but they last triple, or better the time versus the 20 volt packs. Yes, those packs are expensive. Hint:Ebay sells the chinese knock-offs for half, or less of the Dewalt price. I have a pair of them that i tried out to see if they’re worth having or not and have had zero issues with them. I know those tools are high to get started with. My motto is, buy a good tool and only cry once. It doesn’t hafta be Snap-on or Mac, but Dewalt, Milwaukee, Bosch and several others make good quality cordless tools that will stand up to commercial use. Hope that helps.
Each one of your topic paragraphs should be an article in itself. Learn what to look for and learn HOW to use it ! Learn how to clean/maintain and sharpen those garden tools. Learn how to use a file and sharpening stone. No matter where you work kitchen, garden, shop, everything you use is a tool. Ask a cook, mechanic, machinist, gunsmith, etc… What to use and how to use it. Many would be amazed what can be done with a good knife, spatula, hand plane, saw, bit & brace, or ?
Hey Dave,
Is there a class or course on how to sharpen tools the proper way?
Thanks.
Youtube is a great resource for instruction.
You know there’s more than a few that are gonna Google “brace” to see if it’s a firearm accessory or not. Lol I have a dandy one that was Pa’s some where in storage.
I don’t know if you’ll find them in flea markets and the like, but I think everyone should have a broad fork. I prefer this manual tool to a tiller for working soil.
I have a good one that needs a handle. Thinkin i’d better get “roun to it” and put a handle in that. Think i garbage picked it in the 90s. I’d better get that done ASAP or i may get too darn stove up to use it! LOL
Manual Tools are the key to be free of electronic tools that will breakdown before we need them at that time. I agree that manual and gas powered tools will be the lifeblood of the off the grid life or at least somewhat off grid living.
I’m a retired contractor, have all sorts of gas, electric 120v, and manual tools, no battery powered as they are a waste of time. I bought a cheapo Chinese sawzall at Harbor Freight 20 years ago for 25.00, it’s still going strong for 1/5 the price of a Dewalt, I’ll buy cheap Chinese power tools all day long until American companies modernize their production and start selling at a competitive price. Ames I think is still an American company, I’ll pay top dollar for their garden tools because they’re top quality, but it’s real hard for me to chant USA! while getting screwed. Argh, I’ve got a splitting maul I’ve used for 25 years, better go check the brand.
Right on, agree, even well made American are second in demand to Chinese products in the price category. Americans love a bargain and cheap prices are what they want over quality made products, a shame that is so.
Remember a relative’s story of the American TV and radio manufacturing was crushed by cheap import electronics back in the Fifties and Sixties. The Asian countries by subsidized government loans sold their electronics at cut rate prices. The American electronics had a hard time competing in price, even though USA made was much superior in quality back then.
Now we see some of those Asian products like car airbags have gotten sloppy in their manufacturing quality control also.
So finding good made tools or products can be a gamble anymore. We can’t trust those product comments on big named websites as they can be faked.
I agree, to a limited extent, about some aspects of battery tools. For 2 DECADES i pooh-poohed my friends that used battery tools and stuck to my corded tools. Then i started some larger construction projects that didn’t have close by power. Lots of big long electric cords. And big, heavy gauge Y-adapters. Moving scaffolding around was like dragging a sea of heavy vines. As much was after dark, big worklights with cords as well. TWO sets of us with scaffolding laden down with air and electric lines. To make a long story short, NOW, as long as it’s daylight, there are zero cords to drag around, trip over and coil or roll up every day. More than pays off for a battery pack changeout every couple to 3 hours or longer. Trick is to have a large 4-bay charger and 6 or so BIG packs. 12ah or more. I consider a 9ah iffy. The cordless tools have improved HUGELY in power and longevity in the last few years. I still have a whole set of corded tools and do use them for a few things. But, i’ve gotta say i’m hooked on the cordless stuff. There are some tools that cordless just can’t do. Cordless Pavement breaker? Not happenin. Cordless chainsaws were a joke about 5 years ago. Not so anymore. Have a good one!
The good old reliable well built “American made” kitchen, home and garden tools can still be found in good working order and generally at a fair price if not sometimes free, because the sellers are just wanting to unload some things that have been inherited and just laying around for years. If you’re living in the larger cities, it’s a bit more difficult to find good sales with what most consider as antique or vintage tools. For those of us who live in more rural areas, the treasures can more often be found in small out of the way towns, cities or communities. The best targets for finding what you may be looking for is the small yard, garage, and the more lucrative estate sales. The real secret is to scout out your areas and get to the sales early to have the best opportunity at finding what you need. Hitting the sales mid-day is an opportunity lost. The other key point is not to just drive by because the sale looks small, and it may not appear to have much out. I’ve found great deals on items and some “Wagner and Lodge” cast iron cook ware that was stacked in a box on the floor in the garage where the owners had only one table set up outside. If it’s an annual, local community sale, you can move through the neighborhood at a fair pace and still find the treasures you may be looking for and some that you didn’t know you needed or wanted. Be sure to carry a lot of small denominations of cash to pay for your items. Most sellers don’t have the means to make change for large bills for the early shoppers. Don’t be afraid to bargain with the seller. They are most always willing to negotiate the price. Be fair, friendly and polite, most of the sellers haven’t had they’re morning coffee yet. Another resource is the little out of the way mom & pop secondhand stores and thrift shops in the smaller towns. They generally have a lot of old tools and appliances that make their way to the store through donations. Have fun, you’ll be amazed at the success you have by shopping early and at out of the way locations. Be careful, this can become an addiction once you develop your bargaining skills.
Not much in good used tools out west, had a lot of our old tools stolen by neighbors after I had to put dad into assisted living. I could not be in two places at once and the good folks surrounding his house took advantage. Even plumbing fixtures vanished, done in a day or so. I dropped in after work every few days or so and it was pointless.
Keep an eye on the security level at the casa blanca, if that tightens dramatically in early November, you’ll know what’s coming. I do not see the current owners letting go of power. I’ll be surprised if the mean person in question is not lost in some form of accident before the ballots are even cast. I pray I’m wrong, I’d love to wake up and this all has been one big nightmare.
Your right.
Funny stuff, the radical unicorns in charge at the white house might declare martial law to upend the 2024 presidential election coming soon. The deep state folks don’t want to loose their power over us.
Definitely buy the best used tools you can, if you have to buy Chinese made stuff buy two to equal one made in the USA. The other poster mentioned the American products are more expensive that is true.
One is none, two is one, three is great if you can afford it and have the storage space.
One other reason is politicians like CA gov Newsom’s burger flipper wage of $20 plus an hour did not help. Prices go up to compensate, I am retired on a fixed income so buying used is a way of life.
Unions protesting for higher wages every time they sneeze go on strike, more money please.
Please make the used items at the flea markets or elsewhere are worth the price to repair them than buying a new tool.
Amen brother! I’ve lost several things to crackheads, i feel ya. Stuff that CAN’T be replaced. Sad and frustrating.
Lets see : ? you expect civility out of a evil group of invaders who think thier is no consequence ,
Then you minimize the laws so there is no jail time .
Then you remove any evidence or display of codes , laws, accountability
and then to top it off , So your conscience does not get affended , yu remove the bible, ten commandments and standards which tell you there is an absulute God who will make Mankind accountable for thier actions and sin .
Then you tell all everyone can be thier own God , Thier own way , Thier own justice
Sound like the book of isiah in which the world was so wicked , evil and did what was right in thier own eye s , that God Had to destroy Them , As No good was left .
This is what Will happen when God Removes His Spirit and Those who love , cherish, Follow , Believe in Him, His Ten Commandments , His Bible , Word
The Bible clearly states the consequence of a evil heart that rejects The Bible , The Word , The Ten Commandments , the Truth
God lets them go Thier own way to thier own distruction by each other , not by God s hand . as written Man will Destroy himself and God will intervien to save man from themselves
John 1:1 to John 14: 30 tells all , why , who,
I would add to the list a saw vise and saw set. You should have these for both hand saws, and also for the two man and one man saws for felling and cutting trees. Yes they made them…how do you think saws were sharpened. To this you should add appropriate files. For the hand saws these are the small triangular files and for the felling saws the larger flat files.
While you are at it, when looking for tools if you can get them cheap enough I would point out the need for redundancy. I use that philosophy with everything…just don’t break the bank doing it. As an example I keep multiple sets of fuel filters, oil filters and air filters for each of the various “old school” diesel engines, the limited but necessary gasoline engines and the singular heavy gasoline truck that has been converted to propane. Remember propane really doesn’t have a “use by” date unlike gasoline and diesel. More importantly, the diversity in these engines means as any of these three fuels becomes available (donor vehicles or abandoned propane tanks) I can use it. Also, your vehicle selection should in part be based on the availability of prospective donor vehicles in your area. They will stop, be abandoned, a left here and there. These will be vehicle spare parts “gold mines”, as well as sources for wire, tires, wheels, and rubber tubing.
I have a good selection of cast iron, most of it handed down from my great grandmother and over 100 years old…and I’ve made plenty of stews in a frying pan 😀
Just a quick note…… Dont buy dry rotted old thread…. it will only continuously break when using. You will lose your mind dealing with that. Invest in lightweight fishing line instead.
People, can you please,,please, please keep political or racially motivated comments out of this forum. I believe most of us are here to learn something useful about being prepared for our future “difficulties” if and when they arrive. We are not here to listen to rantings.
Best acquisitions, bit& brace, buck saw. Elbow grease seldom runs out and needs no cords.