I could just start this article with a list of stuff lying around in your house and tell you how to use them. However, I want to give you a foundation on which to build. During an attack, you don’t have time to think. Adrenaline, Courage, Fear, Exhilaration, Stress.
These states will all explode within you simultaneously. Time will seem to slow down. If you are not used to these emotional states, you will feel overwhelmed.
It’s like doing your first free-fall parachute jump. It’s called sensory overload. But whatever it’s called, just trust me, you won’t be able to rationally assess the situation, make complicated plans and then execute them.
You need to make all the decisions beforehand and practice them, so that during an attack, you can just execute.
Daily Imprint
Once you have your groundwork laid out, you can just imprint for 5 minutes every morning. Walk through your house, and think:
- If I’m in the laundry-room, I have no escape route, only option is to fight. There is the broom, the mop, the iron, I have bleach. Ready!
- Move to the scullery. Same mental rundown.
- Next room, and so on…
If you do this and prepare, chances of you surviving an attack increase exponentially.
Defense Decision Tree
The Primary Goal is always to de-escalate the danger, to your loved ones and to yourself. Violence should always be your last resort.
However, in a home invasion scenario, the goal should be to survive.
The next thing I want to share is the battle decision hierarchy tree.
This is a decision tree that determines when you will do what. It must be simple so you can act intuitively:
- Start: If I am home alone, and nobody I love is at risk, I will run and hide. Armed with a weapon in case I get cornered.
- Next: If my loved ones are at home, I will place myself between them and the attackers. My loved ones can now escape. (Make sure everyone knows the decision tree.)
- Next: If the is no escape, we all stay and fight together.
- Next: In all circumstances, I/we will only fight as a last resort.
- Next: Options exhausted – Time to fight, I will strike first and I will strike to inflict maximum damage.
Related: Why You Should Think Like a Navy SEAL Instead of a Doomsday Prepper
Seize the Initiative
The main defense strategy of the US Army is as following: Seize the initiative!
It is brilliant in its simplicity and can be applied to any situation. It has to do with being in control. If you are acting, the other party is reacting. This means that the encounter is going according to how you want it to go.
Therefore, when fighting is unavoidable, you strike first. Do not let your opponent be the one acting, and you reacting.
Obviously, we value our lives more than our attacker’s. We must stay alive at all costs, and we must seize the initiative.
Related: 5 Bad-ass Perimeter Defense Lessons From A Vietnam Vet
The best self-defense items in your home right now can be divided into five categories:
- Fluids and Gasses – applied to the face, the nose and eyes being your primary target.
- Heavy Objects – applied to the head to cause disorientation or unconsciousness. Swung or thrown.
- Sharp Objects – applied to heart and lungs, neck , and upper inner thigh
- Striking and Thrusting Objects – applied to head and everywhere else
- Strangling Objects – applied to the neck
Fluids and Gasses
These are likely not going to incapacitate an attacker but should give you a vital few seconds to implement another attack or to get away.
Remember, the guy attacking is also alert and nervous. Any unknown substance hitting his face, eyes, or nose, will be cause for pause.
The more caustic an item is, the more time it will buy you while your attacker is trying to figure out what it was that hit him.
Chlorine and Ammonia based items should be prioritized. Bleach and oven cleaners fall into this category. At night, maybe leave the oven cleaner spray on the counter, near the kitchen entrance. Your attacker will not think anything passing it by, but you can grab and spray him if you are running into or out of the kitchen.
While he is wiping his eyes, you can go for a knife or the window.
Other options include vinegar, insecticides or pesticides and finally just good old deodorant. A spray of Ant Killer or deodorant to the face, will stun anyone for a few precious moments. If leaving bleach or vinegar out, make sure to unscrew the cap but leave it on-top of the container to minimize evaporation or cause unpleasant smells. When using, take both hands and squeeze as hard as you can, spraying as much as possible on the attacker. Act fast, then move on.
The objective is to cause confusion and buy yourself a few seconds.
Heavy Objects
This must not be too heavy that you can’t move it at speed, but also not so light that it causes no damage. The principle is to create a shock wave through the transference of energy.
Heavy objects include frying pans and pots, clothes irons, golf clubs, tennis rackets, bedside and desk lamps, flower vases, frozen cuts of meat, torches. You can get creative with this and make up some of your own stuff.
For example, that floppy pillowcase lying benignly next to your sleeping cushion. It can easily have a half-brick in it. And, reaching for it may seem nonthreatening, but a good swing can do a lot of damage.
I would further suggest identifying or placing at least two striking objects in every room in your house. A vase or big old ashtray could seem decorative but can be thrown or swung with deadly force.
Make sure you connect. If you miss, the momentum can take you off your feet, so be ready to maybe take a fall but try to recover as quick as possible. Practicing your swing will help you to connect and keep your balance.
Sharp Objects
You are thinking knife, and I like how you are thinking. But you can also think of Scissors, Nail Files, Clutch Pencils and Pens, Chop Sticks, Garden Shears, Meat Carving Forks, Stanley Carpet Knives (this is a must, just buy one and keep it around), smaller box cutters.
Or other objects that are potentially sharp – think glass, porcelain and some ceramics.
You could have glass of water standing next to your bedside table. My suggestion is to have one with relatively thin sides and a thick base. Make sure that glass is within reach. If you wake up with an attacker next to your bed, it could save your life. Smash the glass into your attacker face. The water inside the glass will reduce the friction and deliver deeper cuts.
Striking and Thrusting Objects
Here I am thinking about brooms, mops, golf clubs, hockey sticks, etc. Objects that can be swung with force to strike an attacker, but also long enough that you can thrust at him. In this case, you want to maintain distance between yourself and your attacker. Here is my tip: It’s a gamble, but with great potential benefits.
Poke your broom stick to your attacker’s face. In doing so, he will attempt to grab the stick. For this to work, you must let him get hold of the stick. Once he has it in his grasp, thrust a few more times to make sure he is holding it firmly.
You know now exactly where your attacker’s hands are. His attention is focused on holding the stick, which he sees as the main threat. At this stage, you let go of the stick, move in close, and punch the throat or jaw. You have one and a half second at best, so choose your course of action carefully. When he lets go of the stick, you need to be ready with your next move. This could be running for your next weapon, or to escape.
Strangling Objects
Belts, ties, twine, ribbons wire, guitar strings, bow strings, tote bag carry straps.
These are complicated to use but are an option. The objective is twofold. Constrict the airway and cut of blood supply to the brain. The thinner the object, the easier you will achieve this.
Don’t even try with a towel of jacket. Even belts and carry straps could be too thick.
If you have the weight advantage, good. If your attacker does, you could be in for what may seem like a bull-ride. If you can manage to hang on, you will dominate. If you let go and takes a breath and fresh blood gets to the brain, you will have to start over.
Applying this while your attacker is actively defending himself, could be impossible. This is only if circumstances favor you and your attacker is already weakened after that blow to the head.
Related: What Should You Do in Case of a Terrorist Attack?
If you can achieve your objective without resorting to violence, that is the best scenario. However, you only have one life.
You know your value system and what you are prepared to die for. But always think of this as a transaction. Pay the lowest price possible for what you want. This is just basic economics.
If there are more attackers in sight, and you are to be surrounded, act before it’s too late. Grab the one closest and do your thing.
If you commit to a course of action, see it through. You will be amazed at the advantage bestowed by surprise and caprice, and both those favor the one seizing the initiative.
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I prefer a 12 gauge … It’s a common household items where I live. I’ll leave the deodorant in the bathroom.
Farmer: I agree. Toss-up between a 12 ga. and a 5.56. 12 ga. more impressive, one hit will do ya. 5.56 mag capacity allows one to reach out and touch more folks multiple times. Each of which I consider to be superior to any of the items mentioned in the article. Perhaps the title more accurately should have been “Alternative Household Self-Defense Items You Probably Have In Your Home Right Now” rather than “Best”.
Except in those households where it is difficult to obtain a firearm, anyone who is into prepping at all should have his/her firearms already on hand.
Despite what the snowflakes proclaim, a bad guy breaking into your home is not going to be dissuaded by gentle words and reasoning. The only thing he is going understand is a deep, significant, physical depression in his body. The best device for delivering that kind of impression is a firearm. There is compelling reason why firearms have replaced all other kinds of defense devices as the ideal self-defense choice.
Even in Noo Yawk and Joisey and other restrictive states, as I understand the situation, a homeowner can own a non-snowflake terrifying lever action rifle in pistol caliber — if they can find them these days having waited until the horse has left the barn to acquire same.
They can be acquired in .44 mag/.44special; .357 mag/.38 special and even worst case .22 rimfire. .357 magnum would be my choice for home defense. For some reason, the .357 magnum seems to pick up more muzzle velocity from a rifle barrel than the .44 magnum. A ,357, 158 grain soft-nose bullet at 1600 or more feet per second will certainly make a lasting impression on a bad guy. At one time one could purchase such a rifle with a 16.25 inch barrel which was ideal for home defense. They are still around used. They typically are called Trapper models. Be prepared to pay premium price if acquiring one used.
What? North mention of that wasp spray that squirts 20 to 30 feet? Always keep can of that in your nightstand. Also the fireplace poker is a good and quickly accessible weapon.
I have been traveling (in car) with wasp spray for over 25 years (info given by my God father/ER Nurse).
He said they”attacker” would most likely hit a ER for help and be caught.
in regard to long reach handles >>> if you can’t sharpen the end into a spear point – try breaking the end off and hopefully leaving a sharp splintered point – you can take one of your “sharp” defense weapons and attach it to the end to extend your lethal punch …
As I indicated in a previous post about home defense, in the PDRK, attaching a sharp metal object to the end of a wooden stick is called a shobi-zue — yeah, I know, it is hard to even find internet references to the same. It is a felony to even possess on in one’s home. In the PDRK, the exception is if you possess it for agricultural purposes, it is perfectly legal.
Your state most definitely may vary. My suggestion would be to look up that term in your state’s penal code and see if it is mentioned. You might also look under the section that forbids a variety of self-defense devices such as sword canes, blackjacks, billy clubs, brass knuckles — the list goes on ad infinite.
I thought I was familiar with Japanese weapons and what the PDRK forbad. It was a total goob-smacker to me. I had possessed one for years without knowing what a incredibly deadly device I had. Fortunately for me, the primary purpose of it is to probe for gopher runs, so the CA Supremes in their infinite wisdom protected my possession of the weapon of mass destruction.
My guess is come clueless legislator happened to read an article about dreaded ninja weapons, realized that the shoji-zue was not on the proscribed list of ninja weapons and it needed a special section all of its own to protect the snowflakes of the PDRK from that ninja weapon of mass destruction.
Now if someone can explain to me how spears which basically are shafts with a sharp pointy objects on the end designed for poking holes in folks are okay to own, but if you take a stick and somehow fix a sharp object to it, that then becomes a deadly weapon, possession of which is a straight felony, no room for discretion by the prosecuting attorney, even possession of it in the home, I would like to read that reasoning because it is to tortured for my ancient brain to comprehend.
In case anyone is confused, the term for the ninja weapon of mass destruction is SHOBI-ZUE. Predictive likes to change it to shoji-zue and I missed it in the previous post.
O wonder what the PDRK would say about a spear gun?
when you duct tape a kitchen knife to a mop handle >> it’s called DESPERATE ….
for whatever reason you’ll found yourself defenseless in a dangerous situation >>> this is IMPROVISING – not PREPPING …
don’t plan on going thru life half-azzing it >>> sooner or later it catches up with you ….
Farmer: My guess is that falls in the category of manufactured spears that are made for that purpose and not some home made device. Don’t think that legislation coming out of the PDRK makes sense. It rarely does. I hadn’t thought of a spear gun because I haven’t been diving in over 30 years but that does work short range. Only single shot but certainly would make an impression in a bad guy.
I wonder if one can still buy shark killers, They were slam fire devices that fired a 12 ga shotgun shell upon impact with a shark’s head if it were nibbling on you. They were available when I was diving but I don’t know about now with all the new rules and regulations and other constitutional violations. Slamming a 12 ga. device that fired a 12 ga. shot at contact distance certainly would make an impression on one bad guy at a minimum.
Chuck, I used a bang stick once in the Caribbean just to see if it worked …. it was loud. The powerheads are still manufactured although I suppose the PDRK and other state nazis would ban them. Yes officer, I was on my way out the door to go diving when this moron tried to stab me. Luckily, I had just put a fresh shell in my bang stick.
Farmer: Thanks for reminding me what they were called, bang sticks or power heads. You can still buy them on line from Amazon or Billsbangsticks.com. Bills has several different calibers all for under $200.
If you are man enough you can even get a .50 BMG power head. Now that is some power head! Thank you, but 12 ga is more than enough macho for me. Bang sticks range from .25 acp all the way to the aforementioned .50 BMG.
Apparently the big market these days is for reptile hunting. If Allie Alligator gets too close for comfort there are on-land bang sticks as well as the older in-the-water bang sticks. The states wherein alligators are native have decided being up to one’s gizwatchie in alligators is not conducive to the tourist trade and alligators are no longer a protected species, so one can once again hunt same. Inasmuch as most critters leave alligators strictly alone, they apparently are disgruntled upon being disturbed by two-legged critters and thus the bang-sticks for discouraging ones that get just too personal. My ownl preference would be to dispatch the alligator before it got in bang stick range.
Well, there is my lesson for the day. If you want to learn more about bang sticks, just search on line and you will be rewarded. Just absolutely amazing what information is available on the internet.
LCC – All good to know! I’m making a special note of this for the next time my son talks me into trying scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef with “Ma where here we gotta do this!”
if you do this you better be good at hand to hand
For indoor impact devices, I would suggest nothing longer than 30 inches over all. Unless you are living in a McMasion, most tract homes don’t have the space for swinging with full power swing anything over that length. Yes, Longer is better if you are poking, but even there, shorter is better because you don’t have control over a long broomstick if the bad guy grabs the end that you are poking with. You have more leverage with a shorter stick. Notice most batons as not over 30 inches in length, even riot batons where one would suspect that the user would want something long to get more impact.
Of course, if you are eighth degree bo instructor, disregard this post.
A 24 inch 3/4 or 1′ thick oak, maple or hickory dowel is a good size. AND, they are very economical at your local big box hardware store.
Since I don`t own any guns I`ve found it useful to keep strategically located cans of “Wasp” Spray, they have at LEAST a 20-foot shooting range and ARE a crippling affect when someone is shot in the eyes but is NOT Deadly to them (don`t know about when the attacker opens their mouth in agony and gets some there) and it is also effective (but much slower reaction) when shot in the crotch and armpit area`s. It grows to that “I`m on Fire” stage and ALL concentration goes to figuring out HOW to put a stop to the burning.
Another one would be to make your own “Skunk Spray”, recipes for that are VERY effective because the assailant inhales it and immediately gets extremely nauseous and can NOT continue what they were set out to do, the Governments of the world have BEEN using this as crowd/riot control for years now with MUCH better results than tear gas or other methods.
Good advice.
If you are alone in the house know where a good hiding place is in every possible room. Practice hiding and getting to the closest exit. Have a weapon stored at the area if possible. Wasp spray will travel 20 feet. The surprise factor may allow you to escape. If children are present make sure they have practiced hiding as you do in fire escape practice (not hiding, of course).
I will comment again as I did when the topic was discussed not too long ago. Spray discharged into an enclosed space, especially pepper type spray will disperse throughout the entire dwelling. The only way to avoid that, perhaps, is to quickly close the door to the room where the spray was discharged.
Wasp spray is particularly injurious. I would be very cautious how I sprayed it indoors as well as outdoors.
I have first hand experience of discharging a minute amount of pepper spray indoors, so I know whereof I speak. Just the quickest accidental spray in about five minutes cleared the entire building of about 2500 square feet. I didn’t check every nook and cranny to see if it had penetrated into the restrooms as I was energetically engaged in exiting the building myself.
I don’t know if it would have caused someone to cease a home invasion, but I certainly think so unless the perp was really smashed on booze and other perception altering substances.
Even though the can says that contents comes out in a steady stream, there will be aerosol droplets carried on the air which will impact everyone in the area. The accidental spray I speak of wasn’t even visible as it exited the spray can. The only clue that it had discharged was the quick pisst of the liquid escaping.
If you don’t have first hand knowledge of how wasp spray or other toxic substances would act in an enclosed space, I would urge everyone not to suggest such as a defense measure. There are too many other ways to use a liquid to disarm a villain to use something as dangerous as wasp spray. Look up the MSDS on the product. You can instructions on how to obtain the MSDS on the can itself. Read it carefully.
If you are planning on using that as a defense agent, I would strongly urge you to investigate the topic fully, not relying on urban legend and rumor to defend your family and yourself.
If you don’t have the knowledge to assess the contents of the can and the MSDS, take them to a local fire house and ask them about the advisability of using that as a defense mechanism. Of all the non-experts, I would think they would have the most experience in toxic substances. If possible, talk to someone who is on the hazmat response team.
Be safe from yourselves, folks. It ain’t that I’m that smart, it’s just that I have the experience of making so many mistakes. I just read a quote from somebody that goes something like “You learn from experience. Do you ever learn!”
When we used to live in the city my neighbor looked up from dinner one evening and 2 young men of color came walking into his kitchen. He had his 12 gauge handy and snatched it up but managed to short stroke bad enough to jam it. I saw the 2 young men sprinting out of his house, him chasing them down the drive (he weighed 350 if I am any judge) cussing out his shotgun. I don’t think they would’ve run if he’d picked up a frying pan. That was years ago, and one of the incidents that inspired us to move to the country. Why live in the big city where I might have to put down a greasy old baby back rib and kill somebody? These days I doubt you will be lucky enough that your home invaders will show up unarmed. 12 gauge (and practice) for this Texas Liberal who would rather swallow his own puke than vote for Biden.
IvyMike – These things don’t happen if you keep your doors locked.
I wouldn’t live in an American city unless locking my door meant filling the moat, raising the drawbridge, and barring a door made of 6″ oak timbers. Think I’d keep gators in the moat. We haven’t worried about locking the doors, shutting the garage, or putting up tools and equipment in the 20 years we’ve lived out here. The paper from the small town near us publishes a weekly crime report. The report for our neighborhood never has anything more than ‘Sheriff called out to loud party’, ‘dogs running loose’, and ‘house struck by stray bullet.’ And the stray rounds aren’t from gang bangers, just ignorant rednecks down in the bottoms blasting away at feral hawgs. But a neighborhood close to us just had a crime wave, turns out teens were out after 10 p.m. playing ‘ring and run!’
Our area of 100+ homes is hidden from the road, and the crime watch sign at the entry doesn’t show a burglar in a spotlight but is a picture of a 1911 Colt. It’s a peaceful place.
Ivy Mike, I see you’re a gambling man.
Does anyone remember the curved knives that were once used for cutting linoleum? Something like that would be great.
Ammonia is a component of Windex… leaving a bottle in the kitchen or bathroom would be perfectly normal, even to non-prepper family. Ditto Lysol (you could always claim that you were spraying for covid and your attacker’s face got in the way.)
Cooking oil in the floor would send your attacker crashing down on his face in a hurry…so long as you remember not to step in it yourself.
If you have to use lethal force, keep a well wiped knife to use for a “throwdown”…a weapon kept specifically to plant on the deceased thug to justify a shoot. Don’t forget to put some of his fingerprints on the handle and blade. Of course, if you have to shoot someone it would be because he was armed and threatening you, so this is not really anything you need to know…right?
In this day and age, the old advice about having a throw down weapon is becoming like advice on how to insert carbon paper into a typewriter.
Perhaps if you live in Mayberry, the law enforcement folks won’t go further than looking for fingerprints on a weapon, but in the big city, especially in cities or political entities where they like to nail Joe Citizen for defending himself, how the fingerprints are on the throw down, plus DNA evidence on the throw down, even the lack of DNA evidence on the throw down will cause closer scrutiny of the crime scene.
How much physical force may be used in order to protect oneself depends on many factors. The laws of the state you live in, first. Next is the DA’s attitude toward self-defense. Thirdly come all the other factors. How old you are; what your physical condition is; your size viz a viz the size of the attacker; your potential for self defense, i.e., are you a ninth degree black belt in some martial art form? Your choice of armament vs. the weaponry on the decedent; how many perps there were — the list goes on. What you tell first law enforcement on the scene also has a significant impact.
It is no victory to gain an acquittal from the jury and wind up a half a million dollars in debt. Think that is too much money? How much do you think it costs to defend a 3-week criminal charge of second degree murder plus all the preliminary court appearances necessarily leading up to the actual trial itself?
In the recent case of the actress and her wealthy husband accused of bribing folks to get their two daughters into college I am sure the attorney fees are well in excess of a million dollars. First of all they are well-known criminal defense lawyers who hourly rate probably exceeds $1,000 per hour. When I was working in the court system more than 40 years ago the hourly rate for a run of the mill criminal defense lawyer was $300 – $500 an hour. Thinking about it, I believe my $1,000 an hour is probably very low.
Don’t think you get a free ride with the public defender. If you have any assets at all, equity in your home, a retirement fund, jewelry, even equity in an automobile, you are going to be billed for the services of the public defender or, if after the trial you still have a job, your wages. The only people who get a free ride are criminals who are unemployed if they are sitting in jail.
The law should be if you get an acquittal, the state gets to pick up your lawyer bill. The problem with that is that juries might be reluctant to acquit if they thought the county or whoever was footing the bill for the lawyer fee was going to have to pick up the tab. I don’t know if that would be the case. It is an hypothesis that has to be considered.
So, before you throw down that knife or the gun that you found in a garbage can when you were checking for aluminum cans, thoughtfully consider the problems with that course of action before acting.
If you are going to schlep down to Home Depot to buy a carpet or linoleum knife, why not go on Amazon and buy a real knife. A Ka-bar has a 7 inch blade and is made from heat-treated 1095 high carbon steel. It is about $80 on Amazon. It is very sharp and was carried by Marines from WWII on. It is designed for last ditch defense. If you are going to be close enough to use a linoleum knife, you are certainly going to be close enough to use a Ka-bar. A Ka-bar with its 7 inch blade will make a much deeper impression on a bad guy than a linoleum knife which has a much shorter, cheaper steel blade and is designed to cut thin objects such as linoleum and carpet.
I once worked with a guy who had a wicked scar where his intestinal fortitude was compromised by a slash from a linoleum knife. The linoleum knife is useful if you live in a state where a kabar or karambit is illegal. Crazy thing, I just looked up the knife laws in Texas, turns out we passed a law in 2017 making it legal to carry any kind of knife anywhere but a church, school, or liquor store. Dagger, stiletto, switchblade, machete, edged on both sides, anything. Bowie knife, yes. Guess we need a court case to see if a short katana passes. Texas, always on the cutting edge.
Your fellow worker was lucky he wasn’t stabbed with a knife with a blade the size of a Ka-bar. One can always increase the effectiveness of a stab to the abdomen by turning the blade while it is inserted so that one creates a new wound channel from the original one. There is a dueling term for that kind of thrust and withdrawal although the exact term escapes me at the moment. Perhaps someone more familiar with dueling terms can provide it.
If one can carry a firearm in public it hardly makes sense, although I realize as I type this making sense in legislation is an oxymoron, to forbid the carrying of a cutting instrument in public no matter how many cutting edges it has or its length.
I just now read an ad from Henry Rifle Company that they have introduced a line of lever action rifles in calibers ranging from 223 up to .308 and 6.5 Creedmore. They are box magazine fed similar to the Browning lever action rifle. Inasmuch as they have just been introduced, it may be a while until they are in the pipeline.
There seems to be some kind of blind spot by legislators with regard to lever action rifles. Sort of a “How dangerous can they be, cowboys used them?” mentality. They don’t seem capable of logical thought which is good and bad. Good because it causes them to overlook rifles that perform similarly while focusing on minutia that means nothing such as bayonet mounts.
So for those of you who live in restrictive states who want a firearm for home defense, I would suggest looking at the Henry line. Remington at one time had a pump action .223 which they tried unsuccessfully to sell to law enforcement on the premises that the action would be familiar to cops who were using the Remington 870 as a patrol shotgun. Too bad it didn’t go anywhere. It was the ideal civilian rifle. Fast action, large mag capacity and using .223/5.56 ammo and priced similarly to an 870. What’s not to like?
One final word on non-firearm home defense implements.
The billhook. The what? The billhook is an ancient farm implement that also proved very useful in unhorsing a mounted knight.
You can find them on Amazon in either a 30 inch handle configuration or for the fairly tall, fairly strong home defender, the 40 inch handle version. For in home use the 30 inch model fits the bill for in-home self-defense use.
Not only is the billhook a significant self-defense weapon, it also has an agricultural use which give one a perfect excuse for having one in the home. It also makes it fly under the radar of governmental hoplophobes. Of course, if you live on the 35th floor of an apartment high rise in Noo Yawk City, the excuse that you use it for weed whacking is a little thin. In that case, it behooves one to have a friend or relative that lives somewhere that has some greenery so that your alibi is that you help them on weekends whacking weeds with your billhook. It might help to grab some weeds from the local park and rub them on the blade of the billhook to buttress your alibi.
In addition, the billhook makes a really scary prop if you are going trick or treating on halloween. You can dress as an Ostrogoth/Visigoth or Vandal or perhaps even a Viking and scare the homeowner into giving you the whole bag of candy he is holding.
I would recommend practicing swinging the billhook and jabbing with it in order to build up your arm strength. It isn’t a device for a 98 pound weakling. (Does anyone remember the Charles Atlas ads in Boy’s Life and other magazines of yesteryear?)
I would also recommend retaining the cardboard protective sleeve that the billhook blade is shipped in as my billhook is quite sharp and can do some damage just falling over if the blade isn’t protected somehow.
If your billhook doesn’t come shipped in a protective cardboard sleeve, I would further recommend making some kind of sturdy cardboard sleeve for the billhook blade.
I think that will be the final word from me about non-firearm home protection devices. (Sounds of sighs of relief across the internet)
Some people call is a Kaiser knife, uh huh, I call it a sling blade. Uh huh..
This website has been a great source of information. All my life I have thought a sling blade was a scythe or a large hand sickle. Farmer, thanks for enlarging my encyclopedia of knowledge. I have never heard a billhook called a sling blade or a Kaiser knife. I always thought of it as a farm version of a halberd.
Thank you, Karl.
Please stop putting circles all over those first pictures in every article. It’s very annoying, plus it gives the impression of a cheap clickbait site. It’s disgusting.
I hadn’t even noticed the circles until your post, Stefan. I notice that a basketball is circled. Perhaps there is an ex-pro bb player who can fire a basketball fast enough to injure a bad guy, but for myself, a basketball would be really low on my list of home-grown self-defense weapons. I would chose those long-handled garden shears in the lower left hand corner before a basketball.
If someone has actually successfully used a basketball as a self-defense weapon I am sure all of the followers of this list would like to hear the details. I don’t think even Maccally Calkin used a basketball in Home Alone.
You’ve never had anyone fire a basketball directly at your face…lol!
It won’t kill you, but it’ll make you duck right quick, which gives the other person time to get away or grab something more lethal, which I guess is the point.
The thing is that in every single article is a photo and nonsense circles around banal things. It’s annoying, because they are just randomly put there in most cases.
You missed foaming wasp spray
While an interesting conversation starter, this article is otherwise fallible. When I get up in the morning I strap my H&K 9mm on my right hip, loaded with a 15-round magazine, and I carry two extra magazines in a double mag pouch on my belt. I know where items are in my house that can be used in self-defense, such as my butchering knives I keep razor edged on my diamond stones, or my cut throat straight razor that I touch up on my leather strop twice a week before and after I shave. I have other guns in my house, Rocker River AR, Benelli 12-gauge, 6 different calibers total, and an assortment of tactical/survival knives too, but the 9mm is my go to. When I shower it’s on the countertop under a folded towel. When I take it off at night it’s next to my bed on a high library shelf out of sight to anyone not looking for it. I keep it loaded, chambered, and the safety off. I’ll pass on the wasp spray, fire pokers, and choking people with belts. Times have changed, armed men are not paranoid, however, unarmed men should be.
For anyone who recommends “wasp” spray or any insecticide, replace it with “bear” spray. Guaranteed to work and the spray pattern is much easier to hit your target than stream due to stress response and loss of fine motor control. Additionally, if you consider guns single use tools, then you do not have to worry, especially if you are older, about being to work the action of your pistol: just get one with 15-18 rounds which beats 6-8 rounds anytime, plus no need to carry reloads. The chances of every having to use up 15-18 rounds in one encounter is virtually zero.
Bear spray is NOT “guaranteed to work”, neither on bears nor on humans. Far too many variances can be figured in that will affect the results. Your making such an unqualified statement could cost someone their life if they mistakenly trust your opinion to be fact. A bear or drugged human can still kill you while temporally blinded. I’ve never met a gun owner who considered their firearm to be a “single use tool”, regardless of their age. I carry a chambered H&K 9mm with 15 rounds and I also have 2 extra 15-round magazines in a double mag holder on my left hip. I have trained many hours on fast magazine replacement, as do most pistol owners, and particularly police officers. I find your emphatic statement of the need for “15-18 rounds in one encounter is virtually zero” to be merely unfounded opinion. Extra magazine holders have been sold in the millions, why? The action on your pistol should be “worked” in advance. A round should always be in the chamber when carrying. Safety on or off is a more personal choice. Everyone should be efficient at clearing a jammed round with one hand. Due to the potential for jams on a semi-auto, revolvers are best suited to those who have lost motor skills. Two revolvers are even better, or at the least, carry a speed loader… or two. There are double carry pouches for speed loaders available.