Useful weapons you'll get away with carrying?

[Mirannan]

Imagine someone who feels naked without a weapon, but for some reason is living somewhere where carrying overt weapons is frowned upon or even illegal - like the UK, for example. What items might be carried in such a situation, and the person carrying them gets away with it?

Two I've come up with were a really strong and heavy electric torch (big Maglite, for example) or a heavy cane or even staff - the latter works much better out in the great outdoors IMHO.

Any more ideas?

 

[Danny McG]

A heavy cane/staff/walking stick can and indeed have been classed as offensive weapons with the users prosecuted.

It all depends on the circumstances, a 75 year old man with a bad leg is okay, however a 19 year old fit male carrying one around on a pub crawl would be approached by the police as soon as they spotted him.

 

[sknox]

Knife. Easily concealed. The thing is, your character had better be experienced with its use. A novice is as likely to hurt themselves (or to drop it) as they are to damage the other guy.

 

[Cathbad]

There are enough objects in public areas one can use as a weapon. One does not have to carry one.

 

[zmunkz]

Hmm... Brass knuckles. Pocket knife. Scrap metal.

I suspect if you feel naked without a weapon, you are not likely to yield to the strict guidelines of the area, and will probably carry something akin to a real weapon.

 

[Toby Frost]

In a country that forbids weaponry, where it continually rains, an umbrella would seem like a good option in any sort of town or city. There's a self-defence manual for women from the 1950s called "Hands Off!" (a weird combination of the charmingly dated and the absolutely brutal) which recommends it as a jabbing weapon, especially for someone with a shorter reach. On the other hand, someone absolutely lethal could probably use their bare hands.

 

[Mouse]

Honestly if the U.K. Sorry lads just lay on the floor and die.

I rolled my eyes so hard I saw my brain. Give me the UK with no guns any day. I'd never want to go to the US as I'd be afraid of getting shot.

Re weapons - does it need to be a weapon for story purposes? Could the character do martial arts, for example? I used to do karate, and I'm perfectly happy with what I know that I'd be ok with not carrying a weapon. I also have a dog, but he'd run away.

 

[The Judge]

If someone is skilled enough, even a rolled-up newspaper or a biro can be an effective weapon, but surely what he carries will rather depend on what threat he thinks he's facing. There's no point his carrying an illegal knife if he believes his enemies will shoot him from a distance.

As danny says, if the police think something is likely to be used as a weapon, the possessor will be treated as if it is a weapon, so make the weapon fit his persona, or adapt his persona to fit the weapon he needs. So give him a bandaged foot and a limp, and he'll get away with having a cane or one of those metal crutch things; dress him as a dandy and give him a well-disguised sword-stick (though he's risking a lot if he is stopped). More prosaically, something heavy in a cloth shopping bag will allow at least one strike, a length of strong cord in a pocket can be used as a garotte, a hat pin stabbed into the face is very effective to halt someone, and didn't the 1950s gangsters have razor blades sewn into brims of their hats?

 

[Toby Frost]

Can we not do this, please?

I think a lot of it would come from characterisation. The characters in the George Smiley books are generally unarmed and don't do very much violent stuff, but there's a sense throughout of them being quite familiar with violence, and of violence waiting to happen.

 

[The Judge]

We won't do it -- or some people might find themselves on the wrong side of the Chrons door.

 

[Montero]

I am not used to hearing the term "ghetto" used in the UK. There are certainly rough/dodgy areas in large cities, but I've not heard them being referred to as ghettos.

Razor blades in hats goes back a long way - see Peaky Blinders - but it is an offensive weapon and police tend to be on the look-out for such things.

Years back a friend of mine was riding on a tube train and decided to open her letters. She's a neat soul and doesn't like ripping open envelopes, so she got a pen knife out of her pocket and opened it, and slit open the first envelope and a man sitting in the seat opposite leant over and said "put that away". He was a plain clothes police officer.
If I recall correctly, these days it is illegal to even carry a pen knife - concealed weapon.

Other than that - plausible deniability is the key. Why are you carrying a cricket bat? Well, I'm on my way to a match, look inside my sports bag officer. Or there is the old classic of stacks of coins in a sock. That doesn't have plausible deniability, but it is easy to do.

 

[tinkerdan]

Read Shibumi by Trevanian
A piece of paper and a pencil can be pretty dangerous in the right hands.
Of course i'm not sure why one would be walking around naked with a paper and pencil unless you were circulating a petition for public nudity.

 

[R.T James]

Main thing is intent.

Intent to use, a collector of prohibition era distilling equipment isn't going to start making moonshine.

The main reasons are why do they feel naked without a weapon?

What is thier intent and why do they feel they need to defend themselves?

If somebody's hunting them down they might need a bit more than an umbrella, a pen knife, or a stack of coins in a dirty sock.

If they're paranoid, or a victim of some crime or something then that's a different mindset however it could end up causing some conflict.

Also are they native? Is where they come from have easy access to weapons? How are they in the country? If they were smuggled in what really stopped them from bringing thier tools? And what assumption makes you think the police will find them with it?

Last post here. I promise I don't want to drum up conflict.

Edit: Can confirm a pencil makes a great self defense tool. heck if you wanted too and had some time take a tungsten GTAW electrode sharpen the end then split a pencil in half replace the graphite with the tungsten.

That'd be a brutal thing in any adequate hands.

 

[nixie]

House keys could also be used as a weapon.

 

[Montero]

For suspension of disbelief, do try things yourself (cautiously) . Its already been mentioned you need to be careful when using a knife (especially an ordinary kitchen knife) as you can cut yourself when stabbing someone. There is also how you hold keys - you could injure your hand if say you tried to use them more like a knuckle duster.
Other than that - there are killing weapons and defensive weapons - so rake keys down someone's face, they'll rear back and you can run. What do you want to achieve with the weapon is another question to work out for yourself.

 

[Danny McG]

There are legal pocketknives in the UK.
The blade can only be (I think) three inches and must be unable to lock into position. Also there is a grey area about how they can open so as not to be able to flip out the blade with one hand.
Again it is situation and circumstance however that determines if it's an offensive weapon. If you have it in a roll of artist's pencils and are carrying a sketch pad okay. If the same person is brandishing the same knife in a football crowd then it's offensive.

The same in regard to a long heavy battery torch. On an unlit footpath at night okay. The same place on a sunny afternoon then you need to justify why you have it.

Don't forget this is the UK where people are gunned down by police for carrying a table leg to a repair shop and blind men get tasered for having a white cane

 

[Radrook]

I rolled my eyes so hard I saw my brain. Give me the UK with no guns any day. I'd never want to go to the US as I'd be afraid of getting shot.

Re weapons - does it need to be a weapon for story purposes? Could the character do martial arts, for example? I used to do karate, and I'm perfectly happy with what I know that I'd be ok with not carrying a weapon. I also have a dog, but he'd run away.

In certain areas of the USA you are just as likely to get sucker-punched by people playing the sucker-punching game that has become popular or to get purposefully run over by a bike doing 40mph on the sidewalk as you are to get shot.

 

[Luiglin]

Two I've come up with were a really strong and heavy electric torch (big Maglite, for example) or a heavy cane or even staff - the latter works much better out in the great outdoors IMHO.

While either of those could be used as weapons I'd have reservations about including them.

If modern day then torch is acceptable but how many people do you see wandering around with one. You'd have to have a bag or some sort of holster. Staff, walking stick, unless you have a problem with walking, again are unknown. Set Victorian times back then a walking cane is a perfectly acceptable piece of attire.

You need to think of things that are easily concealable but easily explainable if found. One old way is snooker/golf ball(s) in a sock or bag of coins. A small full plastic bottle of pop I suspect could hurt whacked into someone's face. Wire/rope for a garotte. A shoe heeled with metal cleats (not good for sneaking). Heavy rings, like sovereigns. A good leather belt with heavy metal buckle. A bike chain (like snooker ball not as easily explained away).

And most importantly anything that comes to hand.

 

[Ihe]

If carrying the staff is contextual, have the character feign being lame or be bandaged sporting fake injuries, to have an excuse to carry a staff or crutches. The staff could also house a blade inside.

You can also use a motorbike helmet as a blunt weapon.

 

[Mirannan]

I have a supplementary to the question in my OP. How does the law react if someone highly trained in martial arts reacts, while unarmed, to being attacked (let's say with a knife, to even things out a little) with what turns out to be lethal force? I've never been involved with the law or law enforcement much, so I really don't know.

Sample scenario; said martial artist is attacked by someone with a fair-sized knife, dodges the initial attack and reacts with a throat strike.

Applies to the UK BTW.