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Post by Bluntsword on Jul 5, 2013 0:22:13 GMT
What's the best home made emergency armor can people make?
Remember it has to be stuff that most people would have laying around in the home and shouldn't take toooo long to make.
The armor has to protect you from melee weapons (knife, sword, axe, spear, arrow) and has to protect you from scratches/bites.
Armor to stop penetration: - how about sticky tapping dry magazines around body parts (arms & leg) - sticky tape a large pot lid to your chest and back (body) - I have a bunch of blank DVD's, maybe in a bunch (3 or 4), make into like a scale maile, configuration??? (body) - leather jacket, how good is it as armor?
Padding to absorb blunt force: - 2 or 3 layers of jumper, clothing - thick woolen jumper - 4 or 5 t-shirts - stuff a couch pillow front and back
What do you guys think.
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Post by P. Schontzler on Jul 5, 2013 20:53:05 GMT
It all depends on what you are preparing for. Any firearms will penetrate any item around the house you can wear. You might be able to protect yourself from a small knife wound with the items listed, but that's about it.
The best armor around the house would probably be a bike helmet if you have an attacker with a bat/blunt object. Everything else would just get in the way and not really protect you.
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Post by Llyren on Jul 7, 2013 1:44:02 GMT
If someone has 20 minutes of warning, then they have time to leave, or get to a better prepared friends house.
That being said, from some of the cutting tests done, heavy cloth is more protective then it seems like it should be. Work clothes and leather jackets are fast. Modifying that wool blanket into a sleeved poncho like piece wouldn't be too hard. Can stitch with staples rather then thread.
Then comes the classic sporting equipment, some of which can be quite armor like, most of it having massive area's left uncovered.
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The best set of armor to put on quickly, is one which you have made before the emergency.
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Post by demonskull on Jul 7, 2013 3:28:52 GMT
4" in diameter pvc or copper pipe will make decent bracers. Cut in half verticaly and taped to your clothing it will make decent armor and greaves.
Hammer out some pennies drill a hole and stitch/rivet to your work/garden or welding gloves.
Any helmet (bike, horseback riding) will help. Add safety glasses or you ski goggles for some additional protection.
Break out those 5 gal plastic paint pails, empty, rinse and cut into panels that can be riveted to your denim or leather jacket.
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Post by Ramsay318 on Jul 9, 2013 8:33:54 GMT
Printer paper, duct tape, padded clothing. Paper stacks would do well against slashes, moderate blunt force, and a fair few stabs. The trick is finding the minimum necessary thickness, so you'd have protection without unbearable weight. Plus, you can cut/tear them to size, provided you have time. And while magazines might be readily available and easier to work with, the pages are a little thinner and less durable.
For the head, if you don't have a helmet of some sort, stuff a hand towel or shirt into a suitably sized pot, I guess. Can't think of anything more durable than that.
Discs are a terrible idea, though. They are very brittle and tend to shatter into sharp points. Even if they blocked a few blows, they'd break pretty quickly, leaving you to worry about stepping on whatever shards didn't already stab you. And pillows would hinder movement.
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Post by PaxAddict on Jul 28, 2013 17:02:39 GMT
What about the synthetic cutting boards? Plastic, or what ever sort of resin they might be made of. I know my wife and I have a whole set of them, 5 in different sizes. could make a relatively light, overlaying chest piece, and the big one could make a decent buckler.
other then that, I'm thinking of breaking apart cheap drawers and bookshelves for particle board. Light, and though it couldn't absorb an axe, it could take a glancing blow from a sword, and stop a knife thrust.
Toilet seat lid could be used as well. Pyrex bowl for an improvised helmet or shoulder caps. Those things are indestructible. Most of my ideas are flat, though. I've not nothing for the extremities. Maybe cut the shoe portion off of a boot, assuming you've got an abundance of boots in the house (your wife's leather boots for example) to use as lace up leather bracers.
I like the idea of the improvised wool poncho, and it got me thinking about using a blanket as a swordsman's cape, to wrap around an enemy's weapon and pull it from their hands. Assuming you're also looking for something to actively defend yourself with, as opposed to a passive sort of armor.
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Talon
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Post by Talon on Jul 28, 2013 17:35:07 GMT
Well I've got a full set of armoured leather bike gear,so i'd go with that with the lid and boots. Failing that its a couple of Encyclopedia Britannica stuffed down my top and pants, and a pan on my head. Unless i want my adversary to die laughing ( a touch ignoble but i'd take it) i think i'd stick with the bike gear.
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Post by Nilfgaardian on Jul 28, 2013 18:55:42 GMT
Not really available everywhere but circuit boards are very though. Some are made with high strength polymers and have steel wiring in them. If you make layers of them they might stop a bullet. I've tried to shoot at some (blank ones without components). Just two or three of them can stop a 22. air rifle at 700+ fps. I think 5 or six of them might stop a 9mm or 45. They are not that heavy, but you'll need a plate carrier vest, which can be gotten from airsoft stores and such.
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Post by Valandur on Jul 28, 2013 19:17:08 GMT
12ga. Shotgun loaded with double 00 buck? :lol: sorry, I couldn't resist.
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Post by C.J. on Aug 1, 2013 2:11:38 GMT
What about carpet? The stuff has a pretty tough backer on it and I know that back in the day people used to make SCA armor out of it.
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Taran
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Post by Taran on Aug 7, 2013 1:06:38 GMT
They still do. Carpet is good for bludgeoning impacts, but won't stop a knife or projectile.
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Post by pilotmaster9 on Dec 8, 2014 6:43:33 GMT
Hardened steel scale mail can protect against stabs, slashes and possibly decelerate small firearm shots to the point of not being lethal. Over a gambeson and you're pretty well covered. Needs a few days to make but is actually fairly viable assuming you have it around.
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Post by neuronic on Dec 8, 2014 12:10:17 GMT
We're all pretty much looking forward to our SHTF situation, aren't we...?
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Post by JGonzalez on Dec 8, 2014 13:47:41 GMT
:lol:
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Post by Urbanswordsman on Dec 8, 2014 18:06:42 GMT
If you managed to find several long, thick, lesther trench coats, you have a slightly better chance of surviving a hypothetical zombie attack, but you wouldn't have very good choices in the average home.
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Post by Sir Thorfinn on Dec 22, 2014 19:32:02 GMT
my vote, good tennis shoes for running and a trash can lid on your back to stop low velocity projectiles while you're running away...
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Post by munk on Sept 18, 2015 2:42:13 GMT
20 minutes isn't that long, certainly not long enough to make most of the ideas put forward so far (even if you don't count the time it takes to look for supplies, much less making the armor too). 20 minutes gives you enough time to find and put on things that are already made, such as leather jackets, hefty jeans, a helmet, boots, gloves, etc. You might be able to assemble something half decent if you have sports equipment laying around, football pads, dirt bike armor, etc. But you're not making anything really worth a hoot from scratch in 20 min. You'd be better off using that time to board up your windows and use your house as armor.
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Post by Adventurer'sBlade on Oct 30, 2015 5:45:40 GMT
What about the synthetic cutting boards? Plastic, or what ever sort of resin they might be made of. I know my wife and I have a whole set of them, 5 in different sizes. could make a relatively light, overlaying chest piece, and the big one could make a decent buckler.
I just had the thought that plastic cutting boards duct-taped to the outside of a vest-style watersports life jacket would make a great breastplate against pretty much anything short of a firearm.
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Post by sassysquatch on Jul 25, 2016 20:45:07 GMT
ok lets look at this from a perspective of if you were expecting STHF then why would you not already be at least moderately prepared? weapons(these should already be accessible and premaintained in the home) medical supplies(these should already be ready for a basic firstaid need) a bug out bag should have been prepared and checked periodically food should have been likewise planned this brings us to emergency armor...one would think that this had already been thought of in advance...however the fastest is leather jackets and or life preservers for blunt and small blades...a good pair of fireplace/welders gloves can go a long way sporting equipment has its merits DO NOT waste precious time trying to make something unless it is as simple as grabbing a heavy blanket cutting a hole in it quickly for you head to go through and throwing it on and taking a belt or tie and putting it around it at your waist. 20 minutes..if fight or flight time be prepared to flee even if you fight..... 1. be prepared 2. you know your home better then any other use that advantage 3. nothing is off limits..nothing...every thing in your house can be used as shielding or a weapon...the kids my lil pony is gona do damage if you jam it into someones eye[you get the point] if it gives you and advantage use it 4.be a hero...protect your family so they can escape and then run...you have done your duty and preserved the lives of your loved ones or friends..."take out" or "decommission" as many of the foe you can and just run...you life is worth more then material things....your skills and life are still needed by those you care about and those who can not fight for themselves. 5. this is the hard one...you maybe faced with a scenario where a loved one can not fight or escape...in this i say fight till your last breath...you must be prepared to end their life out of love to spare them from what may happen to them...it is better to leave this life by love then by hate...in this you have fulfilled your vows and promises and can die a good death. honer integrity compassion mercy
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pellius
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Post by pellius on Jul 28, 2016 23:28:28 GMT
The hand which strikes also blocks. 😊
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