ESEE 3 Glass Break Pommel Test

C

CLICKBANGBANG

Joined
Oct 12, 2010
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350
I am not by any means a gear reviewer or a videographer. I wanted to see how well something worked and decided to share it with you.

I had a friend wreck (total) her car and before I scrapped it, I ordered a -3 to test out the glass break pommel. After a quick shoot with an Iphone and tossing it on youtube, here it is.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrXOwV_4k6Y

I'll get some pics up of the pommel if there is some interest. After hitting the four passenger windows (as shown in the video), we knocked out the back wing windows. These were very hard to break. We had to hit them six or so times each to break them causing the point on the pommel to dull a little. But this was only after 20+ whacks to glass.

Edit- for pics.

We've all seen the -3.

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The tiny roll/ dulling in the pics is very hard to see with the naked eye. Without a 15 megapixel camera, these would have never photographed (I wouldn't be able to). The pommel is still pointy to the touch and would still break glass with ease. I'll put the pommel on a stone and resharpen it the next time I'm sitting down with the two out.

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Sexy time pics. I swear I don't know how a gun got into this.

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Awsome vid. Ive been wanting to see something like this for awhile. Seems like it required a little harder of a whack than I would have thought. But what do I know, ive never done it. Very informative. well done!
 
Nice video, thanks for sharing. It looked like the window broke easier when struck near an edge. That sound about right?
 
perchjerk said:
Awsome vid. Ive been wanting to see something like this for awhile. Seems like it required a little harder of a whack than I would have thought. But what do I know, ive never done it. Very informative. well done!
Click to expand...

I have had the best luck hitting the window along the edge or corner. Hitting it in the middle seems to take much more force before the window gives way. I don't know the science of it, but that's my experience. It also seems that in the video, the hit that took the most force was when he was hitting it in the middle.

Surely there's some engineer on here that can explain why?

EDIT: Decklin beat me to it, whilst I was typing the above.
 
Nice video! Finally, after all this time someone posted up a video of them using the glass breaker.:D
 
Cool video, thanks for posting it.

I have a standard 3 that I filed down to have a glassbreaker pommel, I'd love to try it out if I ever get my hands on some glass.
 
Front windshields (not all rears) are laminated glass. Almost like it's encased in plastic so it doesn't shatter and go everywhere in a collision. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

-Nadz

Edit: Decklin beat me to it as well :D
 
GoNadz said:
Front windshields (not all rears) are laminated glass. Almost like it's encased in plastic so it doesn't shatter and go everywhere in a collision. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

-Nadz

Edit: Decklin beat me to it as well :D
Click to expand...

Your on the right track it not encased though. It is two layers of glass with a thin film layered in between them. All of it adhered together. The film keeps it from shattering. This is also why you can get a thin crack in a windshield only on the outside, and not feel it on the inside.
 
Decklin said:
Your on the right track it not encased though. It is two layers of glass with a thin film layered in between them. All of it adhered together. The film keeps it from shattering. This is also why you can get a thin crack in a windshield only on the outside, and not feel it on the inside.
Click to expand...

This is right.


You could eventually punch through it with the pommel and blade, it just won't shatter. You'll end up with a hole and some pieces dangling down like a sheet. You can then continue to make the hole big enough to get out of if you have the time. You're likely to get glass splinters all in your hands and eyes so be careful--the pieces won't be like the little pebbles the side windows form when breaking.
 
thanks for the vid. i always wondered how the 3 would weather against a few windows.

i like the end where you cycle through all the windows.
there should be a video full of nothing but clips of breaking windows.
 
GREAT TIME !!!!

I love destroying cars:thumbup::thumbup: I've had my fun with a couple although I never used a knife:grumpy:, but still fun nonetheless, torches, sawsall, cutting wheels..........
 
Ok guys, My friend is on the local fire dept. and I have attended a few training sessions. One thing the instructor showed when breaking a window, is to hit a corner, not the middle. The middle is like a arch, so it is very strong. To demonstrate, he took a firemans axe, and swung it (hammer side) into the middle of the window with ALOT of force, and it just bounced back. Then a light tap on the corner, and it shattered.
 
Expatriated said:
I have had the best luck hitting the window along the edge or corner. Hitting it in the middle seems to take much more force before the window gives way. I don't know the science of it, but that's my experience. It also seems that in the video, the hit that took the most force was when he was hitting it in the middle.

Surely there's some engineer on here that can explain why?

EDIT: Decklin beat me to it, whilst I was typing the above.
Click to expand...

The reason it breaks easier hit near the edge is that it doesn't flex as much there, where it has support from the frame. Hit near the middle and the glass acts like a spring, gently slowing your impactor. Whatever you are using to break it has some mass and speed and to bring it to a standstill requires a force, provided by the glass, and the quicker it comes to a stop, the higher the force the more likely you are to reach the level needed to start the critical crack.

Same reason if you are flogging a spanner with a hammer, you hit it as near to the nut as possible, not out at the end where you would usually apply leverage. The higher stiffness and hence higher shock loading easily outweight the leverage advantage.
 
Great vid!

I had one of those cheapie orange handled breaker/cutters that we had put in the rally car...
at one point at the shop, we had a junker to break up. I though I'd try to hit the side glass.
The tool broke in my hand - twice. ESEE doesn't seem to share that trait. ;)

Does ceramic really whoop ass on glass? What is the possibility of a ceramic insert being
custom-fit into the pommel?
 
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