Thread: British "Cosh" or American "Blackjack"?

Phrank,,, I would rub a little leather conditioner on it & make a display out of it. Equipment of a bygone era,,

Originally Posted by Hirlau

Phrank,,, I would rub a little leather conditioner on it & make a display out of it. Equipment of a bygone era,,

Bygone? I guess it depends on the neighborhood or the neighbor hoods.

My dad kept a cosh/blackjack under the counter of our small grocery store during the 40's and 50's. If he sensed trouble from a customer he would quietly pull it out and tap impatiently on the counter. Never saw it used on anybody.

Originally Posted by Hirlau

Phrank,,, I would rub a little leather conditioner on it & make a display out of it. Equipment of a bygone era,,

Thanks, was thinking that....it's a tough object, and the lead ball at the business end and the thick wire spring if can see where there used to be a loop or something.

I'm going to weigh it, but there is a solid lead ball in the end, it's pretty hefty in the hand and I don't want to speculate, but I think this thing would really, really hurt if you got wacked about the body with it...and Hirlau, hefting that thing in the hand, I can completely see why you'd the basically, the step right before you went to a firearm.

I read some more stuff about it, and we're also wondering if it might in fact have been his fathers, from WW1 - where it was used to discipline, "malingerers, cowards, and disobedience" in the trenches....

Neat thread, and find phrank.
And the word of the day= 'malingerers'.
Had to look it up,
Thanks for sharing.

Was a small town cop ( like Mayberry RFD) in the sixties. Carried a slapjack then. Some of the Farm kids were humongous! Never needed it, they knew they'd get whupped at home if they caused trouble to someone on the force...
~Richard

Jimmy,

My grandfather carried the one that you'd shown when he was a Washington State Game Protector, it was wrapped in black leather and there seemed to be a 'spring' or something similar in the 'handle' as the handle was very flexible/bendable.

This one:



He said that the 'head' contained a chunk of lead. He never said if he'd ever needed to use it

Originally Posted by MikeB52

Neat thread, and find phrank.
And the word of the day= 'malingerers'.
Had to look it up,
Thanks for sharing.

My grandfather called the one I'd shown a 'Sap'

The things came in all sizes and varieties. They also had different names for them. I was originally issued a blackjack and turned it in for a "Slapper". Actually the large flat ones were less lethal. With a small blackjack one good hit on the head could kill someone because of the concentrated force of impact.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

The things came in all sizes and varieties. They also had different names for them. I was originally issued a blackjack and turned it in for a "Slapper". Actually the large flat ones were less lethal. With a small blackjack one good hit on the head could kill someone because of the concentrated force of impact.

Yes - this one has a heavy lead ball in it, looks like it would punch a nice hole in your skull with little effort - scary thing - packed away now, don't want the wife to get her hands on it.....