Glass Breakers

L

Let It Bleed

Joined
May 13, 2007
Messages
504
I've never had to bust out a car window or anything similar. So my question is whether glass breakers on a knife are for efficiency or are car windows really that hard to bust out? Would a 2-D battery Mag-Lite work as well?

For those with experience (e.g. firefighters, EMTs, etc), how does car glass react to being smacked with different objects?

I'm both curious for curiosity’s sake and would also like to know if god forbid I were faced with the situation of needing to get out or get someone else out in a hurry.
 
GOT ONE ON MY UMNUM,I WOULD NEVER USE IT,THOUGH FOR THE HYPE IT IS COOL,OH GOT SEVERAL ON SOME DALTONS TOO

:rolleyes:
 
the proper application and use of a glass breaker over say a flashlight is to provied a controlled breakage and minimize injury to the user. The generally sharp point of a glass breaker is much more effective at brekaing tempered glass than say a flashlight as the glass is designed to withstand such blows, however the extremely small surface area of a breaker causes a force spike high enough to cause total catastrophic failure of the pane; where as a flashlight may take several hits and then only puch out a small area when the impact occured.

IMO a spring loaded center puch is by far much more effective than a glass breaker on a knife, but both work on the same pricipal, the largest amount of force applied to the smallest amount of area.
 
I read on the Rat forum that an EMT worker would use the radio antenna to break a car window. He said to whip the window just with the little cylindrical knob on the very end of the antenna and the glass will break.

ALSO...I've seen people break car windows with a very small steel BB...either thrown or just press the BB into the window and the glass breaks...

I did pick up a RC 3 with a glass breaker pommel just in case...I hope to never have to use it...
 
Another principle is that the breaker has to be very hard, harder than the glass.

It can be surprisingly hard to break auto glass, even the side windows. There was an episode of Mythbusters on it, also there's a company that sells a cap for the end of mag lights that's hard and slightly pointed for glass breaking. The sight had good footage of how hard it can be to break glass with a baton or police size flashlight, at least in a controlled break as the poster above mentioned.
 
I favor a sharp hatchet for chopping out windows, although the edge will need a touch-up afterwards.

Parker
 
i've used the glass breaking tip on a kershaw rescue blur on a car window...it worked.
 
There was a good thread on this in the RAT forum if anyone with search powers wants to find the link. Jeff started the thread.
 
if i have the option i like to have glass breakers. if anything they can be used as an impact weapon. but the odds of having to use it on glass are low.
 
froggy said:
I read on the Rat forum that an EMT worker would use the radio antenna to break a car window. He said to whip the window just with the little cylindrical knob on the very end of the antenna and the glass will break.

ALSO...I've seen people break car windows with a very small steel BB...either thrown or just press the BB into the window and the glass breaks...

I did pick up a RC 3 with a glass breaker pommel just in case...I hope to never have to use it...
Click to expand...

Also, Jeff of RAT Cutlery said that he tried to break an open window open with a regular RC-3, which has no glass breaker. He said that the window just flexed but didn't break.
 
ryts100 said:
Also, Jeff of RAT Cutlery said that he tried to break an open window open with a regular RC-3, which has no glass breaker. He said that the window just flexed but didn't break.
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure he said he had a RC-3 with the glass breaker and it failed to work in that situation.
 
When I was a kid I used to like banging the side windows of abandoned cars with sticks and bats. They can actually withstand these type of impacts quite well if not hit properly.

I find my side windows almost always broke and always after a couple of attempts when I used a direct thrust (straight parry it think it's called) holding stick or bat with two hands directly into the windshield. Using that method it would outright shatter while swinging would only cause the stick or bat to glance off.

BBs will definitely shatter side windows whether out of a BB gun or even a sling shotted tiny BB. I have seen one hit with a sling shotted BB and take about a couple of seconds for the hairline cracks to form right before the glass collapsed into mess of small pieces.

My experience tells me the way to go with side windows is to hit them straight on and avoid glancing sideways. I have seen one punched out this way. It's technique more than anything.

Those glass breakers on knives should work fine if you hit the window straight and the spring loaded ones should do it most of the time since all you do is hold it against the side window, activate a release sending the striker STRAIGHT into the glass. Hard pointy tips do make for an effective striker too.

Forget about the front windshield they are shatter proof and tough to break through without high force multiple hits. Man those are tough.
 
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I used tire irons too same thing swinging was hit and miss a straight thrust and she shatters most of the time
 
From an engineering point of view, I think it will be easier to break the glass from the inside because the glass is concave, whereas hitting from the outside you're hitting onto a convex shaped glass (with a slight arch, supporting the force/impact) which is also supported by the window frame. I have not tried it, but I would not be surprised if you can kick the window out from the inside.
 
triz neena said:
From an engineering point of view, I think it will be easier to break the glass from the inside because the glass is concave, whereas hitting from the outside you're hitting onto a convex shaped glass (with a slight arch, supporting the force/impact) which is also supported by the window frame. I have not tried it, but I would not be surprised if you can kick the window out from the inside.
Click to expand...

Have you never watched COPS?
 
I have always wondered if you took the tip of a knife and gave a window a quick jab if it would break? It would be a very small area so the pressure should be quite high.

Yeah you might bend or snap the knife tip depending on how thin it is but if you needed to get in or out of a car would be worth it.
 
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