Homemade Weapons

[MasterPain]

The smashlight should have no trouble smashing a skull, I think the question is how many skulls the connection of the hitch to the light will last. Medieval polearms and maces often had metal bracing along the wooden shaft and attaching to the head, for extra durability. Could this idea be incorporated?

[Liver Punch]

I've wondered about our durability, although I believe that the biggest issue is going to be the durability of our electrical components. The LED will fix this issue a great deal, and beyond that it's a fairly simple/durable circuit.

The next weak point would be the threads of the flashlight shaft. As long as they are deep enough to prevent stripping and breaking, they should be of no concern.

The final weak point is of our shaft itself. The advantage we have that wood-based clubs do not have is not just strength, but softness. The aluminum shaft of the flashlight will offer a fair amount of give to act as a shock absorber. This is particularly true near what will be the ball end of our club, which has only a spring to fill its hollow core. Further down the shaft, batteries fill the space, and that will add strength to the unit as a whole.

In doing research for this project, I've found some very, very cool maglite related things that would benefit Tallgeese as an officer, and some of us as well. I'll post some of them later, but there are some pretty impressive directions this could go.

As for our project, I think it's evolved to a higher level of thinking. This ball hitch business is too complicated. We've got to remember K.I.S.S. When I talk to the machinist, instead of having an adapter made, I think it's best to have a 2" ball with flashlight cap threads made. Doing that will allow it to be made from steel, aluminum, or even titanium. It also gives us one less moving part, and a smoother overall construction when the whole unit is assembled. Finally, it allows us to get it powder-coated to match a flashlight instead of being chrome.

At this stage, we need to get Tallgeese involved for some specification and other details, but I think withing the next 2 weeks, I can have a working prototype of something that, in our minds at least, makes the most sense.

[Groinstrike]

I've wondered about our durability, although I believe that the biggest issue is going to be the durability of our electrical components. The LED will fix this issue a great deal, and beyond that it's a fairly simple/durable circuit.

The next weak point would be the threads of the flashlight shaft. As long as they are deep enough to prevent stripping and breaking, they should be of no concern.

The final weak point is of our shaft itself. The advantage we have that wood-based clubs do not have is not just strength, but softness. The aluminum shaft of the flashlight will offer a fair amount of give to act as a shock absorber. This is particularly true near what will be the ball end of our club, which has only a spring to fill its hollow core. Further down the shaft, batteries fill the space, and that will add strength to the unit as a whole.

In doing research for this project, I've found some very, very cool maglite related things that would benefit Tallgeese as an officer, and some of us as well. I'll post some of them later, but there are some pretty impressive directions this could go.

As for our project, I think it's evolved to a higher level of thinking. This ball hitch business is too complicated. We've got to remember K.I.S.S. When I talk to the machinist, instead of having an adapter made, I think it's best to have a 2" ball with flashlight cap threads made. Doing that will allow it to be made from steel, aluminum, or even titanium. It also gives us one less moving part, and a smoother overall construction when the whole unit is assembled. Finally, it allows us to get it powder-coated to match a flashlight instead of being chrome.

At this stage, we need to get Tallgeese involved for some specification and other details, but I think withing the next 2 weeks, I can have a working prototype of something that, in our minds at least, makes the most sense.

I like the idea of making the end cap to the smashlight the bludgeoning implement itself.

On the same topic, i agree that we need to get some exact specs from tallgeese. We also eventually need to look into a possible "LOBO" attachemtent. Maybe a spike or small hatchet attached to the end for the need of a quick brain shot.

[MasterPain]

Mr Han would approve of multiple attachments. Put the original end cap in a display case.

[Liver Punch]

I've actually been in contact with a guy who does a lot of maglite work. He has one mod I was going to suggest to Tallgeese. He shortens the light down to the length needed to house one d-cell, and then you can put a glass-breaking cap on it. THis makes it super portable, still functional as a flashlight, but the hardened tip of the end cap gives you both glass breaking abilities and a kubotan-like weapon. He also does some cool engraving/patterns on the tube itself. Anyhow, I'll keep plugging away on this ridiculousness.

[Spodo Komodo]

On the same topic, i agree that we need to get some exact specs from tallgeese. We also eventually need to look into a possible "LOBO" attachemtent. Maybe a spike or small hatchet attached to the end for the need of a quick brain shot.

How about:

Spiked mace attachment - Mashlight

Blade attachment - Slashlight

Chain whip attachment - Thrashlight

Sharpened spoon attachment - Gashlight

[MasterPain]

On the same topic, i agree that we need to get some exact specs from tallgeese. We also eventually need to look into a possible "LOBO" attachemtent. Maybe a spike or small hatchet attached to the end for the need of a quick brain shot.

How about:

Spiked mace attachment - Mashlight

Blade attachment - Slashlight

Chain whip attachment - Thrashlight

Sharpened spoon attachment - Gashlight

NICE!

[Liver Punch]

I've been doing some measuring, and it looks like a 2.5" diameter ball will be perfect for our purposes. That gives us a circumference of 4.71", and a volume of about 8.2 cubic inches. This size won't be too over-sized, and will still have a good amount of weight to it depending on the material.

As for the material, I was looking at lead, steel, aluminum, titanium, and brass.

Our attachment would give us the following weights:

Steel - 2.32 lbs.

Aluminum - .8 lbs.

Brass - 2.52 lbs.

Titanium - 1.33 lbs.

Lead - 3.35 lbs.

Titanium looks super attractive, but isn't exactly cheap in giant ball form. I think steel will give us the best performance for its size and still be manageable.

Edited July 18, 2011 by Liver Punch

[The BB of C]

I've made nunchucks mostly with pretty good luck. The key is to get the bearings. After that it's just a two inch thick, three foot long piece of oak from Home Depot, a hammer and some electric tape. I'm turning 21 in a few weeks. I made these nunchucks when I was 14. I still have them.

[Groinstrike]

On the same topic, i agree that we need to get some exact specs from tallgeese. We also eventually need to look into a possible "LOBO" attachemtent. Maybe a spike or small hatchet attached to the end for the need of a quick brain shot.

How about:

Spiked mace attachment - Mashlight

Blade attachment - Slashlight

Chain whip attachment - Thrashlight

Sharpened spoon attachment - Gashlight

Of these four i see the spiked mace attachment being the most useful.