Improvised weapon

Short description: Ordinary object used as a weapon

Rocks being thrown in 2005 Belize unrest

An improvised weapon is an object that was not designed to be used as a weapon but can be put to that use. They are generally used for self-defence or if the person is otherwise unarmed. In some cases, improvised weapons are commonly used by attackers in street fights, muggings, murders, gang warfare, during riots, or even during insurgencies, usually when conventional weapons such as firearms are unavailable or inappropriate.

Improvised weapons are common everyday objects that can be used in a variety of defensive applications. The objects are generally used in their normal state;[1] they are not physically altered in any way to make them more functional as weapons.[2]

## Contents

* 1 Examples
* 2 In martial arts
* 3 Legal issues
* 4 Makeshift weapons
* 5 See also
* 6 References
* 7 External links

## Examples

A spinlock adjustable dumbbell

Other than items designed as weapons, any object that can be used to cause bodily harm can be considered an improvised weapon. Examples of items that have been used as improvised weapons include:

* Sports equipment, such as baseball bats,[3] golf clubs,[4] cricket bats,[5] hockey sticks,[6] dumbbells,[7] and cue sticks[8]
* Objects made of glass, such as beer bottles[9]
* Road vehicles, such as personal automobiles[10][11] and rental trucks[12]
* Civil and commercial aircraft, such as the Piper PA-28-236 Dakota[13] and the Boeing 767[14]
* Tools, such as scissors,[15] ice axes,[16] hacksaws,[17] pliers,[18] crowbars,[19] screwdrivers,[20] sledgehammers,[21] lug wrenches,[22] shovels,[23] pipe wrenches,[24] fire extinguishers,[25] hammers,[26] and entrenching tools[27]
* Construction materials, such as 2×4s,[28] pipes[21][29] and bricks[30][31]
* Natural materials, such as rocks[32]
* Gardening and agricultural tools, such as axes,[33] sickles,[34] scythes,[35] mattocks,[36] machetes,[37] pitchforks[38] and pickaxes[39]
* Kitchen utensils, such as kitchen knives,[40] meat mallets,[41] ice picks[42] and meat cleavers[43]
* Livestock herding equipment, such as lassos[44] and whips[45]
* Maritime equipment, such as grappling hooks,[46] fishing nets,[47] spearguns[48][49] and boat oars[50]
* Recreational toys, such as slingshots[51]
* Furniture, such as chairs[52]
* Musical instruments, such as didgeridoos[53] and acoustic guitars[54]
* Consumer pyrotechnics, such as firecrackers and fireworks[55]

## In martial arts

Modern factory-made machete, US Forces issue

Many martial arts use common objects as weapons; Filipino martial arts such as Eskrima include practice with machetes, canes, bamboo spears, and knives as a result of the 333-year Spanish colonization in the Philippines that prohibited the ownership and use of standard swords and bladed weapons;[56] 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.[57]

After the German Peasants' Wars during 1524 and 1525, a 1542 fencing book edited by Paulus Hector Mair described fencing techniques using a scythe.[58]

## Legal issues

Improvised weapons of the British Home Guard, prepared against the possibility of a German invasion in WWII

Because of the use of common objects as weapons in violent crimes, many countries have laws that prevent the use of some tools and other non-weapon objects to be used for causing 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 if there is no reasonable use for it. For example, it is legal and perfectly understandable for someone to possess a kitchen knife or a hammer and keep it for use in one's home, but it could be judged suspicious for someone to carry a kitchen knife or a hammer concealed on their person or in plain sight when walking down a city street.[citation needed]

There are places that prohibit people from entering with objects that may be used as weapons. Most public schools in North America do not allow their students to bring pocket knives, butter knives[59] or chain-wallets,[59] sometimes with harsh zero tolerance policies. Airports typically prohibit objects that could be used as weapons from being carried as a carry-on or in a carry-on bag into the aircraft cabin. The security repercussions after the September 11 attacks saw restrictions widely extended to cover even objects like nail clippers and spiked wristbands.[60][61]

## Makeshift weapons

A Finnish soldier with a Molotov Cocktail during the Winter War File:Flickr - Israel Defense Forces - Hand-Made Gun Found on Two Children in Kabatiya.jpgImprovised submachine gun "Carlo", made out of a toy gun. Used in West Bank. An improvised tire puncturing device (slang term ‘Ninja’), composed of an iron nail inserted into a rubber disc from a used tire. Many of these makeshift weapons were scattered by Palestinians on main roads in the occupied territories of the West Bank during the First Intifada.

A makeshift weapon is an everyday object that has been physically altered to enhance its potential as a weapon.[62] It can also be used to refer to common classes of weapons such as guns, knives, and bombs made from commonly available items.[1]

Examples of makeshift weapons include:

* Millwall brick
* Molotov cocktail
* Shiv
* Improvised firearms
* Marble gun, a type of improvised firearm which shoots marbles
* Improvised artillery is used by multiple factions in the Syrian Civil War. They include the Jahannam cannon, Jahim cannon, thunder cannon, mortar cannon and compressed air cannon.
* Chainlock (improvised flail)
* Garrote
* Stink bomb
* Smoke bomb
* Trench raiding club, a type of improvised wooden club with hammered hobnails around its circumference used for trench raiding during World War I.
* Blackjack/Sap
* Improvised explosive devices
* A letter bomb is an explosive device sent via the postal service, designed with the intention to injure or kill the recipient when opened.
* A pipe bomb is an IED that uses a tightly sealed section of pipe filled with an explosive material.
* A barrel bomb is an unguided IED made to be dropped from helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft.
* A lob bomb is a rocket-fired IED.
* Barrack busters were improvised mortars used by the Provisional Irish Republican Army during The Troubles.
* Acid packets were used by rioters during the Citizenship Amendment Act protests in India[63]

The improvised Molotov cocktail was used with great success by the heavily outnumbered Finnish forces 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 after the Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov, to match the Molotov bread baskets.[64]

## See also

* Insurgency weapons and tactics
* List of criminal enterprises, gangs, and syndicates
* List of riots
* TM 31-210 Improvised Munition Handbook
* Suicide attack
* Suicide weapon
* Vehicle-ramming attack

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Zorn, Steve (3 March 2005). "Defensive Use of Improvised Weapons". https://www.usadojo.com/defensive-use-of-improvised-weapons/.
2. ↑ The Bourne Arsenal: Use Anything as a Weapon by DARRIN COOK, ASIN: B07MNLJJVY
3. ↑ "Baseball bat as used was a deadly weapon". http://www.tjpc.state.tx.us/publications/reviews/99/99-4-10.htm.
4. ↑ Mayorga, Carlos (May 10, 2010). "N. Ogden man charged in golf course assault with deadly weapon". http://www.standard.net/topics/golf/2010/05/10/n-ogden-man-charged-golf-course-assault-deadly-weapon.
5. ↑ Sturcke, James (December 14, 2009). "Self defence or malicious revenge? Jail for brothers who beat burglar with bat". The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2009/dec/14/jail-brothers-burglar-cricket-bat.
6. ↑ Banker, Andy (December 12, 2012). "Hockey Stick Used To Break Man's Jaw". https://fox2now.com/2012/12/11/hockey-stick-used-to-break-mans-jaw/.
7. ↑ "Wabash Valley Correctional Facility inmate in critical after attack". Terre Haute Tribune-Star. February 6, 2008. http://tribstar.com/news/x1155734900/Wabash-Valley-Correctional-Facility-inmate-in-critical-after-attack.
8. ↑ "N.C. man arrested after allegedly hitting man with pool cue at bar in Wildwood". July 23, 2021. https://www.villages-news.com/2021/07/23/n-c-man-arrested-after-allegedly-hitting-man-with-pool-cue-at-bar-in-wildwood/.
9. ↑ Ratcliffe, Michael J. (August 2008). "Police say broken bottle was wielded as weapon in Princeton robbery". https://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2008/08/police_say_broken_bottle_was_w.html.
10. ↑ "A Short History of Vehicles Being Used as Deadly Weapons" (in en). 2016-07-15. https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/france-truck-attack/short-history-vehicles-being-used-deadly-weapons-n609811.
11. ↑ Veilleux-Lepage, Yannick (2017-03-29). "How and why vehicle ramming became the attack of choice for terrorists" (in en). http://theconversation.com/how-and-why-vehicle-ramming-became-the-attack-of-choice-for-terrorists-75236.
12. ↑ Ottley, Ted. "Imitating Turner". Timothy McVeigh & Terry Nichols: Oklahoma Bombing. TruTv. http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/notorious/mcveigh/turner_7.html.
13. ↑ "Austin American Statesman Coverage of Plane Crash". http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/blotter/entries/2010/02/18/austin_police_say_a_plane.html.
14. ↑ "Twin Towers Demolished, Pentagon Hit in Terrorist Attacks". Foxnews.com. 2001-09-12. https://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,34177,00.html.
15. ↑ "Jamestown Woman Used Scissors To Stab Man Holding Child". 22 September 2021. https://www.mymotherlode.com/news/local/1984557/jamestown-woman-stabbed-man-holding-child-with-scissors.html.
16. ↑ "The Assassination of Leon Trotsky". https://www.britannica.com/story/the-assassination-of-leon-trotsky.
17. ↑ Staff Reporter (October 1, 2021). "Female student murdered by her classmate in Kottayam college campus". The Hindu. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/woman-murdered-by-collegemate-in-kottayam-college-campus/article36774268.ece.
18. ↑ "Driver attacked with 'large pliers' after road rage incident outside MetroCenter Subway". July 29, 2021. https://www.wkrn.com/news/driver-attacked-with-large-pliers-after-road-rage-incident-outside-metrocenter-subway/.
19. ↑ "Jail warning for cleaner following vicious crowbar attack at skatepark". 19 September 2021. https://www.countypress.co.uk/news/19580695.east-cowes-man-warned-jail-likely-vicious-crowbar-attack/.
20. ↑ "Killings Turn Screwdriver into Unlikely Tool of Death". 3 October 1993. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-10-03-me-41993-story.html#:~:text=Ordinary screwdrivers have long been used as deadly weapons, they said.&text=“I've seen deep puncture,crime, prosecutors and detectives said..
21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 "The Lawyers reports annotated, Volume 21" Page 506
22. ↑ "Carson City deputies arrest three after fight with tire iron". May 19, 2010. https://carsonnow.org/story/05/19/2010/carson-city-deputies-arrest-three-after-fight-tire-iron.
23. ↑ "FM 3-25.150 Chapter 7". https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/policy/army/fm/3-25-150/ch7.htm.
24. ↑ "Son charged with beating mother to death with pipe wrench". 18 August 2021. https://www.federalwaymirror.com/news/son-charged-with-beating-mother-to-death-with-pipe-wrench/.
25. ↑ "Weapon of choice: Fire extinguisher". 2006. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3991378695366614033#.
26. ↑ Rasmussen, Cecilia (August 8, 1994). "Clara Phillips was never one to mask...". https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-08-08-me-24759-story.html.
27. ↑ "WWI's Weapon of Doom Was An Entrenching Tool?". January 23, 2022. https://sofrep.com/news/wwis-weapon-of-doom-was-an-entrenching-tool/.
28. ↑ "The Lawyers reports annotated, Volume 21" Page 504
29. ↑ McCoy, Cara (April 5, 2010). "Man accused in fatal lead pipe beating pleads not guilty - Las Vegas Sun Newspaper". https://lasvegassun.com/news/2010/apr/05/man-accused-fatal-lead-pipe-beating-pleads-not-gui/.
30. ↑ "Mayfair partygoers throw bricks at riot police". The Times (London). February 2010. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article7024740.ece.
31. ↑ Gregory, Chris (May 2010). "Attack happened in Kings Furlong". https://www.basingstokegazette.co.uk/news/local/8169873.Brick_used_as_weapon_in_street_robbery/.
32. ↑ Hadad, Shmulik (May 2010). "9 officers hurt in east Jerusalem riots". Ynetnews. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3895731,00.html.
33. ↑ "A Forged Deed and a Bloody Trunk: Mary Farmer's Plot to Steal Her Landlord's Home". November 27, 2019. https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/606870/mary-farmer-murder.
34. ↑ "The Sickle | The Occult Revival". https://occultrevival.net/the-sickle/.
35. ↑ "Five minors detained in attempt to murder case - Hindustan Times". https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/pune-news/five-minors-detained-in-attempt-to-murder-case-101653933116240.html.
36. ↑ "5 of History's Most Notorious Unsolved Ax Murders". March 18, 2022. https://www.mentalfloss.com/posts/unsolved-ax-murders.
37. ↑ "Life Hack: Using the Machete as an Effective Weapon". July 10, 2019. https://www.asgmag.com/prepping/life-hack-using-the-machete-as-an-effective-weapon/.
38. ↑ "Medieval Men - Medieval-Period.com". http://medieval-period.com/medievalmen.html.
39. ↑ Verhovek, Sam Howe (February 4, 1998). "EXECUTION IN TEXAS: THE OVERVIEW; Divisive Case of a Killer of Two Ends as Texas Executes Tucker". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/1998/02/04/us/execution-texas-overview-divisive-case-killer-two-ends-texas-executes-tucker.html.
40. ↑ "Susan Wright re-sentenced to 20 years in prison for husband's murder". 2 November 2010. https://www.khou.com/article/news/susan-wright-re-sentenced-to-20-years-in-prison-for-husbands-murder/285-341983803.
41. ↑ "9th Circuit calls for new sentencing hearing for Arizona death row inmate". July 27, 2013. https://arizonadailyindependent.com/2013/07/27/9th-circuit-calls-for-new-sentencing-hearing-for-arizona-death-row-inmate/.
42. ↑ Ruderman, Wendy (August 31, 2012). "Ice Picks Are Still Used as Weapons". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/01/nyregion/ice-picks-are-still-used-as-weapons.html.
43. ↑ "Man jailed for Handsworth meat cleaver attack". BBC News. September 17, 2021. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-birmingham-58591405.
44. ↑ Maenchen-Helfen, Otto; Helfen, Otto (January 1, 1973). The World of the Huns: Studies in Their History and Culture. University of California Press. ISBN 9780520015968. https://books.google.com/books?id=CrUdgzSICxcC&q=did+the+huns+use+lassos+as+weapons&pg=PA240.
45. ↑ "Whips in Combat | The Bullwhip FAQ". https://bullwhip.org/?page_id=35.
46. ↑ "Have hired guns finally scuppered Somali pirates?". Reuters. February 12, 2013. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-somalia-piracy-idUSBRE91B19Y20130212.
47. ↑ "Retiarii". http://www.tribunesandtriumphs.org/gladiators/retiarii.htm.
48. ↑ "JET LANDS SAFELY AFTER ATTACK ON CREW" (in en-US). Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1994/04/08/jet-lands-safely-after-attack-on-crew/d6481a01-a4ee-4e63-9c23-29504c5f9ee3/.
49. ↑ "Speargun killer jailed for life". 5 August 2005. https://www.theage.com.au/national/speargun-killer-jailed-for-life-20050805-ge0n2q.html.
50. ↑ Hogan, Johnathan (5 December 2018). "Police: Man Beats Women With Brick and Boat Oar". https://www.idahostatejournal.com/news/local/police-man-beats-women-with-brick-and-boat-oar/article_6aeaf5f7-a4c9-5f30-b3a0-81c80b2bbe30.html.
51. ↑ "This Woman Shows Protests Are Ageless". June 12, 2013. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/turkish-protester-slingshot-photo_n_3429497.
52. ↑ "Woman charged with assault after allegedly throwing chairs". https://www.uticaod.com/news/20180507/woman-charged-with-assault-after-allegedly-throwing-chairs.
53. ↑ "Melbourne man arrested for allegedly bashing footy fan with a didgeridoo". 25 May 2022. https://www.9news.com.au/national/melbourne-man-arrested-for-allegedly-bashing-footy-fan-with-a-didgeridoo/989a2e54-adf7-453c-9211-ccd9d814b255.
54. ↑ "Guitar-Smashing Comedian Kenny Moore Recalls Infamous Heckling Moment". 15 April 2020. https://www.guitarplayer.com/players/guitar-smashing-comedian-kenny-moore-recalls-infamous-heckling-moment.
55. ↑ "Fireworks attack on French police sparks protest". October 12, 2020. https://www.france24.com/en/20201012-fireworks-attack-on-french-police-sparks-protest.
56. ↑ "Escrima - The Filipino Martial Art". http://psychjourney_blogs.typepad.com/warrior_traditions/2009/01/escrima
the-filipino-martial-art.html.
57. ↑ Hurley, John W. (2007). Shillelagh: The Irish Fighting Stick. Caravat Press. ISBN 978-1-4303-2570-3. [1]
58. ↑ Digitale Bibliothek - Münchener Digitalisierungszentrum
59. ↑ 59.0 59.1 "Girl arrested for butter knife in backpack". http://www.sptimes.com/2005/10/25/Hernando/Girl_arrested_for_but.shtml.
60. ↑ "Post-9/11 Airport Security: Do You Know Where Your Dignity Is?". http://www.worldhum.com/features/eric-weiner/post-9-11-airport-security-do-you-know-where-your-dignity-is-20090910/.
61. ↑ "What Can I Bring?". https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/whatcanibring/all.
62. ↑ Improvised Weapons & Munitions – U.S. Army Ultimate Handbook: How to Create Explosive Devices & Weapons from Available Materials: Propellants, Mines, Grenades, ... Fuses, Detonators and Delay Mechanisms by U.S. Department of the Army, Madison & Adams Press, ASIN: B06WGP4FJZ
63. ↑ "Delhi violence: Not just 'petrol bombs', 'acid packets' also found on AAP neta Tahir Hussain's terrace [VIDEO"]. 27 February 2020. https://www.timesnownews.com/delhi/article/delhi-violence-not-just-petrol-bombs-acid-packets-also-found-on-aap-neta-tahir-hussain-s-terrace-video/558435.
64. ↑ "None". http://www.kevos4.com/Molotov_Cocktail.htm.

## External links

* Improvised Self Defence Weapons

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