It’s always a good idea to be prepared, which means readying a contingency plan in case of a home invasion.
If you confront an intruder, but don’t have a form of protection on you at the time, you’ll need to create a makeshift weapon from something around your home.
What common household items can you use as self-defense weapons?
- Tightly-rolled newspaper
- Dining chair
- Broken glass bottle
- Kitchen knife
- Meat mallet
- Fire extinguishers
- Leather belt
- Household tools, like hammers or shovels
- Pens or pencils,
- Sports equipment, including dumbbells, hockey sticks, golf clubs, and/or baseball bats
In this article, I’ll talk more about improvised weapons from everyday objects, including an overview of how effective the above weapons are and how to use them.
I’ll also discuss the weapons you should have handy in your car to protect yourself against bad guys.
Everyday Items That Can Be Used As A Weapon
If you look around you right now, I’m sure at least some of the following items would be in your immediate vicinity.
Although many of these objects don’t look like a lethal weapon, they can do some damage if you use them the right way. Here’s what you need to know.
Tightly-Rolled Newspaper
Of all the makeshift weapons on my list, this one probably had you scratching your head the most.
A newspaper is plenty useful for swatting flies, but hurting a home invader? You’d be surprised how much of an effective weapon it can be!
Making a newspaper a weapon is all in how you fold it.
First, roll the newspaper as tightly as you can from the top to the bottom. Then take that roll and fold it.
This creates what’s known as a Millwall brick (the name comes from the Millwall F.C. or football club).
Regardless of what it was originally used for, this balled-up bunch of newspaper packs a serious punch.
Hold it in your hand with your grip around the top part of the Millwall brick. You can then strike downward.
If you want to add another layer of “oomph” to your newspaper brick just wrap it with duct tape.
Dining Chair
If the attack happens in your kitchen or dining room (or even close to these rooms), grab a dining chair and use that as a weapon. Lift the chair and hit the assailant with it.
A cheap dining chair might fall apart, but the force of the strike should at least knock down the assailant, if not render them unconscious.
A more durable chair likely won’t break upon impact.
Broken Glass Bottle
You see this all the time in TV shows and movies: thugs at a bar who, when things turn rowdy, smash a glass bottle and then aim it at the other party. It looks scary, and that’s because it is.
A broken glass bottle has jutting shards of glass that no criminal will want to get stabbed with.
You can also break a glass bottle over their head, but this requires you to get close, so it’s not always advisable. Similarly, you could simply throw the glass bottles at the assailant.
Besides cuts and lacerations, sharp objects like glass bottles can sometimes cause bone fractures – and a concussion, in the case of a head strike.
Kitchen Knife
If you don’t have any glass bottles handy in the kitchen, a knife works just as well. You’ll use it the same way.
Sharper knives are best here, such as a butcher’s knife or a steak knife. If you only have a serrated knife, that’s okay too.
However, keep in mind that if you stab your attacker, a serrated knife is far messier than a smooth, sharp knife because of the jagged edges.
Sometimes threatening someone with a knife is enough to ward them off, but if it isn’t, stabbings can result in lacerations and possible death.
Meat Mallet
In kitchen attacks, most people will use a knife, but what if yours are all dirty in the sink or the dishwasher? Reach for a meat mallet – aka a meat pounder – instead.
This kitchen utensil may be made of rubber, but far more often, it’s metal. One side has tenderizers in small recurring pyramids while the other side of the meat mallet is flat.
A hefty meat mallet can fracture and break bones no matter which side you strike with it, although the tenderizing side will obviously cause more damage.
Fire Extinguishers
I am a strong believer that all households should have at least one fire extinguisher in the house – it’s just the smart and safe thing to do.
In addition to putting out fires – a fire extinguisher can make a great weapon.
Whether you use the spray on your intruder or you use the canister as the weapon – either way – it can be an effective self-defense weapon.
Leather Belt
Lots of people accessorize their daily outfits with leather belts. If you’re among them, then congratulations, you have an immediately accessible weapon on your person.
You can restrain with the belt if it’s thick enough. You can also use the non-buckled end to smack the assailant, but you’ll cause more hurt with the buckle.
The heavier and larger the buckle, the more painful it is to be hit with a leather belt.
Thinner leather belts may be easier to use to choke the assailant. Put pressure on their throat until they’re unconscious, then let go.
Household Tools
If you’re the handyman or you have a partner who is, household tools can be a great makeshift weapon.
Everything from hammers to shovels, a tire iron, a nail gun and a sledgehammer can be used to defend yourself if push comes to shove.
You’d arm yourself with a hammer or sledgehammer the same way you would the meat tenderizer as discussed above.
A tire iron or shovel should be aimed at the assailant’s body, then give them a firm strike with the weapon.
I don’t suggest hitting their head unless you absolutely must, as this could cause death.
Pens Or Pencils
In this case, the pen really is mightier than the sword!
Hold a pen firmly in your fist with your thumb on the base for support so the pen or pencil can’t slip.
Then you should stab an area over and over again with the sharp point of the pen.
You’re not cutting or lacerating the home invader like you would with a knife, but you are hurting them enough that if they’re grabbing you, they should let go.
If you want to use a pencil for these purposes, I’d suggest a regular pencil over a mechanical one, as the thin lead in a mechanical pencil will snap right off.
Pens are better than pencils since they’re more durable, but if a pencil is all you have, it can suffice.
Sports Equipment
The last category of household items that can double as a weapon are sports equipment.
Maybe you lift some weights so you have dumbbells handy. Strike the body of the home invader with the dumbbell and they should be knocked to the floor.
Or maybe a baseball bat is easier for you to handle and use to strike someone with. It may not be a bad idea to keep a baseball bat by your bedside.
Hockey sticks, golf clubs, and tennis racquets can all wallop a criminal, as well.
Weapons Every Woman Should Have
As a woman who’s living solo, you don’t only have to worry about threats at home, but also when you’re out and about.
The best way to protect yourself is to always have at least one weapon on your person or close by, such as in your purse.
Although you never want to be in a situation where you have to use them, you do want to be ready to pull the following weapons out at a moment’s notice.
Stun Gun
A portable handheld stun gun delivers enough voltage that your attacker will be immobilized for at least five seconds, sometimes longer.
This gives you a head start to get away from the situation.
Tactical Pen
Yes, pens are on this list too! Tactical pens don’t look like an average writing utensil, although you can use the pen for that purpose as well.
Instead, these pens are actually like Swiss arm knives, in that they have interchangeable gadgets that screw into the pen’s body.
You can transform them into flashlights, screwdrivers, glass breakers, knives, and more.
If attacking someone with a tactical pen, focus on the face, neck, and eyes because these are the paces where the pen can cause the most damage.
Then, once you hurt your target, get away.
Tactical Knife
A folding concealable tactical knife, like this one from Smith & Wesson, is another recommended weapon for women.
Make sure yours has a blade that’s at least three inches or it won’t do much to intimidate attackers or hurt them should you need to do that.
Pepper Spray/Mace
Pepper spray or mace can be a woman’s best friend.
The irritating ingredients in the small canister affect not only the attacker’s eyes, but their respiratory system and skin as well. You won’t physically hurt the attacker with pepper spray, only disarm them.
However, as an article from the Buckeye Firearms Association points out “Yet if an attacker is wearing glasses, or holds their breath, or is on drugs, or is just unusually impervious to the pain, the spray may not be effective. (After all, some people can_eat_extraordinarily hot peppers, and some people just have high pain thresholds.)“
The Buckeye Firearms Association also caution that: “Outdoors, they can be affected by the direction of the wind, and blown off target, or back into the defender’s face, if not delivered in a stream. Inclement weather can also affect their effectiveness as a defense, and they require a few seconds to fully incapacitate when they work.“
These are just a few reasons why it’s very important that you make sure to learn how to use the pepper spray, including the ideal conditions to use it, as well as the best distance to stand and spray.
Self Defense Key Chain
Wait, a key chain? Really? Indeed! Kubotan key chains, like this one made of aluminum alloy, are long and tapered like a pen, but sturdy enough to do some damage if you struck an attacker with it.
Because they’re aluminum, they’re light to carry.
Most models have a ring at one end, so you can attach keys to it or hang it from a purse, backpack, or key chain.
What Weapons Can You Keep In Your Car?
There are two things every woman should do when she gets into her car (even if it’s parked in the garage).
- Check under the car to make sure no one is hiding there.
- Check the backseat area to make sure no one is hiding there.
These are smart safety precautions to take as a woman, but they are not your only ones. You should also keep a weapon or two in your car.
Which ones? I’d recommend any of the weapons from the last section, including a tactical pen, pepper spray, a stun gun, or a tactical knife.
You can also stash a pair of sap gloves in your backseat or trunk.
Known as weighted-knuckle gloves, these synthetic or leather gloves are heavy which can hurt your attacker more with each physical strike.
There are two downsides to using sap gloves over the other weapons I suggested. For one, you must have time to put the gloves on, and you might not always.
Second, you have to get close and use hand-to-hand combat with the attacker, which is rarely advisable.
Is Pepper Spray Or A Stun Gun Better?
You’ve learned through this article that having pepper spray and a stun gun are two valuable weapons for a woman, but which of the two is better?
To answer that, let’s talk about the weapons in more detail.
Tasers work via electrodes that release from the gun when you press the trigger. The electrodes attach to your attacker, releasing waves of electrical current.
The attacker experiences neuromuscular incapacitation of the motor and sensory nerves.
Along the same lines, a stun gun fires an electrical charge that shocks the assailant. They won’t incapacitate the attacker, but a stun gun charge is painful and should bring the person to their knees.
As I mentioned earlier, the effects of a stun gun last mere seconds – plus, you have to physically touch the assailant with the device in order to hurt them.
This means they could potentially disarm you or use the device on you!
Compare that to pepper spray or mace.
With these, you only have to be close enough to spray them. And, once you spray your target, they could have irritated skin, teary eyes, and light sensitivity for up to 30 minutes.
The results aren’t always so severe, but still, you have much more time to get to safety than you do when using a stun gun.
For that reason, I’d have to say that a can of pepper spray is the better option.
Even if your pepper spray isn’t full-strength and only blinds your attacker for 10 minutes, it’s far longer than 10 seconds.
Conclusion
Almost anything can be a weapon if you’re holding it right, including a folded-up newspaper.
When using a weapon against a household intruder, the important thing to remember is that your goal is to get away, not to keep wailing on them.
Ideally, you hope to never have to brandish your weapon at all, but the peace of mind that the weapon brings you makes it worth having!
I hope that this list gives you some additional great ideas on what possible weapons you may have in your living spaces. If you found this information useful, please pass it on to a family member or friend.
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