hey all, curious if you think a glass breaker is a needed item, either on it's own or attached to an EDC knife? I have only had to bust a dude out of his car window once, and I keep glass breakers and center punches in the car now for just that reason. but I'm trying to decide if I want/need one for my all the time knife? I have a boker pry bar in my wallet but nothing on the knife or otherwise. Sometimes I find myself leaving the house with no wallet, just phone (has ID) and a pocket knife.

alright, so that's a round about way of saying, what do you have/use/want for glass breaking?

Is there no reason to have one if your blade is strong enough?

Don't really think about it. But, having seen several times when night sticks, ASP batons and big hairy fist failed to break a car window they sure can come in handy.

Resqme

@uxo2 that's what I have in both cars and clipped to each car seat. was thinking maybe about a carbide tip thing though as an all the time.

I wouldn't disqualify a knife just because it didn't have a carbide glass breaker, but I always carry a pistol, so I could shoot it out if I had to.
My Benchmade Auto Triage has one though, and a seatbelt cutter.

I like the ResQme. Some nice people at the Causeway hooked me up with one, but they sell them for about $10 (at the admin buildings on either side).

The Carbide option on a knife is limited because only a few knives come with them.The ones that come to mind are.

Kershaw Blur ,BM Contigo, Triage, Spyderco Assist are the ones the come to mind.

And I am not a fan of any other those blades because of feel, size and steel choice.

So far now the Res Q me fits the bill because I can carry a lowly SAK and still bust glad if I have to.

My problem is from the point of view as a Ex-Firefighter an security professional is that your hand gets cut from the window glass about every time if you are not using a good glove. Tac Pens, Mini breakers, hammers and other tools can get you in trouble if they don't keep your hand out of the way well enough. I never have one on my knife as I won't be using that to get myself out. I have a life hammer for that.

I pulled over to assist a driver last week.  He was having a seizure and ran into a jersey barrier.  Car was still in drive.  He was not coherent and I couldn’t get him to open the door so I got a baton and was about to break the glass.  EMS arrived before I was able to hit it.  First thing the guy did was pull out a small punch and barely touched the glass and it shattered.  He reached in, unlocked the door and went from there.  I’d have to beat that window with a baton.  I’ll have a punch from now on.  Can’t see the argument for not having one after this experience.

I am not a fan carrying a separate one because I already carry too much shit. I recently bought a Kershaw with one. I’m sure as mentioned it’s not great steel for the blade. I keep a rescue blur in one car and really like it but the blunt tip makes it a specialty item. I always wished they would have offered their normal blades with the breaker.

The Resqme tools are light and handy. I watched a couple lock up during fire training and shy away from them because of that. That’s why I prefer fixed glass breakers. The new one on the cheap Kershaw is big and looks stainless so I wonder if it works as well as the carbide which works great.

I also still have my. RES-Q-RENCH from when I was still a firefighter. It has a glass breaker built in that works well too but definitely a vehicle based solution as it’s giant.

Attached File

One of my two EDC knives has one. The base of the Scarab is a glass breaker.

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Have you ever used it? It’s one of the giant ones and I wondered if they were worth a shit.

leaning more heavily towards buying one. Sometimes all I have on me is a knife, and I'd rather cut down on what I carry at work everyday. So I'm looking for a knife with one on it. I used a carbide tip on a knife, and my hand only got a tiny cut on it since you go to the corner and your hand won't go right through.

I also ordered real gloves to keep right by it, so hopefully that helps as well.

A lot is technique. Have seen a lot of people that go way too deep after breaking. With a good carbide tip all it takes is a tap

And is it true you are supposed to hit the window on one of the corners not the middle of the glass?

I never carried a glass breaker. Then one night my mom calls me. Says she driving and thinks having a heart attack? I tell her to pull over. She does,  and from her description I know where she’s at. 911 was no help at all! Said they couldn’t dispatch without an exact address! My description of the country road off the highway/ first road past a specific exit wasn’t enough...

So I got in my brand new at the time truck and had her bouncing off the rev limiter for 15 miles straight.  I got there. And she wasn’t able to unlock the door! I was pounding on the glass with fist when she luckily got the door unlocked.

I threw her into passenger seat and raced to the hospital.

Long story short she is ok! And I now carry a knife with a glass breaker.  Just incase.

The corners or more specifically the edge is easier to break on a lot of glass.

Destin from Smarter Every Day did a video and I think this is it but I’m on my phone so am not sure.

A little bulky. But really doesn’t take up much more space than most other edc knives. For $12, I’ve definitely got my money’s worth out of it...

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Ozark-Trail-5-In-1-Multitool-Knife/51094996