Club/billie club/mace questions.

[VolundoftheForge]

Hey guys, looking for a good mace/club/billie club/ tire thumper, whatever you'd like to call it. Really just a tool designed to smash things. Thinking of keeping it in my car, but also just something cool to look at and break some things(legally). Any suggestions?

 

[M3mphis]

You'll probably want to peruse this thread: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/884284-The-Club-and-impact-weapons-thread?highlight=impact

 

[VolundoftheForge]

Found some good pictures, sent Edwood a request on if he could make me one.

 

[Double Ott]

Hey guys, looking for a good mace/club/billie club/ tire thumper, whatever you'd like to call it. Really just a tool designed to smash things. Thinking of keeping it in my car, but also just something cool to look at and break some things(legally). Any suggestions?

I carry a tire iron or a jack handle in all my vehicles. Comes in handy, is unbreakable and it looks like it belongs there. Cheap to boot.

 

[VolundoftheForge]

Eh, looking for something more classic. I'm considering an AIW billy, but they seem on the expensive side. Also I prefer a club with a larger head-to-body ratio.

 

[VolundoftheForge]

Does anyone know of a simple and effective to make club design? Also, any pointers on how to keep a nice grip but to add strength to the wood?

 

[sutured]

I'm sure you're on to this already, but understand your state and local laws very well before putting anything like that in your vehicle. In CA, for example, simply possessing a weighted club is a felony, while carrying a loaded firearm in public is a misdemeanor.

And don't think you're going to be able to pass it off as something else...everyone knows a club when they pick it up, cops, judges, and juries included.

 

[VolundoftheForge]

I'm sure you're on to this already, but understand your state and local laws very well before putting anything like that in your vehicle. In CA, for example, simply possessing a weighted club is a felony, while carrying a loaded firearm in public is a misdemeanor.

And don't think you're going to be able to pass it off as something else...everyone knows a club when they pick it up, cops, judges, and juries included.

True. I has hoping to pass it off as a tire thumper. But I live in Florida, so I believe it is legal to keep in a car if need be.

 

[ebsyesque]

I'm sure you're on to this already, but understand your state and local laws very well before putting anything like that in your vehicle. In CA, for example, simply possessing a weighted club is a felony, while carrying a loaded firearm in public is a misdemeanor.

And don't think you're going to be able to pass it off as something else...everyone knows a club when they pick it up, cops, judges, and juries included.

So you think he should just carry a loaded gun?
He just asked for suggestions not a legal warning.

 

[1whobuys]

I carry an Ed Brown, it trumps any kind of club you could ever possibly come across and makes anyone with a knife give up right away too.

 

[VolundoftheForge]

I carry an Ed Brown, it trumps any kind of club you could ever possibly come across and makes anyone with a knife give up right away too.

Good point. Unfortunately, I'm not old enough to legally carry a firearm, nor keep one in my car. Definitely is the plan later on though! My thoughts with a club, probably old school wooden night stick variety, is lethal and non-lethal strikes, and I'm not going to cut myself to pieces on accident with it wrestling with an attacker. Also, reach.

 

[ebsyesque]

What is an Ed Brown?

 

[VolundoftheForge]

What is an Ed Brown?

1911.

 

[sutured]

So you think he should just carry a loaded gun?
He just asked for suggestions not a legal warning.

I certainly wasn't suggesting he carries a loaded gun. I was using the juxtaposition to illustrate that weapon laws can be convoluted and somewhat nonsensical. Regardless, you're still held to the law.

Lots of people get into a LOT of trouble by possessing what are to them basically novelty items (maces, blackjacks, brass knuckles, lipstick knives, sword canes, etc.), without realizing the legal consequences. In many areas of the US, even possessing these items is a penitentiary offense. Carrying them in public is an additional crime. It adds up fast.

Add to that the fact that he's going to cary it in a vehicle, which has a much lower expectation of privacy than pretty much any other property a person owns and can be searched without a warrant, and the likelihood of said novelty item being discovered by law enforcement goes way, way up.

A tire iron or jack handle or other tool which has a nexus with the vehicle it's carried in can be used as a weapon, but they are primarily something else, and until you use it as a weapon it's not considered one. That's a lot different than carrying a club and trying to justify it as a tire thumper or some other tool, especially if the vehicle it's in doesn't have duel tires...

Law enforcement officers know weapons when they see them, and they know bullshit when they hear it. They also don't need to meet the standard of "beyond a reasonable doubt" to make an arrest, they only need "reasonable suspicion". In other words, a savvy law enforcement officer will gladly make an arrest for a weapon offense that he/she knows is unlikely to be successfully prosecuted, because it gets the weapon off the street and it creates a record of the owner for future reference.

And if he doesn't want a legal warning, he's free to ignore it.

 

[VolundoftheForge]

I certainly wasn't suggesting he carries a loaded gun. I was using the juxtaposition to illustrate that weapon laws can be convoluted and somewhat nonsensical. Regardless, you're still held to the law.

Lots of people get into a LOT of trouble by possessing what are to them basically novelty items (maces, blackjacks, brass knuckles, lipstick knives, sword canes, etc.), without realizing the legal consequences. In many areas of the US, even possessing these items is a penitentiary offense. Carrying them in public is an additional crime. It adds up fast.

Add to that the fact that he's going to cary it in a vehicle, which has a much lower expectation of privacy than pretty much any other property a person owns and can be searched without a warrant, and the likelihood of said novelty item being discovered by law enforcement goes way, way up.

A tire iron or jack handle or other tool which has a nexus with the vehicle it's carried in can be used as a weapon, but they are primarily something else, and until you use it as a weapon it's not considered one. That's a lot different than carrying a club and trying to justify it as a tire thumper or some other tool, especially if the vehicle it's in doesn't have duel tires...

Law enforcement officers know weapons when they see them, and they know bullshit when they hear it. They also don't need to meet the standard of "beyond a reasonable doubt" to make an arrest, they only need "reasonable suspicion". In other words, a savvy law enforcement officer will gladly make an arrest for a weapon offense that he/she knows is unlikely to be successfully prosecuted, because it gets the weapon off the street and it creates a record of the owner for future reference.

And if he doesn't want a legal warning, he's free to ignore it.

I see where you're coming from. I know that collapsible batons in my area are a large choice for non-firearm self-defense, though I'm not sure if they'd legally be considered the same thing. I mainly want a club as more of a novelty item, though I was considering it for car duty. really I just want something with good reach I can't be cut up with and that handles well. Made a "mace" out of piping and it's too heavy for anything resembling speed.

 

[M3mphis]

Maybe just throw in a baseball bat.

LEO: "Meow listen here, son. Why would you be packing around a baseball bat in this here Corolla?"
You: "I use it to whack baseballs, Sir."
LEO: "Meow, I think it looks suspiciously like you intend to use this as a weapon, son."
You: "Yes, Sir. I plan to crush the *&#% out of some baseballs."
LEO: "I'll let you go today, son. But next time you won't be so lucky meow, you understand?"

 

[VolundoftheForge]

Maybe just throw in a baseball bat.

LEO: "Meow listen here, son. Why would you be packing around a baseball bat in this here Corolla?"
You: "I use it to whack baseballs, Sir."
LEO: "Meow, I think it looks suspiciously like you intend to use this as a weapon, son."
You: "Yes, Sir. I plan to crush the *&#% out of some baseballs."
LEO: "I'll let you go today, son. But next time you won't be so lucky meow, you understand?"

Haha good point. Maybe I should find an ironwood baseball bat..

 

[sutured]

I see where you're coming from. I know that collapsible batons in my area are a large choice for non-firearm self-defense, though I'm not sure if they'd legally be considered the same thing. I mainly want a club as more of a novelty item, though I was considering it for car duty. really I just want something with good reach I can't be cut up with and that handles well. Made a "mace" out of piping and it's too heavy for anything resembling speed.

Get a large can of pepper spray and keep your shoes tied so you can spray and run. Pepper spray doesn't stop all people, but it keeps them from being able to see where you ran off to.

Fighting with a baton is an art, and without formal training it's probably not going to go well for you. It's also a lethal weapon, and regardless of where you strike someone you're going to have to justify an action that could have caused death.

I've been formally trained and I've been in numerous conflicts where I used an impact weapon, and in my opinion they are a poor choice for personal protection.

Clubs are fun conversation pieces, but leave them at home. At least that's my take on it.

 

[VolundoftheForge]

Get a large can of pepper spray and keep your shoes tied so you can spray and run. Pepper spray doesn't stop all people, but it keeps them from being able to see where you ran off to.

Fighting with a baton is an art, and without formal training it's probably not going to go well for you. It's also a lethal weapon, and regardless of where you strike someone you're going to have to justify an action that could have caused death.

I've been formally trained and I've been in numerous conflicts where I used an impact weapon, and in my opinion they are a poor choice for personal protection.

Clubs are fun conversation pieces, but leave them at home. At least that's my take on it.

Thanks for the advice. My only drawback to pepper spray is that if it gets in my eyes and it doesn't bother them, I'll be rolling on the ground blind while they beat me to death. My life has a habit of introducing ironies of that sort, so I figure might as well not chance it. What would you recommend for self defense, and also, what would be a functional club/mace that would be easy to make/buy? Again, more for the home as a conversation piece and maybe to smash some concrete blocks on weekends.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

Go to the hardware store, get yourself a piece of black iron pipe and screw a huge coupling to it. Then put it in your trunk with a case of cheap beer and these instructions. More fun to explain to the local constabulary.