Posted: 5/15/2010 8:49:29 PM EDT
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I would imagine removing trapped motorists from disabled cars would be in the line of work of a EMT, FF and police. Is a Life Hammer effective/ something you would have in your own personal vehicle?
http://www.amazon.com/LifeHammer-Orange-Original-Emergency-Hammer/dp/B000BN3A4Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=automotive&qid=1273984378&sr=8-1 |
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Well, you know what they say about insurance......once you have it, you don't need it. Checked just this evening to make sure mine was in its place and it was.
__________________________________________________________ ("I'm hit, Cookie, I'm hit! He blew my goddamn wing off! Mayday, mayday, this is little brother one, I'm ejecting!"––F-16 pilot, (w,stte), "Blue Thunder") |
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I'm not sure if it relates to your question, but I carry one in my extrication gear and it is my first resource for a nice controlled window breach on tempered glass in vehicles.
I prefer this over the window punch, either spring and pull or spring and push method, because you can regulate how much force you use. It works every time I have used it. |
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For police work ASP makes a nifty little glass breaker tail cap. Don't have to try and find room on the bat belt. Just remove the og tail cap and screw on the glass breaker one. With a 33" waist there's not enough room to add anything else.
EMS or fire I can see having the life hammer in your ready bag just in case. |
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spring loaded center punch will work much better on tempered glass. smaller, lighter. on non-tempered (residential) glass anything will break it, you don't need a toy. This. Bought my first four from here (they used to be $3.44) - still have 2 of them: J. C. Whitney Auto Parts 
AUTOMATIC CENTER PUNCHSKU Number: 1JA 812178 Manufacturer Number: PACP Price: $5.49 Each Availability:Ships within 24 hours No hammer needed-;automatically strikes a sharp blow when you press down on punch. Adjustable knurled cap regulates force of blow. Use for marking, punching, riveting, or making a hole or indentation to prevent drill bits' wandering. Brass body with heat-treated alloy steel point. 5" L x 1/2" diam. Replacement points sold separately. |
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Put a life hammer in my wife's POV. She wanted one. Haven't used it. I'm sure it'll do the job intended.
I've used a springloaded center punch like the one above untold times. Bought mine at Harbor freight. I got a surefire pen that has a glass breaker on it. Haven't tried it yet though. |
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spring loaded center punch will work much better on tempered glass. smaller, lighter. on non-tempered (residential) glass anything will break it, you don't need a toy. This. Bought my first four from here (they used to be $3.44) - still have 2 of them: J. C. Whitney Auto Parts http://www.jcwhitney.com/jcwhitney/sku/images/small/I_812178_SW_1.jpg AUTOMATIC CENTER PUNCHSKU Number: 1JA 812178 Manufacturer Number: PACP Price: $5.49 Each Availability:Ships within 24 hours No hammer needed-;automatically strikes a sharp blow when you press down on punch. Adjustable knurled cap regulates force of blow. Use for marking, punching, riveting, or making a hole or indentation to prevent drill bits' wandering. Brass body with heat-treated alloy steel point. 5" L x 1/2" diam. Replacement points sold separately. Have you guys ever tried pull and strike center punches? I am looking for a link to refer to right now. What I like is that the strike is so much more controlled. With the push center punch more often then not your hand goes through the window when the punch pops. If I can't find what I am talking about I'll take a picture of the one I have. |
| I just use my ASP. I takes more effort then you think but it works. Plus, it's always on me so I don't have to go back in my car and dig for the tool I only use once every 3 years. Just don't choose to break the window right by the victim(s) if using an ASP. For a personal car or EMT, one of those hammers or center punches would be handy as finding something to break a tempered window in a hurry and trying to be creative for an object under stress could be a challenge. |
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Let's redo the situation just a little.
You are the driver and suddenly at night, you find you and your car at the bottom of a feed pond, say 12 feet. What's your choice at that point? ______________________________________________________________ ("We're in the soup! She's sinking! Abandon ship!"––Colonel George Taylor as the Icarus's seams burst, (w,stte), "Planet of the Apes") |
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spring loaded center punch will work much better on tempered glass. smaller, lighter. on non-tempered (residential) glass anything will break it, you don't need a toy. This. Bought my first four from here (they used to be $3.44) - still have 2 of them: J. C. Whitney Auto Parts http://www.jcwhitney.com/jcwhitney/sku/images/small/I_812178_SW_1.jpg AUTOMATIC CENTER PUNCHSKU Number: 1JA 812178 Manufacturer Number: PACP Price: $5.49 Each Availability:Ships within 24 hours No hammer needed-;automatically strikes a sharp blow when you press down on punch. Adjustable knurled cap regulates force of blow. Use for marking, punching, riveting, or making a hole or indentation to prevent drill bits' wandering. Brass body with heat-treated alloy steel point. 5" L x 1/2" diam. Replacement points sold separately. Have you guys ever tried pull and strike center punches? I am looking for a link to refer to right now. What I like is that the strike is so much more controlled. With the push center punch more often then not your hand goes through the window when the punch pops. If I can't find what I am talking about I'll take a picture of the one I have. Yes I have and I hated it. Never got a chance to use it, but the damed thing was just cumbersome. The whole center of it was one giant spring with a handcuff key on one end and a glass breaker on the other. Imaine trying to use that while extracating somebody at gunpoint |
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Let's redo the situation just a little. You are the driver and suddenly at night, you find you and your car at the bottom of a feed pond, say 12 feet. What's your choice at that point? ______________________________________________________________ ("We're in the soup! She's sinking! Abandon ship!"––Colonel George Taylor as the Icarus's seams burst, (w,stte), "Planet of the Apes") You carry a gun, correct? Those lil' bullets should have more force than any center punch 
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Let's redo the situation just a little. You are the driver and suddenly at night, you find you and your car at the bottom of a feed pond, say 12 feet. What's your choice at that point? ______________________________________________________________ ("We're in the soup! She's sinking! Abandon ship!"––Colonel George Taylor as the Icarus's seams burst, (w,stte), "Planet of the Apes") You carry a gun, correct? Those lil' bullets should have more force than any center punch Unfortunally, not all the time. I can't, for example, when I'm at Corps of Engineers Reservoirs.....which could be a prime place to find one's self in the drink. So we are back to the question: what's your choice? ____________________________________________ ("Dodge! Get a reading, see if the atmosphere is breathable!"––Taylor as the Icarus fills with water, (w,stte), "Planet of the Apes") |
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spring loaded center punch will work much better on tempered glass. smaller, lighter. on non-tempered (residential) glass anything will break it, you don't need a toy. This. Bought my first four from here (they used to be $3.44) - still have 2 of them: J. C. Whitney Auto Parts http://www.jcwhitney.com/jcwhitney/sku/images/small/I_812178_SW_1.jpg AUTOMATIC CENTER PUNCHSKU Number: 1JA 812178 Manufacturer Number: PACP Price: $5.49 Each Availability:Ships within 24 hours No hammer needed-;automatically strikes a sharp blow when you press down on punch. Adjustable knurled cap regulates force of blow. Use for marking, punching, riveting, or making a hole or indentation to prevent drill bits' wandering. Brass body with heat-treated alloy steel point. 5" L x 1/2" diam. Replacement points sold separately. Have you guys ever tried pull and strike center punches? I am looking for a link to refer to right now. What I like is that the strike is so much more controlled. With the push center punch more often then not your hand goes through the window when the punch pops. If I can't find what I am talking about I'll take a picture of the one I have. Yes I have and I hated it. Never got a chance to use it, but the damed thing was just cumbersome. The whole center of it was one giant spring with a handcuff key on one end and a glass breaker on the other. Imaine trying to use that while extracating somebody at gunpoint If I am doing a felony stop, then I agree, the ASP is the proper extricator.
When I use it for auto extrication in the fire service I do prefer the spring pull method or the life hammer though. |
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spring loaded center punch will work much better on tempered glass. smaller, lighter. on non-tempered (residential) glass anything will break it, you don't need a toy. This. Bought my first four from here (they used to be $3.44) - still have 2 of them: J. C. Whitney Auto Parts http://www.jcwhitney.com/jcwhitney/sku/images/small/I_812178_SW_1.jpg AUTOMATIC CENTER PUNCHSKU Number: 1JA 812178 Manufacturer Number: PACP Price: $5.49 Each Availability:Ships within 24 hours No hammer needed-;automatically strikes a sharp blow when you press down on punch. Adjustable knurled cap regulates force of blow. Use for marking, punching, riveting, or making a hole or indentation to prevent drill bits' wandering. Brass body with heat-treated alloy steel point. 5" L x 1/2" diam. Replacement points sold separately. Have you guys ever tried pull and strike center punches? I am looking for a link to refer to right now. What I like is that the strike is so much more controlled. With the push center punch more often then not your hand goes through the window when the punch pops. If I can't find what I am talking about I'll take a picture of the one I have. Yes I have and I hated it. Never got a chance to use it, but the damed thing was just cumbersome. The whole center of it was one giant spring with a handcuff key on one end and a glass breaker on the other. Imaine trying to use that while extracating somebody at gunpoint If I am doing a felony stop, then I agree, the ASP is the proper extricator.
When I use it for auto extrication in the fire service I do prefer the spring pull method or the life hammer though. Are you talking about just an ASP baton or an ASP baton with a Bust A Cap? |
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Let's redo the situation just a little. You are the driver and suddenly at night, you find you and your car at the bottom of a feed pond, say 12 feet. What's your choice at that point? ______________________________________________________________ ("We're in the soup! She's sinking! Abandon ship!"––Colonel George Taylor as the Icarus's seams burst, (w,stte), "Planet of the Apes") You carry a gun, correct? Those lil' bullets should have more force than any center punch Unfortunally, not all the time. I can't, for example, when I'm at Corps of Engineers Reservoirs.....which could be a prime place to find one's self in the drink. So we are back to the question: what's your choice? ____________________________________________ ("Dodge! Get a reading, see if the atmosphere is breathable!"––Taylor as the Icarus fills with water, (w,stte), "Planet of the Apes") Wait for the pressure to equalize and open the door. |
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Quoted: If your looking for something to get out of your own car in an emergency this is what I keep in my POV as well, I'm sure there are much better options for any other uses though.spring loaded center punch will work much better on tempered glass. smaller, lighter. on non-tempered (residential) glass anything will break it, you don't need a toy. |
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You carry a gun, correct? Those lil' bullets should have more force than any center punch Rereading this reminds me of what my arms dealer told me on one story. Little old lady with a CHL is threatened by, say, a carjacker, and she lets him have several rounds right through the window......goes back to her CHL instructor later. "You didn't tell me how loud it would be in an enclosed car! I was deaf for a week!" In the panic of the moment, between shooting out the window, sinking, and knowing the torrent that will follow.......one is likely to be tense like this guy was: 
____________________________________________________ ("We're going to blow the hatch."––oxygen starved astronaut Stone "NO! Don't blow the hatch! Release it manually!"––Manned Space Flight Director Keith, (w,stte), "Marooned") |
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I have used both the Push Spring Center Punch and the Pull Spring Center Punch, when I was working Heavy Rescue I
had the Pull Spring one and a valve stem remover married together on clip on my turnouts. As for that late night, find yourself in the drink scenario.....I hate to give Bear Grylls any cuddos because I think he's a douche but.... Take the head rest of the passenger seat and swing that pole at window and it should shatter. The whole wait until the pressure equalizes needs a window to be cracked or down. |