Author Archives: Rose Marion

About Rose Marion

Rose managed the Smith & Edwards website & online store from 2013 to 2017. She enjoys spending her off time reading, hiking around taking pictures, or trying not to sneeze at a rodeo!

Smith and Edwards - Ogden, Utah

The Nicknames of Smith & Edwards

- posted by Rose Marion

2017 is our 70th Anniversary, and BOY have we been called a lot of nicknames over the years!

And not what you think: these are names we get called by people who LOVE us. Terms of endearment.

Names like the BIG FUN STORE, Farr West Mall (or Plain City Mall), Smitties, Buck Brothers, The Cowboy Store… Even Smith & Edwards’ Surplus Plus!

Read more about the history & team behind Smith & Edwards Co.

More than once we’ve even heard someone on a law enforcement scanner heading over for a fun stop at “Smutt & Ugly’s” (Don’t ask us how they came up with that one).

Does your family have any nicknames for Smith & Edwards? Send an email to help@smithandedwards.com and let us know!

How to tie a Double Diamond Knot

How to tie a Double Diamond Knot and Horse Packing Q&A

- posted by Rose Marion

We were privileged to have Travis Sparks come by and do a packing demo the other day. Hunting is a totally different experience with horses. One hunter told me his story about finally getting his deer right at the end of the day, and was dreading the hike back uphill to the truck. Luckily some horse packers saw him, came down, and helped him quarter & pack out the deer. He would have been out there way past sunset without their help!

Packing isn’t just about packing out quarters. Your mule or horse might have tent poles, a shovel, lawn chairs, your bedroll, coolers, cooking supplies, or feed on his back. When you throw in antlers into the mix, packing turns into a real art & skill developed through practice.

Travis is a member of the Back Country Horsemen of Utah & does a lot of packing himself. He gave us a detailed demonstration of the Double Diamond hitch, and answered several questions about packing.

Watch Horse Packing Tips & Knot How-To

I split Travis’s presentation into two videos for you. First, you can see exactly how to do the Double Diamond knot on our trusted cavalry horse. This is a great hitch for top packing. Then, sit back and listen to Travis’s question & answer session about packing elk antlers, using a pack scale to balance your load, using soft packs vs hard packs, and tightening a cinch.

Packing with a Double Diamond knot

Packing with a Double Diamond knot. Thanks to Troy Higgs for this picture!

Watch: How to tie a Double Diamond Knot

Use a 45-foot rope to make this hitch, which starts out similar to the box hitch. Make sure and pull the rope tight.

Watch: Horse Packing for Hunting Q&A

Where to get those Pack Bags

Smith & Edwards pack bags for hunting on horseback

We make the pack bags shown in Travis’s demo, these are the #663 designed for coolers. We also make a narrower bag without flaps, #1665, and #1666 with flaps.

Of course I’ve got to mention that we proudly make those bearcloth packs you saw in the video, and you can get them right here on our online store. Read about our Tack Workshop in our Ogden store.

Do you have questions about horse packing that Marty or Travis can answer for you? Let us know in the comments below!

Travis’s Tips for Packing

  • Check your cinch after moving your animal – always make sure it’s tight!
  • Your goal is to make everything into a single package that moves together, without a pivot point
  • Keep your horse safe from antlers: make sure the rack moves along with the pack bags. Try not using a stick or a branch to elevate the horns, because they don’t ride well.
  • Keep the center of gravity low
  • Keep in mind what will hit a branch first: your pack bags or antlers?
  • Don’t take shortcuts, don’t get in a hurry – pack it right.
  • Rule of thumb, pack 15% of an animal’s weight. So for a 1000 pound animal, aim for 150-160 pounds split over the two sides.
How to make a Boa Paracord Bracelet (also called Trilobite Bracelet)

How to make a Boa Paracord Bracelet

- posted by Rose Marion

While I was walking past the Rope Room the other day, our Hardware buyer, Blaine Taylor, called me over. “I have a surprise for you,” he said.

Next thing I knew, I found myself in a dark sideroom looking at a bundle of paracord that glowed in the dark!

Just a short time under an LED flashlight was all it took to activate the PARAGLOW white and light blue paracord Blaine just got in. “Wow!” I thought. “This would be so cool to turn into a bracelet for hiking!”

I like having reflective gear, especially as it starts to turn fall, so if I’m walking near twilight the cars can still see me.

A glow in the dark paracord bracelet would be GREAT!

“That’s not all,” Blaine told me. “I’ve got another new paracord. This orange paracord has a jute strand, for starting a fire, AND it’s got an 8lb test fishing line inside.”

You can find reflective & glow-in-the-dark paracord online here, and at the Rope Room in-store at Smith & Edwards. This is some neat stuff!

Light Blue Glow-in-the-Dark 550 Feet White Glow-in-the-Dark 550 Paracord - 100 Feet Neon Orange Fish & Fire 550 Paracord - 100 Feet
Light Blue Glow-in-the-Dark 550 Paracord – 100 Feet White Glow-in-the-Dark 550 Paracord – 100 Feet Neon Orange Fish & Fire 550 Paracord – 100 Feet

And the bracelet? Jerica in the Web Department helped me make it. Well, I found the bracelet and she figured how to make it! This is a Trilobite bracelet, aka ladder rack or boa paracord bracelet. Here’s how she made it!

Making the Paracord Bracelet

You’ll need:

  • About 85″ each of 2 colors of 550 paracord (6″ wrist)
    If you want a single color bracelet, use 170″ and skip step 1.
  • 5/8″ buckle
  • Lighter
  • Scissors

1. Thread the ends of your paracord into the receiving end of your buckle. Then, melt the ends together.

Make a lark’s head knot, hiding the seam of the thread so it doesn’t scratch your wrist.

Starting the boa weave bracelet

2. Put the paracord through the two openings in the other buckle. Measure the paracord around your wrist. Add 1/2″ and move the buckle to that point.

Measure the bracelet

3. Tape the buckles to the table, with the 4 strand buckle at the top. You have 2 outer and 2 inner strands now.

Taping the bracelet to the table

4. Make a 4 with the outer left strand, and hold it over all other strands. Bring the outer right strand over the 4 tail, over the inner strands, and under the 4. This will make a Granny knot over the bottom buckle.

Finishing the bracelet beginning knot

In the photo above, for the fourth picture, bring the strand you just wove with, over the outer left strand, under the inner strands, and over the outer right strand.

Then, take the outer right strand and weave it under the strand you just wove with, over the inner strands, and under the outer left strand.

Good job – you’ve finished the hardest part!

We made the bracelet twice, and flipped the colors the 2nd time. We apologize!

5. Now we’ll just weave to the top of the inner cords.

Weaving the Boa Bracelet

Take the left outer cord and weave it over the first inner cord, under the middle inner cords, and over the last inner cord.

Take the right outer cord and weave it under the last inner cord, over the middle inner cords, and under the first inner cord.

Repeat this process all the way up the bracelet!

6. Now and then, stop to adjust the snugness of the weave, so you can have a consistent & tight weave.

Finishing the Bracelet

Here’s how we finished the boa bracelet.

1. Push & tighten the weave. Then, loop the strands so that they are next to each other. Trim the paracord to be just long enough to grasp.

2. Take your lighter and melt the ends of the strands. Hold the ends together and press with flat nose pliers to seal them together.

Tip: Have a friend hold the lighter for you, so you can hold one strand in each hand, and melt them together!

Finished Boa or Trilobite Bracelet - that glows in the dark!

You’re done! Enjoy your bracelet!

Check out our HUGE collection of Paracord on SmithandEdwards.com

Want to make more Paracord Bracelets?

Looking for more Paracord Bracelet patterns? Here are some sites & channels we found that have GREAT tutorials!

How to make dried apricots & apricot freezer jam

How to Make Dried Apricots & Apricot Jam

- posted by Rose Marion

What do you do with a couple pounds of fresh Utah apricots?

Some of the best ways to preserve that fresh, tangy sweetness are dehydrating apricots and turning them into apricot freezer jam.

Maggie & Hannah are 10-year-old friends, cousins, and daughters of Smith & Edwards employees. They gave it a shot! Here’s how they did – and if they can do it, YOU & your kids can, too!

Maggie & Hannah about to make apricot jam and dehydrated apricots

Making Dried Apricots

You’ll need:

  1. Wash and dry the apricots. Then, cut the apricots in half. Lastly, separate the halves, and pull out the pit.
    Dehydrating Apricots: Pitting
  2. Now arrange the apricots on your dehydrator screens. You can actually place them closer together than this, because they’ll shrink as they dry.
    Dehydrating apricots: placing the halves on the dehydrator screen
  3. Let them dry according to your dehydrator’s instructions. This batch only took Maggie & Hannah about 1 hour.
    Maggie making dried apricots

Making Apricot Freezer Jam

We used:

  1. Cut and discard the apricot pits, then mash the apricots.
    Making apricot freezer jam: mashing the apricots
  2. Add sugar, lemon juice, and the Freezer Jam fruit pectin, according to the package directions.
    Making apricot freezer jam: adding sugar and lemon juice
    Making apricot freezer jam: adding pectin
  3. Stir, then ladle the apricot jam into freezer jam jars.
    Making apricot freezer jam: ladling into freezer jars
  4. This apricot freezer jam will keep in the fridge up to 3 weeks, or in the freezer up to a year!
    Maggie & Hannah making dehydrated apricots & freezer jamTheir grandmother has a secret about adding crushed pineapple to the recipe. Try it out and see what you like!

Your Turn!

What’s happening in your kitchen? We love to see pictures of what you’re making! Leave a comment, tag us on Facebook or Instagram, or send us an email.

How to Freeze Beets

How to Freeze Beets

- posted by Rose Marion

Beets are a yummy vegetable packed with nutrients like manganese, potassium, copper, magnesium, vitamin C, iron, and vitamin B6. They’re a delicious Utah summer crop, and you can freeze beets to enjoy them year-round.

Our produce experts Vickie Maughan, our Housewares manager, and Jean from Pettingill’s Fruit Farm, teamed up to freeze beets last week and here’s how they did it.

You’ll need:

Directions: How to Freeze Beets

  1. Put on your gloves!
  2. Wash the fresh beets and cut of the beet greens, leaving 1″ of beet green stems. Don’t remove the tails or beet green stems, because if you cut them off, the beets will bleed out and lose their color.
  3. Boil the beets in a pot of water until tender. Then, set aside and let them cool off.

    Boiling the beets with their stems & tails on will keep the rich purple-red color from bleeding out!

    Boiling the beets with their stems & tails on will keep the rich purple-red color from bleeding out!

  4. Peel the beets. You don’t need a tool: you can massage the beet skin, tail, & beet green stems and they’ll fall off the beet in your fingers.
    Rinsing and peeling the beets
    Whole peeled beets, ready to slice and freeze
  5. Slice, dice, cube, quarter, or halve the beets any way you’d like. We love mandolins for slicing vegetables!
    Slicing peeled beets
    Chopped beets ready to freeze
  6. Put in a freezer Ziploc baggie with as many servings as you’ll want.
    Putting fresh cooked beets in freezer bags
    You can freeze them individually like cherries (view our How to Freeze Cherries guide), or if your family loves beets, you can freeze them all together.
    Beets ready to freeze
    Tip: Flatten the bag when you put it in the freezer so they stack nicely and will thaw evenly.

This winter, you can take the bag out to enjoy garden-fresh beets at the peak of their flavor. Microwave or lightly simmer them in a covered pan with butter, when your family’s ready to eat!

If you liked this, you will LOVE our other frozen food storage tips! Make sure you check out How to Freeze Cherries and How to Freeze Corn.

Lauren Clark's summer 2016 adventure

Lauren’s Summer Adventure: Exploring Oregon

- posted by Rose Marion

Lauren Clark wrote in with her Summer Adventure:

Adventure is in the eye of the beholder. There are many adventures around every corner. An adventure can be as simple as a picnic with the family, to something more complex, such as a vacation or a new living location. We can choose whether what we are going through is an “adventure” or something else.

This summer, my adventure included spending time with my family while in Oregon USA. We were able to go on a family trip for the first time in 3 or 4 years. It was great to reminisce about old times and build new memories together. We were able to see some beautiful sights and enjoy the surroundings of nature.

We were able to go zip lining.
Ziplining in Oregon - Lauren's Summer Adventure
I loved walking along the beach for miles and miles. It was amazing to see the vibrant green color, and the enormous size of the Redwood Trees.
Lauren's family in the Redwoods

The highlight of this adventure was finally being able to see Crater Lake. It was a beautiful sight that will not soon be forgotten.
Lauren at Crater Lake

Everything from seeing these beautiful sights, to having our car overheat and the AC not work, made this trip the perfect Summer Adventure.

This Oregon adventure was a well timed event, because just as life seemed to be getting settled, it threw us another adventure.

No matter where life takes us, we have to embrace the adventure. I am so happy that I got this time with my family and was able to make those memories that will last a lifetime.

How to freeze cherries

How to Freeze Cherries

- posted by Rose Marion

Here in northern Utah we’re lucky to get large yields of cherries in late June & early July! While there’s no end to what you can do with fresh cherries – cobbler being my favorite! – freezing cherries is a wonderful use for these short-seasoned juicy treats!

Freezing cherries will let you taste that sweetness even in January. Plus, you can use these for your shakes & smoothies.

Vickie, our Housewares manager, and Jean from Pettingill’s Fruit Farm, got together to show me how to freeze my own cherries. Take a look!

You’ll need:

Directions: How to Freeze Cherries

  1. Wash the cherries and remove their stems. Tip: use a colander!
    Washing cherries and removing the stems
  2. Pit the cherries. Jean & Vickie like using a handheld cherry pitter and collecting the pits in an extra jar or measuring cup.
    Pitting cherries with a cherry pitter - and GLOVES!
    Cherry pits go in an extra jar!
  3. Place the pitted cherries on the cookie sheet.
    Cherries on the cookie sheet, ready to freeze
  4. Secret Tip: Double decker your cherries! Place short drink cups or tupperware on the cookie sheet and place it in the freezer. Then, fill another cookie sheet with cherries and place it on top of the cups to freeze twice as many cherries!
    getting-ready-to-freeze-cherries freezing-cherries-in-layers
  5. Let the cherries freeze overnight.

    Freezing cherries in a chest freezer

    A chest freezer is GREAT for freezing cherries…

  6. The next day, take a spatula and release the bottoms of the cherries from the cookie sheet.
  7. Gather the cherries and place them in freezer Ziploc bags. Quart, gallon – your choice!
    Frozen & bagged cherries

Questions we get asked about Freezing Cherries

Q: Is it messy?

YES! Wear surgical gloves so it doesn’t stain your hands, and wear a work shirt.

Cherry pitting stains & gloves

Pitting cherries is messy business! Wear gloves.

Q: Why not freeze them in bags from the get-go?

By freezing them individually first, they don’t get stuck to each other. Then after you put them in the bag, they break apart easily.

Q: What can you do with frozen cherries?

Vickie LOVES to make smoothies with frozen cherries. YUM!

Eat these fresh-picked as a treat when the snow’s flying in January, just like you were eating it fresh in July!!

Do you have more questions for us? Leave a comment & let us know!

 

If you liked this, you will LOVE our other frozen food storage tips! Make sure you check out How to Freeze Beets and How to Freeze Corn.

Looking for more food preserving, dehydrating, or canning supplies? Shop our canning supplies on the online store!

Make your own DIY Bucket Washing Machine with Smith & Edwards - watch Melissa's video!

How to Make your own Laundry Bucket Washer (video)

- posted by Rose Marion

Muck-covered overalls? Horse leg wraps? Greasy shop rags? There’s no way those are going in the nice front-loading washing machine.

Here’s a neat way to turn 5-gallon buckets into a shop washing machine that keeps the mucky things out of the clothing laundry. We saw this on Pinterest and HAD to try it out!

Plus, you can also keep this on hand for emergencies: the Zombie Apocalypse or when the power goes out.

Thanks to Melissa in our Housewares department for showing us how to do it, and Marty for cleaning the leg boots!

Tip: Did you just buy a new pair of dark-wash denim jeans? Add a cup of vinegar and don’t add soap. Then, add your new jeans and let them sit overnight. This will help set the dye, and you won’t get as much indigo rub-off on the rest of your laundry!

Make your own DIY Laundry Bucket at Home

You’ll need these supplies:

Directions:

  1. Drill holes in one of the buckets, both the bottom and 1/3 to 1/2 of the way up the sides.
  2. Drill a hole in the lid with a 2″ hole saw. Then, insert the bushing.
  3. Now drill 1/2″ holes in the rubber plunger.
  4. You’re done!
Smith & Edwards answers your questions! Q&A with S&E

Q&A: Why use a Gun Vise?

- posted by Rose Marion

You’ve got questions, we’ve got answers! Send us your question to help@smithandedwards.com. We’ve got good advice, bad advice, & years of experience with all kinds of crazy outdoors activities. Send us your question, you just might get something fun or helpful back!

Question:

I saw your post on how to clean a rifle. I’ve never used a Gun Vise to clean my rifle… does it make any real difference? -Major Paul

Answer:

You don’t have to use a gun vise to clean your rifle. But it’s a good idea to have one, or a bipod, so your rifle is secured and the stroke of the cleaning rod is consistent with the plane of your bore.

How to clean your rifle - Smith and Edwards Demo

A lot of people also use a bore guide so that when you clean from breech to muzzle, you don’t scrape your crown on the muzzle end. You don’t really want the cleaning rod to contact the crown. A vise will help you clean consistently without scraping the sides. Also, that keeps the mess in one area.

Mike Vause, Smith & EdwardsThanks for asking!
– Mike Vause

Smith & Edwards Gun Counter

Bug Out Bag & 72-hour Kit tips from Smith & Edwards

Prepare with 72-Hour Kits & Bug Out Bags

- posted by Rose Marion

It’s that time of year to check your preparedness gear, make sure you have a communication/meetup plan for your family, & rotate your food storage.

One important piece of your preparedness plan is having a bag with all your necessities. Some people recommend a bug-out bag, but here in Utah a 72-hour kit is the most recommended pack to have.

What’s the difference? Mike Vause from our Sporting Goods department asked Ryan Seager, our Surplus manager, and Jean Dimick, our Preparedness manager, and here’s what he found.

What Ryan suggests for a Bug-Out Bag

A bug out bag, or go-bag, is a small bag designed to get your from Point A to Point B. Point B should have more supplies, such as your 72-hour kit or your food storage.

You might keep your bug-out bag in your car or truck, or in your desk at work; some place you can get to it easily and go.

So it’s a minimalist kit that has just the necessities to survive. You can buy a pre-made bug out bag, or create your own based on your needs & preferences:

  • 1 quart water, a container, & water purification method
  • Food (preferably a high-calorie bar)
  • Bivvy or compact sleeping bag
  • Poncho
  • Paracord
  • First aid kit
  • Multitool with a good blade
  • Lighting: headlamp or area lighting
  • Gloves, hat, scarf, light jacket, and spare clothes (if possible)
  • Fire starter
  • Personal defense

Jean’s picks for a 72-Hour Kit:

A 72-hour kit has the supplies you need to survive for 3 days. You’ll store more food and supplies than a bug-out bag, and for this you should consider a large backpack from the camping department, rather than a slim tactical pack. See Hiking & Camping packs here.

You can download a list of suggested items for your family’s 72-hour kits Get a printable ID card and 72-hour kit ideas from Smith & Edwards, as well as ID cards for your children:

Get your 72-hour kit list!

Did you know?

Save the Children has excellent resources for teachers, parents, and caretakers. Check them out here! You can also make your own ID cards for your children on the Child Safe Kit®’s website.