Sock Full of Coins

My sister and I were discussing old school self-defense items and she mentioned using coins in a tube sock to smack someone with. I did some research (aka Googling) and read that Charles Bronson used this technique in the Death Wish movie. He put some rolls of quarters in a sock and used that sock as a weapon. I told my sister nowadays with everyone using debit cards and smart phones to pay for items, few people seem to have actual coins in their possession, let alone enough to give someone an effective smackdown. Hey, if I've got two rolls of quarters on me, chances are I need them for laundry. The whole sock-quarters thing got me thinking about other self-defense tools that have gone the way of the dinosaur. Remember brass knuckles? I do! Where can you even get brass knuckles now? I searched Amazon and saw a few, but they didn't look like they were built to last. The same goes for the nunchucks I saw. Is there a black market for these kinds of items or are they just gone forever? Part of the reason these old-school self-defense weapons are hard to find is, sadly, because more people today are more apt to pick up a gun and shoot someone rather than fight with their hands.

I've had a canister of pepper spray for many years because I think you need something, particularly when you're a woman, to try and defend yourself if attacked. I've never had to use it, thankfully, but I'm glad it's there. An old boss of mine many years ago told me he had his wife spray him with pepper spray to see if it would debilitate him. Now, he was a big guy, over six feet tall. One hit of pepper spray to the face did disorient him, but he said it didn't take him down. I've always thought about that. Pepper spray, to me, is something to use to weaken your attacker just enough for you to get away. Then again, maybe a good smack to the head with a tube sock full of quarters could do a better job.