Finished my slapjack today. It goes well with my Model 10 pinto.
Anyone carry a jack?

Attached Images

B719781E-3A5F-492E-99CC-BB3E929F7F51.jpg (61.5 KB, 561 views)

Looks like a slapper to me and not a black jack?

__________________
NEVER GIVE UP YOUR GUN

Used to, back in the seventies and eighties. They kind of fell out of favor in terms of civil liability. Nice knife, by the way. I have one just like it.

The flat surface actually makes it a slapjack. I carried a blackjack, the rounded end filled w/lead on a spring shank, for years until my agency outlawed them. Only used it a couple of times but it was a great fight stopper. It now rests in a drawer w/my other back-in-the-day gear.

__________________
Old Cop
LEO (Ret.)

I can testify to a slapper's efficacy. My partner hit me behind the ear with one during a fight with a drunk. Accidentally, he said. Fifty years later I had to have the lump removed. Doc called it a "post-traumatic lipoma."

I have gotten to old to fight with my fists. Just another tool in the box.

It is. I have heard them called slaps, slapjacks, blackjacks,saps, etc.

Yup, slappers, blackjacks, and brass knuckles.....now legal in Texas (again)




Saves on that high cost 44 S&W Special ammo

Attached Images

DSCF0374_zps6lnr8f0s.jpg (234.2 KB, 867 views)

__________________
On the Oak Savannah

Guy on another forum said he carried a length of 550 cord with a guardrail nut on the end. As he put it, "It ain't whizz-bang tactical, but one shot in the grape and it's coloring books for Christmas."

__________________
The best I can with what I got

I think my nose was broken about 5 times.
I remember a bar in Woodside Queens that had a sign in the window....If You Can't Fight Don't Come In

__________________
NEVER GIVE UP YOUR GUN

Yeah I can relate. I tend to heal a lot slower than I used too. Lol.

The old timers at work carried them all the time. They called them blackjacks, saps or convoys based on the design. We can't train on them, so we aren't allowed to carry them. I've heard plenty of stories of them being used, and they work superbly.

I have a slapper put away somewhere here. Can't really remember if I ever really carried it or where it came from. I do know that I have no desire to get whacked in the gourd with one. I also have a side handle baton that was popular back in the 70's.

I have a couple of them around here somewhere. One's up on the mantle I think. I always called them slappers. Well at least the flat ones which is what I have. The flat ones aren't as likely to cut if applied properly. I have a couple pairs of knuckles somewhere too but I never carried those. They were just donations.

On the bottom is my dad’s old blackjack from his days in NYPD. It’s illegal in Cali to carry and not authorized for LASD. The 415 Gonzales on top is authorized but very heavy. It’s meant for body strikes only. Some guys still carry it in their “sap pocket” but it really weighs you down. Most carry their SL20x in that pocket. With a taser and pepper spray on my belt, I don’t foresee using it much…same with my expandable baton….but both are great for door knocking. And after watching “Sea of Love” with Al Pacino, I now keep the 415 between my mattress and boxspring.

Attached Images

26B76985-ABA4-4C21-BE4A-07B5BC5055D0.jpg (38.1 KB, 287 views)

__________________
Thirty characters. Exactly...

One of the great tools of a bygone era! Blackjacks, saps, slappers, night sticks...you name it, I love 'em!

Here are a few of mine. Some artistically and professionally crafted. Others, just some homemade jobs cobbled together, but still able to get the job done.

__________________
Pack light and cinch tight.

We were told to get a black Jack or a slapper when we were in the academy but were given no training on them. My first night reporting to the Desk Sgt to assume my foot post he asked me if I had sap gloves. I said no. He let me borrow his and told me to go to the uniform shop the next day and get my own. Several weeks later I was strongly advised by some of the older coppers to get a day stick and order it “loaded” - a short Monadnock stick with a bar of lead in the end. Sometime mid80s I think they outlawed all of that and we could only carry our straight sticks - no PR24s either. Rational was that we were not trained with them. Guess they forgot that we were not given nightstick training either. Now they carry the ASP collapsing batons. They train them well with them. I still have my gloves and my day stick. They aren’t outlawed in my house ….

I remember walking into an ER one night and seeing an officer staring in wonder at the end of his blackjack. That one had a weight at the end of a spring shaft, the weight was covered with smooth leather.

After a moment I realized the weight was bent, seemed to have encountered a round object and sort of wrapped around it. Turned out to be the curve at the top of the guy's head.

Sap gloves can be wonderful things, wonder where mine went?

Considering that many agencies now specify plastic flashlights, I expect saps are officially forbidden. But might be overlooked in some cases. I wouldn't advise toting one as a private citizen.

I carry a Midget Sap from Boston Leather.

__________________
642-1, M&P15 TS

What about Monadnocks?

Sister carried one as LEO…not so much now that she’s retired…

I don't carry it but I have the old blackjack carried by my mother's stepfather. He was a Chicago cop from the 1930s through the 1950s. Based on the town back then, I'm sure this thing cracked some heads.

I'd rather have a Jack Black for defense.

Attached Images

jack black.jpg (55.5 KB, 123 views)

A tool of the trade at one time. Now put away with some of the other tools I once carried.
They are illegal in many states these day.

i have that knife allso

Mine looks like blues7 and retired with me in 05.It sits next to my wooden "Chicago hair shampooer" in my den.My sons department does not allow its officers to carry blackjacks,saps or wooden night sticks any longer.Yours looks great dvanncvann,excellent craftsmanship,you should be quite proud.

Yeah, and I suppose you can't use phone books for interviews anymore either.

Those were just being “forbidden” by my Dept. when I started in 1970, although sap gloves were still allowed for a few more years. When I retired in 1990 and started work for the U S Marshal as a Special Deputy (Court Security Officer) we were issued all our equipment, which included a S&W model 10 4”, plus a huge Gonzales 187! Our uniform at that time consisted of light weight dress slacks, blue blazer and tie. There was absolutely no possibility of carrying that monster un-noticed, and mine stayed in my locker for all the years I worked there.

Unless you're a cop and your agency allows it, it looks more like a trip to jail to me.

But I do have a Bonowi collapsible baton that rides in the truck with me.

When I first entered the 2nd department I worked for and was being issued gear and uniforms I was pleasantly surprised to find a sewn in slapper pocket.
They are effective.

Carry a a collapsible baton by the Driver's door in my vehicle.

__________________
LEX ET ORDO

Terminology varied regionally . In my environs , the OP's style of flatish , with stiff flat spring was predominate , but all styles were generally referred to as Blackjacks . My quasi training emphasized striking edge on .

In the early to mid '80s one of them was my " always on the person " impact tool , straight sticks being too cumbersome , unless a need was anticipated . At times both a shorter one in back pocket , or a longer one tucked into waistband .

Late '80s to early '90s I was in environment where was pure guns , with no need for impact tools .

At current employer , starting mid '90s , no new personnel were permitted ' Jacks , but there were some grandfathered ( what were then old timers , but younger than I am now ) carrying them . I actually spoke with the last person to ever use it on duty ( successfully ) .

But literally the same Policy that approved the ASP , simultaneously revoked the grandfathering of ' Jacks .

But honestly , the ASP was a step up .

When I first started in Detroit in the 70s my senior partner asked if I had a slapper or blackjack, which I did not. It was day shift and we drove up to an Edison crew working on the main lines. He had them cut me about a one-foot piece of main cable for a substitute until I got a couple pay checks and could buy one. "No sense breaking your fingers on these idiot's heads" was my lesson for the day.

Actually they are legal in my state with a carry permit.

Still have my blackjack, slapjack, and sap gloves from my days in "the job." They're illegal in these parts, so they all stay locked up in the safe. Wish they weren't. Blackjack's a great less than lethal option, but till then,,,,,

Blackjacks went out with snapbrim fedoras and hand painted ties.

__________________
Made it, Ma! Top of the world!

I carried a blackjack for years and that is a slapjack - not a blackjack.

__________________
S&W factory revolver armorer

I did back in the 90s. When the department banned them most of us just carried our flashlights, either Streamlight SL20s or fullsize Maglight rechargeable, and used it.

Cramped and overpacked project house left little room to swing a full sized baton or PR24, the shorter flashlight worked wonders

carried one for a few years when doing warrants duty. I only used my ASP on an illegal alien once. He walks with a permanent limp after he and his brother jumped me. Got a visit from the feds for my troubles. My daughter uses my old slapper to crack pecans.

I think they're interesting historical items, but they don't seem practical today, at least for civilians. I don't want to get that close to a bad guy. I would rather pepper spray or shoot him first, depending on the circumstances. I can see where they can be a good tool for LEOs.

I knew fellow officers who carried "slappers" and used them effectively in fights. I always carried a night stick. It was much more versatile and punks with a bad attitude knew that we would employ them. They feared the "stick" more than mace, etc. At the scene of a fight, I heard one comment, when they saw mine in a ring with my hand on it, "Hey man, I'm cool. You don't have to use that stick!" I used the night stick mostly without actually striking people.

Let’s see the primary EDC gun, the back up EDC gun, primary EDC Bowie knife, back up folding knife, combat load of ammunition, and now a assortment of clubbing type instruments and a pair of knuckles.
I would say this should be accompanied by a May West in case you fall into the fish pond at the Mall. Emergency beacon not needed, NORAD will know exactly where you are at.

My Dad carried one. I have a collapsible baton - I like the new ones with the button. I've seen guys bend them beating them on the ground trying to fold them back up. I've done some Arnis outside of work and seem to always find my own knuckles. I assume use of force with a slapjack (if we could carry one) would make it not that effective (head and spine are considered deadly force). Don't know if it would worth it to slap some guys hamstring.

I’ve got an old one that belonged to my moms first husband who was a security guard somewhere in the 1930s. Would think that a nightstick would be better to keep someone off you and non lethal.

My dad carried a 6" blackjack during his career and I carried it and or a 12" sap for the first 7 years of my career (84-91) - they worked as designed, especially on elbows, sternums and collar bones. Around 1991 some attorney decided we didn't need them anymore. Never thought about carrying one as a civilian. They're a felony to carry in some states.

__________________
213th FBINA

Is a nightstick legal for a civilian to have in his vehicle?

My agency never allowed blackjacks but some of the old timers carried them anyway. The uniform trousers always had a sap pocket. A comfortable place to carry a flashlight or later, an ASP baton. A few of us had sap gloves with powdered lead in the knuckles. Ah, the old days.

Depends on your jurisdiction. Illegal in many places. Try a baseball bat. Don’t forget the glove, ball and cleats.

Ya know.... I just decided that I wanted a slapjack. I didnt want to spend a hundred dollars on one so I made one. It currently is residing on my dresser until if and when the time comes that I feel that I need to drop it in my pocket. That time may come.... or not. My apologies if my post has offended you in some way. I carry an EDC. Have most of my life. It changes as to what it is. I carry a knife....own Bowies, several that I forged myself, and carry a reload.

I worked Uniform Patrol from early 70’s thru the mid 90’s….Some of the Guys carried a Flat Sap…Blackjacks, Saps, Sap gloves, not authorized or issued..Use it and the City would not cover you for liability/legal fees..I remember a device called an “Iron Claw”. It was a spring loaded single Cuff with a T handle on top…The few Old timers that had one could instantly snap it on a wrist and have immediate compliance…. I carried a D Cell Kel-lite, later upgraded to a rechargeable Maglite…In the late 70s, the Dept. issued PR-24s, after going thru a 40 hr. Course…..I really liked the PR-24…Really didn’t see anyone with a Sap or Blackjack after that…late 80s, the Dept. transitioned over and issued the ASP….I never liked the expandable aluminum Asp…One of our guys went to a disturbance at a convenience store and when he deployed the Asp, it was ineffective and he wound up injured and in the hospital for several weeks….I retired before the Taser came out….It’s NOT the magic wand it’s advertised to be.

People resist because if they get away and escape, no jail for the time being, if they are subdued, after medical treatment ,as soon as they hit the cell block, “.Hey, what happened to you?” “ Five O messed me up”… Instant street creds..

The only implements I carry now, is a Firearm and a re-load, and a Kubotan on my Key Ring….I’ve got an old Kel-lite with the 3 position switch between the seat and door in my Car….

In 1966 while at the Police Academy I was issued a small billy club that was made out of black rubber.
When used as intended it didn't get the attention of the receiver anywhere near what a slapper got.
It was placed in a drawer and forgotten about.
The tailor made very expensive uniform pants at that time had long narrow rear pockets to accommodate a slapper or blackjack.'
EDIT:the issued nightstick was also a joke;I thought it was made from balsa wood!Once out of the Academy a cocobolo stick was acquired.

__________________
NEVER GIVE UP YOUR GUN