A friend of mine told me that he has strategic positions throughout his entire house, such as inside the pantry in the kitchen, where he has weapons, like lead pipes, hanging up on hooks. No matter where he is, and no matter where a home invader is, he is sure that he could get to a weapons cache. Obviously he's put a lot of thought into this.

Where do you even get a lead pipe? Does this friend restore 150 year old houses?

He meant lead pipe like "leed" pipe. They're at the forefront of pipedom. They are the pipes all other pipes seek to emulate. They are the pipe-iest.

Well you could get firearms...

http://www.ratemyink.com/images/ul/979/ink-9799.jpeg

But I think a bat would be better for scaring them off...

http://www.biologie.uni-ulm.de/bio3/...monstrosus.jpg

...or distracting them

http://www.e-fancydress.com/shopimag...xtras/7218.jpg

I got one question. Are you prepared to kill someone. Like, dead.
No going back, not alive anymore. If you are, then get a large caliber handgun, and practice with it. If you want to take your time, then get a bat. The ones with the weighted end and a spring on the bottom are cool. Knives are dangerous cause they get slippery when used, hard to hold onto unless they have cool grips that are made for that kind of thing. They are also easy to get into the wrong hands and be used on you.

What ever you decide to do, the most important thing you can have and you can't buy this one is: your attitude, and how you carry yourself in this world. That will generally determine who fucks with you and who won't. If someone should fuck with you, this will also determine if the ever fuck with you again.

I can't carry a weapon because the US government says I can't--- but I DO like Jinx's idea of an Eco can of Aqua-Net and a Bic. Brilliant!

Plus, classy and theatrical.

Truck diesel pumps run at up to 60 gpm. They have a range of ten feet. I had to use one the same way Burt Reynolds used a gas can and a glass in "Stick".

Only fight I ever had out there and it was an anticlimax.

One flick of my Zippo and he drove off, soaked with a few gallons of diesel.

Flint, is your mate just particularly paranoid or is there a justifiable reason for having so many 'weapons' around his house? I can't imagine being that afraid of a home invasion. I don't even lock my doors half the time when I go to bed because I'm just not worried. Surely your friend is a one off right?

Hmm apparently "rate my ink" don't like hotlinking. Sorry about that. Try this instead:

Firearms:

http://www.zhippo.com/LawrencePennin...s-tattoo-L.jpg

can someone correct the spelling of the thread title please? or, at least advise me as to who can correct it. i'm SO not a grammar or spelling nazi, but this one bugs me for some reason.

Nice.
I didn't have the pic, or I might have...

And there probably are local resources for firearms combat training -- concealed carry courses, self defense courses. You haven't heard much about them because they don't have big advertising budgets. AFAIK, next town up the road from me has a successful business handling just that. The places to look into these are a gun store or a range.

The usual cost for a basic gun self defense course is around $150 and it runs three days.

Unless you're already in either Philippine escrima or SCA broadsword fighting, it'll take even more training if you're starting from zero to wield bat, stave or baton as effectually. Tools are good, all us opposed-thumb primates agree; power tools are better.

Aliantha; just sounds to me like Flint's friend is determined and prepared to win. Regardless. I do not regard this as remotely strange -- but then I understand the self-defense mindset. It's not paranoiac: it's insurance.

I'd go with the bat. If you end up in a tussle and misfire a gun, unless you are well-versed in self-defence techniques, chances are that gun will be taken right off you and you'll be the one as gets shot.




[eta] That explains such a lot :P

I've been re-reading this thread and the question occurred to me: how likely is your home to be intruded upon in this threatening fashion? Are the defensive measures appropriate to the level of threat?

Home invasion is the purview of drug dealers and their associates. I suspect almost nobody outside the trade is impacted. Most "normal" robberies occur when nobody is home.

I agree with the consensus, an untrained person with a knife is asking to get cut up or worse.