Sap, Blackjack & Slungshot- Overview and History
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- Опубликовано: 18 сен 2024
- Collection and description of possibly the most forgotten group of weapons in history. Leather saps, blackjacks and slungshots were used by cops, criminals, soldiers and sailors for centuries.
My book on these weapons, the only one that has ever been written is available through most online retailers. Preview... • MY BOOK- Saps, Blackja...
Amazon e-book and hardcover... a.co/goVKMnC
I carried a blackjack for many years as a police officer. It was the best tool we carried, rarely has to use it, most people immediately stopped resisting the minute we took it out of our jack pocket on the back of our uniform pants. The worst thing they ever did was take it away from us.
Thanks for sharing that.
It was the best thing they ever did
Way back in the early 80's one of my beat partners responded to a bar fight in progress & as soon as he entered the bar, one guy instantly gave up & withdrew from the fight...
The other guy wanted to keep fighting & squared off on my buddy with his fists raised... until someone in the crowd yelled "Don't do it, Billy...the Cops in this town don't fight with their fists...they use blackjacks".
The guy hesitated for a second & raised his open hands in surrender...
Back then most guys didn't want to end up needing a Singer sewing machine to stitch up the cuts a blackjack left on their noggins...
Love these things. I used to carry the round springy type as a security guard back in the eighties in Houston Texas. Never used it though.
My great grandmother had a black jack. A sack of coins wraped around with electrical tape. One time, shee told me of a time she used it. A guy came up to her harrasing her, she wipped that bad boy out, hit him and the dude droped like a stone.
Ha! She sounds awesome.
I like her style. My feisty grandma kept a spiked club handy for burglars and was very sorry that she never had reason to use it, BUT, she did advise a beaten wife what to do with her drunken, useless spouse. As the mongrel used to go on a Friday night spree, and invariably collapse in the woodshed to sleep it off, Grandma's idea was to overturn the kerosene lamp on him, close the door, and allow combustion to deal with the problem. I have always wondered why Victorian women are regarded as fragile, submissive flowers.....
Sensible lady, I like her style ;)
@@coralarch No, they're extremely tough. I think the "fragile" stereotype comes from Jane Austin novels of the upper classes. The working-class poor had very different lives. My grandmother used to walk around with a hatchet in her handbag. It was my grandfather's old joinery hatchet, but was blunt.
She taught my sister how to deal with an alcoholic husband, by rifling his pockets when he gets home drunk because, as she put it, "they'll drink you out of house and home" and it was her job, as a wife, to make sure they had enough money to eat and pay the rent.
Unfortunately, this wasn't that long ago (and my sister never married anyone that was an alcoholic) so women have had to have been tough, really, up until the last 20/30 years, or a different type of toughness, shall we say.
Started my 30 year career in 1968 and carried a blackjack until they were outlawed by department policy in the early ‘80s. It was an extremely effective weapon that saved me in more than one instance, and even ended a gunfight in 1974 when I ran out of ammo and went to my blackjack to put the bad guy down.
Wow- thanks for sharing
I'm curious as to why saps/blackjacks/beavertails were banned for LE. On the good side, these dead-blow weapons were said to act like an "off" switch for humans. Supposedly, they left no bruises. Then came the straight baton, the PR-24, the ASP/skinny expandable baton, and finally the larger Winchester/RCB expandable baton. All these impact weapons can break bones, and are not to be used against the head or spine. What do you say about the old blackjacks, Old Cop? Were they unfairly banned in favor of an impact weapon that left more injuries and did not subdue suspect as good?
@@charlesdada6434 any strikes above the shoulders constitutes deadly force but way back then nobody considered it as such .. those old school Cops went straight for the head with them & ended up causing lots of deaths & LOTS of brain damaged people with lifelong epilepsy from receiving head strikes...
L.E. was forced by civil lawsuits to rightfully acknowledge the danger of using blackjacks & outlawed their use...& they're illegal in most States.
Batons etc gave much more non-lethal options over blackjacks...
When I was in high school, my buddy showed me his dad's buckskin blackjack. He hit me lightly on the thigh. You do not want to be hit by one of these AT ALL!
Buckskin- cool
That stretching of the backhand strap on the sap at 2:04 doesn't come from being held comes from sitting in a right side sap pocket, when you sit down the strap gets pushed forward and held taut and over time it stretches the leather.
I do leatherwork. The thread we use is no ordinary thread (if done right). Unless it is cut, crushed, or abraded, feel free to trust your life to it in this application.
You essentially have a dead-blow hammer.
I get into that in my book (dead blow hammer). I don’t know what kind they used to use but I have many historical incidents of saps busting apart on cops during use. That was a very small minority of uses of course, and probably a result of the kind of damage you mentioned and neglect in replacing the sap.
My friend use to refer a slapjack as a beaver tale, it made sense it's casing was usually made of some durable leather like material, and towards the flat rounded tip it was weighted much like a beavers tail. And any time he said "hey look out for that beavers tail!" I would try to duck before he tapped me with it. Even though it was a slight tap it felt like a woman slapping me in the face after I called her the "C" word.
That durable leather like material is most often leather.
Back in the 1970's and 80's, every bar bouncer I knew had one like you show at 8:30 in his pocket. It would drop a irate patron instantly.
Love these videos I have over 50 saps,slung shots and saps in my collection and love hearing about the history of them all.
Thanks! The channel and book were made for people like you :)
excellent video. I grew up with both my grandfather and father in law enforcement back when these were common. My grandfather carried either a blackjack or sap like yours but they were both black. I recently purchased a Bauer brothers 10 inch 12 Oz sap off ebay that is damn near perfect from the 40s. It was 46$ great deal for real deal made in USA back when things were made good
Thanks for sharing. You scored a low price for a mint condition, non-generic one from that long ago.
The "slungshot" was used to send attached rope (line) over a yardarm, or any distance required; they were a navy mainstay.
It was fun researching those for my slungshot/naval chapter.
Wasn't the knotted variety called a monkey's fist?
I'd always wondered how they'd gotten the name! Until I realized that they were (roughly) analogous to saps, I tended to assume that someone had simply misspelt 'slingshot', a term in itself loaded with confusion, inasmuch as, is one talking about the 'Bart Simpson' type of weapon (for they can, indeed, be 'serious business'), or the one associated with David & Goliath..?
Fwiw, I don't know whether it is still the case, on account of not having lived there in decades, but in London in the '90's, it wasn't unusual to discover that occasionally the grab~handles, or whatever one wishes to call them, provided for the use of 'strap~hanging' passengers on certain London Underground trains, would have 'gone missing'. Not hard to figure the reason if one has ever seen the particular type, with their ball~ended, dangly - yet - spring~loaded design. They were of course being 'pinched' by the local yobbos for use as weapons; on account of that if one had been given the brief of designing the perfect slungshot, a London Underground grab~handle would be pretty much the very thing to come to mind!
(Of course fashions change; I'm given to understand that currently in rough UK neighbourhoods, machettes or _acid!_ - "getting splashed" - are the weapons 'du jour'...)
When I first started working for the state prison dept. years ago, we carried the flat slap jack. Our duty pants had a special pocket to carry it in. We had training with them. You never hit someone in the head, neck, or chest area as it could be lethal. But hits to the hands, legs, arms were used to detain a unrulely convict. Myself I think the asp is more dangerous but it has a better reach. None of these are to be used in a lethal manner to detain someone, but if someone attacks you anything goes. We had nightsticks and mace chemical spray on our person while on duty, plus the gun towers were manned with armed officers to protect staff on the yard and to prevent escape. my slap jack had big john stamped on it and was dyed black with a hand strap on it.
Thanks for the info. The Big John, that's a monster as far as flat saps go. I have a vintage one I'll do a vid on at some point.
As a matter of function, the asp is nigh on useless outside it's ability to trap/choke. How do I know? I was hit by one, three times. Each time I blocked with my forearm in the style of an okinawan high block, and the result was the baton flying back toward the assailant and what amounted to zero effect on me. With the adrenaline flowing I literally barely even felt anything, and did nothing to phase my ability to function at all. Im not talking the little asp either, this was the full on 25"(?) version used by riot control teams. Still hit like a bitch. I know for a fact that wouldn't be the case with a proper sap. The energy is focused at the point of impact. Imagine getting hit with a ball bat with warmup weight. Now take the same mass and cut a piece of plywood to match it. The get hit with that. Same principle. Mass is only as effective as the means of transmission of energy allows.
@@willroland9811 Yeah historically cops and prison guards would tap you on the wrist or elbow with it and that would be the end of your games as the nerves lit up and rendered your arms useless. Much more effective, especially the old timers that knew how to judge the blow expertly to leave no lasting damage, but to incapacitate a limb for a couple of hours. Also an incredibly easy to improvise weapon, I'm surprised they aren't used more for self defense in prison. Confiscated weapons seem in the majority to be bladed or pointy.
@@Si74l0rd yup, most confiscations are sharp point or edge but occasionally they would turn up according to a relative that worked corrections. A common one that is probably still around was taking a pair of socks 1 inside the other & filling it w/ anything for weight. Dirt/rocks from the yard, screws/nuts, molded soap bar, etc... Another was turning a newspaper into a sap through proper folding. Ideally you'd find something for weight in the business end but using balled up pages still carries a surprising amount of mass. My relative showed me how inmates would make them many yrs ago.
The detail in the video is very Thorough, can’t wait for this book, I’m going to congratulate & thank the author now.
It's sad that I have a permit to carry a glock with 17+ rounds but my government will not allow a leather sap in my pocket.
That was my situation until Sep of this year with the law change here in Texas. Insane.
Why would you want one in your pocket if you weren’t a criminal
@@fossilfountain because it can tap up against my scrotum a little better than my short winkie...😉
Yeah and Georgia there's a long list of weapons they put up at schools and government buildings which only applies to them but technically on the streets of Cary permit only allows you to carry what they define as knife or short gun.
Knife as of 2012 is any blade under 12 inches essentially and short gun is any pistol with a barrel under 12 in.
I've even asked police before what would happen if someone is carrying nunchucks a blackjack or something that's not listed as a weapon...
They generally shrug their shoulders and say well you have a carry permit that probably help lol
so I honestly don't know if the legality of things like blackjacks is really well defined in Georgia but like I said apart from the signs at schools and government buildings I haven't really found anything
The purpose of many of these laws was to disarm the poor and minorities. Only someone of means could afford a pistol, where as the poorest man had access to a knife.
Carried one in the 80s/early 90s as a police officer. Retired in 2019. Loved it. Still have both saps I carried. One was the Texan. Boston leather company I believe.
Thanks for commenting. Boston Leather is still around. Solid value.
Love this video. I picked up a slapjack and blackjack at a garage sale from the son in law of an old time copper.
Thanks for the video.
These are interesting to me. I can see how they would come from a tool. I can imagine one of those being used to loosen a stuck drawer without marring the finish.
back in tucson around 1979 i worked in a bar that had a blackjack by the register. yes it was used
simple fact is that the jacks and saps are more effective than the current batons when used targeting the same body targets as batons. they are not PC and by name listed in state laws as illegal weapons. compact, easy to carry, employ. used one decades ago, always worked. ASP baton is a PoS
We called them a slapstick. When I was in uniform, we actually had a pocket sewn into the leg of our pants for one. I never used it.
I catalogued a lot of names, a LOT, for these weapons in my book. Never came across that one!
Thanks, this was fun and informative! I started researching blackjacks and slungshots because I'm a fan of New York history (and I like weapons). Apparently, a slungshot could be something as simple as a fishing weight on a string, and there's an old 19th. century pic of weapons confiscated by police, and amid the knives and revolvers, you can see fishing weights (I think it's in "Low Life" by Sante, or "Gangs of New York" by Asbury). A Google search brought up a slungshot carried by a ships captain made from a 2 foot belt with a weight at either end.
One weapon that you have to add to your collection are sap gloves--they appear to be ordinary leather gloves but have a weighted pouch (metal filings?) sewn over the knuckles.
Appreciate it! NYC was definitely a town where these were prevalent back in the day. I wish TV shows and movies like Gangs of New York would show that but they seldom do. Speaking of slungshots being just about anything, there was a whopping 6 pound boarding weapon/slungshot using a cannonball with a hole bored through it that sold a while back. Good Lord, talk about overkill.
Chapter 11 of my manuscript deals with sap gloves and the palm sap so I’ll do a video on both at some point.
I have been buying similar products from Russia, including whips...very fun to play with
and effective!
@Bert Claytonlook up RussianWhips.
In 1986 I was the FTO field training officer for a guy that had been a cop from 1970 to 72.....he carried one with him at all times...
He got me one as well....
I put it up as a keep sake...
He used it once on a guy he arrested.... nearly killed him with one smack in the neck/head area...
The guy came around after about 20 minutes....
I found out he had pulled on my trainee......
It was crazy....when I started in law enforcement 1978 it was even more crazy...
Retired last year...
40 years...
Wow, thanks for sharing that.
Great collection! I own a blackjack, braided coil spring and lead, leather ensemble. It's all about the quality of the stitching. They should all be nicknamed "jawbreakers"
Yep, I've got no doubt they could do that.
I’m going to buy it, read it & treat it with the respect that a effort or a personal passion deserves. I’m thing I’m going to want it singed. Can’t wait!
Thank you so much. I slaved over that book and think I can safely say no one else taking that on (something no one else had ever taken on in the history of books) would have put as much into as I did. Kind of freaked out people will actually be reading it now LOL.
A person could make a “camptown” version by filling a short length of hose with birdshot and capping the ends. Or get a good spring at the hardware store, cut the loop off of one end and put a big egg sinker on that end, feed a leather thong through to use as a lanyard, and wrap it all tightly with several layers of electrical tape. Use it as a paper weight or a novelty conversation piece only of course.
Excellent no-nonsense survey. Thanx!
Appreciate it. Thanks for watching!
Oh, wow...that braided convoy in the thumbnail sure brings back memories...
Back in the late 70's all of those old school bulls carried blackjacks & they would part someone's hair with one in a heartbeat...
Ouch, nice bit of confirmation of what I'd read. Thanks!
There was a plainclothes model flat sap, which was quite small and I doubted it's effectiveness. The patrol old-timers carried very large ones, like 10 or 12" in length, made by TEX SHOEMAKER LEATHER. If a guy swung on them, they'd trap a guys arm, turn the sap sideways and break the Radial bone with the narrow hard edge of the sap. The old time Deputy Sheriff's I knew preferred the sap gloves...powdered lead-filled knuckles. If some guy got froggy with them, they'd take them out and slip them on and it was a signal someone was about to get tuned up. Sometimes they'd hold them by the wrist and swing them and smack the guy upside the head and then it was, "Good Night Irene".
Awesome info. I have no doubt that edge strike to the radial would end things quickly. First I've heard of that exact technique with saps even it's popular with other impact weapons (escrima, etc.). Thanks!
Impact weapons have a long history in law enforcement. Of course, the British Bobbies carried a truncheon [short club] for many years, and in fact, still carry an expandable stick. A "Daystick" was a short club carried in a special trouser pocket, concealed so as not to agitate the citizenry. A "Nightstick" was longer and intended to give a little more stand off capability during the more dangerous hours of darkness. I started my L.E. career in the late 1970's and used an LAPD Koga stick. Later in the 80's my agency switched to the aluminum PR24, and then in the 90's to the steel ASP expandable. Later in the 00's we went to a heavier steel expandable called a Peacekeeper. I never liked expandable's...just one more step to perform before you could defend. I did have a Monadnock Billy, which was plastic, had a grenade-knurled grip, and was about 18" and handy for tight quarters, like bar fights where you really couldn't get a windup with a longer stick. A friend wanted it bad so I gave it to him. Later I picked up a nice wooden Billy and used it on foot patrol at night in the waterfront district. There were lots of narrow alleys and doorways and not uncommon to come upon some nefarious activity where self defense might suddenly be required. The Billy was heavy, dense wood and the shortness made it difficult for someone to grasp. I still keep it next to the bed, lol. CHP officers sometimes cut their batons down to 18" so they could leave it in the ring while driving. It fit between the seat and door and wouldn't trip them exiting the vehicle.
You got to carry a lot of classics.
I did, and got to work with some interesting people. I had a 33 year career and saw a LOT of change in L.E. technology and tactics.
If you can, get a copy of the Jan/Feb 2016 THE BACKWOODSMAN magazine. has an excellent historical article on the Slungshot written by Scott Rorebeck. Includes a photo of a Civil War era slungshot and discusses their use by Irish Regiments as a CQB weapon. Also has a story about a mountain man named Armador Sanchez who fought a grizzly Bear using a slungshot...and survived!!!
Nice collection!
Thanks!
As a police officer in the 1970s & 80s, I carried a Texan sap tucked under my belly behind my gunbelt for most of my career. And yes mine did split during a fight and the lead chunk flew out of the leather almost breaking a shop window. Good times.
Wow. Thanks for sharing.
My dad had that exact thing happen using his blackjack on the head of a drunken sailor, while working as a patrolman in the 1960s. After that, he bought one of the flat, slapjack types, and said he always trusted that one more. When I joined the same department many years later, these things had long-since been prohibited for police use, so I never carried one.
I really love the wrapped ones
very informative yet interesting history lesson! I enjoyed this, thank you 🙏🏻
Chris Is It Thanks very much!
Robert, I've got your book and it's OUTSTANDING!!!
I've got a black (I believe) Bucheimer 894 that I bought for $20 or $30 at a gunshow in PHX about 15+ years ago. It's in VERY good condition. I'm lucky to have found it!
Thanks very much. I'm really glad you liked it. Ah, nice find there too.
Thank you for this very educational and interesting video on Saps, Blackjacks and Slungshots. I was doing a crossword puzzle with the a clue of Blackjacks and the answer was Saps. I had no idea what these words referred to and my first internet search attempts still had me puzzled. It was not until seeing your video that I understood the purpose of these intriguing objects.
Ha, that's awesome. Glad I could help and that seems to prove my thesis that there is practically no literature about these, hence my book.
as a teen in the 70s friends dad was a buffalo N.Y. police officer he showed us his blackjack & gave us a light tap with it wow WTF it could kill you if hit hard enough
Sap Gloves are great for defence as well.
As they are known in Europe "balanced driving gloves"
In Germany you’d call them “Totschläger” death club
I'm actually pretty into the history and use of these, having quite good fun making them aswell at the moment, great video
Thank you. Good luck on both fronts.
That was a very nice and educational history of the Black Jack.
Thank you. I’m sitting at a bar right now giving the notes section of my book a final walk through before finally sending them off for publishing along with the rest of the manuscript.
I carry a beaver tail sap every day. On and off duty.
It's been really fun carrying one in my pocket now that the law changed here in TX.
Great review. Thanks a lot for your time
Appreciate it, and thanks for watching.
I saw these things in cartoons since I was a kid.. I usually thought it's a short club that bends due to cartoon physics.. then came the movies and I realised it was made out of leather, still didn't know these things came with such a rich history let alone so many different models and names for them. Gotta love weird stuff like that. Thank you for teaching us.
That's a pleasure to read. Thanks for watching.
I agree i think porky pig had one maybe. No offense! 🍩
Treat the dry ones with neatsfoot oil, saddle soap or leather preserver.
I'm sure u know that already. Great video btw.
I have 1 from Jay-p sap medium, 1 from Cobra Skin John Parlente, small and a blackjack small from Jay-P also. All from the early 1980`s.
Nice collection. I am bad about putting something on my antiques… I do t know why. Good reminder.
Nice video. While watching, I brought mine blackjack out to play with it. I saw it at a knife show and pick it up, shook it, then smack my palm with it! Ow! How much for this, I asked? After buying it I watched seven other guys, separately do the exact same thing with others for sell! It was funny to watch each guy repeat the exact same thing!
Would have been nice to hear the manufacturer and date. Also, an overview of legally owning one in different states would make this an awesome video. Personally, I collect antique English longbows and was thinking of doing a video like this. But that would mean I'd have to clean up my man cave.
I will watch it if you ever do! Just post a link in here. I shy away from the legalities because these are often illegal but in a very confusing maze of differing state ordinances, etc. and I am NOT here to give legal advice (even inadvertently) to anyone. Manufacture & year... part of the fun (and tremendous challenge) is that this is so often not available with these weapons.
Great video, I was always curious about these things
Thank you
Thanks for the video
Considering how little they are referenced in Video Games or Cinema and the fact that I've only known of their existence for only a year now as of when I wrote this comment, yes they are totally underrated now!
When it comes to Conceal Carry, people are millions of times more likely to think of Brass Knuckles and Stiletto Swish Blades.
I've might have seen them in use somewhere once before but I can barely remember.
The only other weapon that I can honestly think of that's slightly more rated than Saps is the Kanabo. It's a bludgeon weapon as well and probably the most devastating out of all man made blunts but it too is almost as underrated as Slapjacks. I think it's because it's shaped a lot like a giant bat with rivets or spikes and people today think it's more convenient to just modify a baseball bat instead but I have seen it in a couple of shows or games over the years unlike these sort of blunts.
"Swishblades"? Maybe "switchblades"!!!!
Swish-blade. In case sassing and slapping are ineffective.
Dang I haven't read my old comment in 5 years@@ThePorkupine73! A switchblade but instead I had a Scratch on the Tongue and said Swiss instead. Sorry about that.
That was my bad @@usernamemykel, so sorry about that.
No need to apologize, as I've been wrong twice myself - ex-wife #1 and ex-wife #2...@@jackharpe3rd233
The "Black Jack" or "Slap Jack" is illegal in most U.S. states. Due to the fact that it is lethal. The head is weighted with lead and the shaft is sprung. When used, it is applied with a quick snap of the wrist and applies a damaging amount of impact to the victim. It was outlawed in the 1950's in the US. The only drawback of it's use is the close proximity needed for it's application.
1 inch hollow tube climbing strap, filled with Bismuth, or lead bird shot. Looped and sewn at the base for wrist, and sewn shut at the tip. Will snap 2X4
I image it would. One of the things that fascinates me about this piece of weaponry history is how they can be made in an endless variety.
@@ObjectHistory I have one in my car, at my front door, and one around my wrist every time I walk my dog. Maybe $3 to make each. Lots, and lots of crazies out there, now that we are in the terminal madness of the end times. BTW my daughter goes to school 2 miles from parkland. Now hold on to your hat....
It was like most of them....
A hoax
@@ObjectHistory www.bitchute.com/video/QEh6suLlJ0qh/
Nice video, My father kept a sap under the seat of his truck for years. Unfortunetly I live in a state where owning one not to mention carrying one is illegal. Of course so is almost any self-defense tool.
#dowhattheytellyou
Just bought your book, one third of the way through it, I must get up to see the one at Hartlepool Historic Quay Museum sometime as that was my home area when young (no museum then). Fascinating subject.
Really appreciate it. Feel free to leave a review on Amazon when you're done (shameless plug).
When I was a kid in the 1970's I stuck a heavy bolt from a Buick motor into a foot long piece of rubber fuel hose, We used to call it the Ethnic Communicator because it surpasses the bounds of language to get your point across.
I've written about some street configurations made with rubber hose but the bolt as load is a new one! I bet it hurt plenty.
My wife's grandfather was a Toledo cop back in the 30s--50s and was involved in taking down the notorious Purple Gang that ran booze across Lake Erie from Detroit to Toledo. His old blackjack--the braided leather one shown here--is in our car just in case it might be called back into service someday. I gave it a good soak in leather creme a couple of years ago and it really sucked the moisture in. I sometimes wonder if it ever "reformed" a gangster back in the day. Sadly, our country today is one in which you are more likely to end up in jail if you defend yourself with one of these than the bad guy who attacked you.
as a teen every cop had one maby 6" long 3" wide you could see the led bar
I was shown a sap made by a criminal, found by a cop, after the criminal tried to dump them. It was a door spring with a knob of lead moulded over one end. It was used to break windows for burglary or for assaults. The guy had also made a window breaker to ransack cars, which consisted of a metal 1-foot ruler, with a hole at one end, thru which the guy had screwed a spark plug, held on by the tip cap of the plug. The electrode of the plug was perfect for breaking car windows, back in the days when car alarms were few and far between.
Thanks for the info. I remember the spark plug window breaking lore from back in the day!
G'day. A source of further info on coshs etc is the book Ashley's Book of Knots. Sailors made "Life Preservers" up to 20 odd inches long.
Hello there. I cite it in my book! Have a whole chapter on sailors and their critical role in the development of this entire weapons family.
Thanks for the info! This was great.
Thank You
I recently made a weapon that's very similar. I guess it's a cross between a blackjack and a life preserver, or what happens when a blackjack and nunchucks have a baby. It's a heavily tapered wooden club, about 8 inches long, with an octagonal cross section, made of a very hard and dense exotic wood, that has a short lanyard, with a large wooden bead at the end. You pinch the skinny end of the club between your thumb and forefinger, while the rest of your fingers wrap around the lanyard, with the pinky finger resting just above the bead. The club pivots between the thumb and forefinger, while the wooden bead prevents the lanyard from pulling through your grasp. It's basically a wooden club that can fit in your pocket, gets extra tip speed, and transfers energy more efficiently. It will certainly break bones and fracture skulls, so it's not exactly a "less-lethal" weapon, but it's certainly less lethal than a knife. Not sure if it's legal to carry in my area, but I plan to find out.
I've wondered about exactly that kind of thing, a baton that you use in a whip-sap like motion. Very interesting.
@@ObjectHistory I'm surprised at how powerful it is. It puts deeper dents in a pine board than a 16 ounce hammer. It also makes a Dasani bottled water explode. I have a 4 foot long club that can barely do that.
I have an old one from WWII that was used on POWs. Not sure which side had it and used it but got it with military collectables and no first hand story.
Very interesting. I once had the chance to buy one that was made during WWII (it had the year stamped on it). Regret not getting it.
Interesting collection and video, but I suggest you put a disclaimer recommending not to hit people in the head with any of these. Even the "soft" saps will fracture a skull relatively easily. The BS of the Film noir tough guy hero being blackjacked then waking up with a mild headache is exactly that BS. My studies of usage of these weapons suggests that strikes to limbs and the Torso were more than enough to incapacitate someone.Respect to all.
there's one variant, i've read about exactly once, in some old short stopy from the 1800th around 20 years ago, in some book i cant remember the name of. (something like dirty tales from a harbor town) but the idea stuck with me 'till i made one. it was described as (paraphrasing) "a thin rope, as long as the fisherman was to his shoulder. with a loop on one end, and a quarter pound sinker on the other. .. he threw and swung it at theyr heads, and they scremed and they ran"
sounds like a light version of a meteor hammer to me.
Awesome find! Thanks.
Sounds like a Monkey's Fist.
@@TheKitchenerLeslie that's what it is. normally a monkey's fist was used as an aid to throw the thinner ropes of a ship's rigging. but there arent many historiccal mentions of them at all.
@@Ucceah From what I've read, Irish Sailors and Railroad Workers used them as their weapon of choice. A group would encircle the two fighters in the middle to screen out what was actually happening. An Irishman would sling the shot from a distance, sort of like a sucker-punch... then he'd pummel his opponent by swinging the ball into the guy's head. Almost like a lock in a sock, or a cue ball in a handkerchief.
My brother in law and some of his fellow officers used to carry weighted gloves before the police department banned them.
Sap gloves- very effective. A former LEO told me about using them as a sap if you didn't have a time to put them on! I hadn't known about that until he told me.
Back when I first started to work as a thief I used a blackjack all the time, but when I became more of a pro sneaksey the blackjack saw less and less use.
as ateen in the 70s every cop had a blackjack on his utility belt
Back in the day the cops use to carry them in NYC.
When I first started in law enforcement I carried a black jack very much like the one at 7:02
Nice!
@@ObjectHistory never had to use it did pull it out a few times and the sight of the thing stoped the problem
I have a cool blackjack from the late 80's that is leather with a spring and a chunk of lead inside the spring in cased in leather! it will knock someone out
May be an old police one (if U.S.). They were still using them but on a much more limited basis around then.
My dad used to make me carry one just like that in Toronto when I was a teenager.
Police supply catalogs still offered blackjacks for sale in the 1960's
Absolutely. I acquired a bunch of vintage catalogs as part of my research. One is from 1978 and still had a variety of options.
@@ObjectHistory I have two that my uncle(retired cop) gave me. He said never swing it. Instead, hold the spring in your fist and punch quickly and sharply (a jab) When your fist makes contact with their face, the lead striker will impact about an inch to the left of your index finger knuckle(for right hand punch) For my State of South Carolina these are illegal to carry, but brass knuckles are OK. So for personal defense,I carry pepper spray and knuckles. That way they can't see what's coming.
The straight punch technique is in my book! Those sound like awesome family keepsakes you have there. I’m in TX so can walk around with a broadsword but not a sap or blackjack.
some of these have major Sock full of quarters vibes
About them coming apart st the seams, have you ever seen a pair of boots come apart suddenly or leather wallet.
It's very rare but not theoretical, I have instances of it happening in my book with both homemade and police saps. I think you really have to be neglectful to let that happen, or very unlucky in buying one that happens to have a defect.
Overtime, cops carrying the flat sap in their waiste band or back pocket while sweating, the sweat deteriorates the leather and that's why stitched leather would break releasing the lead inside.
They didn't clean and wax or oil the leather after each shift so it eroded from the chemicals in the sweat.
Never heard that tidbit.
Great video. My dad’s nypd uniform pants had a carpenter-style sap pocket along the side of his leg, to prevent sitting on it, right where your hand would fall at your side. I understand sand-filled canvas tubes, sewn shut, were used as primitive anesthetic before ether, but it was risky. If your anesthesiologist (!) was insufficiently skilled, you might not need surgery after all. You’d be dead.
Wow, so he was a cop on the beat in NYC back in the day. Also, I need to research that bit about the anesthetic!
Great Video
Thanks!
New subscriber great video thanks for sharing your knowledge and your collection!
Awesome. Thanks.
New Sub.... your cool.... thanks 😊
I never bought one of these, but I have made several over the years. In my state they are legal as long as not concealed and within easy reach. (concealed OR handy: you can have one, but not both.) I am an old man so if circumstances warrant I move it from the trunk of my car to dangling from my wrist. Mine are colored international distress orange, so there is no question of concealment. I am surprised and a little dismayed that so many people do not know what they are, or what their capabilities are. They are a deadly weapon. Hope I never have to give a lesson in that if I find I have to hit the ATM late at night. I try to avoid that too.
Interesting, orange is a color I've never seen before and I've seen a LOT of these, homemade and professional. Modern makers are way more playful with color than back in the day and I'm still sure I've never seen one like that.
@@ObjectHistory Yeah, a little strange. But if I ever have to use it and it shows up in court they will ask where it was on my person, The answer is in my hand, or out in the open on the seat beside me. Bright orange. They usually get cute on the 'concealed' prohibition because of its size. The argument is a small brown or black object is concealed even if you have it in plain sight. At least I will have 'no intent to conceal' covered. Who knows? Maybe I will put a harness bell on it! Hehe!
@@johnswoodgadgets9819 I like it. It's a good point really. Not that I'm a lawyer (disclaimer)!
I am on Episode 7 of the TV show Reacher, which is amazing btw. He just picked up a blackjack from a hunting surplus store. I was like...WTF is that used for. So here I am! Thanks for this video!
That's exactly why I did this (video, book, etc.)! I knew people would stumble over these in pop culture and at least some would want to learn what that weird 'thing' is from the movie, show, novel. I have that show on my list. Need to move it up the queue now.
@@ObjectHistory Nice...so I got to the part where Reacher had to go stealth, he knocked the crap out of one of the bad guys with it so he could sneak up on the rest of the team. LOL
In NYC, slungshots were legislated to be considered illegal to possess, but because of a scribner's error, "slungshots" were entered as "slingshots" in the penal code, and never changed.
Some of the court transcripts where they're trying to figure out the difference between the two terms are pretty funny.
I wonder if this is the case in Indiana as well where slingshots are illegal but its stores provide weapons for half the firearms homicides in Chicago.
I still have my grandfather's that he carried when he was a bus driver in the 50s
What a great keepsake.
When I was a kid in the 90s I had to do a research paper on this and I got different info. The flat weapon was the flap jack, flat jack, slap jack, and or black jack that was adopted by cops from criminals. During that time the shoe sowing machine was invented and the mobsters were known to be big into cloths. I'll come back to that. They needed a silent easy concealable weapon that left less bruises. Which made it the ghost weapon for a long time. People would swear they were beat by a few big muscular men and the cops would ask where are all the bruises. Or the victims would say they were hit with a hard heavy object their first thought and questions would be, where you hit with a club or a bat. Where are the bruises? To get to the final result they went from rubber hoses to phone books to hoses with wire rope in the middle of rubber hoses not in this order. Then the shoe sowing machine was invented a machine that improved the life of the leather shoe to new levels. The round weapon was used by cops and was a sap it went from being a club, bully club, Billy club to a sap(got smaller) from the union riots and the Great Depression again cops, poor people, and store owners needed things to carry with them at all times with all the civil unrest. Clubs were to big the slap jack and the sap were such common weapons at the time you can find them in law. An Example would be Alabama has it in law that a man can beat his wife on the court house steps on Sunday as long as the weapon does not stick out from his fist more then 2 inches or two finger lengths. This is all from old memories. But I know you can take good info from here I have carried a monkeys fist ever since this report. Over all what I came to is that if you want to pin point a weapon out and say these all came from here it would be the mace. I personally only saw the nautical use of the monkeys fist to be true here. The monkeys fist breaks bones and has a higher chance to be fatal. In that era the cat of nine was the stun gun as you say. The monkeys fist had a steel or lead ball in it with a longer flex point. The volchakta or the Russian stiff whip would be more like the sap and slapjack.
I have a lot of documented evidence in my book (patent applications, order forms, newspaper articles) of flat saps being an evolution of the police blackjack (e.g. round). I'd LOVE to read your paper! Do you have it or any of the sources you used? I would always be willing to add new data to my book and republish. A lot of what you mention is in my book (rubber insulated wire, phone books, volchakta, monkey's fists and their longer flex points, etc., etc.). I have a mob incident where the rubber-copper wire was used in a specific hit job.
hitchhiker42- YT will not let me respond to your post for some reason... I only meant the intent behind the design (e.g. kinder and gentler). They were not designed with edge strikes in mind. It seems enterprising folks figured out that alternate use later. I get in to seam strikes in other videos. Thanks
Yeah I heard some cops would strike with the thin end on the thigh or upper arm and while it is not cutting, it definitely concentrates the power and causes deep bruising in the muscle group. Apparently striking the area on the neck under the ear (with the flat part this time) is a good way to cause a blackout. Must be interference with a main nerve or the carotid artery? I don't know the mechanics of why. Anyway, quite a powerful weapon in a small package.
Agreed. FYI- The spot behind the ear has been a target in traditional martial arts since time immemorial. It's basically a gap in your armor that lets the impact, or worse weapon, get to the brain.
James Bond “moonraker” book brought me here. 007 knocks out and searches a person and discovers a small hidden cosh
Nice! I have a James Bond reference in my book but not that one.
These were commonly used by SOE during WWII where Ian Flemming probably learned of their use. They were used as silent assassination weapons@@ObjectHistory
@@johnnemo6509 I have an instance of a SOE operative using one in a covert WWII mission in my 1st book.
The SANDMAN puts you to sleep!
It makes sense now!
Until the late 1960s, British police were issued a rain Cape made of blue Melton wool and oil cloth. It weighed several pounds and was carried tightly rolled and strapped. Many a likely lad found himself on the floor after a copper "accidentally" slapped him with a cape.
Nice! Didn’t know that one.
I joined the Met Police in 1973 and I was issued with the cape. Older officers used to tell me of its use and effectiveness as a pursuader
Probably where the football hooligans learnt the hard way about the effectiveness of a crack round the head. They made there own versions out of things you could legitimately take into a football ground, coins, newspapers and liquid. Fold the coins into the paper, roll up and wet..
'The brick' worked.
Very effective
I still remember when cops in Texas used to carry them.
They were probably completely gone by the time I arrived in the state ('91)
Fascinating! Thanks for sharing!!!
Have a look online for Blackjacks and Saps by Don Rearic, he's a very knowledgeable guy in Argentina he also is a fan of pocket or yarawa sticks for self defence.
I have been making a few types of blackjack and sap for friends and acquaintances for a few years, a number of friends who do security in Spanish music clubs use them and I used to do security driving for VIPs always carried one of my 80g palm saps. The flat saps you show can be used flat or for muscle mass ares edge on, you would be amazed at the damage they will do, also the stitching is done the same way a western saddle is put together, they don't quit when you are pulling on a cow and neither will a decently made sap.
Don was the very first person I interviewed for my book and he's a credited source in it! The edge on strikes with the flat saps really surprised me when I first started my research. Talk about a nasty surprise. Very interesting experience you have there.
@@ObjectHistory I corresponded with Don for a bit years ago, a very nice guy and a life long martial artist, he was the first and only person I have ever spoken to who had a really good knowledge of saps.
I also make coin saps for friends in the UK, designed to look like a coin holder primarily but useable for self defence, UK self defence laws make very difficult to justify using a weapon of any kind unless you can show conclusively that you are defending against a similar level of attack. Using a dedicated weapon is illegal so something like a coin sap can possibly be considered an improvisation so long as it doesn't look like a sap.
Nice. Love that there are so many people keeping this old craft alive. The coin sap is a classic.
You could hit a man with this without leaving a mark when used correctly....a mob favorite....a cop favorite..... you had to practice alot to become very proficient and create damage without leaving marks...
1950s interagation tool.....
Just saying....
@Shukin Andjivin correct
Absolutely.
I have those mentioned in my book LOL.
Very interesting
Thanks much
Are there any books with sap techniques?
I would recommend Libre Fighting
Systems (Libre Knife Fighting Guild) materials. In terms of a how-to manual you can find on Amazon, there's Darrin Cook's The Fighting Sap.
Sand bagging has along history in England. Thats the one that is Filled with Sand/ A Sand Sap.
Yes! I write extensively about that in my first book.
I've had a fascination with what I'd call non-lethal concealed carry items for awhile now. Being in the UK carrying anything for your own self-defence is illegal so I've been looking at easily concealed items that won't arouse suspicion if a police officer stops you.
I was lucky enough to manage to get a palm sap. I'd heard stories of policemen being able to knock people out with a simple slap around the face and after a bit of research I discovered the palm sap, a block of lead or steel in a sewn leather pouch with straps that wrapped around the back of your hand, securing the weight in the middle of your hand, effectively turning your hand into a sap. The one I own would probably lay someone out even with a moderate slap in the face.
Carry a small can of Axe body spray, you get someone in the eyes with that it'll put them in a world of hurt and then your assailant will smell like a douchebag
@@Saw_Squatch At the moment a small squirt bottle of tea tree solution for sanitising your hands would put a world of hurt on someone, any mucus membranes light up pretty fast and they wouldn't be able to see to do anything else. I'd imagine they'd require quite the eye bath too, as like Capsaicin it's an oil. It's not damaging in the long term as far as I'm aware though, I've rubbed it in my eyes before and it just hurts like a motherfucker, but a concentrated solution of tea tree oil makes your eyes water from a few inches away.
Anyway, legal to carry and quite a sensible thing to grab from your pocket in a contingency situation. It doesn't sound contrived to be carrying it, nor to use it in self defense.
One very big movie wear the blackjack makes an appetence is One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. One of the orderlies is armed with one and the mere sight of it convinces the protagonist he's not going out the window.
I knew about the one in the play the movie is based from when we read it in school long ago. But I haven’t actually seen the movie (Oscar winner too I think). I’ll have to make time, thanks.
my neighbor family was in law enforcement a long time ago, she allowed he five year old son play with and ruin her grandpa's police black jack, was all leather that looked like a tuna can with a strap going from one side to the next from the early 1930s.
Sounds like a palm sap maybe?
could be? I'm not much on this subject.
Guarantee does not cover shark bite, bear attack, or children under 5.
A homemade blackjack just a hose with coins inside will be horrible experience to anyone getting hit by it.
Agreed.
Is this where the term "busted" came from?
Vikings used a sand sack to subdue slaves and prisoners when on raids circa 900ad. I would like for you to do a history of the truncheon and billy,esp the short ones used by British police.
I need a good source on that if you have any (regarding the Vikings). I reached out to a few professors of Scandinavian history in trying to come up with something regarding Viking sap-like weapons and no one had anything. I have a mention of Vikings in my book and would love to beef it up in an updated edition.
Truncheon- yes, definitely at some point. I have 40,000 in the bank now for my next book which will be more broad based than the sap one. I'll get back to that after the holidays to finish it up, then think about what my next subject will be but I see this making it in there somewhere.
I wonder if people make them today with tungsten weights. Tungsten is 19.3 grams per ml. That's the density of gold. And you could just use relatively cheap fishing weights. Of course you couldn't melt it as easily as lead. It has an insanely high melting point. That's why they use it for light bulb filaments.
Yeah, I think lead's ability to be worked coupled with it's density/mass is how it was historically landed on as the go to material. Something like Tungsten would provide awesome bang for the buck because you wouldn't need as much as with other materials.