I did not know about these. Useful for quickly checking tire pressure by the sound made when hitting the tire (used by big rig drivers). Probably not very useful with those silly modern rubber band tires, but a cool accessory to have tucked behind or under your seat for quick use.
(Also useful to have in your car for other things... but it IS an automotive accessory)
Also available in metal (aluminum):
Hey, Officer, can I see your club?
We don't call them clubs anymore. We call them batons.
Oh. Well, what do you do with them?
We club people.
Women tire knockers?
In reply to Appleseed :
No.... "Mahogany Shampoo"
AKA a tire billy.
When my grandfather was a night watchman he bought a billy club and drilled the center out of it and put metal inside. I seemed to recall it seemed poured, but maybe it was a lead rod and the end had just picked up marks over the years. I kept it for years after he died.
This is the same grandfather that while roofing a two-story house he fell off, rolled across the side yard and a dirt driveway and into the woods. The rest of the crew didn't miss him for an hour. This was in central Alabama and spots can get really steep, so while apocryphal it's possible.
Shadeux said:apocryphal
Today I learned "Apocryphal" was a thing.
also, i have a harbor freight "tire checker"/tuna bat. Its still in the shrink wrap because the label clearly states its purpose. Its not a weapon officer, see the label? its a tire checker!
and they work too. It'll give a different resonance depending on tire pressure.
also it looks like HF no longer sells them.
We had to use a tire billy when we were getting our "Q" endorsements to drive firetrucks.
Huh. I thought it was called a sap. Mines lead wrapped in leather.
In reply to RevRico :
most people know them as black Jack's. not legal in PA but Philly Pd carried then up till about 20 years ago. I still have my moms sitting on my book case.
In reply to rattfink81 :
Yeah, the metal bar in leather for slappin' crims is a blackjack to me.
rattfink81 said:In reply to RevRico :
most people know them as black Jack's. not legal in PA but Philly Pd carried then up till about 20 years ago. I still have my moms sitting on my book case.
I thought most PDs switched over to "Maglights"
When I started in construction, we just used a hammer or small sledge to check the duals on the dump trucks. Never knew they made a specific " tool" for it
rattfink81 said:In reply to RevRico :
most people know them as black Jack's. not legal in PA but Philly Pd carried then up till about 20 years ago. I still have my moms sitting on my book case.
My grandfather's is on my drill press stand
Still got it.
In reply to aircooled :
Great knockers. :)
I've known people who carried 'knockers' in the past, but TPMS makes it a bit dubious for modern cars. On the other hand, the 'tire changer' kept in the door of my truck has been rather useful...
It's 12" collapsed for easier storage and use on smaller 1/2" drive jobs, and extends with a satisfying (sounding and feeling) flick of the wrist to 18" when you need to exert a bit more leverage.
Let's be real though, we don't live in the movies. In this day and age, pulling out any type of tool to help someone in need of an attitude adjustment is about as likely to result in getting yourself shot as it is actually defending yourself.
In reply to Driven5 :
I've got a couple of those ratchets in 1/2 drive and they're surprisingly durable. I eventually sheared the bit attachment point off one, but despite abuse like being used outside in the snow, use with a cheater bar, jumping on the end to get stuck lugs loose, etc. I haven't managed to break the extending mechanism. My biggest complaint with them is that they aren't a high tooth count ratchet, but at that size, it doesn't matter too much.
californiamilleghia said:rattfink81 said:In reply to RevRico :
most people know them as black Jack's. not legal in PA but Philly Pd carried then up till about 20 years ago. I still have my moms sitting on my book case.
I thought most PDs switched over to "Maglights"
They mostly took those away too. Now it Tazers. As in "don't taser me bro".
When I was a reserve deputy in New Orleans 30 years ago we had the PR-24. The one modeled after the Korean rice grinder handle that the peasants carried around as weapons because of knife control. (When knives are outlawed only outlaws will have knives)
In reply to californiamilleghia :
we went away from mag lights when battery tech caught up.
my duty light is like 10inchs by and inch. I ditched the collapsible asp years ago.
In reply to jharry3 :
I carry a taser and have used it a few times over the years but I've seen it fail to many times.
My friends dad who used to drive semi's always carried an aluminum youth baseball bat to check tires. He always said he preferred it to a wood bat as it made a cooler sound when deterring unwanted visitors when staying at truck stops.
I think truck drivers have had those things since forever. They're good for personal defense at the truck stops at night as well.
Truckers just use mini sledges...
rattfink81 said:In reply to RevRico :
most people know them as black Jack's. not legal in PA but Philly Pd carried then up till about 20 years ago. I still have my moms sitting on my book case.
See I think of the smaller one as a sap, while the fish Billy is a size I would call a black jack. Fish Billy is fiberglass though. My dad kept the smaller one in his trucks forever, eventually one of the dogs got ahold of it though and chewed the end leather off. They both berkeleying suck to get hit with. Most of the damage on the fish Billy is from snapping turtles, but they're good at subduing gar and pike too.
Converting the 4D cell maglight to LED made it way more useful and longer lasting though. I wish I knew where it wound up, got lost in one of my many moves. I should get another one
You'll need to log in to post.
