Homemade Weapons for Self-Defence and Survival Situations

Knowing how to improvise a weapon on the spur of the moment may be the skill that saves your life. Homemade weapons can be as deadly as real weapons but they definitely overcome them in creativity. When your life or the life of the ones you love is threatened your thoughts focus in one single direction: eliminating the threat. That is the moment when you get extremely creative and find out that even a plain old, common chair can become a baseball bat. Having your home invaded is one of the worst experiences you can go through.

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From the moment you realize someone is in your house you know things can’t end up well. The simple fact that there is another human being in there with you, in your sanctuary shows you that safety is just an illusion. We all know how bad people can be and what horrible things they can do so maybe it’s time to start learning how to make and protect your own safety. Also, learning how to use and combine surrounding objects in order to create new homemade weapons can prove to be a very valuable survival skill.

Imagine there is a global disaster and your only weapon is a folding knife. People are desperate and they will do anything for a piece of food, including robbing, beating or killing those who have it. There are no rules anymore and the ones with the best weapons win. How will you be able to protect your own skin and your family? The knife is a good weapon but you can’t win if your opponent has a gun. This is the moment when your creativity and survival skills will be most helpful.

Today we’re going to discuss about how to make homemade weapons for self defense and survival. A homemade weapon is any object or combination of objects that was not designed to be a weapon but it can be in an emergency situation. If you take a look around your house you will identify at least 5 or 6 items that can be a weapon by themselves or in combination. Actually, there are about ten times more and we’re going to show you where.

Now, that we talked about home invaders and desperate survival situations you should know that the best weapon you can use, is avoiding the confrontation. No, you’re not a coward; you’re just a human being who tries to stay alive in an ugly situation. Avoiding the confrontation, if possible, is the only way you can get out of this 100% safe and sound. Regardless of the fact that you’re in the middle of a home invasion or you are in the wilderness, surrounded by opponents, try to remain calm.

Actually, keeping your head and being calm is the best weapon you can posses. If you’re calm in a violent situation that may or may not include weapons, you have the upper hand. The person that threatens you doesn’t expect you to be able to assess the situation and react accordingly. If the simple sight of a weapon makes you anxious, take some training lessons and come in contact with them. The first thing you learn here is that weapons don’t harm anyone, people who use them do.

Homemade self defense weapons are extremely effective when you’re calm. This way you have the possibility to look around and see what you can use as weapon. Your attitude is the first weapon you have. Take a good look at your attacker and try to reason with him (or her). As you stall, you have the time to identify the closest object that can be used as a weapon.

Weapons in every room of the house

Every room of your house has certain types of objects. Now, let’s see what types of objects can be transformed in homemade self defense weapons according to every room of your house (we are ready to bet you had no idea there are so many).

The living room

Here, people usually keep the following objects (or weapons):

• Clubs – candleholders, tall vases, feet from chairs, statuettes, large ashtrays (finally an advantage for being a smoker!), large bowls. Look for anything large and heavy that can be aimed at the head and don’t hesitate! The invader will not let you get a second shot!
• Spears – tall lamps, fireplace pokers;
• Strangling ropes – your laptop cord or your tablet charger will be amazing at this;
• Weapons that can be used to subdue the assailant, like a chair. If you use the chair with the legs toward the assailant, you can pin him or her on the wall and disarm them.

One piece of advice: as soon as you identified your weapon of choice, act fast!

The kitchen

This is a place where there are plenty of weapons to choose from. Kitchen items are often used in passion murders so you should put all your passion into it and think just like a jealous wife.

• Anyone’s first choice is a pair of big, sharp, kitchen knives. With these in your hands, you can intimidate and even make your assailant back off and run away. Still, if you choose knives, make sure you are ready to actually use them. If your attacker feels you’re bluffing, the situation will get even darker (if possible);
• A lot of objects in here can be used as clubs like frying pans, rolling pins, plates, bowls, cups, jars, and so on;
• Spray oven cleaner or glass cleaner can also be used as a weapon. Just make sure to fill the attacker’s eyes with anything you have around. The immediate pain and blindness will definitely create a distraction that will allow you to either incapacitate the attacker or run as fast as you can;
• Broken broom handles or mops can be used as spears;
• Broken glassware, scissors, anything else that’s sharp and edgy.

The bathroom

This small room may seem the last place where you want to be with an attacker but things are not so bad even here. Remember to assess the situation. In the bathroom you can use the following items:

• hairspray to blind your attacker;
• hot curling iron or hair straightener to burn your attacker’s skin and distract its attention;
• shower rod or towel rack as a spear;
• you can even use your toilet if you can convince the attacker to bash his head against it.

Remember that most fatal home accidents happen in the bathroom. With this in mind, your freedom is only one slip away.

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Your house has other items that can be transformed in homemade weapons and here we can include the fire extinguisher, needles, tools, and so on. Just keep your mind and eyes open, it’s your house and you have the advantage of knowing the territory.

Some weapon-DIY projects for your safety

We’ve talked about weapons that are lying around your house but these are only momentary inspirations and they may not be as effective as an actual gun. That’s why many people consider making their own homemade weapons. This way they can’t be accused of actually owning a weapon but they can defend themselves when the situation asks for it.

How to make pepper spray at home

The process is simple and you can consider it as making a special pie. Actually, it’s just like this; you will need ingredients and you will need to mix them properly in order to obtain the desired end result.

You will need the following ingredients and items:

• hot red pepper
• rubbing alcohol (as much as needed)
• baby oil
• two drinking glasses (preferably made out of glass)
• one tablespoon (for measuring)
• a blender (if the glass and tablespoon aren’t available)
• one coffee filter

The making process is quite simple: you need to place two tablespoons of hot red pepper in the glass and add rubbing alcohol, just enough to cover the pepper by 1 cm. Mix the pepper and alcohol thoroughly and make sure to grind everything together for about 10 minutes (a blender would be extremely useful here but not required).

After the stirring and grinding part is over, add the baby oil (just enough to raise the level of liquid in the glass with about 0.5 cm). Continue with the stirring vigorously for another 5 minutes. For the next step you are going to need the second glass covered with the coffee filter.

Pour the solution you obtained in the first glass in the second glass to filter it. Now you’ve got a clear solution that you can use as pepper spray. Simply pour it in a small container that has a spray cap and seal it tight. Now you have your own pepper spray to carry with you everywhere you go; just make sure to shake the bottle from time to time so the solution doesn’t separate.

Of course, you must also know how to use the resulting solution so take a look at our article on how to use pepper spray.

Make your own stun gun

A stun gun is really useful during a close body fight because you can incapacitate your attacker and run. Now, don’t expect to knock down the assailant but it will shock him (or her) pretty bad.

The only thing you’ll need to purchase for this project is a continuous piezo electric sparker with batteries. They are very common as they are used to light gas BBQ’s, heaters, and so on. You can check some of the best ones here. Of course that if you already have one you can practice on that one.

Additional items required for this job:

• An AAA battery holder with 2 batteries
• Electrical wires (from thick to normal)
• A dremmel and pliers
• A soldering iron and a hot glue gun
• A cutter
• A screwdriver

The first step you need to make is to take the lighter apart (carefully). Make sure to keep the screws and the casing intact because you’re going to need them later. Now that you have the main mechanism of the lighter out, make sure to remove any additional consumers like an LED light. Other wires that need to be removed are those from the metal neck. Cut them from the base.

Next add 2 thick electrical wires to the 2 terminals you just cut off wires from. Also make sure that the wires are longer than the metal neck. Attach the battery holder to the battery wire. Now, after all these modifications, you need to put everything back in. Here is where the dremmel comes in handy because the battery holder won’t fit perfectly in the case. Polish the plastic until they do. Do the same with every item that doesn’t fit.

The two electrical wires need to be longer than the metal neck (as specified before). After you put everything back in, cut them at the end of the neck, strip them and tin the ends with solder. Cut two pieces 2.5 cm of normal wire (just makes sure it doesn’t bend easy) and tin their ends. After this, add them to the two electrical wires and glue everything down. Test the entire system before closing in the case.

Also you can add glue wherever you consider necessary. The inner parts shouldn’t be affected by movement or humidity.

While a homemade weapon may look interesting and can be a great DIY project, it’s not always reliable. So, if you decide to buy a stun gun for your own protection, take a look at our set of reviews on the best stun gun first.

How to make homemade weapons

Just like in the case of a home invasion, in a survival situation anything can become a weapon. As a good survivalist you know that you need your emergency kit with you and that, in your emergency kit, you must always have a knife. The knife is extremely important because is one of the most versatile tools ever and it can be used for both making new weapons and as a weapon itself. Just make sure that you are comfortable using it and that you can actually carve some wood with it. The best knife in this case is a fixed blade type and we have a great article (with reviews) on the best survival knife.

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Let’s make a small imagination exercise: the apocalypse happens (you can choose your own apocalyptic scenario: zombie, aliens, monkeys, whatever) and you need to find yourself a safe place to rest for a while. You manage to find an abandoned house in a quiet area that looks very good for shelter and you decide to use it. You’re only weapon up until now is your knife but you need something sturdier that can inflict more damage from a greater distance.

You take a look around and you see that there are common objects like pieces of wood, nails, strings, wires, etc. Well now it’s time to really put your imagination to work and come up with a few really good weapons. Don’t worry if nothing comes to mind, it’s absolutely normal to not be able to think about homemade weapons when you never had to.

To help you get started, we made a small list of weapons you can make out of the materials you have around the house. It’s always easier to adapt in a survival situation if you have the basic knowledge.

• Homemade bat – made out of a table leg (or anything long and strong made out of wood). We all know that baseball bats are great for self defense and you should obtain a similar result. Carve one end with your knife and make it round so you can grab it easily. You also need a good grip and to make sure the bat doesn’t fall out of your hand. Look for some wire or paracord if you have any, and wrap it around a small portion of the carved end. Now you should have something that looks like a bat, with an easy to grab handle and a protection handle that keeps the bat from jumping out of your hand as you swing it.
• Monkey fist – if you’re a paracordist you may be familiar with the monkey fist knot. The basic principle is a heavy object, like a tennis or a pool ball, is wrapped in paracord and tied to a piece of rope so you can swing it and hit your attacker from distance. If you’re not into making knots you can improvise with a roll or quarters tucked inside a sock. The same principle applies here. This may not seem like a really great weapon but if you use it properly you can really inflict serious damage. Another application of the monkey fist is a padlock tied to a shoe lace or a dog leash. To learn how to make it, visit our step-by-step tutorial on how to make a monkey fist out of paracord.
• Flame thrower – you can improvise a flame thrower anytime out of a lighter and a can of hair spray (or any flammable spray). Just make sure the can is not too close to the open flame so it doesn’t explode in your hands.

As you can see, we are surrounded with items that can be very efficient homemade weapons (combined or by themselves).  

All you need is a bit of creativity and a lot of calm to correctly assess the situation. In order to achieve this you need practice. Just take a few hours of your day from time to time and look around. Try to imagine what you would use in case of an attack. Also you should talk to a self defense professional. This way you will be more prepared in case of a home invasion or a nasty survival situation.