Surviving a crisis is a lot easier if you’re appropriately armed. With the right weapons, you can protect yourself from attackers and hunt game to improve your diet. In the US we’re lucky; even in the most restrictive states, it’s still possible to buy guns that will cover most survival situations. But what if disaster strikes and you don’t have any guns to hand?
There are ways that can happen – you could be away from home, for example. Sometimes you just have no choice but to go somewhere with no weapons. The problem is, when the world as we know it decides to end it’s no respecter of the choices you’ve had to make. You can find yourself in a survival situation with no weapons, so you need to know what to do about it. Luckily there’s an answer – make some.
There are a lot of weapons you can improvise from everyday objects and materials, if you know how to go about it. Sure, they’re not as effective as a good firearm – but they’re a lot better than nothing, and could make the difference between life and death.
⇒ Learn How To Make Your Property Looter-Proof
Here are some of the most effective homemade weapons every prepper needs to know about:
Spears
Forget all those sword-swinging movie heroes; before guns took over the battlefield, most soldiers carried a spear. Spears are excellent weapons for a whole bunch of reasons. They’re cheap and simple to make. They give you a long reach and let you keep enemies at a distance – a well-handled spear will beat a knife every time.
With a bit of practice, you can throw spears a reasonable distance They double as walking sticks and carrying poles. They’re a good way to tackle large but slow-moving animals. You can catch fish without getting wet. If you know how to make a spear, you can equip yourself with a reasonably effective weapon almost anywhere.
To make a spear, start with the shaft. You want a solid pole that’s as straight as possible. You can make a small spear from a hardwood broom handle, but ideally you want a shaft at least six feet long and 1.5-2” thick. Straight-grained hardwood is best, but the main thing is it needs to be solid. A good spear has some weight behind it, too.
If necessary, you can simply sharpen the point of the spear then harden the tip in a fire. You can make a sharper and more durable point with a knife (the more symmetrical, the better). Don’t use your primary knife as a spearhead – as well as the obvious risk of it getting lost or damaged, it’s hard to use as a knife when it’s tied to a six-foot pole. Find an old knife; a chef’s knife will work well. Remove the handle, split the end of the pole, fit the knife’s tang into the split then bind it up tightly.
Slingshots
A slingshot isn’t just a kid’s toy. Well handled and with the right ammunition it’s great for taking small game, and it can deter an unarmed attacker. They might laugh when they see it, but whack a half-inch BB off them and they’ll start taking the danger seriously.
To make a slingshot, find a strong forked branch and cut it down into a Y shape. Find some strong rubber. You’ll see sites that tell you to use the elastic out of your pants. Don’t bother; it’s nowhere near strong enough.
You need something like surgical rubber tubing or an old bicycle inner tube. Cut a pouch from leather – a three-inch section from a belt with do – and punch a hole in each end. Knot a length of rubber through each hole.
Related: 50 Prepper Items To Shop For At The Thrift Store or Yard Sale
Cut a groove round each upper end of the Y on your fork, and tie the rubber tightly to it. Then find some ball bearings, glass marbles or round stones, and start practicing. A slingshot can easily drop a rabbit, or knock birds and squirrels out of trees – and unlike a bow, there’s no risk of nailing your quarry to a branch 50 feet up.
Self Bows
Bows definitely have their place, though. They’re harder to make than slingshots, but much more powerful – with the right bow you can bring down any animal in North America. In fact there are tribes in Africa that hunt elephants with simple wooden self bows.
A self bow is a bow made from a single piece of wood. To make one, find a straight branch or trunk made from a rough, springy wood like osage orange, Pacific yew or red oak, split it into quarters along the grain, then shape one of the quarters down into a bow.
Use a tiller to gradually bend it further and further as you carve it, so you can check it bends smoothly with no weak or still spots. Then string it with strong cord and you have a powerful, easily maintained weapon.
PVC Bows
The hardest part of making a good bow is finding a good piece of wood to make it from. If you’re struggling with that, don’t worry – there’s a modern alternative. Just find yourself a five-foot length of PVC pipe and you can make a powerful bow.
You can turn any PVC pipe from about ¾” to 1.5” diameter into a simple bow. What you have to do is mark out a 5” section in the center, then cut away one side of the pipe outside of that section to form the back of the bow.
Just like making a self bow, you can use a tiller to help get the curve right. Then file notches into the ends to take a string, and you have a bow. If you can, wrap the center section in cord or leather to give a better grip. If you have a heat gun you can even make a more sophisticated PVC recurve bow.
Pepper Spray
If you just want something to deter harassment and mugging, pepper spray is ideal – but in a crisis it could be hard to find unless you get to the store early.
On the other hand, you can easily make your own.
Put 4 tablespoons of ground chili powder in a bowl. Pour in 100ml of rubbing alcohol and leave it for eight hours so the alcohol can soak up the capsaicin from the chili.
Mix in two tablespoons of olive oil to give the mixture more density and help it stick. Then filter it through cheesecloth or a fine wire strainer to remove the particles of chili, and load it into a small spray bottle.
Store it in a cool, dry place.
⇒ What Happens If You Eat Chili Peppers Every Day?
Taser
Want a more modern way to scare off attackers?
An electronic stun gun should do the trick! Police-style Taser pistols are expensive, and the ammunition for them can be hard to get, but you can easily build a simple hand-held stun gun.
All you need are two nails, a few cheap and simple electrical components and a plastic project box to fit all the parts in.
Caltrops
Caltrops were used in the Middle Ages as a sort of anti-cavalry minefield. You can make a caltrop from two metal rods, joined together into a cross and bent so one point is always facing upwards. Sharpen the points and you have a nasty little weapon that will injure any attacker who stands on one and make his friends slow down and go carefully.
If you have basic welding equipment you can easily make caltrops out of large nails. Place two nails so they cross at the centers, then simply weld them together. Bend them with heavy pliers or a vise and hammer so that, however they lie, one point sticks up. Then cut off the nail heads and grind into points.
A bag of caltrops scattered behind you can deter pursuers, or use them to booby-trap parts of your property that can’t be seen from the house. Just remember where you put them!
⇒ DIY Wire Snare and Twitch Snare for Small Animals
There are plenty other improvised weapon designs on the internet, but I wouldn’t want to trust my life to most of them. If you need an improvised weapon you need one that works. Stick to simple, proven designs like the ones here, and they won’t let you down.
Even simpler weapons can be picked up as needed; a solid branch or table leg will make a good club, a baseball bat makes an even better one, and a well-thrown rock will put off many predators of both two- and four-legged varieties.
If you have more time, a spear should be your first priority – it’s the easiest to make – followed by a good bow to give you some range.
Remember that so-called “primitive” weapons are still used every day by people whose whole life is a survival situation. One reason things like the spear and bow have stuck around so long is that they can be relied on to do the job.
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Oh my where to start. After reading and rereading this “Article” with links to making a PVC bow from a Ask a Prepper article that DOESN’T HAVE a PVC Bow instruction IN it, sigh. Chicken tractors and PVC Furniture, no bows.
BTW forget the single stave PVC bow unless you want to piss off a Grey Squirrel. Spend 30+ dollars on sale Walmart Kids bow, FAR more powerful and accurate. And Practice, Practice and Practice. Every weapon on this list requires a LOT of Hours weekly to train to be effective.
My first thought was the Walmart Heavy Calvary riding their battery powered shopping carts with Halloween Costumed folks that can barely waddle from the car to the shopping cart FORGING their Weapons from duct tape, Mop Handles and Kitchen Knives.
Ok, sorry if your offended by morbidly obese people trying to be King Arther. I am also offended.
Folks let’s look at Current Melee weapon users. ANTIFA. Let’s START with who they recruit physically. Young, Reasonably Fit folks that can run circles around a lot of older folks. They are Wearing Hard Helmets (most with Clear Visors), carrying Heavy Plastic Sheilds in the same style and TRAINING as Roman Soldiers to deflect non-firearm police riot gear. AND As it’s in the eyes of the Media unwise to carry firearms they carry Collapsible Metal BATONS to Beat unto submission unarmed civilians LIKE you and me.
You COULD also look at the Mug Shots of the Criminals to compare how Physically Strong and Healthy they are compared to yourself. DO you Really want to fight them at Bad Breath Range?
Melee weapons are weapons of LAST Defense. For the vast majority of us not being well trained and constantly training as Martial Artists they are the panic driven last defense.
Homemade Pepper spray and homemade tasers, REALLY? First IF you’re really concerned about Legality of self-defense weapons wait until the Prosecutor shows the Homemade EVIL UNSAFE stuff you did to HIS Client. Time is Money BUY a real UL rated Stun Gun or pepper spray, at least you’re not a Mad Scientist trying to “Kill Someone” in court.
Secondary problem with Pepper Spray and Tasers-Stun guns. Even Police will tell you they work best on Normal Civilians. Folks like Antifa and street criminals generally are HIGH on Street Drugs, and they FEEL NO PAIN. Thus, the far more brutal and destructive BATONS the Police use when Antifa gets too close. Broken Bones and concussions folks.
That old saying God didn’t make us equal, Col Colt did is painfully CORRECT. The Nearsighted, Walker dependent Stubborn old Granny with a 22 revolver can ruin the day of Antifa. Yes, they CAN overwhelm her in mass, but they will pay the price.
If you want to defend yourself, get a gun and TRAINING. If your correctly concerned about going to court afterwards get Training and buy a Gun Insurance package so you know what to say to the police (90% of convictions occur from the first words the shooter said to the police) so you HAVE a Lawyer on speed dial.
NOW IF you cannot get a gun, or simply hate guns (yes, there are preppers that hate guns, I have one family I know, wonderful gardeners-mechanics) THEN accepting the hazards of being at bad breath range you have OPTIONS that are Far more defensible in court (BTW I am NOT a Lawyer, just have some limited police experience-court time) as they are “Feared for my LIFE” weapons.
A stout mop handle, a Fire extinguisher (I USED one in self-defense a few years ago, put out that aggressive dudes’ “fire” and then I called 911 for them), a baseball bat WITH a Baseball glove in the car, you were NOT planning to beat someone up, You’re a Base Ball Player. It’s HELPS if you’re really a member of a local Baseball Team to back you up in court later.
FAR Better to learn how to Evade Trouble. Walking with Awareness of what’s around you prevents’ you from looking like a victim to most street thugs. Knowing what’s going on can get you to MOVE away from danger areas before you have the Bad Breath Special IN YOUR FACE. If you see a mob heading your way DON’T try to walk or drive through them, TURN AROUND and Move Out away from trouble. An Illegal U-Turn is easier in court than being curbed stomped AND jailed for “enraging the crowd”. SO Many Idiots try to run through a Mob and get Curb Stomped after the mob stops their car.
Or even IF your Jacked Pickup Truck DOES get through the crowd, HOW many Cell Phone Recordings and Video does the Police have to put you UNDER the Jail? Big Bubba is gonna Love you LONG TIME. Going to Jail is a POOR Prep plan, Just saying.
Articles like this are going to get a lot of inexperienced preppers KILLED or raped and enslaved by street thugs. I am ashamed this is in Ask a Prepper.
Wow, fantastic advice! Thanks!
Gene,
I agree with you 100%. If you are not armed 24/7/365, then you are incapable of protecting yourself or those around you. I sit here at 3 AM with a .38 special in my pocket loaded with wadcutters. I’m 65 now, disabled due to a big truck accident ( one hit me at 96 mph, so the Troopers say). I have been attacked, robbed, and beaten up in three seperate occasions that I did not even know was going to happen. THAT was enough to arm me up to defend myself at close range. Before the truck accident, I might or might not be armed depending where I was going. Now, I am armed going to the Dr. or to Church or anywhere else. I am about halfway through a case of ammo at the range and plan to buy another case soon. Six rounds with one UNDER the hammer. Spares in a reloader in my watch pocket, easy to grab quickly. I carry a .38 special Cobra over/under derringer in one of my leg holsters. The other holds a big bore something. Over armed? I don’t think so. The next group of minorities that want to have fun with an “old man” will not be so lucky, not laugh at me when I am down for them to kick around. Until I am assured 100% that this can never happen again, I am ready. My cane looks like wood, but conceals a very sharp special made sticker – last resort defense. Still over armed? I do not think so. I may be beat up, damaged in the past, but the next time will be different. I make sure I am home well before dark to stay out of trouble, but if trouble comes to me, I will be ready.
This isn’t written for the overnight rioters you are defending yourself from, but rather the SHTF days and weeks scenario that was posted in the beginning of the article. AND it also specified the scenario that you get caught in that SHTF days and weeks scenario unarmed and now have to build some weapons. Not sitting in your truck or house with those items nearby.
This post was useful for the scenarios it was written about.
The family on a 2 week vacation that is in another region of the country that can not immediately make it back to their BOB or BIB that is inaccessible at the moment that large scale EMP took out most of the country, much less have a way to get back across the country to their BOL is going to have to improvise, just like the article was written for.
In that limited case Mark, I have to agree with you. However, when I leave my home for vacation I DRIVE and thus am carrying far better selection of a Get Home Bag than the victims that were TSA compliant and suddenly EMP’ed into a nightmare.
I also have folding bicycles in my rig in case EMP does cripple my vehicle or I have to abandon it heading home.
All the street thugs here are in very good shape especially those who have been recently released from prison. You can easily spot them on the street as they also are lean, muscular and exhibit high energy. Prison affords them the opportunity to work out and they make the most of it. Best to stay alert, and take steps to avoid at all cost.
Dale let us explore your Restaurant – AntiFa scenario a bit. It’s a REAL-WORLD situation that you and I can get into. I still go out for lunch with my beloved.
Your aware enough to see the trouble. You see the currently unblocked exit through the Back of the Restaurant. Your car and all your self-defense-escape stuff is now under effective AntiFa control.
Are you going to try to get a kitchen knife, mop handle and find some sort of duct tape to build a spear OR are you going to move out smartly well AWAY from the Whole AntiFa scene?
Even IF you happened to be packing a Colt Combat Commander in your tankers shoulder rig under your dress coat and your spouse her pistol of choice do you really want your Family in the line of fire? How do you KNOW that AntiFa isn’t packing firearms now? Kyle found himself LOOKING at a Glock aimed at him.
I think NOT. You were aware enough to see trouble and you avoided it by ESCAPING through the back door, yes? You didn’t try to sneak around to get your car, you ACCEPTED you might have to call the Insurance Company and find a taxi.
Proverbs speaks to this: Proverbs 27:12 The wise see danger ahead and avoid it, but fools keep going and get into trouble. A prudent person sees trouble coming and ducks; a simpleton walks in blindly and is clobbered. A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.
Michael, my point was simply that no matter how prepared you are with the most sophisticated store bought weapons and gadgets, circumstances can change so that you have to improvise weapons. In my example you didn’t fight Antifa in t he restaurant, you evaded by going out the back door… Now you are possibly safe but have no weapons… and then around the next corner…
Let’s not debate the example, let’s talk about the point.. Sometimes, knowing how to improvise, or even having ideas of improvisations you can figure out, can be a big help. There are a couple of posters here who have nothing to offer anywhere in their life except to criticize but, in my opinion, this article presented some ideas and knowledge that can be helpful. It’s not expert level instruction but most readers are not prepared for that. It’s a good article in its scope and purpose.
Michael,
Your sage advice is sage in a different situation than that covered in the article. The original article is for those caught by surprise – really not even prepping is it? Except that knowledge and skill in improvisation is a prep in itself.
A better prep than the original article is to combine the knowledge of how to improvise as he stated with buying all of those weapons ahead and learning how to use them in less-dangerous times. Smart preppers might consider owning a bow today. Even if they own a bow, try making one from random materials.
Learning different ideas, solutions for different scenarios and problems, is all good. Knowledge is going to save far more people than is a full pantry.
Michael, Your drive home from vacation, folding bikes, and all, if you’re thorough enough at that to always do it, is a great plan. Actually it’s a great plan every time you do it if you are sporadic at it; I’m not suggesting which applies to you.
But what happens if you go in the front door of a restaurant and you have to escape an Antifa mob by going out the back door. Suddenly you’re in a different situation and all those other preps are in the hands of your enemy.
Point is, I know you can, I can, and just about any of us on here can find the exceptional scenario to any advice. It’s all good advice if we read it, learn it, and can call on it if needed.
Thank you very much, Michael. Hope many here share your excellent response with two friends, who then share this with two friends, and so on, etc.
“Bad Breath Range”: easy to remember, with a chuckle and a chill. Yes, the Antifa I’ve seen have all been young, wiry, active folk moving with purpose. Us “sit-and-be-fit” folk need all the tools and wisdom just to walk ‘n wheel another day.
After three attempts to post a longer comment hers my short version.
Don’t follow the suggestions of this article. Street thugs, Mobs and Antifa will eat you alive if you try to “Defend yourself” with these ideas.
If you somehow by sheer luck survive offending them with your self-defense the DA will have you in court and probably jail. Not a good prepping option.
Avoidance of trouble is the best option, awareness of the situation and avoidance is your best bet if you’re not willing to own a gun, GET Training and pre-pay for Gun Insurance so you have a Lawyer on speed dial.
Agreed. Most states’ castle doctrines will protect you if you’re on your own property, but if you get caught in some riot or whatever outside then it’s a different story. If you’re off your property then in most cases you’re expected to just run for your life. If you can’t run then you do have a right to protect yourself but look at what happened to Rittenhouse – would you really want to go through that. It’s a miracle he even survived – and he had a gun. Might also mention that very decent spears and other basic melee weapons can be had on Amazon for cheap. If you get caught out somewhere else in a true SHTF situation then I would say the ‘rules’ as we know it have already gone out the window so just do what you need to to survive.
Kyle had every right to be where he was. I am proud to say he did a excellent job and showed great restraint on his part. The law was on his side and he should of never faced a trial but you can thank the BLM legal team for trying to kill that adult.
Michael:
The Rittenhouse persecution attempt (yes, that IS the word) was a blatant attempt to instill fear in any people who try to interfere with the State sanctioned “peaceful demonstrations” ongoing at that time, as well as any future ones that the Elites want to cook up.
I for one was delighted with the verdict, as it sent a clear message that self defense, even in a riot, is still permitted in this country.
Rittenhouse acted more maturely and competently than many “adults” would have done.
The point of the article Michael, is a different scenario as you paint. Both of you are correct from the stand point of the scenario painted here. I think that improvising items is good for when there is a disaster situation and most infrastructure is gone for either the Antifa mob or for a family caught up away from his usual environment and weapons if any.
Sorry dude you don’t get this site at all. You’re a waste of our time.
Seems I’m banned from Ask a Prepper. Probably too rude 🙂
When you read this article, look at the mug shots of street criminals. Mostly in good physical shape and often feeling no pain on street drugs.
Do you really want to go mano a mano at bad breath ranges with homemade self-defense items described here?
Well this mostly a soft site and when you point out the flaws people get upset
Raven might be a delay in Ask a Prepper site?
Was happy that after a while my posts were here.
Avoidance and De escalation are far better than getting curbstomped, killed or worse using poor defensive tools.
As old Remus says “Advoid Crowds “. Hard to get in a mob situation that way.
I don’t think its the comments I think its the know-it-all, I’m better than you attitude of some of the posters.
I don’t think people get banned from Ask, looks like your full article posted. If a site does ban you just get on a VPN and keep being heard.
nobody gets banned but i assume they have filter issues…. or whatever with this site.. I don’t know why some posts get deleted vs others stay
The article is what makes me laugh. auther jim cobb wrote a preppers guide to weapons and it reads pretty much as badly as this article was written.
Well looks like the censor ship here s***s. again and removed my comment about this article as a weak and made for the same people who buy jim cobb books.
Very glad all of your posts made it Michael.
VERY well said – thank you!!
Michael, or should I say “Michelle”? Get down and roll over if you like, but I for one don’t give a rip about Antifa, BLM, or any of the freedom-hating, Anti-American a******s who roam our streets. I am 80 years old, and I’m too old to fight, too tired to run, so I’ll just have to throw down on these bullies. ANYONE WHO LEAVES HOME NOW-A-DAYS IS A FOOL IF YOU’RE NOT ARMED. This article was informative, but it’s OUR responsibility for our own safety and protection! PERIOD!
Gene, have you ever tried to make and use these DIY weapons? If so, please post your experiences and recommendations. Michael is correct pointing out the failures of this article. If someone has the time and resources to attempt these, I think they would be better off doing other things like growing food and learning worthy survival skills.
PREACH! My only issue is that certain states seem hell-bent to strip people of their weapons illegally. My husband, a combat vet mind, got his weapon taken by the state of NV after a trumped up charge by HP got him in jail for a night. I gave him that weapon for protection because Vegas is no joke when it comes to druggies & homeless. Yeah we could probably fight, but would cost more than getting another. Still it’s asinine & twisted that they do this kinda crap. Now I gotta save up for another & they have gone up in price. And people wonder why I don’t like cops.
hawthorn….
dont trust the thin blue line cops suck and are not your friend
You haven’t been banned. We do not ban people here Michael for saying their opinion, never worry about that. Being a long comment it probably took some time to load.
Claude, several of us have often posted long replies, but for some reason several of my replies from Monday 17 JAN are still not posted – one long post, some very short, why is that?
The spear in the first picture appears like the user is intending to use it for fishing, but it’s the wrong design for fishing, it appears to be a very small homemade “boar spear”. If you did manage to stab a fish with it, the fish will probably slide right back off and bolt away wounded – it has no barbs. It’s better to learn to make a “gig” for fishing, and also
learn to make snares and traps for fish, birds, and small game.
I doubt the claims of making a serviceable PVC bow, what pound draw will a five-foot section of 1″ PVC pipe have? All the PVC and other types of plastic pipe I’ve used is either too soft or too brittle to craft a functional bow, please explain this in great detail.
Seriously, don’t try to make a “stun gun”, spend the $20 – $40 and get a decent pocket carry version from a reliable manufacturer. I have several rechargeable Compact Stun Gun’s that are even legal in Kalifornication I purchased online and gave some to family members, along with real pepper spray, and also little “key chain” sized but very LOUD alarms activated by pulling out a pin, which can be turned off by reinserting the pin.
Instead of trying to make functional caltrops how about hammering long nails through boards and lay them out with the point’s sticking up like small punji sticks? Boards with nails are much faster and easier to make, are easy to position and reposition where you want them, and are easily camouflaged.
Mind you, a real, manufaftured weapon will beat nearly anthing improvised. . .
. . .but. . .
There ***is*** one inexpensive, easy-to-make weapon: a War Hammer. Especially as they don’t sell them at WallyWorld.
I followed the instructions at Zombease, and build one of these ***years*** ago:
https://zombease.wordpress.com/2012/10/24/the-pummel-pipe-anti-zombie-melee-weapon/
Michael needs his own page!
Michael took critique on his post very well. His posts were well done, made good suggestions, and are right for different scenarios.
Michael,
Most of the posts and suggestions presented on this sight are for use in a social breakdown situation. A time when police and DAs don’t exist anymore.
These suggestions are a last resort for people who can do nothing better.
Sure your ideology is better advice for normal times. This site is to help people in non typical times. It’s for the proverbial TSHF situation.
Not arguing against your points just saying don’t be so quick to judge. And you don’t have to be a dueshe nozzle with your attitude.
Peace.
Phil as a bit of a real-world history buff there is seldom a clear break from Normal but weird times and the SHTF no Rule of Law situation so many SHTF Novels write about.
I’ve spent a few Years working in 3rd world areas that Rule of Law *might* be more than vague and a meek attitude and a “Gift” to local Police *might* get you and your injured friend an “Escort” to the Hospital.
Yes, you can get yourself tossed into a Jail for self-defense during a real-world insurrection and rot there for years, until someone pays your Tab.
SHTF Novels are not exactly a good training manual, just saying.
Who said anything about novels.
I said I mostly agree with you. Just not your delivery and belittling of those who are doing the best they can.
To your point about being jailed for self-defense. You’re quite right, of course. But lethal self-defense should be for those situations where it’s life or death or great bodily harm. When it’s life or jail, I choose jail and just hope I can avoid it.
Yep, gotta agree.
Homemade weapons have their uses, but if you need to fight for your life against an armed intruder or angry mob, your ONLY REAL chance is to shoot them with something that will leave a VERY BIG HOLE.
I learned in just the past couple of years that attaching a piece of sharp metal to a stick is a much feared ninja weapon of mass destruction called a shobi-zoe. Seems that the wiley ninja would carry a walking stick like so many other travelers. However the stick had been slightly modified to easily attach a sharp blade that the crafty ninja carried secreted some place in their garments. In a sticky situation the ninja would affix the sharp blade to the stick and voila, a ninja weapon of mass destruction. Many of us have seen Japanese period pieces called chanbara after the sound of the sword slicing the body (Chan) and the sound of the body falling (bara) and the snowflake, hoplophobe (a word coined by the famous (in shooting circles) shootist and guru, Jeff Cooper, to describe people who have an innate fear of anything that resembles a weapon instead of realizing all weapons are merely tools and only become tools of aggression when wielded by someone with evil intent.
That said, back to the ninja and their shobi-zoe. The hoplophobes in Schitzomento have a morbid dread of anything that smacks of ninja weapons of mass destruction. After all, they have seen those chanbara movies where ninja slaughter tens of dozens of the shogun’s finest samurai warriors, just like the rest of us. And being hoplophobes and not realizing that movies are fantasy, they have outlawed every type of ninja weapon of any description, including the dreaded shiobi-zoe.
So, in the PDRK, at least because I accidentally read the penal code section. I was looking for something else and accidentally ran across the pc section saving us from an onslaught of shobi-zoe wielding ninja. However in an extremely rare showing common sense, the CA Supremes ruled that inasmuch as the dreaded s-z had an agricultural use????, if the possessor had an agricultural use he could articulate, he was home free. So, when queried about why I have a weapon far more deadly than a semi-automatic M-1 Garland, I simply reply that it is my gopher tunnel probe thus safely placing it beyond the interests of the local gendarme.
All of which is a preamble to my warning to do a detailed search of your state’s penal code with reference to proscribed weapons before you go about making any homemade weapons. Simple possession of a s-z in your home is a FELONY in the PDRK, so if a peace (Ha! That’s a misnomer if I ever heard one) officer should observe such an instrument in your garage because you left the door open, he is entitled to enter your property and arrest everyone in the residence until the fuzz can ascertain the ownership of that frightful weapon more deadly than an M-240. As a bargaining chip they might charge your significant other also and grab up your little ones into the loving arms of the SS’s CPS. Of if semi-mature adult males charge them along with Mom and Dad with possessing the deadly weapon. By the way, nunchucks, throwing stars, brass knuckles, trench knives with a set of mandible adjusters attached to the handle, sawed off baseball bats — the list goes on — all fall into the simple possession equals a felony category. That is unknown to a large percentage of folk in the benighted gulag.
So readers of this list who have the misfortune to be confined in the Gulag Kallyfornication, you are warned. For others who live in more enlightened states, it still behooves you to check your penal code. Even if you have the so-called constitutional carry in your state, many laws relating to other items of self defense may have prohibitions still on their books that should be revoked but have not been and an over-zealous DA may still charge you with a felony you have inadvertently violated by constructing or acquiring a verboten weapon of mass destruction
Let me give you my own example. I have a blue gum tree that the builder planted because being a native of OZ it was drought tolerant. It is that, however every September It sheds tons of leaves, seeds and bark. It is my habit to remove the long strips of bark to hasten the shedding process. One evening I was shedding the bark with my dangerous s-z when I heard a commanding voice say, “What’s that?”
I turned and saw a stocky young man with a woman and a small child. I immediately recognized him as a “peace” officer by his aggressive stance.
I replied that it was my gopher probe that I used to probe for gopher runs which was the god’s honest
truth. That was what I originally built it for. I went on to say that I had made it out of an SKS bayonet back when the PDRK was banning SKSs with bayonets mounted. I asked him if he knew what an SKS was and he said that he did. I went back to my work and he resumed his walk. I am absolutely certain that had I not articulated the use for which I made the shobi-Zoe, the next thing that would have happened would have been an 0300 visit from our version of the SS, the local swat team, complete with ninja masks , helmets body armor, “dynamic entry” complete with flash bangs and shouted commands to get in the floor.
I made that particular device many years before I learned that it was a FELONY just for simple possession even in one’s home. I was quite grateful that I had discovered that particular section of the penal code. I always thought that I knew most of the ninja weapons but that was one that I was not aware of. I would hazard a guess that most followers of this list are also ignorant of that particular device. You might also be ignorant of some other devices that are available on line that are proscribed in your state. So before you go stocking up on various home made devices, please peruse the penal code of your state and make sure that you read the footnotes below the code section. That is how I learned that the CA Supremes had created the agriculture exception for the dreaded ninja weapon of mass destruction.
Oh, rat tailed combs are also weapons of mass destruction and carrying a rat tailed combs is verboten in the Gulag Kallifornication in the name of public safety. Can’t have well-groomed folk running around stabbing folk with their rat tailed combs now, can we?
LCC, damn the bad luck, at least half my tools and other similar stuff around the house must be illegal under the mass of BS laws that get passed here in Kalifornication. I better not let anyone see me sharpening my handsaw, I might be accused of trying to make a sword out of it. I wonder if I’d get arrested for “brandishing a weapon” if LE saw me whacking down weeds with my machete?
We really need to figure out how to get this state turned back around politically or divide it into three states. One crime ridden, welfare dependent, Libtard cesspool state along the coast from the San Francisco areas south to the Los Angeles areas, and two conservative areas with the divide maybe along the northern edge of the “Valley” that used be flourishing agriculture areas until the Libtard politicians regulated most of those areas out of production by denying them irrigation water, and then dumped millions of “acres” of that irrigation water into the San Francisco delta instead. With the exclusion of the Libtard cesspool areas, North might include Stockton and everything north, from the coast east to Nevada. With the exclusion of the Libtard cesspool areas, South might include everything south of Stockton from the coast east to Arizona/Nevada.
Sorry, but caltrops? Most people wont be riding horses, and on foot people can easily see and move them away. At best you can pop tires. But they wont be caught off guard like you think.
Caltrops can easily pierce many kinds of footwear and in a world without antibiotics and perhaps lapsed tetanus shots, a puncture wound to the foot or anyplace for that matter can easily lead to a very unpleasant death. I wouldn’t reject their use out of hand.
JJ: Caltrops are usually for night work. They can be attached to a thin chain or rope and scattered that way–after dark. Next to that, bougainvillea vines. Thorns are hard and sharp enough to cut thru boot soles and into the foot. I like natural. The garden has a lot of nopal cactus, mesquite, citrus, and more. Wolfberry is tastier than goji, and blooms all year long here. We’re trying rugosa roses this year. Small, thick, and brittle, the thorns are known to turn razorbacks. they grow in clumps, so if they survive summer, they can be transplanted. And, I hope, we get hips from them. niio
It is good to know how to make things that you did not think to obtain before the SHTF. However, if one is truly prepping, making a bow out of PVC may not turn out superior to having bought a nice hunting bow if that is the way one wants to go. Perhaps the most important thing about prepping, I would suggest, is to truly prepare in advance. As a back-up, be well educated in how to obtain the things that you still need, or things that were taken from you, that you couldn’t grab in time, etc. If possible, buy a really nice shovel for the times ahead instead of lighting a campfire, tearing the doors off you car, and forging a shovel while you are in the midst of trying to survive.
Caltrops are very effective.
I have a lot of ‘stuff leftover from earlier time to make them.
looks like the heavy handed filter is on and nothing is getting posted…. kinda of lame
Perhaps.
Except for 20 year ute Physical fitness,
ready as I’ll ever be.
I have made and used many pvc bows and with a little practice you can make a very powerful and accurate one.
Yes, Guy You CAN make a powerful PVC Bow from several PVC Pipes and a fair bit of work. I HAVE one nearby as I type. If I recall it took most of a weekend to build. The ONE PVC Stave Bow the article spoke of is but a toy.
Takes a lot of Practice to become skilled enough to be effective.
But for self-defense walking around like Robinhood might be interesting. A Stout Cane has at least some disguise value and maybe as the Article mentioned in Law Enforcement eyes some legal “I Was Fearing for my Life”.
I tried posting from my tablet a couple hours ago, but it has not shown up. Michael has this one correct, these either take too long, are very unreliable, or require materials and skills the majority of people just do not have. Your brain (knowledge and experience) is your most potent weapon, use it wisely.
A while ago when ANTIFA was rampaging all over, I saw a t-shirt with an appropriate message that went something like this: “I am the weapon; my (picture of a gun) is my tool of choice.”
I would use a PCP airgun in .30 caliber and dial up the pressure. I hear they are still quiet if you keep the muzzle velocity under the speed of sound. You can cast your own projectiles if need be from old car batteries when you run out of manufactured projectiles. Smack a protestor with one of those if they tresspass, the rest will hopefully run away. Sounds far fetched, but usable if you do not want to get inside the speed of smell.
smack a protestor in a riot with a air gun pellet….. look kyle was in the middle of a riot and he was dropping some of them and they still charged him. What makes you think your werido tool is going to do anything different..
This entire article is why i laugh at the urban prepper movement because all this promotes is bad dumb ideas that will get you hurt. Look if your in a riot with a pellet gun of some compressed air… Just walk away and go hide in the basement….. If you think you’re going to go hand to hand with people…. you already lost
look i am for one in the group who think all people should be armed…. and nobody should be infringed
You forgot #8 a draw string bag with a handful of change.. Easy to explain you carry change’ Even the TSA will let it pass. But makes a dandy black jack.
Assuming one does not have access to welding equipment to make caltrops, one can make use of broken glass, rebar and tin cans to make defensive barriers to intruders. 8 or 10 inch pieces of rebar sharpened on both ends with a file or if you just happen to have a hand operated grinding wheel, that will do splendidly. Stuck in the ground at intervals of about 8 inches apart in a square pattern will slow down even aggressive intruders. Broken bottles stuck in the ground or plain broken glass will work.
I had a problem with cats using my raked pebble landscaping. I found by scattering “tin” cans that had been cut in half with a hacksaw and the sawn edges cut with tin snips into jagged points did an admirable job of discouraging the animals from visiting my landscaping.
Even just sharpened sticks shoved into the ground at close intervals will discourage intruders. They may not be as effective as concertina wire, but the whole object of such devices is to slow down an attack making the attackers easier targets. Naturally where such self-important individuals as code enforcement officials or officious HOA busybodies or shark-like plaintiffs attorneys exist one necessarily needs utmost discretion in employing such devices prior to the end of the world.
Yes, a long post of mine hasn’t shown up and I posted it early this morning.
Chuck,
I can think of a handmade sap, a baton up your sleeve turned on your own wood lathe with a wide guard on the handle with a strong lanyard to keep it being snatched away from you, an old wide backed kitchen blade from the time when they were made to really last, a homemade blade concealed in a walking cane so when they grab the shaft, the bad business part becomes exposed, a rock from the street, anything you can conceal on your body would help you. I mean, we have been killing with anything you can think of since Caine Killed Abel in the Bible. Nothing is original anymore for street fighting. I am not limber anymore at my age, so the “equalizer” that Sam Colt invented serves me well enough multiplied by three. Pocket, two legs and cane is defense enough for me. The cane holds as many stabs as anyone would want after the shells are gone.
For a “sap” you can also cut a length of rubber garden hose, bend it in half, tie it with cordage or even duct tape to hold it folded, fill up both sides about half way up with something solid and heavy like gravel or ball bearings, and fill with smaller grained sand to try and fill up the air space, which also makes it heavier, then clamp the open hose ends closed – you can use large staples or even nails, then bend and hammer them as tight as you can – the goal is to keep the filler materials from falling out. Now you have made a serious homemade sap that won’t tear open on you like a sock or bag with coins or batteries tied inside. But if I only had a minute or less and nothing better was available, I’d use the sock with batteries inside. If I had about ten minutes and the materials available, I could make the garden hose sap, but then again, if I had the hammer to pound the staples or nails to close the hose end, why would I bother with making a sap? I’d use the hammer as the weapon.
The same for caltrops, it takes too much time, skill, and equipment (steel or iron, forge, welder, etc.) to make caltrops, you’d be better off pounding long nails through a board and set it out with the nails pointed up. If you want to get mean you can always smear some feces on the nail points so the perpetrator may get infected and die a slow painful death. Caltrops do have a couple of advantages over boards with nails, such as being very durable if properly made, are easily transported (but are heavy to carry around if you have a lot of them), and can be tossed out to scatter them over a wider area, so is it really worth the time, effort, and resources trying to make caltrops? If I really wanted caltrops as part of my defenses, I’d buy some quality ones ahead of time.
These may be nice “hobby” projects just to try out of curiosity, but for an emergency weapon you are usually better off looking for something already fabricated you can use instead, such as many types of tools, sports equipment, kitchen knives, or even a piece of pipe or wood if it is an appropriate size.
As I’ve mentioned before, you have to assess your situation and make wise decisions how best to use your time and resources. Failing to plan ahead is exactly that – a fail.
What about a decent sized nut on the end of a length of paracord. Keep them both in separate pockets until needed.
Claude: you’ve got a bug in your site. I hit “send” on my long post yesterday morning. It had not showed up by around nine pm last night when I posted my comment about it not showing up.
Several others commented about comments not showing up. Whatever spam screening app you are using is not working properly.
Has anyone here taken any kind of “active shooter” training? This is for real world situations where you may be required to improvise on the spot with whatever you can find to protect yourself and others, with your first choice 1.) to leave the area unnoticed, get some distance, then report to law enforcement what you know about the situation, 2.) hide and barricade, remembering to lock and/or barricade doors, try to find improvised weapons in addition to anything you may be carrying, turn off lights, don’t move around and remain absolutely silent – including muting all ringtones and media sounds on all devices, and 3.) in a worst case scenario that you were not able to accomplish 1 or 2 and the attacker(s) have located you, then you have to instantly decide if you should surrender to, or choose instead to “take on” the attacker(s) intending to overpower or kill (it’s okay to kill the bad guys) the attacker(s), disarm, bind them, and thoroughly search them for anything they may have they can use to get loose or cause harm – strip them naked if that’s what it takes, just be mentally prepared to do whatever you need to do to protect yourself and others.
In summary this is the preferred order: Escape, Hide, Fight
if i am in a active shoooter situation … i am not binding anyone up… you die its that simple
well hurray for you Raven, glad you’re still able to predict the future. When’s your next “mind reading class”?
Dale, I don’t deny what I posted, which is:
“Has anyone here taken any kind of “active shooter” training? This is for real world situations where you may be required to improvise on the spot with whatever you can find to protect yourself and others, with your first choice 1.) to leave the area unnoticed, get some distance, then report to law enforcement what you know about the situation, 2.) hide and barricade, remembering to lock and/or barricade doors, try to find improvised weapons in addition to anything you may be carrying, turn off lights, don’t move around and remain absolutely silent – including muting all ringtones and media sounds on all devices, and 3.) in a worst case scenario that you were not able to accomplish 1 or 2 and the attacker(s) have located you, then you have to instantly decide if you should surrender to, or choose instead to “take on” the attacker(s) intending to overpower or kill (it’s okay to kill the bad guys) the attacker(s), disarm, bind them, and thoroughly search them for anything they may have they can use to get loose or cause harm – strip them naked if that’s what it takes, just be mentally prepared to do whatever you need to do to protect yourself and others.
In summary this is the preferred order: Escape, Hide, Fight”
Just because you have a grudge does not change the fact you are selectively editing what I posted and presenting it in a dishonest fashion, the same tactic CNN, MSNBC, and Libtard activists and politicians use, which does not in any way change the true context of my post asking, “has anyone here taken any kind of “active shooter” training?”, and then going over the topics presented in the actual training I have had to take every year for several years now. Then you and Raven pipe in with your blustering bragging when in reality you don’t have a clue what you will do until you experience the situation in the real world.
dz, you really are a character. I work for a large corporation and go through active shooter training every couple years, too. It doesn’t change the facts: your quoted material, material that you posted, suggested surrender as an option. Really, surrender to a guy who’s shooting at you.
Then you lied and denied and threw a tantrum like a third-grader caught in a lie. You say I have a grudge? Why would I have a grudge when I don’t even know you? Believe me, you’re not worth the emotional effort of a grudge; I have no grudge at all. I simply pointed out that surrender is, in my opinion, a bad idea. Then you got b***hurt and started throwing a temper tantrum and personal attacks. You just show your own ignorance and immaturity.
Please quote the blustering bragging from me, or from raven for that matter. Nowhere at all have I bragged because I have never been in an active shooter situation. When I said what I hope I’d do, what I plan to do, did I not also say that we never know until we get there? That I might turn tail and run? But a big influence on what we do in a situation is what we’ve planned and mentally prepared to do. As I said, even then it doesn’t always turn out.
So, no, there was no brag. You just got your feelings hurt because someone disagreed with you. You try to come across here as not just an expert but as the only expert and certainly as the only allowed expert. I, personally, don’t think you’re anything close to an expert and think you’re full of crap.
Raven “the Magpie in disguise”, you are a fool and will probably get yourself and others killed because of your arrogant stupidity. I am so glad you are in no way affiliated with anyone I care about.
I’m with Raven. Active shooters are not stopped until they’ve stopped moving and representing a threat. If they choose to breathe, they should do it very slowly and shallowly so I don’t mistake it as an attempt to get up and recover their gun.
The very idea of surrendering to an active shooter is the most absurd advice their is. Better advice is run from a knife, attack a gun. If I’m in an active shooter scenario, I hope I can follow through on my plan to attack with such determination, speed, and rage that I overcome being shot and stop the shooter. Maybe I’ll chicken out and run, maybe I’ll get shot trying and hit the floor but maybe, just maybe, I will hit the shooter with enough force to knock him down so others can overcome him. The biggest hope is to never find out what I’ll do.
their = there…fingers faster than the brain.
Dale, let me guess, you’re a proud graduate of Ravens “mind reading class” and are now working on your doctorate of “guessing what the future will be” without any real comprehension of the blustering nonsense you spout.
Dale, who said to surrender to an active shooter? Apparently, your reading comprehension skills are on par with your lack of rational. The point is that anyone subjected to that situation has to make an immediate decision, and you may be surprised how many people actually will surrender, or just hesitate and freeze up, and is also why I posted “or choose instead to “take on” the attacker(s) intending to overpower or kill (it’s okay to kill the bad guys) the attacker(s), disarm, bind them, and thoroughly search them for anything they may have they can use to get loose or cause harm – strip them naked if that’s what it takes, just be mentally prepared to do whatever you need to do to protect yourself and others.” I didn’t say the attacker had to still be alive to bind and search them. Maybe you’ve never experienced someone (or an animal) that you thought was dead reviving on you. It’s a shocker but it does happen, and I’d rather bind and search a dead body than have them revive and getting attacked for failing to be thorough.
Don’t worry Dale, if we were ever in an Active Shooter situation together, I would gladly let you charge the bad guys while we use your diversion to our advantage to survive.
dz, you are the one who said surrender: This is directly from your post:
and 3.) in a worst case scenario that you were not able to accomplish 1 or 2 and the attacker(s) have located you, then you have to instantly decide if you should surrender
Funny thing about posts on the Internet; they can come back to haunt you.
dz posted: Dale, let me guess, you’re a proud graduate of Ravens “mind reading class” and are now working on your doctorate of “guessing what the future will be” without any real comprehension of the blustering nonsense you spout.
**************
Dz, you really are an i***t. No one can predict the future; all we can do is consider possible futures and prepare according to our own concerns about those possibilities.
In almost all likelihood, for virtually everyone on these pages, we will never use any of our preparedness skills in real life-or-death scenarios. Most likely our children and grandchildren ill toss our storage, either because they don’t see the need or already have their own, but ours will go unused in emergency mode. Hopefully we all will never have the need to fire a weapon at another human being – not counting those who have in service to their nations already. Like insurance, we assess our risks and our risk tolerance. Then we provide protections according to our own understanding and concerns about the risks. None of us can prepare for everything or even for most things.
So don’t think you’re all that, dz, because you’re not. You’re just another Internet loudmouth attacking anyone with a different idea because you think that will make others view you as an expert. They don’t view you as that; they view you as yet another Internet loudmouth.
Dale, now you are using a Libtard tactic in a desperate attempt to mislead through selective “editing” to divert from the entire context of my post. Sad, but it just shows how low you will stoop to push your delusions. You remind me of someone…. oh yeah, he’s now jokingly called “Brandon”, what a disgrace, have you thought about running for office? You seem like you’re very qualified for a position in the DNC.
Bull crap, dz. If you think more words around what I quoted will remove the statement that surrendering to an active shooter is a viable option, expand the quote. You posted it but, apparently, didn’t read it before you posted it, having copied it from somewhere.
You chose to respond with a flame and now you’re in over your head. Now, like a Democrat, you’re telling us to believe you now rather than what we saw you post with our own eyes.
dz, and there was no “edit”. I copied and pasted exactly what you posted, verbatim, ctrl-c. I only copied the statement you’re denying having said, that surrender is an alternative to an active shooter but I didn’t edit or change a word.
thanks and the run hide fight thing is some stupid trash they teach office workers and the even the military people on base. (why …. well because they took away the “legal ablity to carry a gun” ) hate to break it to DZ but some people say to hell with that and again thats why the term law abiding citizen is a stupid and weak term for suckers. They choose to carry a gun and like myself.. If an attack happens. I mostly likely would recommend not hiding not running but fighting back. You have a firearm with you and hopefully can deploy a long gun too (i used my keltech sub2k) and Pistol ar in training to give yourself an advantage.
Also when you carry your EDC like me. I carry a glock 20 gen 4 with a spare mag. That givers 31 rounds of 10mm. Now with my crash bag that can sit at work or in my car its a chest rig with 6 mags and a ar15.
Sorry i won’t hide and won’t piss my pants like some fat ass cop waiting for his fat ass cop friends to come up with a plan.
Dale, stick with Raven – die with Raven, no loss to the rest of us.
I searched YouTube for “How To Make And Use A Shepherd’s Sling” and a lot of tutorials are listed, many made with just a length of paracord. The hardest part will be the practice, practice, practice required to learn how to use it properly.
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=How+To+Make+And+Use+A+Shepherd%27s+Sling
Fergus, sound advice. My oldest bow is a 25lb kids bow, fiberglass, that’s over 50 years old and still works. Other best bows are a longbow (yew wood) over a century old and works fine. Best, most favorite bow is manzanita wood made by kin in Mexico. That wood is up near the power of a horn bow.
Spears are awesome tools. Quarterstaff with an attitude. If anyone here can’t use a quarterstaff, LEARN. Chestnut wood is the lightest, yet among the most strong woods.
Sling, good, but what happens when the rubber all rots? Learn how to use a leather sling.
Caltrops are simple and usually good night time deterrents to invasion. Best use is when trying to escape someone or something like a bear or dogs. Barbed wire was based on the design and it works pretty good. niio
My understanding of caltrops are they are illegal in every state. At least,where I live in Arizona,they are. The only weapon I found useful,was DIY pepper spray. I think I’ll be making some.
AZ Sentinel: Caltrops are likely illegal all over. But, having the material to make them isn’t. Post-SHTF, who’s going to care? I live 100 miles north of the border and that distance from Phoenix. Our sheriff is a Ben Franklin Lamb. Franklin: Democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for breakfast. Liberty is a well-armed lamb. Sheriff Lamb likes people to have guns and is not real likely to contest something like the supplies mentioned. As said, barbed wire is caltrops. Bougainvillea is one of the best natural defenses for windows and fences. Thorns will puncture sole leather let alone tires. We have rugosa roses, and they’re pretty good at turning back even rabbits. niio
a few things from the idea of Pepper spray …. 1 less than lethal options don’t always effect people. Some people are immune to Tasers and OC spray.
If you have been trained with OC spray … you understand that you can fight through it and the adrenaline will keep you in the fight.. Those who haven’t or …. panic will have the issues.
Those options are not “less than lethal”; they are “less lethal”. Any of those can be fatal. Not “less than” but “less” is the keyword.
I consider the Article excellent and helpful. It’s not intended for present riotous times; but the fast approaching lawless one.
I can’t agree with demoralizing fear mongers who tried to bring down our morale.
Yes, a good spear with a strong bow is really needed and very useful tools where I live…
Istvan, I highly encourage you to try to make each and every weapon in this article, test them for functionality, efficiency, and reliability, then please post your findings.
okay folks, let’s get honest about this article and it’s statement: “You can find yourself in a survival situation with no weapons, so you need to know what to do about it. Luckily there’s an answer – make some.”
So, what does this really mean? What weapons should you make? How do you make them? How long does it take? What materials and equipment are needed? Each of these questions are critical in determining if you should, or even can, attempt to make these.
Spear? Do you know how to make a functional, efficient, and reliable spear? What type? What’s the purpose? What materials do you have available? How much time do you have to attempt to make, then test, and also learn how to effectively use your spear?
Apply these questions to slingshots, self-bows, PVC bows, pepper spray, stun gun, and caltrops. Now think about doing these when you find yourself in a situation where you not only have no weapons, but you also don’t have the time, location, equipment nor resources to do any of these properly. What do you do then?
Plan ahead, learn and train, then practice, practice, practice, and always be ready to improvise anytime, anywhere, no matter what circumstances are encountered. Your brain is your most potent weapon, use it wisely.
I believe the author talked about a sharpened stick fire hardened. If that is beyond the skill level of some follower of this list, I seriously urge you to search on line for some skills classes in survival otherwise your chances of survival are very slim.
I came back to this topic to mention another melee weapon that is not often discussed, the bilhook or in some areas referred to as the sling blade.
Many a Knight was unhorsed and dispatched by a peasant utilizing a bikhook. You can acquirer them with either a long handle or a short handle. Unless you have been using one regularly in your daily activities, I recommend the short handled bilhook.
LCC: Bill hooks! A machete with an attitude, definitely a good idea. Vietnam, the number one weapon was sharpened bamboo. For the average American, a broom handle sharpened and fire hardened is good, or a knife taped to the end. niio
Yeah, ya know there is a documentary on TV called Fear The Walking Dead. Morgan is a fighting stick expert. Just a little humor 🙂
LCC, how long does it take to obtain the materials and make a fire hardened spear? How long to make a bill hook? What if you have little or no time and very limited materials at hand? I say improvise as best you can manage, but the author states “make some”. and the article is unrealistic in what it actually takes to make functional weapons.
DZ:
How long does it take to get the materials to make a fire sharpened stick?
It’s a stick, that you cut, peel the bark off, and sharpen to a point, char the sharpened end in your fire, scrape the burnt part to a sharper point, repeat until you are satisfied with the results.
Basically, you’re fire-fusing the plant fibers together so it doesn’t fray and lose its sharp point as quickly. There’s websites and videos that you can look up for more details, but it’s pretty basic.
As to how long it takes, it all depends on how fussy you are and your personal skill level, but it could probably be completed and ready to use in a few hours, max.
Like the old commercial says, it’s so easy, even a caveman can do it, so you could probably figure it out.
Miss Kitty, that’s fine as long as you have sticks available to choose from, the means to shape them, and can make a fire in a location that you won’t be disturbed and can tend the fire, and most important is having the time to do it. And properly making a fire hardened spear is harder than most people realize, have you ever tried this? I have, they burn, they crack, they don’t get hard enough, and so on. If/when you do think you’ve finally got a good point, it’s probably good for very few impacts, then the tip quickly degrades each throw until you have a long blunt stick, so you probably have to be skilled enough to make a kill on the first throw. I would prefer to make and learn to throw a “rabbit stick”, far easier and faster to make, can also be used as a makeshift club, and is much easier to learn to use effectively.
This article should have been titled “Here’s a few self-made weapons you might try to make if you are in a secure situation, have the resources, and have plenty of time to make the attempts”. followed by a disclaimer “not recommended to depend on these if you are in a truly hazardous situation”.
If I had the time to make a fire hardened “spear”, I would probably find better ways to use that time on other problems like water, shelter, and realistic means of defense and obtaining food. Still skeptical? Try making a fire hardened spear, then use it to kill some animal to eat. I can forage and make snares much faster and easier that are much more reliable and productive. This article is written for those who approach survival and defense as a hobby.
Miz Kitty: Use a broom handle. Even a cheap wooden one works, garden handles are usually a good hardwood. For a metal handle, take the handle off a knife and jam it in, then tape or glue. niio
Raven, Shhhhhhhhhh…. OPSEC, you’re giving out too much info, someone might be spying on you
Hey Raven and Dale, someone with the knowledge and skills just launched a bunch of “fire-bombs” all around your vicinity, what do you do?
Hey Raven and Dale, just curious but if you hear a “POP” followed about a second later by a “booom”, what do you do?
Or, you hear a “POP” followed about a second later by a “booom”, and realize you are not the target, what do you do?
Or, you hear a “POP” followed about a second later by a “booom”, and realize you have been hit but are still alive, what do you do?
I know it’s hard for you guys but please think before you speak.
dz, you know there’s a link below for those who wish to write for askaprepper.com. You should write your own articles, post pictures of your own homemade weapons, and tell us all of your skill and experience in defending yourself in fights to the death with those weapons. Until you do that, you’re not in a position to criticize those who do go to the trouble to write articles intended to help others just because they don’t do what it is you think they should have done.
Claude, my recommendation for future articles of this nature is to keep them focused on a single topic such as “how to make a functional and reliable spear from scratch”, or “how to make a fire when you don’t have any matches or lighter”, or “how to make snares and traps with common materials to catch fish, birds, and small game”, and then go into very detailed, step by step guidance how to accomplish the goal of making a functional and reliable spear, or snares and traps, or a fire in harsh conditions.
And never, and I mean “NEVER”, ever post an article again that claims “the only…” anything. I have yet to see any “the only…” article written worth posting, reading, or even attempting.
Raven and Dale, have you ever heard of, witnessed, or participated in LTT?
Inquiring minds want to know, so don’t be shy, think then post.
Even people who claim to be experts are only experts in their own mind. This should be a site to provoke thought, introduce new ideas and pass along some ideas. When it turns into an “I’m smarter and tougher than you” forum.it pretty much sucks. No one here is stupid, well few people are anyway. I find a lot of value in reading something that makes me think about an Idea. I can adopt it or not. Either way it may stick in my memory for later use.
Well there ya go. I await the comments of the experts.
Well said, Blackbird.
?
Very right. I was taught the old philosophical line, “The more I learn, the less I know.” The more I learn, the more that I find I need to learn. Like my old sensei told us, there’s always someone who is better than you, or at least better armed. niio
As a wise man once said, “Best defense, not to be there.” And “Forewarned is Forearmed.” Do your recon before going somewhere where “angels fear to tread.” Stay away from trouble.
Well like Dale likes to do… and just round up patriots and shoot them….
Sometimes you have to be at the place to defend and fight….. sitting on the fence is why our country has fallen apart and everone blames someone else and expects others do the work.
You’re not a patriot. You have no love for America or the Constitution. You’ve stated your goal is to overthrow both. You’re just another form of Antifa.
Dale you speak like a fed… never once have i said “to over throw the gov here”… but then again you would be the Thin blue line type to try and stretch the truth… and attack patriots like us.
David A, amen to that Brother, and always maintain situation awareness as well for “just in case”.
usually, I enter the blog name of the person I reply to, but got in a hurry and forgot to do that down below. To avoid confusion, I was not referring or replying to either Raven or Dale.
Davis: Wise advice. “You catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar.” And my advice to me, even a fool if he keeps shut his mouth will be counted among the wise. Yeah, that’s something I need remind myself often! niio
wise man was a idiot…. fly’s also like shit tooo
rav nope. think before commenting.
red, Raven is a lost cause and only comes here to boast and rarely posts anything of value.
sorry there dz nuts…. the first post described in details what you needed…. and what works…
but hey i know your worried if your neighbor see’s you loading a extra box cereal ….so its ok.
amen to that Brother, and always maintain situation awareness as well for “just in case”
Now as an Ordained & Vowed Religious, I try to give peace a chance but I thank God for the prior training I have received. The book, “Left of Bang,” is a good resource for all kinds of situational awareness.
Brother: Yes! niio
red, you’ve mentioned you are using iodine for water purification; would you please post exactly what you use, and how you do it again. I searched for “water purification iodine” and a lot of things get listed, not all iodine. I saw this Polar Pure iodine Water Purifier listed on both Amazon and WalMart for $19.99 a bottle, it’s crystals, not bulky liquid like bleach, which would be very good for carrying in a vehicle and bug-out-bag, what do you think?
https://www.amazon.com/Polar-Pure-Iodine-Purifier-Sterilizes/dp/B00N5AGT1Q
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Polar-Pure-Iodine-Water-Purifier-Camping-Gear-More-Effective-Than-Chlorine-Tablets-Purification-Tablets-Filter-Straws-Filtered-Bottle-Kills-Bacteria-/144530590
sz: a couple of drops of brown per liter, shake well, wait at least ten minutes. Mind iodine evaporates. Brown is more stable and I’ve used it for years in Penna and here, AZ. When I can get to Mexico, I’ll try it there, as well.
I watched a great movie, big foot legends, a horror about an ex-Army Ranger who loses his girlfriend to a big foot. Low budget but well-made and it followed legends, not animal rights nuts. But to get to the point, he filled a water container from a river without adding anything. And, nope, not a believer tho at one time there was a giant ape like that, that ate humans. niio
red, when I was a kid in Oregon, I did a lot of fishing and would often drink out of fast running creeks if they were flowing over a rocky bottom and also getting aeriated from splashing over rocks and small drops while moving, and never got sick from it. I never drank from non-flowing water like lakes or ponds. It’s hard to describe on a blog, but I can easily point out what to look for if we were there, the same as I can point out where the trout are likely to be found in those creeks.
Would I do it now? Probably not, I’d probably use a Sawyer filter if I had one with me, and/or sanitize with bleach, iodine, tablets, or boiling just to make sure. I can’t really predict anything about what we will encounter after SHTF – Raven won’t invite us to his “Mind Reading” and “How to Predict the Future” classes – but I will do what I can to ensure those I care about survive while avoiding harm to us as best we can manage.
dz: Same here. I lived by a river that was often reddish from peat moss. We knew there were beaver upstream, and drank the water anyway, figuring it’s clear, it’s clean. Beaver carry giardiasis and Mom, knowing the signs of worm infestation, had us use copper cups and so on for a few days.
Raven is a spoiler. don’t answer and he won’t spoil your day. niio
So your copper cups …..kept you safe from Beaver …. yeah no thanks thats why i was killing the Beavers on my property . Worst rodent on earth is a Beaver, nothing is more desctructive and worthless.
raven: LOL. Only a city boy would say that.
no this country boy knows the danger’s of Beavers and the damage they do. sorry if your mother hated you and you live in you town hoping to rally up some friends for the end of the world.
LOL, sorry, but what dangers of beavers give you nightmares, little Mary? Any real country person knows the benefits far, far outweigh the the bad. Yes, I’m sure mommy hated me. so much so when I was very small and knocked down by a drunk, she risked jail time for beating the hell out of him. Our word for a loving mom is etsi, and it also means a mother wolf. 🙂
Let see Beavers knock out every tree and damn up the creek… they flood the fields and cause pond destruction and wash outs. They are the worst rodents on earth and offer zero benfits. Shoot em when you see them.
plus you can get Beaver Fever from the water which is nasty as hell.
birdry, girl, beavers can’t damn anything or anyone. Only God is allowed to. More, beaver do not like conifers. Or oaks or laurels and so on. If you were country, you’d know why beaver are usually welcomed by landowners. Yep, they can carry diseases. Yep, squirrels, deer, rabbits, skunks, swine, horses, cattle, sheep, goats, mice, rats, cats, dogs and ALL birds also carry diseases, and very often are far more devastating that anything a beaver will carry. Millions have died from flea bites, millions still die of mosquitoes bites. Pigs can carry every disease known to humanity and razorbacks are moving as far north as Canada.
No landowner wants active Beavers… Last one i shot was 60lbs
parakeet: The number one rule of hunters is, Think First. By killing the beaver what happened? As you’re not country, I’ll tell you: You killed off hundreds of fish hatchlings and small animals, forced wild ducks and geese to abandon the area, lowered the water table so trees and so on are more susceptible to drought. You just made flooding downstream deadlier and more widespread. This is a major reason so many seriously doubt you’d survive the first weeks of SHTF, you’re anti-survival.
stunning ducks use the ponds still fish still swim…. and its not flooding into the field and not washing out the earth dam. So yeah sorry your hippie self can’t handle what Elohim put us on the earth for. We are supposed to be stewards to the land. Which means you take care of it. Removing the Beavers is important to the land… the field next to us and not losing the pond by having the earth dam washed out. (you know those fish sorta like the spring fed pond) . But city boy tell me more about our life and property and country living… Let me know more what i can not learn from you useless dribble.
uh-oh, the li’l chickadee is having a bad hair day. Oh, the pond should last quite a while. there are cases of ponds well over a century old, but those ponds were maintained by beaver or humans. As I write this, fungus and bacteria are feeding on the wood, roots driving into mud used in the construction. Worms and small animals are digging out the mud to make a home. As a townie, no one expects you to understand that. The old saying about aggie is, quick on the brain or quickly dead. We call battlefield experiences a vacation because working livestock can at times be much more exciting than folks with a bad attitude shooting at us. Of course, being in the military also helps a lot in that most dangerous thing, marriage. We like exciting women.
Quick on the brain means your imaginary pond is a means to make good money raising wild rice, which has been customary in America before the days of Abraham. How much is it now wholesale? Bulk, organically grown like in that pond, several dollars a pound. then there’s the ducks that will soon leave. How much will the market bear to allow hunters on the property? A hundred per person to hunt those ducks? Deer hunters have been known to pay several hundred each, and deer like wild rice, cattails, and other things that grow in beaver ponds. How much today for beaver pelt? Other furs like otter, weasel, mink? How about fishing? Any real thoughts on how you just wiped out a lot of extra income and future food?
why in hell would i allow anyone on my property to hunt. Sorry snowflake if i wasn’t into prepping and just wanted make a buck sure. You could get about 5 to 10k a year for people to rent the property hunt. As far as pelts go….. meh they don’t have much value after your time and energy goes into it. Its not like it used to be… and yeah not to worried about anything else.. Its a spring fed pond that i will keep going and kick the beavers out. i know it makes you cry and you sit on your couch in tears over the beaver but you have put yourself in position that you know nothing about the country and just play the game from whatever story you read.
titmouse, please tell me why I should cry when you poach, shoot yourself in the foot, and are a danger only to yourself in you apartment in town.
Claude, I was able to post a one sentence reply to red, but I have tried several times to post an inquiry about Polar Pure iodine Water Purifier listed on both Amazon and WalMart for $19.99 a bottle, with links to both, but they always go to “awaiting moderation”, why is that?
Polar Pure iodine Water Purifier
https://www.amazon.com/Polar-Pure-Iodine-Purifier-Sterilizes/dp/B00N5AGT1Q
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Polar-Pure-Iodine-Water-Purifier-Camping-Gear-More-Effective-Than-Chlorine-Tablets-Purification-Tablets-Filter-Straws-Filtered-Bottle-Kills-Bacteria-/144530590
Interesting:
http://www.theindianalawyer.com
Sale of Polar Pure brings forfeture dispute to US Supreme Court
JPup, interesting: I had to search the website to find the article, but your reference is a legal case involving business practices and does not answer my question if Polar Pure, a legally approved product sold all over, is worthwhile to have a couple of bottles in the vehicles and emergency bags? I’ve never tried it, and red said he uses iodine to sanitize water, so I asked. A couple small bottles of a water purification product is a lot easier to carry around than a gallon of generic liquid bleach.
As I mentioned further down, “Potable Aqua” is a product in tablet form. They also have another product to add to the mix to remove the objectionable taste. A “Life Straw” is another product that you can use when the SHTF and the water is weird.
Br, I already have those products, including other types of filters such as the small Sawyer ones for camping/hiking/hunting and a couple of others, but I have never used iodine to sanitize water and am looking for information about it, especially from people like red that have routinely used iodine to sanitize water.
dz: Sorry, but we’ve been busy and it slipped my mind. for the pros and cons of iodine.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10964787/
https://www.survivopedia.com/how-to-purify-water-with-iodine/
https://www.instructables.com/How-To-Purify-Water-Using-Iodine-Tincture/
and now for the old style purification methods a la our ancestors: niio! https://www.grit.com/food/recipes/home-brew-zmrz17maztri/?utm_source=wcemail&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=GRT%20TG%20eNews%2001-26-22&wc_totalkey=7BgycMsQZRAFbnb_065L4sFrS_UB25rZSpInz3ZgCWIx6aikLJuPTyGbORUs0z_v_u89cO2QR48YsvYKMepzlA
https://theprepperjournal.com/2014/03/27/shtf-plan/
https://theprepperjournal.com/prepper-links/
once again the Sapsucker Raven spouts that which he knows nothing about
“Potable Aqua” is a water purifier in tablet form. Used to carry a full bottle in my canteen carrier every time we were sent out. I think I still have one after 40 some years.
???
red, the faker Magpie who claims he is a Raven is again showing his truly ignorant perspective. It seems he has deluded himself into believing he can spout some nonsense and therefore it must be true – at least in his own mind. I guess that’s what can happen to someone that has very limited experience of life outside their little “safety bubble” and use that to justify all the false
and clueless crap they spew about others. He’s only good for semi-entertaining banter on this blog, but I’d never depend on his dumb ass for anything in the real world.
I’m having fun. I cannot believe the killer canary knows nothing about what he lies over. Wow! niio
red, check out the Raven Tactical Prepper videos on YouTube, not just this one but also a few where he goes over pros and cons of a few rifles and optics, and tell me if you think the guy that made those videos is the same arrogant, ignorant, lying a**hole that Trolls the “Ask-a-Prepper” blogs.
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=raven+tactical+prepper+website&&view=detail&mid=BCBF1630C4F9BE53713CBCBF1630C4F9BE53713C&&FORM=VDRVSR
Previously I would have said it’s probably some nerd hiding behind the name Raven Tactical to start shit on blogs, but after Raven’s explicit response defending his questionable sanitation while making a video of packing oats in mylar bags, I now think it probably is the same guy – bipolar? or is he really just an arrogant ass that covers it up well when making his videos, but shows his real nature when “conversing” with people on other prepper sites?
sz: Saw it already, thanks! 🙂 And answered him, posting about bacteria, very deadly bacteria that die if they come in contact with oxygen.
Hey, so far so good. I stuck a handful of Pakistan mulberry cuttings, 6 peach cuttings, and so on in wet peat, and sealed them in. Almost all have leaves, and, I hope, are rooting. Tomorrow, new tub and this time all Brown Turkey fig cuttings stored from last fall. And, maybe more kumquat, as well. niio
DZ:
Since “you don’t $#!+ where you eat”, anyone who has a blog or YouTube channel probably is a lot more careful with their comments towards paying customers, so to speak.
I’ve also noticed that the comments on other sites tend to be much more careful. The relatively recent development of baiting each other into verbal fisticuffs is something I’ve seen on Disqus and a few other public forums, and it’s too bad it’s taken hold here.
Otoh, we’re all supposed to be adults. If we can’t handle someone razzing us or being stupid or rude, we’re not going to last long in a post apocalyptic society. Or in a present day road rage incident or police interaction, for that matter.
I can guarantee you that some of the most antagonistic posters here would be the first to be all “yessir, nosir” if they were actually facing someone capable of breaking their face. It’s easy to hide behind a nicename and do your verbal sniping from the comfort of your anonymous armchair.
Both of you, peace. Miz Kitty, when someone says something that will get others killed or endangered, and refuse to admit to it, then more is called for. There are no experts here. We’re all on a learning curve. A braggart has to be corrected. All of us tried to use reason and were mocked. dz got sick of it and fired back. since then, the person in discussion has spread out his activity of driving commenters off this site, a site important to all of us. niio
well all I know is that I would rather have one of these home made weapons, probably the spear, than no weapon at all. Lets face it any weapon beats none. Bare handed fighting gets your hands hurt hitting whatever you are fighting. I would rather resharpen my pointy stick than risk hurting my hands in a barehanded fight.
Just my thought.