For this one, I had an illustration in mind. Unfortunately, I cannot find the object I planned to use to illustrate it, so you’re just going to have to use your imagination.
Several years ago, I did an experiment and bought a pair of brass knuckles (illegal in Pennsylvania, I just confessed to a crime, OMG) and made a mold from them. My thinking was two-fold – I wanted to make resin-bonded carbon fiber knuckles that would not show up on a security scanner, and I wanted to make a pair or pretty pink silicone rubber knuckles. The carbon fiber ones held up for one or two punches against a sheet of plywood, then disintegrated. The silicone ones were a lot more fun: whappa-boomp, whappa-boomp – sort of a knuckle cushion but it would still hurt to get bapped with them. Eventually they got bunged up from boomping into things. I searched high and low, and east and west, to find my knuckles mold but I seem to have put it into the “failed experiments” drawer (which periodically gets emptied into the dumpster)
Anyway, the point, being – boingy-sproingy pink silicone knuckles could be a marketable item in today’s scary tactical world.
“Simple hacks to defend your family using your surroundings.” I make swords. My surroundings are unusual. I am picturing someone attacking me and me shoving them into the bridgeport or the forge. Guns are for wimps.
I wonder if polycarbonate would work for knuckles. I had some rods and tubes of that stuff that would tear up rattan in escrima practice. Full force swing against a steel building support had no effect to support or tube (but it hurt).
After a few years in my car trunk a tube developed spiderweb patterns, and one strike against a concrete post shattered the tube, so not so good for temperature extremes.
I have fire extinguishers. I also do not engage in activities that lead to people attempting to kill me or my loved ones. My insurance is paid up.
Not really sure what a gun would do to improve my odds of surviving the cascadia earthquake (which are already pretty high, though I expect our house will be damaged.
Also – if you will be spending any time in Portland on your way to or from Bandon, I would love to offer you a drink/snack at my home. PM me at felicis at gmail if you are interested and have time.
Soon to be hanging from every copper’s belt right next to truncheon, taser and pepper spray. More “non-lethal” weapons are good for morale, it gives the copper some variety while
working overthoroughly arresting suspects.Another thing, the “duct tap” sounds like a marvellous martial arts manoeuvre to deal with an attacker. “Mugger’s got a gun to your head? Floor him instantly with the ancient (but also patented) art of the duct tap that was perfected by warrior construction workers in feudal Japan centuries ago.”
“Thoroughly arresting.” I love it.
I’ve always found it more than a bit ironic that a certain style of American firearm owner is always going on about “personal responsibility,” yet they inevitably strongly object to anything that might allow others to hold them responsible, even if only in part (say, via tort), for harmful events that occur when they mismanage the firearms they own.
All states in the U.S. deal fairly well with the potential harm that can be caused by motor vehicles though vehicle registration and mandatory liability insurance, the latter being a nice market-based way of settling on prices for this, and I’ve never seen a firearm owner who has a problem with this. Yet suggest the same kind of thing for firearms and they are (sometimes literally) up in arms about it.
And then they go leaving a handgun under the seat of their car in a mall parking lot because “the liberals made them do it,” and so it’s not their fault when it gets stolen and used in a crime. As if somehow it wasn’t their choice to bring the weapon to a place where they knew they couldn’t take it into that facility. Personal responsibility indeed!