Unseen In The Worse Places [Blackjacks & Saps]

I guess the possibility of a blanket party kept everybody going at 110%. Maybe its like the Saltpeter myth. I must be the only one that hasn't seen FMJ. Maybe Hollywood put the myth onscreen for dramatic effect, different thread.

First of all, most modern police departments now prohibit their officers from using such impact instruments. As a matter of practical liability, most have it written into their general orders where it details in great length specific prohibited weapons, and then go on to state that officers are only allowed to use specific issued weapons. I can remember when cops carried whatever gun they wanted. You would see guys with these giant, long barrel, 44 magnums like Dirty Harry. And most of these guys had them in low riding, swiveling, widow maker holsters that hung the gun down to their knees. Today, most departments require that you only carry the issued weapon so that if need be, you could borrow an extra magazine from your partner.

I've used almost every one of these impact instruments. The sap, to me, feels better than the black jack. The Pr-24 requires a lot more training and familiarity, which makes the straight baton a better choice. Expandable batons are okay. Brass knuckles just don't work for everyone's hands, since we all have different size hands. I've seen guys with batons that unscrewed into a pair of nunchaku, and they fall into the same category as the PR-24......most cops aren't martial arts experts.

I've seen some guys now wearing MMA gloves that protect the top of the hand and knuckles.

My favorite over the years has been the sap glove. Leather gloves loaded with powdered lead in the knuckles.

Not quite on topic, but I've got my mother's first husband's brass knuckles floating around someplace or other. He had two pair; one made of brassy metal, and another pair that were made up out of bullet proof plastic of some sort. I ran into the old scape-grace a few years ago at a pool hall and he reminisced about the bad old days. He was a "gambler" by "trade".....whatever that means. My father was a P.I.. He never used a black-jack, just a Beretta .32 semi-auto in nickel plated steel. I do however have a hemp rope ball and chain type arrangement with a wrist loop that I've used while on my aunt's ranch. That thing HURTS, and the ball part is soaked in resin and feels like a damnable billiard ball when you're hit. OUCH, but, that's only about 7" long when the wrist loop latchets around the ball at the end of the cord.....Anyone else remember "Toots" from Key Largo? "(He's) the Electrician, he turns the lights out......" That dang movie is SO Imminently Quotable! OK, enough ranting for now.

I don't know if these have been posted before, but they seem to be of very good quality.
http://www.brassknucklescompany.com...ckles?cPath=&zenid=ldoejqvblf75fs94h30ed55rb6
I was thinking of purchasing them at one point, for collection purposes. Then I reminded myself I don't collect this sort of things and that was the end of it (I do collect pocket knives though, maybe I should start a thread on them).

In my reading of Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett, et al., I always thought that "sap" was simply a slang term for a blackjack, not a separate item all to itself. Huh.

Does this "bottle opener" count?