Umbuster is part umbrella, part knuckleduster
It used to be that a gentleman could arm himself with a sword cane, ready to whip his blade out at the first sign of unseemliness. Since parliament has banned anything that may be sharpened to a point, defense of oneself has become a more subtle skill.
Some gentlemen learn the unarmed arts, but in the face of villainy, stronger means are occasionally required. Hence the Umbuster, an umbrella combined with knuckledusters.
After some few years the non-product continuously known as The Umbuster has formally graduated from solid-world prototype to a bespoke-produced and purchasable boxed goods. Each handle is individually CNC cut in a 5 hour process by the enduring Mr Liu. The umbrella itself is provided by the good Guy de Jean of France. And finally packaged in the boxes designed with the good Snorri Már Snorrason here in Reykjavik Proper.
At €225, it's not for dilettantes. A firm drilling at your local Baritsu academy prior to deployment is strongly recommended.
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...John Steed probably owns *two* of these!
I see this as more of a status toy for upper class ponces than an actual self defense implement.
A fool and his gold and all that.
couldn't take it anywhere. This is better:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bO8G5zsQohg
Note that brass knuckles are illegal in some places, and while the definition is fuzzy this one may be too obvious to ignore.
Yeah, very snazzy, but probably not TSA-safe. Likely not even NYPD-safe, if a cop is looking for a reason to mess with you.
@5 Love the username, wonder how long it will be before it goes under the ban hammer...
#5 Gotta love american weapons laws. Handgun? Sure. Shotgun? Ok. Brass knuckles? Jail time.
...not to mention that the umbrella attached to the thing would prevent one from throwing any kind of sensible punch -- better chances without it, I say.
#7, that's not an "American" weapons law. Laws vary widely from state to state, and even from city to city. And I can assure you, carrying a handgun or shotgun openly in NYC would attract quite a lot of police attention.
Umbuster? I'm waiting for them to combine an umbrella with some bongos (if you don't live in england or are under 25 this may make no sense to you, sorry)
Nothing beats a good length of lead pipe. Nothing.
While the fool carrying this obvious (but interesting) device is being arrested by the bobbys, I pull a common, unbannable lead pipe out of my jacket, and beat the crooks senseless (not the bobbys, those hats are fantastic).
You'd be surprised how strong even one shattered kneecap can be as a deterrent to future criminal actions.
I really liked that unbreakable umbrella. I wonder how it does against the wind?
This thing, on the other hand, is pretty useless.
I love this thing, but I emailed them to find out how much it was, and its 225€, plus 22€ S/H, so we're talking over $300. A little more than I'll pay for a novelty umbrella ;)
You know, improvisation is really the way to go. A roll of coins will add a fair bit of weight to any swing, and a watch removed from the wrist and strapped across the knuckles will do as brass knuckles in a pinch. Neither of those things are very obvious, and they're also impossible to ban.
Fyi, in California, brass knucks and sword canes and the like are very very illegal. The justification is that, while handguns are justifiable as home defense, brass knucks and sword canes are almost exclusively used in the context of public disturbances (bar fights, gang fights, muggings.) I agree with this, as if you're at home and you need to defend yourself, use your gun, don't screw around with hand to hand combat.
That said, a baseball bat is a perfectly justifiable weapon, just keep a glove and a softball in your trunk along with it.
#11 posted by BastardNamban:
I will see your lead pipe and raise you the surplus thermonuclear device I keep in the sidecar of my motorcycle.
Or is that a disproportionate response? I can never tell.
Aside from the turning the damn thing on end and whacking somebody with it, I can't really imagine a scenario where trying to punch somebody with this thing wouldn't be cumbersome.
So until they release a more natural looking version 2.0, I'll continue to carry my umbrella in one hand and my brass knuckles on the free hand.