Gizmodo: Weapon

Mary Poppins Has Nothing On The Unbreakable Fighting Umbrella (John Steed, however...)

Jack Loftus — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 20:00:00 EDT

Unbreakable Fighting Umbrellas have been around for a little while now, but today we know of one government that actually uses them to protect its president. That government is the Philippines, and the protected president is Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. She wouldn't have it any other way. Further testimonials for the $180 multi-purpose weapon/rainstopper from Secret Service agencies beyond the Philippines are just as glowing: "Your product is simple and affective as we saw in your video. I can carry it everywhere. Many other agencies wanted to know where they could purchase this umbrella," said one proud customer on the Unbreakable Fighting Umbrella product page. If you haven't seen the video yet, it's worth a look, for nothing else than the fact that Thomas Kurz ("the world's foremost expert on flexibility training") uses one of these rainstoppers to chop a watermelon in two.

[Wired]

Brass Knuckle Umbrella is a Class 5 Weapon

Sean Fallon — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 19:00:53 EDT

According to the design page, this brass knuckle umbrella or "Umbuster" was categorized as a class 5 weapon by the Victorian Police—the primary law enforcement agency in Victoria Australia. That would make it illegal to own there without a license. I don't know about all of that considering that it appears to be a concept, but I do know you could do some serious damage with it. Then again, if you got in a scuffle in the rain, the drag from the open umbrella may render your punch harmless—resulting in a swift and brutal ass kicking. [Sruli Recht via Likecool]

Porcupine, The Weaponized Flashlight: Blinding, Slashing, Worrying

Kit Eaton — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 07:57:12 EDT

Okay, the flashlight machine gun was alarming enough, but now there's also the Pentagon Porcupine weaponized flashlight. A kind of all-in-one gadget for the frightened, it can help you find your car keys if you drop them in the dark, and/or blind and wound an attacker. Or victim, for that matter.

The eye-dazzling power comes from a 70 lumen xenon bulb, which is powerful even while it's no maxablaster, while the spiky bezel is sharpened "more than ordinary crenellated bezels" for slashing and stabbing action. The spikes are retractable, so you can safely slip this into a pocket, we guess. In olive drab, for that extra "military" chic, the 4.8 oz 5-inch flashlight will give 60 minutes of continuous light from its batteries.

I've got no idea who'd carry this creepy thing around: I guess you'd have to be pretty scared indeed if something like this in your bag made you feel safer. But, if you're really into personal protection, it's available for $129. [Pentagonlight via Wired gadgets]

Brass Knuckle Chair Punches Your Butt With Comfort

Sean Fallon — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 18:30:35 EST

After a long night at the roadhouse, nothing beats regaining consciousness in the morning to a fresh cup of coffee in a brass knuckle mug (version 1 or version 2), then sitting down in your comfy Brass Knuckle Chair to ice down your wounds and unwind. Careful though, the upholstery is white—so you wouldn't want to bleed all over it. Prices available upon request. [FistFire via DVICE]

Kalashnikov AK-47 Converted into Wiimote

Jesus Diaz — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 09:50:33 EST

Now you can convert your very own AK-47 and feel like a Soviet soldier while killing crazy bunnies and Zelda goblins. It may not be as cool as firing a bazooka in a 360-degree environment, but it definitely beats the Nintendo Wii Zapper. We talked with its creator about all the details:

Jesus Diaz: Is this a real AK-47 or a replica? Where did you get it?
Donald: Oh heavens, no. It is not a real AK-47. It used to be an airsoft gun, made by CYMA I believe. It is a cheap toy that shoots little plastic projectiles at very low velocity, but it is the same size as a real rifle. And after removing the small electric gearbox and inner barrel, it's mostly hollow.

I don't recall exactly where I got it (it was on my shelf for some time from a past project) but it was from one of numerous mail-order vendors of
airsoft guns. It is available from any number of sources: a Google search for "CYMA AK-47" will turn up quite a few results, probably a bunch from
eBay, even. The going price seems to be about 30$. The real AK-47, among many other guns, is not possible to be owned by civilians due to the firearms laws here in Canada - just in case you were interested.

JD: How much did the whole project cost?
D: Including the Wiimote and cost of the AK it's probably around $80. That sounds expensive, but the Wiimote (+ the nunchuck) is the brunt of that
cost.

The AK was already on my shelf and unused from a previous project, so it was "free" in a way for me.

Not counting the Wiimote and the AK, the only cost was some time, wire, and a couple switches.

JD: How much time did it take?
D: About 10-15 hours total, including all the hemming and hawing about how what is going to fit where. This was in small batches of time over the
course of many evenings. It was a "because it's there" project.

JD: What's your tech background? I'm guessing that you must be have plenty of experience doing electronic mods, so how difficult do you
think this would be for a beginner?
D: I'm as comfortable as I'll get when it comes to working on expensive/fragile/small things. I do a lot of electronic modding and fiddling - some of it is professional development/prototype work (but unlike the Wii AK-47, that stuff isn't usually very interesting).

Electronically speaking this mod is straightforward - the only things being done are extending out the A and B buttons and the IR Camera on wires so that they can be relocated within the AK-47's plastic body. There isn't any swapping of components, or anything.

But it *does* involve desoldering a sensitive component (the camera) with lots of small pins, and then re-soldering it on the end of small wires. It's certainly possible to bugger up the Wiimote in that process.

If someone owns their own soldering station and feels comfortable tinning and soldering very small wires, and feels confident they can avoid solder bridges, they should be fine. If they even know what any of that means, they're probably be good to go!

JD: Any new Wiimote projects in sight? I have to say that the toilet plunger mode sounds amazing :-)
D: Well, once I complete a project and have it working I quickly bore of it -so it's only a matter of time before I pull the Wiimote's parts out of that AK to try something else.

I may put the Wiimote's IR camera on the brim of a hat to see what it's like to point by moving my head. My gut tells me that might not work so hot, but I'd like to try it out anyway.

[I Make Projects]

Machine Gun Violin

Brian Lam — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 18:03:10 EDT

This is a machine gun violin concept by Wei Lieh Lee of the School of Visual Arts. Looks like someone resented their mandatory music lessons. [via the amazing Geekologie]

Rose Petal Cannon: My Love Knows No Sane Boundaries

Brian Lam — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 23:45:35 EDT

I'm not getting married anytime soon, but if I were, I'd have to arm a platoon of flower girls with these Rose Petal Cannons. No better way to express undying love than with pyrotechnic floral buckshot. –Brian Lam

Rose Petal Cannon [Uber Review]

Ancient DIY Electric Centrifuge BB Gun To Shoot Your Eye Out

Brian Lam — Sat, 30 Dec 2006 09:44:46 EST

This DIY electric centrifuge BB gun may be from a 1963 issue of Pop Mech. And it's more of a toy than the full on killing machine that the Dread centrifuge gun is. But that doesn't mean it can't hurl pellets at ridiculous velocity. According to the article, the muzzle velocity will reach 5,000 feet per second, which is better than a rifle. Click on the image for the full schematic.–Brian Lam

DIY centrifuge weapon from 1963 Popular Mechanics [The Boing, thanks Xeni]