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Improvised weapons are devices that were not designed to be used as weapons but can be put to that use. They are generally used for self-defence or where the person is otherwise unarmed. In some cases improvised weapons are commonly used by attackers in street fights, muggings, murders or during riots, usually when conventional weapons such as firearms are unavailable or inappropriate. A weapon is a tool used to kill or incapacitate a person or animal, or destroy a military target. ... For other uses, see Street Fight. ... Look up mugging in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Categories: Stub | Riots ... A firearm is a kinetic energy weapon that fires either a single or multiple projectiles propelled at high velocity by the gases produced by action of the rapid confined burning of a propellant. ...

Examples

Any object that can be picked up and used by one to cause bodily harm to another can be considered an improvised weapon. For common, ready-at-hand weapons, they can include:

• Common sports equipment (baseball bats, golf clubs, cricket bats, ski poles, pool cues, croquet mallets, hockey sticks, dumbells and their handles)
• Any object made of glass with a grip (beer mugs and bottles)
• Clothing accessories (belts or scarves for choking, walking sticks, umbrellas, finger rings (used as knuckle-dusters), steel-toed boots, chain-wallets, spike bands; belts can also be used as an improvised whip, a common form of domestic abuse.)
• Tools (hammers, wrenches, screwdrivers, chisels, awls, saws, box cutters, hatchets, pick axes, crowbars, nail guns, fire extinguishers)
• Construction materials (2×4s, pipes, rebars, chains, bricks, wood, ropes (for strangulation))
• Vehicular maintenance tools and parts (tire irons, bike chains, bicycle pumps, chain-style bicycle locks, car antennaes, windshield wipers)
• Kitchen utensils (knives, forks, meat cleavers, icepicks, frying pans, rolling pins, cheese graters)
• Musical instruments (cymbals, drum sticks, piano wires (for strangulation), guitars or any stringed instrument with a long neck)
• Farming and gardening tools (pitchforks, axes, shovels, spades, hoes, machetes, pruning shears, kaiser blades, brush hooks, chainsaws)
• Nautical and boating equipment (oars, paddles, anchors, harpoons)
• Office, art and school supplies (letter openers, scissors, X-acto knives, pencils, rulers, staplers, paper cutters)
• Cleaning and janitorial equipment (broom/mop sticks, plunger handles, dust pans, squeegees, long thick handled brushes, litter sticks)
• Interior decorations and furniture accessories (fireplace pokers, curtain rods, candle holders, pillows (for suffocation) chair/table legs)
• Personal grooming products (straight razors, scissors)
• Medical equipment (scalpels, syringes)
• Any liquid that causes pain upon contact with skin (Hot coffee, soup, boiling water, battery acid)
• Natural debris (tree/bush branches (used as a primitive club or staff), rocks, sand (throw at eyes), whelks^[1].

Some tools are designed with the secondary function of being used as weapons for self-defense or for use by law enforcement or security personnel. Examples include certain pocket knives and some club-type flashlights such as those popularly sold by the Mag-lite brand. Sports equipment includes any object used for sport or exercise. ... Four historically significant baseball bats showcased in the National Baseball Hall of Fames traveling exhibit Baseball As America. ... Some golf clubs. ... A cricket bat is used by batsmen in the sport of cricket. ... This skiers poles are tucked under his arms. ... This article needs cleanup. ... Winslow Homer: Croquet, 1864 Croquet is a game played both as a recreational pastime and as a competitive sport which involves hitting wooden or plastic balls with a mallet through hoops embedded into the grass playing arena. ... Field hockey stick Girl with a field hockey stick In climatology, the Hockey Stick graph is a nickname for a rising temperature reconstruction. ... A pair of spinlock dumbbells with 2 kg plates. ... Beer glassware is the classification of vessels from which one drinks beer. ... Composite body, painted, and glazed bottle. ... Bold textA belt is a flexible band, typically made of leather or heavy cloth, and worn around the waist. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... For the US TV series, see Cane (TV series). ... An umbrella or parasol (sometimes colloquially, gamp, brolly, or bumbershoot) is a canopy designed to protect against precipitation or sunlight. ... A finger ring is a metal band worn as an ornament around a finger; it is the most common current meaning of the word ring. ... ... An example of a wallet genuine crocodile leather wallets from Thailand A wallet, or billfold, is a small (usually pocket-sized) flat case used to carry personal items such as cash, credit cards and drivers licenses for frequent quick access. ... For other uses, see Whip (disambiguation). ... Abuse is a general term for the misuse of a person or thing, causing harm to the person or thing, to the abuser, or to someone else. ... This article is about the instrument. ... For other uses, see Hammer (disambiguation). ... Combination wrench, or combination spanner (left: box-end/ring, right: open-end) A wrench or spanner is a tool used to provide a mechanical advantage in applying torque to turn bolts, nuts or other hard-to-turn items. ... A basic screwdriver made by Craftsman (slotted tip shown) A rechargeable battery-powered electric screwdriver from Black & Decker The screwdriver is a device specifically designed to insert and tighten, or to loosen and remove, screws. ... This article is about the tool. ... An awl is a woodworking tool used to mark a piece of wood. ... Portable saw A saw is a tool for cutting wood or other material, consisting of a serrated blade (a blade with the cutting edge dentated or toothed) and worked either by hand or by steam, water, electric or other power. ... Segmented blade type Disassembled, blade partly retracted Utility knife A utility knife is a common tool used in various trades and crafts for a variety of purposes. ... A carpenters hatchet See Hatchet (novel) for the young adult novel. ... Pickaxe on the ground Pickhandle redirects here. ... A crowbar A crowbar, also called a pry bar or prybar, or more informally known as a jimmy, jimmy bar or jemmy (British Isles), is a tool consisting of a metal bar with a single curved end and flattened points, often with a small fissure on the curved end for... Nail gun in use. ... Fire extinguisher A fire extinguisher is a device used to put out a fire, often in an emergency situation. ... Cranes are essential in large construction projects, such as this skyscraper In project architecture and civil engineering, construction is the building or assembly of any infrastructure on a site. ... Timber in storage for later processing at a sawmill roni Lumber or timber is a term used to describe wood, either standing or that has been processed for use — from the time trees are felled, to its end product as a material suitable for industrial use — as structural material for... Pipe is a tube or hollow cylinder for the conveyance of fluid, gas and sometimes other materials. ... A tied rebar beam cage. ... A broad metal chain made of torus-shaped links. ... For other uses, see Brick (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Wood (disambiguation). ... Coils of rope used for long-line fishing A rope (IPA: ) is a length of fibers, twisted or braided together to improve strength for pulling and connecting. ... Asphyxia is a condition of severely deficient supply of oxygen to the body. ... A tire iron (tyre iron in British English) is a specialized metal tool used in working with tires that have inner tubes. ... Roller chain and sprocket A bicycle chain is a chain that transfers power from the pedals to the drive-wheel of a bicycle thus propelling it. ... Bicycle Floor Pump Foot operated bike pump Frame mounted bike pump A bicycle pump is a type of positive-displacement pump specifically designed for inflating balls (basket,soccer). ... The front wheel is locked with a U-lock but the rest of the bicycle has been stolen, as locking the front wheel is not a sufficient security measure. ... A Yagi-Uda beam antenna Short Wave Curtain Antenna (Moosbrunn, Austria) A building rooftop supporting numerous dish and sectored mobile telecommunications antennas (Doncaster, Victoria, Australia) An antenna is a transducer designed to transmit or receive radio waves which are a class of electromagnetic waves. ... A windscreen wiper (windshield wiper in North America) is a device used to wipe rain and dirt from a windscreen. ... Food preparation utensils are used to make edible plants and materials into food, and can be as complicated as a blender or as simple as a pair of chopsticks. ... This article is about the tool. ... For other uses, see Fork (disambiguation). ... Chinese and old North American cleavers A cleaver is a large knife that varies in its shape but usually resembles a square-bladed hatchet. ... For the hardcore punk band, see Icepick (band). ... “Skillet” redirects here. ... Wooden rolling pin A rolling pin is a food preparation utensil consisting of a cylinder with a handle at each end, used to flatten dough. ... A typical cheese grater. ... A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified for the purpose of making music. ... For the Japanese rock band, see Cymbals (band). ... A pair of drum sticks. ... Piano wire is a specialized type of wire made for use in piano and other musical instrument strings, as well as many other purposes. ... For other uses, see Guitar (disambiguation). ... A garden tool is any one of many tools made for gardens and gardening and overlaps with the range of tools made for agriculture and horticulture. ... For other uses, see Pitchfork (disambiguation). ... Axe For other uses, see Axe (disambiguation). ... Shovel with wide blade - especially appropriate for lifting snow or coal A shovel is a tool for lifting and moving loose material such as coal, gravel, snow, soil, or sand. ... For other uses, see Spade (disambiguation). ... Agricultural square bladed hoe. ... modern factory-made Machete For other uses, see Machete (disambiguation). ... Sheares are doubled-bladed cutting implements with straight blades of between 200mm and 300mm. ... Kaiser Blade A kaiser blade is a heavy hooked steel blade at the end of a wooden handle usually 3 to 4 feet long, primarily used for cutting small to medium sized vegetation. ... For other uses, see Chainsaw (disambiguation). ... An oar is an implement used for water-borne propulsion. ... A paddle is a tool, originally a propulsion implement for mixing or pushing against liquids, typically in order to propel a boat. ... For other uses, see Anchor (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Harpoon (disambiguation) harpoon gun redirects here. ... A letter opener is a knife like object used to cut open envelopes in which letters are sent or to slit uncut pages of books. ... For other uses, see Scissors (disambiguation). ... The most common type of X-acto knife, with No. ... This article is about the handwriting instrument. ... A variety of rulers A 2 metre carpenters rule Retractable flexible rule A ruler or rule is an instrument used in geometry, technical drawing and engineering/building to measure distances and/or to rule straight lines. ... A standard office stapler A Stapler combines together sheets of paper or other materials by driving a thin metal staple through the sheets and folding over the ends to secure the paper. ... A paper cutter (or paper guillotine) is a tool often found in offices and classrooms, designed to cut a large set of paper at once with a perfectly straight edge. ... broom A broom is a cleaning tool consisting of stiff fibres attached to, and roughly parallel to, a cylindrical handle, the broomstick. ... For the acronym, see MOP. For other uses, see Mops (disambiguation). ... For the coffee plunger, see French press. ... A dustpan is a cleaning utensil, commonly used in combination with a broom. ... Squeegee, sponge, and chalk on a desk. ... For other uses, see Brush (disambiguation). ... Or was it that you were meaning Fire-stick_farming A fancy brass fireplace poker. ... A candle holder is an object used to hold one or more candles. ... This article is about the cushion. ... Suffocation can mean two things: Suffocation, or Asphyxia, is a medical condition where the body is depraved of oxygen. ... For other uses of chair, see chair (disambiguation). ... Look up table in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A domestic cat grooming itself by licking its fur clean Personal grooming, sometimes called preening, or simply grooming, is the art of cleaning, grooming, and maintaining parts of the body. ... A straight razor with round point, full hollow ground blade and double stabiliser. ... For other uses, see Scissors (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Scalpel (disambiguation). ... A syringe nowadays nearly always means a medical syringe, but it can mean any of these: A simple hand-powered piston pump consisting of a plunger that can be pulled and pushed along inside a cylindrical tube (the barrel), which has a small hole on one end, so it can... For other uses, see Coffee (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Soup (disambiguation). ... Boiling, a type of phase transition, is the rapid vaporization of a liquid, which typically occurs when a liquid is heated to its boiling point, the temperature at which the vapor pressure of the liquid is equal to the pressure exerted on the liquid by the surrounding atmospheric pressure. ... Impact from a water drop causes an upward rebound jet surrounded by circular capillary waves. ... Sulfuric acid (British English: sulphuric acid), H2SO4, is a strong mineral acid. ... “Truncheon” redirects here. ... For other uses of the word staff, see staff. ... Stoning, or lapidation, refers to a form of capital punishment execution method carried out by an organized group throwing stones or rocks at the person they mean to execute. ... For other uses, see Sand (disambiguation). ... A whelk is a large marine gastropod (snail) found in temperate waters. ... For the band, see The Police. ... A pocket knife is a type of folding knife with a blade that fits inside the handle. ... For the Parliament song, see Flash Light (song). ... Maglite is a brand of flashlight created by Mag Instrument, Inc. ...

(NOTE: Items such as martial arts practice weapons (nunchakus, bokkens, fencing foils etc.) are excluded from this list as they are already categorized as weapons. Hunting weapons such as shotguns and hunting knives are also excluded for the same reasons) For Nintendos Wii Remote Nunchuk attachment, see Nunchuk. ... A pair of bokken A bokken (, bok(u), wood, and ken, sword), is a wooden Japanese sword used for training, usually the size and shape of a katana, but sometimes shaped like other swords. ... Parts of a foil A foil is a type of weapon used in fencing. ... For other uses, see Shotgun (disambiguation). ... Bowie knife is a term commonly used in modern times to refer to any large sheath knife. ...

Improvised weapons in martial arts

Throughout history, common tools were used so often as weapons in self-defense that many of them have evolved specifically into weapons or were adapted with the secondary purpose of being used in self-defense, usually by adding modifications to its design. Well-known examples include the Irish shillelagh, the Japanese Bo and hanbo, which were originally used as walking canes and the Buddhist Monk's spade, a shovel monks used for burying corpses which often had sharpened edges to defend against bandits with more ease. A shillelagh (commonly pronounced (IPA: , in Irish Gaelic, (IPA: É•ale:lÉ™)) is a wooden club or cudgel, typically made from a stout knotty stick with a large knob on the end, that is associated with Ireland in folklore. ... Image of a human-shaped silhouette holding a Bo (棒, Japanese Weapon) A bo (棒) is a long stick usually made out of wood or bamboo. ... The hanbo is a quarterstaff used in martial arts. ... For other uses of the word staff, see staff. ... Monk Spade A monks spade (Chinese: 月牙鏟; pinyin: yuèyáchÇŽn; literally Moon-Tooth Spade) is a Chinese pole weapon consisting of a long pole with a flat spade-like blade on one end and a smaller crescent shaped blade on the other. ...

Thusly many martial arts throughout employ the use of common objects as weapons; Okinawan karate features items of farming equipment that were later used as weapons by Okinawan peasants due the prohibition of weapons imposed by the shogun regime during feudal times; Filipino martial arts such as Eskrima include practice with machetes, canes, bamboo spears, and knives as a result of the 400 year Spanish colonization that took place in the Philippines which prohibited the ownership and use of standard swords and bladed weapons; Chinese martial arts and some Korean martial arts commonly feature the use of improvised weapons such as fans, hammers and staves. There are even some western martial arts that are based on improvised weapons such as British quarterstaff fighting and Irish stick fighting. This article is about the prefecture. ... For other uses, see Karate (disambiguation). ... Minamoto no Yoritomo, the first shogun of the Kamakura shogunate Shōgun )   is supreme general of the samurai,a military rank and historical title in Japan. ... Filipino Martial Arts The Philippines The Martial Culture from the Philippines. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Kung fu redirects here. ... Practitioners from a Korean martial arts school in Calgary do a demonstration Korean martial arts (Hangul: 무술 or 무예, Hanja: 武術 or 武藝) are the martial arts that are native to, or were adapted and modified by, Korea. ... It has been suggested that this article be split into multiple articles accessible from a disambiguation page. ... Gun event at the 10th All China Games The Chinese word Gun (Chinese: ; pinyin: gùn) refers to a long Chinese staff weapon used in Chinese martial arts. ... Western Martial Arts (WMA) refers to formalised fighting techniques and skills of European origin, as distinct from those originating in Asia. ... Quarterstaffs in use, from Old English Sports, Pastimes and Customs, published 1891 A quarterstaff is a medieval English variant of the staff weapon, consisting of a shaft of hardwood, sometimes with metal-reinforced tips. ... Bataireacht is a traditional stickfighting martial art of Ireland. ...

Legal issues

Because of the use of common objects as weapons in violent crimes, many countries have made laws to prevent the use of some tools and other non-weapon objects to be used to cause harm. It is possible for a person to be detained, or even arrested, by a law enforcement official or security personnel for carrying a potentially-harmful object in a situation where there is no reasonable use for it. For example, while it is legal and perfectly understandable for someone to possess a kitchen knife or a hammer and keep it for use in one's domicile, it would seem highly suspicious for someone to carry a kitchen knife or a hammer concealed in his/her person or in plain sight when walking down a city street. For the band, see The Police. ... For other uses, see Security (disambiguation). ...

Many areas even prohibit people from entering with objects that may used as weapons. Most public schools in North America will not allow their students to bring pocket knives or wallet-chains, sometimes with harsh zero tolerance policies. Airports typically prohibit objects that could be used as weapons from being carried onto planes, with restrictions widely extended after the September 11 Terrorist Attacks to cover even objects like nail clippers and spiked wristbands. (see Airport security repercussions due to the September 11, 2001 attacks). The term public school has three distinct meanings: In the USA and Canada, elementary or secondary school supported and administered by state and local officials. ... North American redirects here. ... In the United States and Canada, zero tolerance policies are applied in schools and other education venues. ... The World Trade Center on fire The September 11, 2001 attacks were a series of coordinated terrorist attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001. ... Categories: Stub ... Box-cutter knives were apparently used in the September 11, 2001 attacks, though such knives are not usually considered weapons. ...

Makeshift weapons

Improvised offensive weapons are often used by criminals and insurgents, and are far more lethal. Examples are: for other uses please see Crime (disambiguation) A crime is an act that violates a political or moral law. ... An insurgency is an armed rebellion against a constituted authority, by any irregular armed force that rises up against an enforced or established authority, government, or administration. ...

• Millwall brick
• Molotov cocktail
• Pipe bomb
• Shiv
• Zip gun
• Chainlock (improvised flail).
• Stink bomb
• Smoke bomb

The improvised Molotov cocktail was used with great success by the heavily outnumbered Finns in the Winter War against the Soviet Union. The mixture of flammable petroleum, often thickened with soap or tar, was so effective against the Soviet tanks that the Finns began mass producing Molotov cocktails, and issuing them to their troops. While the first documented use of such improvised incendiary devices was in the Spanish Civil War, their use in the Winter War was much more prevalent, and it was at that time they were named Molotov cocktails, after the Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov. A Millwall brick is an improvised weapon made of a manipulated newspaper. ... Molotov cocktail is the generic name for a variety of crude incendiary weapons. ... This does not cite its references or sources. ... :This article is about the knife-like weapon. ... Zip gun is a term used for a crude, improvised firearm, usually a handgun. ... A prank stink bomb A stink bomb or stinkbomb is a device designed to create an unpleasant smell. ... Home made smoke powder burning Smoke bombs are a firework designed to produce colored smoke upon ignition. ... Combatants Finland Soviet Union Commanders Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim Kliment Voroshilov Semyon Timoshenko Strength 250,000 men 30 tanks 130 aircraft[1][2] 1,000,000 men 6,541 tanks [3] 3,800 aircraft[4][5] Casualties 26,662 dead 39,886 wounded 1,000 captured[6] 126,875 dead... Petro redirects here. ... For other uses, see Soap (disambiguation). ... Tar can be produced from corn stalks by heating in a microwave. ... Not to be confused with the Spanish Civil War of 1820-1823. ... Vyacheslav Molotov Vyacheslav Mikhaylovich Molotov (Russian: Вячесла́в Миха́йлович Мо́лотов) (vyah-cheh-SLAHF mih-KHY-lo-vihch MOL-uh-tawf) (February 25, 1890 (O.S.) (March 9, 1890 (N.S.))–November 8, 1986) was a Soviet politician and diplomat. ...

Weapons such as blackjacks or saps, consisting of a sock or stocking with a heavy, hard object inside (at the toe) are a quick, effective mêlée weapons. The best materials to use are a rugby sock and three pool or billiards balls, although archetypically lead shot is used. Other filler objects can be halfbricks, fishing sinkers, batteries, or rocks. Sandbags are similar weapons, only they are filled with sand as their name implies. Hercules fights the Lernaean Hydra with a club A club or cudgel is perhaps the simplest of all melee weapons. ... For other uses, see Sandbag (disambiguation). ...

References

• Improvised Self Defence Weapons

1. ^ Lightning Whelk - Texas State Shell.

See also

• Weapon
• Self defense
• Improvised explosive device
• Street fighting
• Improvised firearms