Bear Grylls Urban Survival

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SuzukiGS750EZ

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Dec 30, 2008
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I was watching his urban survival show which i thought would be more interesting but it's downright BORING. Anyways, he used a belt buckle on his shoe for a glassbreaker. I got to thinking about knives with built on glass breakers. Do you think a SAK with a phillips out the end or a reamer would be a good glass breaking tool? I say out the end because they seem to not fold as much as the one in the spot where the corkscrew usually goes.
 
I did not realize it had already aired.

I'll watch it, but I'm not expecting much. Still, just about anything on Discovery beats anything on network tv, IMO.
 
Why would you risk messing up a SAK , rocks and chunks of masonary are still pretty common !

Bear has some skills , but he is more of an entertainer than an instructor , lots of his stuff is dangerous .

Chris
 
I guess i didn't specify lol. he was trapped in a car that had a broken powerline fall ontop of it. So he had to break the glass to get out to the trunk.
 
SuzukiGS750EZ said:
I got to thinking about knives with built on glass breakers. Do you think a SAK with a phillips out the end or a reamer would be a good glass breaking tool?
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I've often wondered the same thing. I thought about buying a Vic Rescue Tool due to the glass breaker, but hesitate because I don't think I'd use it for an EDC - seems kinda expensive to just have lying around in a vehicle, although if you ever needed it it would be priceless!

Wish there was some way to test out the phillips and reamer to see if they would work - no one is going to try it on their own car/truck, and junkyards probably wouldn't let you because they could sell the glass, and I'm not going to vandalize anyone else's vehicle without permission.

Anyway, good question and I hope someone can answer it based on experience, not just conjecture.
 
I have a Victorinox Rescue Tool and a Life Hammer in my car as emergency tools. For breaking glass, I would use the large screw driver / bottle opener instead of the reamer of philips screw driver.
 
Harayasu said:
I have a Victorinox Rescue Tool and a Life Hammer in my car as emergency tools. For breaking glass, I would use the large screw driver / bottle opener instead of the reamer of philips screw driver.
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Excellent idea since it locks into place - that's a great idea for using the OHT or 111mm Soldier in place of the Rescue Tool! (Seems so logical now that I think about it). Thanks!
 
Look up ResQMe. Put one on every set of car keys. Put one on your regular key ring.

Glass breaker and seat belt cutter.
 
Spark plug electrodes work very well and you can get used ones for free from an auto shop.
 
I still have a NASTY scar on my right middle finger from a SAK reamer closing on it when I was in Boy Scouts (almost 20 years ago). I was holding the knife in a punch style grip with the reamer sticking out between 2 fingers to use it as a "drill" to make a hole through a stick. The reamer closed on my hand and peeled the skin back from my middle finger... I will NEVER use the SAK Phillips Screwdriver, Corkscrew or Reamer in that grip again, ESPECIALLY not to break something as hard as a car window!
 
I doubt the standard SAK tools are hardened sufficiently to break a toughened safety glass window. The key to breaking a toughened window is to create a point of stress in the glass. Glass is very hard which is why most window breakers are either tungsten or hardened high carbon steel, a SAK is just soft stainless steel and the screwdrivers are unlikely to even be hardened much otherwise they would snap with the stress put on them when used on a screw.
 
cdf said:
Why would you risk messing up a SAK , rocks and chunks of masonary are still pretty common !
Bear has some skills , but he is more of an entertainer than an instructor , lots of his stuff is dangerous .

Chris
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+1. Best glassbreaker is something big and heavy. However from a rescue perspective, it doesn't really do the person stuck in the car any favors if I kill him by hitting him with a cinderblock.
 
An automatic center punch (ACP) works very good on the side & rear auto glass windows. Not so good at all on the front glass due to the different construction of the glass.

starrett_automatic_center_punch.jpg
 
I have a flash light that has a glass breaker built into it. For one most people carry a flash light in their vehicle. Mine is easily accessible, also has seat belt cutter built in.
There are a lot of different models available. The problem I have with using a knife is its usually in your pocket, on your belt. Most people are going to be panicking, trying to dig the knife out, god forbid your fumbling trying to get one of the implements out in order to break the window. hopefully your seat belts not jammed. I like to have something by my side, the knife would be my back up. Also the flashlight is bigger easily held, heavier, and probably protect your hand a little more. My two cents.
 
On one of the forums, someone said they tried to break a car side window using the locking fillips screwdriver of a multitool, and couldn't do it. Said he then tried to smash it with the plier head and couldn't do that either. Said throwing the multitool at the window did work, though. I don't remember what forum it was on, but helped answer some of the same questions.
 
Esav Benyamin said:
Look up ResQMe. Put one on every set of car keys. Put one on your regular key ring.

Glass breaker and seat belt cutter.
Click to expand...

Looks to me like this could be the best 10 bucks you ever spend. If the spring loaded window breaker works anything like the ones I've seen volunteer fireman use, it would completely take the worry out of being trapped in a car.
 
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