One of the biggest problems that all armed citizens face today is that, while their self-defense tools may be legal where they live…
…they go LOTS of places where those weapons CAN’T, and the only way around THAT is to get really creative.
Especially if you fly anywhere, you either have to “go naked” while you’re away from home, or find a solution.
And if you had just walked off an airplane after getting your daily full-body tickle-torture from the TSA, you’d need to equip yourself for defense, right?
But unless you’re made of money, you’ve got two problems: You don’t have a ton of extra moolah to blow on weapons that can’t go BACK on the plane with you when you go back home, and you might not know WHERE to go for the best options for “non-permissive environments.”
Fortunately for you, there’s a chain of stores available in EVERY town that can solve both problems at once!
That’s why I want to talk to you about…
My Top 3 Dollar Store Weapons
Every town has a Dollar Store in it, no matter what the brand name chain is.
Those stores all sell pretty much the same thing, with a few exceptions.
And a LOT of those things make GREAT improvised weapons, if you need to defend yourself legally and you’re in genuine fear for your life.
So, which should you choose?
Well, here are a total of 3 Dollar Store weapons I made on a recent trip to my local one-buck bodega… and y0u could make all three for around SIX BUCKS!
(And many thanks to the folks at Delta 2 Alpha and Ed’s Manifesto for the ideas behind these.)
1. Padlock And Bandanna “Sap”
This is the simplest one, and it’s one of the most basic self-defense tools out there.
Similar to putting, well, ANYTHING heavy in a sock, tying a bandanna to a padlock gives you an instant “sap” you can use to pound the hell out of an attacker.
The best part is, the component parts of the weapon are completely legal… and all it takes is two bucks to buy a bandanna and a cheap padlock at your local Dollar Store.
2. Bic Pen Spigot
This one is a little sneakier and can be completely “covert” if you need it to be.
Get a package of acrylic-barrel pens and a serrated steak knife.
(That’s just two bucks spent right there.)
The steak knives sold at dollar stores are pretty flimsy, so I wouldn’t rely on THEM as weapons… but an acrylic-barrel pen is rigid and legal everywhere.
All you have to do is take the ink and plastic plug out of the pen.
Use the serrated knife to hack your way through the tip of the pen at an angle, making a hollow “spigot” you can use to poke your way out of danger.
If you want to pre-make some of these at home with a more precise tool, like a small saw blade (hacksaws and Dremels with cutting wheels work great), you could cut the tip ALMOST all the way through, but not all the way, then put the ink back inside.
In an emergency, your prepped pen can be gutted and the end snapped off with your finger to make your improvised tool.
3. Screwdriver With Improvised Sheath
You don’t want a heavy, flat-blade screwdriver for self-defense.
Instead, you want a relatively small driver with a Phillips Head that will act more like an ice pick.
And if you want to find a way to carry it so it isn’t poking you with every step, you could even find something like these party favors.
The favors are noisemakers that have a ribbed plastic shaft, which makes them PERFECT for our purposes (and get your mind out of the gutter there, buddy).
That means that for another two bucks (maybe three if you need to buy rubber bands), you can rubber-band these ribbed party favors to the screwdriver and you’ve got a makeshift sheath.
A strong tug on the screwdriver will pull it right free and you’re good to go, but the plastic tube sheath makes the whole thing more comfortable to carry.
And there you have it – three weapons for six bucks, all found at a dollar store.
What is YOUR go-to improvised weapon?
Share your best and sneakiest tips and defense tricks in the comments now!
