Simple Improvised Weapon

Knowing how to fashion an improvised weapon is an extremely useful skill, especially in non-permissive environments. You should always try to have something on you to protect yourself, but there are times when that isn't permitted, like flying on a plane, or traveling in a foreign country, but you still want to be protected - so what do you do?

Here is a simple improvised weapon that costs less than a dollar to make. It is nothing more than a large, heavy, metal nut on a piece of 550 paracord. You can buy a large nut like this for 50c at Home Depot or Lowes Home Improvement, and I'm sure everyone has a small length of cord or rope sitting around. I used 550 paracord because it's what I had spare.

One-Step Assembly

Take your cord, make a loop about 24-inches (two feet) long, and tie a knot in one end - the type of knot doesn't really matter. Thread the loop of cord through the nut, make a simple girth hitch by pulling the loop through itself and then snugging it tight by pulling. You now have a very nasty and highly effective flailing weapon.

Obviously, when you go through airport security don't walk through with the metal nut already attached to the cord, put the cord in your pocket and maybe pack the metal nut in your backpack or laptop bag. That way if you are on an airplane and have to defend yourself, or heaven forbid there's a terrorist type incident and you have to use deadly force - because that's what this is possibly going to be - you can put it together in no time at all and swing it!

Or maybe you're walking down a street in a foreign country where you can't have a knife or a gun. You can assemble this in your hotel room and carry it with you in your pocket. If things start to look bad or you are confronted, all you have to do is take it out of your pocket and start swinging.

Anybody can make this. It's inexpensive so you can throw it away without hesitation. This is just one way to ensure you are always armed with an effective improvised weapon that doesn't take 30 years of training to learn how to use. For the record, metal water bottles and sturdy metal ballpoint pens make excellent improvised weapons too.