[Cenobite]

Onslaught said:

while not readily available right now, a serviceable mace can be welded up in as little as an hour.

you could even take that crowbar and chop the curved end off, weld on a "head" (possibly made 1/4" plate or leaf spring) and you're good to go.
the straight end of the crowbar is the only part really good for prying anyway.

on a slight side note; has anyone evar actually tried to pry open a locked door? not so easy. i'd rather use a sledge hammer or a shotgun.

the nice thing about purpose built weapon is that you know it'll work. many of the alteratives i've seen mentioned, from bats to sledgehammers are tools. they are tools pressed into service as weapons. such misuse will eventually lead to the failure of the tool.

Remember skullcrusher?

http://img.photobuck...Esproc/SC01.jpg

http://img.photobuck...Esproc/SC02.jpg

I already found a waterjet comany who can cut me those flanges. I want 6 around the hitch ball, 4 is easy to weld, 6...is hard as I want it perfectly even.

For those who are wandering what this monstrousity is. Thats a 3/4 inch steel rod with thread at the end to fit the coupling, and a trailer hitch ball for that crushing weight. Welded to it will be the flanges to make an authentic Flanged Mace. Either two handed or one handed, it weights just under 14 lb right now, putting some sledgehammers to shame, and unlike a sledgehammer the handle will never break or bend.

I was thinking of threading the other end and placing another coupling so I could fit it with a piercing end. Mace with interchangeable parts! Where else can you find one?

Yours for a low price of $299.95!

Heh, Im just joking. :)




Check out some of these, theyre replicas but damn good ones, look sturdy too.
http://www.by-the-sw...ning_Stars.html

[mattifikation]

Remember that a weapon is a tool, and that every tool will eventually fail.

Every tool. Even if it's never misused.

[Cenobite]

mattifikation said:

Remember that a weapon is a tool, and that every tool will eventually fail.

Every tool. Even if it's never misused.

I dont agree with your analogy. A weapon is a weapon, a tool is a tool and can sometimes be used as a weapon.

Break a sword...and youre screwed, break a crow bar....well, now there is something I would like to see.

[JakAttak]

I'd take a crowbar over a sword any day.

[Dave Of The Dead]

I completely agree with Onslaught on the note that you can't really pry open a locked door. On the other hand, you can pry open a stuck door and other things much better suited for the crowbar's use.

Then I also agree with mattification on the fact that anything that you use as both a tool and a weapon will break or get damaged sooner or later. In the scenario of zombies, you will have to crush or penetrate the skull. This will cause wear on whatever you use. The crowbar will become more blunt on the tips and other things may occur. I would really like to do a destruction test on a standard crowbar some day just to see what it would take to make one useless.

[mattifikation]

Sorry, but a tool is an object made to help accomplish a task, and a weapon is a tool because it helps accomplish the task of killing things. "Weapon" is just a specific type of tool.

Saying a weapon isn't a tool is like saying a car isn't a machine, or a shed isn't a building.

[bandits1]

When we say "crowbar" we're actually talking about a 24"-36" wrecking bar, right? Not a little flat pry-bar or nail-puller?

I, too, would be interested in seeing what could destroy a crowbar. We have a couple that are decades old and have seen many rough battles with tile and moss rock walls, wood framing, etc..., and while the tips are pretty worn-down, I don't see them breaking or becoming unuseable any time soon.

[Onslaught]

mattifikation said:

Sorry, but a tool is an object made to help accomplish a task, and a weapon is a tool because it helps accomplish the task of killing things. "Weapon" is just a specific type of tool.

Saying a weapon isn't a tool is like saying a car isn't a machine, or a shed isn't a building.

i absolutely agree matt.

i was considering that thought while writing my original post, but decided to let it go. glad someone mentioned it.

any tool (weapons included) will fail faster when pressed into hard service that they were not designed for.

knives don't last too long as prybars, swords don't last too long as shovels, shovels don't last too long as halberds, modern urbanites don't last too long as medieval warriors. you get the picture.
when anything is placed under stresses that it was not designed to handle it will break.
you can walk around all day, carry enormous weight on your shoulders, and your knee will be fine. place stress perpendicular to the knee joint in the form of a kick and watch that knee joint fail.

bandits, it's hard to subject a wrecking bar to any sort of stress that it wasn't designed for.

[Cenobite]

bandits1 said:

When we say "crowbar" we're actually talking about a 24"-36" wrecking bar, right? Not a little flat pry-bar or nail-puller?

I, too, would be interested in seeing what could destroy a crowbar. We have a couple that are decades old and have seen many rough battles with tile and moss rock walls, wood framing, etc..., and while the tips are pretty worn-down, I don't see them breaking or becoming unuseable any time soon.

Yes we are talking about a hefty sized wrecking bar.

Also, one may think that when they say 36" crow bar, that all crow bars are the same. They are not, Ive seen ones that are really thin and others thick so there is also that.

Finally, I never said steel tools were forever, yes crow bars bent but I worked with them and they went through concrete, steel, wood, gravel, you name it, the usual tasks and sure they had some dents in them and chipped/bent edges at the ends. But are you saying a human skull is stronger than concrete? I mean to bash a skull...and to crack a concrete wall....see what breaks cracks first.

How many zombies do you plan to go through that you would damage a tool that was made to go through much rougher surfaces.

BOTTOM LINE! Im pretty sure I can part with my "broken" crowbar and replace it almost anywhere. Where does one replace their expensive sword/ mace.

[Onslaught]

Cenobite said:

BOTTOM LINE! Im pretty sure I can part with my "broken" crowbar and replace it almost anywhere. Where does one replace their expensive sword/ mace.

the same place i got that sword or mace.

my garage.

[Cenobite]

Onslaught said:

the same place i got that sword or mace.

my garage.

What, did you rob a museum? :scare:

I meant for an everage person.

[Onslaught]

Cenobite said:

What, did you rob a museum? :scare:

I meant for an everage person.

what's not average about oxy-acetylene welding?

[Faran Brigo]

Well, in Mexico and apparently in the U.S. you can have acetylene in your house. NFPA Hazard Label (health-fire-reactivity): 0-4-3. That makes it about as safe as propane, used as cooking and engine fuel.

[Cenobite]

Behemoth said:

It's not the gas as such. It's the tanks that hold the said gasses. I would be surprised if the fire department ( i am talking about cities ) didn't take a dim view of individuals storing tanks in their basements.

Important thing is that a system of tanks like that is a hobby to some. Hobbies are expensive.

Average person doesnt have a welding station in their garage, basement...I dont.

Wouldnt mind having one to experiment with steel.

[Faran Brigo]

Behemoth said:

It's not the gas as such. It's the tanks that hold the said gasses. I would be surprised if the fire department ( i am talking about cities ) didn't take a dim view of individuals storing tanks in their basements.

What do you think propane and cooking gas are stored in? cardboard boxes or gas tanks?

But yes it's illegal for them to be indoors, they're supposed to be outdoors and connect indoors through tubing here.

[Darkness]

"Okay, guys, you're getting a bit side tracked, time to get back to the topic." ;-)

[Faran Brigo]

Right, right. Anyway the point was that it's easier (to an extent) to repair bludgeons and edged weapons than firearms, all other things being equal. I'm pretty sure you could also repair bludgeons and edged weapons with an arc welder, those are relatively common and if you still have access to electricity you're good to go. It does take a bit of skill and a steady pulse to get things done carefully that way though.