Will there be a gap between a jump in precious metal prices and total SHTF?

[Steve]

It depends on your situation. If you live in a rented house and have a remote bol then an easy to carry store of wealth like gold is a wise investment. If you have built your homestead and have no intention of leaving then you might be better buying a big stash of nails and barbed wire.

I'm optimistic that I can stay put, so I have invested in fencing and machinery, a couple of tractors, lathe, shaper, milling machine, steel stock, welding rods, copper wire. You can buy old HSS drills for scrap value, they can be easily sharpened up, I used to buy up carbide inserts on ebay for silly prices like 99p for a box of 10 but they have got a lot dearer now, I guess they are being exported to chindia.