“Also, do you have anything self defense related on your keys?
“Is something like a Kubotan, ever worth the trouble?
“A silver one should be indistinguishable from keys on security tape. Your honor, all he had were his keys, or umbrella...”
-Guest
Okay Guest, the Kubotan is something I have used. I recommend the plain cylinder or the plain cylinder with glass-breaking tip, keeping in mind that cops who find you with it will add it to their collection, as will court house officials, federal building security and airport personnel. So buy a few. Do not buy or carry the version with the two spikes protruding between your knuckles. These will be classified as brass knuckles, and may carry stiffer penalties in some municipalities than an oversized knife.
Keys themselves are an overrated weapon. You are better off using your fingers in a cupped cone and raking the enemy eye with your fingernails than trying to stab at a face with hand held keys.
Saps, blackjacks, slapjacks and whipsticks are excellent killing weapons, and in the 70s and 80s were used to kill three white Baltimoreans that I know of, used by cops. Cops are no longer supposed to use these weapons as they are exclusively used for head bashing. I cover these extensively in The Logic of Force. These cannot be legally carried in any municipality I know of. I do recommend them for home defense in tight spaces, such as hallways, bathrooms and vestibules. Hang one on the wall by your door, just don’t take it outside. The nature of these weapons—unlike tools and guns—are so offensively combat specific that their possession is likely to be taken as intent.
The best hand weapon is already in your hand, and is, in my mind, the handheld mini-umbrella. Hold it by the nylon-covered wires and strike with the plastic handle. Number two would be the 14 inch 4 D-cell flashlight. You want a handy blunt weapon that is already in the hand, which means you need an excuse to have it in your hand. If you are a trained stick-fighter with contact experience then you can KO people easily with a rolled up magazine.
