my grandmother shot me once...once

SharkByte

Sasumamta aren't wierd ... in Japan. Old, old tech ... used by constables to disarm criminals for centuries. They are probably placed there for school authorities to use.

If they were ever in a US school, the students would grab and use them in a heartbeat.

Pender: I've got a homebuilt semi-auto AK in my closet right now. Built it myself ... used a $150 harbor freight press to finish it up.

Gunsmiths in the tribal areas in Pakistan can make you anything ... from scratch. Cut a section of 6" diameter soviet truck axle, and use files and hacksaws to remove metal until you have a gun frame or slide ... The look and function good ... no parts interchange with other firearms, but they fire just fine.

Once the tech is invented you cannot un-invent it, no matter how hard you make wishes.I would suggest doing a little googling before spewing.

kbarrett

With about $10 worth of pvc I can make a weapon that could put a ball bearing inside your chest...

evilsnowman

[www.homegunsmith.com]

hase some really nice homemade (legal) guns that are simple to make and of at least mass produced quality

mitchx3

@Pender: Try this one too.

HeartBurnKid

actually you can build an m16(or semiauto variant) at home

[www.cncguns.com]

mitchx3

@Pender: You're not going to build an M16 at home, true, but...

Read 'em and weep.

HeartBurnKid

*mitchx3 waits for canada/europe/japan to fall to tyranny (as all nations eventually do), feels bad.
[www.a-human-right.com]

anyway, how does that work if the person trapped is stronger than the one holding the pole?

mitchx3

@gattsuru:
@junyo:

You are both either crazy or brainwashed by the NRA. Modern guns are not easy things to make in your garage. If they were, our revolutionary war-era forefathers would have had AK47's, not matchlock rifles.

Even if you can't accept logic, you should look at statistics. Incidents involving firearms in Japan are statistically nearly infinitesimal.

Pender

@Y2KGTP: Yeah, that's the NRA talking point, but it's obviously wrong. Guns get to criminals through supply chains, and if you can combat the entire supply chain at the import level, you're much more successful.

Think about it this way: why are conservatives opposed to medical marijuana? (Assume for a moment that there is some legitimate reason to fear recreational marijuana, which admittedly there isn't, but work with me here.) They're worried that pot intended for legal, medical uses will be diverted for illegal, recreational uses. Same with guns. Cut off the entire supply chain, and illicit supplies are much harder to come by.

Pender

@92BuickLeSabre: Hahaha... I'm just describing situations I've been in where people tried to mug me. In the first situation I rolled out of it really fast and when he came after me I broke his nose (kick in the face) In the second, the guy wasn't coordinated enough to hold onto my wallet.

--->The best defense is running really fast or having Gattsuru standing next to you.

johnnyabnormal

@tekbnadit:
Ya, I have no idea why you would want to hurt a SLASHER in a school.

ANoel

Actually, they used this type of tool during the Samurai period in Japan. The ancient versions had barbs so it was to entangle and entrap a Ronin or Samurai that they were attempting to apprehend.

[en.wikipedia.org]

The picture you have is just a modern version without the barbs so it will not cause injuries to the attacker.

tekbnadit

Are you suggesting that people can make bullets and machine guns with a 10th grade education. Because that's incredibly ridiculous. I mean... Just ridiculous.

I've done it. As long as you're careful about how you make things, it's even legal to do in the United States (selling them is a different matter).

The actual mechanism for the gun is, honestly, pathetically simple. Moreover, it's easier to make an automatic weapon than a semiautomatic -- hence why I noted the important of making things carefully above, as improper spring tension can make a semiautomatic regularly slam fire. Look at some of the custom-built ones out of Russia and it's rather impressive how few parts are necessary.

Ammunition is harder, but not that much. Working black powder is just potassium nitrate and charcoal in a 70-30 ratio, both of which can be purchased off-the-shelf in hardware and home goods stores (you can add sulfur to reduce ignition temperature). and while new-fangled smokeless powder is a bit more complex, it's still little more than sulfric and nitric acid added to cotton; stuff you'll find more problems from the DEA than anyone else, and can be purchased online.

I wouldn't advise trying to make ammunition at home, but it's certainly possible, and none of it's more complicated than the stuff you should have learned if you were paying attention in high school chemistry class.

Of course, if violent idiots paid attention in chemistry class, we'd have the ultimate redox reaction flying around all over, and thankfully thermite remains on the shelves of arts and crafts stores instead of used for crime.

gattsuru

And they make a fine musical instrument as demonstrated by the Blue Man Group (re. Complex Rock Tour).

whootowl

How many batteries do these tasers take?

ANoel

@monkeyrotica: A la Wario-Ware, right?

Reilaos, Man of Destiny

This would totally work if it had a piece of poo on the business end.

monkeyrotica

couldn't he just throow the knife...? Or maybe whip out some ninja stars ?

hudsong

@dnl2ba: Not quite. We're coming up on the seventieth anniversary of the Rape of Nanjing. Not war. Slaughter. Look at what happened in the Philippines. Look at what happened in Singapore. Look at what happened in every single country and island the Japanese invaded during the war. Rape and slaughter. That's not how you fight a war. That's called a war crime .

SonOfMagicFact

@Pope John Peeps II: Said this before, will say it again. AK47. Stamped Metal receiver. Two folds, couple of of spot welds. Most reliable weapon on the planet. So yeah a tenth grader could build one. heck a smart 4th grader could.

@poisonfist: Because they're lazy, and buying them's premade is easier and cheaper. nevertheless look up "zip gun".

junyo

@Aidyn: They killed people in World War II because it was a war. And what does WW2 have to do with sasumamtas anyway?

dnl2ba

@gattsuru: On the other hand, who needs a high homicide rate when you have one of the world's leading suicide rates!

Amuro

BTW, I am Japanese. Born and raised in Tokyo.

poisonfist

Backs away slowly from johnnyabnormal.

92BuickLeSabre

@gattsuru:
Right, this is why we see 10th graders running around in the states with their shop made guns right?

poisonfist

In a real life situation, most of the time you don't see a confrontation coming till it's too late. If it's a knife, the most common technique is to not attract attention. First a stranger will come up to you and put their arm around you like a long-lost friend, which does a pretty good job of concealing the knife they are needling your ribs with. Then there are the common smash & grab jobs: They wait at the bus stop with you and when the bus pulls up and when you go for your wallet they catch you unaware, snatch and bolt. In almost any real life situation, the Sasumata would be useless...unless you are getting mugged by some cattle.

johnnyabnormal

Is that why they slaughtered thousands during WWII? I think that when hot and irratable, in a culture without guns, a fist-fight breaks out. In a culture with guns, somebody gets shot.

I'm not sure how much culture determines behavior. It would be interesting to see the rape and burglarly statistics compared to the U.S. If they are equal, one could posit that it was the lack of available handguns which limited the Japanese homicide rate, not just their culture.

Aidyn

@gattsuru: Are you suggesting that people can make bullets and machine guns with a 10th grade education. Because that's incredibly ridiculous. I mean... Just ridiculous.

Also, gun control ftw. Canada has great gun control, and I love it to death. The only problem is all our crazies can just get guns from the U.S. Thanks, yanks.

Pope John Peeps II

Japanese homicide rates all low regardless of the weapon. It's a rather different culture.

gattsuru

You don't understand, it is VERY difficult to obtain a gun in Japan. You will need some extensive connections to seedy bunch of people. Oh, and a lot of money too.

Or a basic shop class and tenth grade chemistry 'skills'.

Guns are not exactly complex, mechanically. The hardest parts to find are metal springs of decent quality, and you only need them if want a semiautomatic or double-action revolver.

Guns aren't commonly used in crime in Japan, but it may well be more because no one actually fights back against a knife in the first place; there's no real reason to spend a couple hours in a machine shop to get a better weapon if your kitchenette works well enough.

gattsuru

@Mr. Black: once

Red Right Hand

@Y2KGTP: not in japan. their firearm homicide rates are ridiculously low.

aphxtwn

@Y2KGTP: They do a very good job of preventing firearms from entering the country, and since they have been illegal for such a long time the cost of one on the black market is extremely high. In the US a petty criminal can get a gun fairly easily through theft of buying one from another person or criminal who stole one, but in Japan he would have to first find one and then have enough money to buy it. The kind of money you're talking about would mean there is no reason for this guy to be mugging people in the first place.

logruszed

@Y2KGTP:
You don't understand, it is VERY difficult to obtain a gun in Japan. You will need some extensive connections to seedy bunch of people. Oh, and a lot of money too.

poisonfist

if you stay alive I can't see how it would be considered rediculous though I agree Sasumamta fights ftw

OniMirage

I don't know about you but if he has a knife and I grab a large pole to defend my self Im not going to just push him up against the wall with it. Im going to beat the crap out of him with it instead.

nurow

Can't the attacker still throw the knife at you?

Mr. Black

What difference if a gun is legal or illegal? People still have them....

Y2KGTP

Ummm...What's to keep the bad man from grabbing the Sasumamta first?

"Ooh, you have a knife? Ha-Ha! I'll just get this....oh....wait...what are you doing?....Come on!.....Great, now you have a knife and a Sasumamta.....yes, and my wallet too. You know this really hardly seems fair."

92BuickLeSabre

Those would have been incredible in school. I can imagine Sasumamta fights, and sticking random dudes up against the wall as they are trying to get to class. They would have to take those down in about 11 minutes.

vancurenw

"Back you animal! Back!"

GRRGRRAAWWW!

Kaiser-Machead

I would have thought that in Japan they would have some sort of technical solution like guard robots with lasers or something.

Maksimir

Is it fold and fit in your pocket?

Razta

I know how stereotypical this is, but based on what you've seen in anime, manga, and live-action films, would you really want to harass a young Japanese girl in her school uniform? Odds are good she probably knows some really messed-up things to do to you...and not in a good way.

On a related note, what happened to the popularity of those Kubotan keyring devices?

deusdiabolus

@Pope John Peeps II:

The problem lies with your crazies, not with the tools they use.

Drizzten

@MitchX3: Sure, the "right to bear arms" has protected U.S. citizens against tyranny. That's why the present administration hasn't been able to detain legal American residents without warrant or trial for indeterimniate amounts of time and why they are able to tap domestic phones without warrant or court supervision in violation of federal law and compel librarians to turn over the lists of those they want to investigate without warrant or appeal. Sure. No tyranny in these here United States. Just ask Clem!
Although, I do have to admit, the Iraqis continue to attempt to put the concept into practice!

Skeptical_Geezer

@deusdiabolus: That reminds me of Urumi from GTO.

Nintenboy01

what happens if the attacker grabs it first and somehow manages to attach the knife to the end of it....? .................

Solidsky

When I went to an elementary school a few months ago, I asked all the kids what that thing was. Not a single one of them knew.

Jesse in Japan

@Pope John Peeps II: Why thank you, and Yosemite Sam thanks you. That being said, the US doesn't need more gun laws even despite all the current mass shootings. What it needs stricter regulation on crazy people getting their hands on them. That being said, gun bans don't work everywhere, look at the UK. Gun violence is actually up!

I have to gather that Japan its the way it is due to its cultural differences more than anything. Even then, the Japanese trade a lot of civil liberties for such safety. In effect, Japan is a police state. So its always about trade offs.

bbfreak

@Skeptical_Geezer: Unless I'm mistaken the United States is still a functional Republic. Hell, as long as people can bitch away about anything and everything I'd say that freedom is still alive and well. You don't like Bush that's fine, but he's out of office in 402 days and whatever happens next is due to the voters. Oh wait, you don't believe in the voting system because its rigged. *rolls eyes* Oh wait your going to blame the electoral college next (even though it insures that big states don't dominate in who the President is), and besides there has only been four times in history that the popular vote didn't coincide with the electoral. 2000 was such a case, 2004 wasn't.

In the end though, it doesn't matter what kind of system you have, no doubt stupid people will do stupid things.

bbfreak

@SonOfMagicFact: Yeah yeah, 70 years ago the Japanese did something really bad. Nobody is disputing that, but what the hell does it have to do with now? You have to remember that modern Japan has little relation to post WWII Japan as much as Modern Germany has much relation to post WWII Germany. Either way your comment is filled with hate, and has no relevance on this subject.

bbfreak

@Amuro: Not only that, they overwork their employees to death. There's even a death by overwork hotline.

bbfreak

In the end though, Americans love to bitch about the eroding of their civil liberties and how we're becoming a police state. When in reality, we have nothing on Canada, UK, or Japan. All these governments wield much more power than the US. That being said culture has a lot to do with this matter, perhaps even more than banning guns or restricting guns.

bbfreak

Or Elmer Fudd for that matter, which would make more sense in Japan.

bbfreak

@Jesse in Japan: A gun I gather you mean? Well, that's because you haven't been watching enough Yosemite Sam!

bbfreak

@bbfreak: "That being said culture has a lot to do with this matter, perhaps even more than banning guns or restricting guns."

Exactly. As much as I find Michael Moore extremely annoying, he did raise a very interesting question in "Bowling for Columbine": Why do Canadians have plenty of guns and way less crimes per capita from their use?

johnnyabnormal

@bbfreak:

as long as people can bitch away about anything and everything I'd say that freedom is still alive and well.

For now! Our Constitutional rights have drastically reduced over the past 7 years.

Oh wait, you don't believe in the voting system because its rigged. *rolls eyes*

It certainly seems that way since Diebold stepped up these past few years with extremely hackable voting machines. It's also VERY questionable that when they do malfunction, it's only in favor of one party (Republican). I've search for a case where it benefited a Democratic candidate and couldn't find one anywhere. Also, notice it happens only in swing states?

Oh wait your going to blame the electoral college next (even though it insures that big states don't dominate in who the President is)

It shouldn't matter about states at all, if it is a federal election. The electoral college method is outdated and ineffectual. The national popular vote represents the people of America more accurately.

johnnyabnormal

@Aidyn: yea...wth are you talking about...

@junyo: I daresay a homemade one wouldn't be the most reliable, probably jam up coz of your poor craftsmanship immediately. I just read your second comment, you're obviously bsing and gullible.

tin

The sasumata looks a lot like a variation of a bo stick. If you are good with a bo, you can put somebody in the hospital with one in 15 seconds.

RickCain

Actually this is based on Edo era police tactics when the local law enforcement might have to subdue an unruly/drunk samurai. They used long poles, chains, and rope tools to pin him down. In fact, if they had to tie him, there were specific knots that would be used depending on his social status.

So, this is just a revival of old martial arts methods. I believe that a firefighting crew used an extension ladder in NY to subdue a crazy guy with a sword. This tactic has a long history.

Fnord325