Thread: Blackjacks and sap

Originally Posted by BobH

It's a sad day when you feel you have to go armed by some means when out and about. Never really felt that way most of my life now I am beginning to wonder.

Bob

Bob, you know, I am a locksmith and in this profession people will drag you right in the middle of their disputes without telling you and expect you to take their side while they use you as a human shield. In spite of all this I never carried for over 35 years. Maybe that was just blissful ignorance. Then the housing bubble burst and in 2 years I rekeyed 401 foreclosed properties. Couple with that that people were in the middle of the Great Recession and some had become desperate. Add on top of that the rise in drug use especially meth. I never did but I know locksmiths in other areas that walked in on meth kitchens. Those guys are nuts to begin with and now they are maybe high as a kite and facing serious jail time but they are holed up in a place that has no links to them. God only knows what they might do to some poor unsuspecting soul who stumbles into their off the grid operation. They could kill you and vanish with no way to trace them.
Although I never walked in on one in operation I did come behind an abandoned one (pretty sure) and I have walked in on squatters. At that point I said, maybe it's time. I have a family to support and I just can't take that chance.
I'm a God fearing man and I do not wish to harm anyone but I can't let anyone harm my family by harming me. In that situation I will ask forgiveness and pray for his soul before I send him to meet his maker instead.

Originally Posted by PaulFLUS

Bob, you know, I am a locksmith and in this profession people will drag you right in the middle of their disputes without telling you and expect you to take their side while they use you as a human shield. In spite of all this I never carried for over 35 years. Maybe that was just blissful ignorance. Then the housing bubble burst and in 2 years I rekeyed 401 foreclosed properties. Couple with that that people were in the middle of the Great Recession and some had become desperate. Add on top of that the rise in drug use especially meth. I never did but I know locksmiths in other areas that walked in on meth kitchens. Those guys are nuts to begin with and now they are maybe high as a kite and facing serious jail time but they are holed up in a place that has no links to them. God only knows what they might do to some poor unsuspecting soul who stumbles into their off the grid operation. They could kill you and vanish with no way to trace them.
Although I never walked in on one in operation I did come behind an abandoned one (pretty sure) and I have walked in on squatters. At that point I said, maybe it's time. I have a family to support and I just can't take that chance.
I'm a God fearing man and I do not wish to harm anyone but I can't let anyone harm my family by harming me. In that situation I will ask forgiveness and pray for his soul before I send him to meet his maker instead.

Yes, I do understand how the world has changed and not for the better. You have to do what you feel you have to do.

Bob

I turned a fat short baseball bat on the lathe one day. The fat end has a 4" diameter. The Bat is 14" long and the handle is a comfortable grip for swinging it. I keep it in my Big Truck and call it a tire thumper. But it will work just fine for a head thumper if need be. Made of some very hard and heavy wood a ran across but don't know what it is. I do thump my tires with it so it has lots of marks on it. I'm not allowed to Carry any sort of weapon in my job and I think that is crazy. I understand bullets and large amounts of fuel is not a good mix but when fuel was 6+ bucks a gallon I was feeling very vulnerable.

Originally Posted by Gasman

I turned a fat short baseball bat on the lathe one day. The fat end has a 4" diameter. The Bat is 14" long and the handle is a comfortable grip for swinging it. I keep it in my Big Truck and call it a tire thumper. But it will work just fine for a head thumper if need be. Made of some very hard and heavy wood a ran across but don't know what it is. I do thump my tires with it so it has lots of marks on it. I'm not allowed to Carry any sort of weapon in my job and I think that is crazy. I understand bullets and large amounts of fuel is not a good mix but when fuel was 6+ bucks a gallon I was feeling very vulnerable.

"Speak softly and carry a big stick." Theodore Roosevelt

That also kinda applies to Tom's last post