Improvised Survival Weapons in a Lady’s Purse

It doesn’t matter how many guns or knives you have at home when you’re caught in a survival situation without them. For that matter, you may have a gun in your purse but either run out of ammo or lose it somehow.

Stealth may be in your best interest and the sound of your gun going off will bring more danger to you. Don’t despair because there are many improvised survival items right in your purse or on your body that you can use to defend yourself. The key is to be creative.

In any survival situation, your mind is your greatest weapon and any material item that you use will be limited or strengthened by your ability to creatively and effectively use it. There are three traits that make an item suitable for use as a weapon and we’d like to talk about those first so that you can start looking at everyday items in a new light.

Before you even consider possible weapons, it’s critical that you stop thinking of yourself as the underdog. This isn’t to say that you need to be the instigator, but you do need to think of yourself as equal (or superior) to your attacker. You need to go in with confidence and force and put everything you have into each strike.

You’re no weak, passive victim so don’t act like one. This attitude will give you an automatic advantage because your attacker is going to expect a weak, scared puppy instead of a pissed lioness. Use that element of surprise as your first weapon to get in a few successful licks before he (or she) realizes what they’ve gotten ahold of. You may get lucky and end it before the attacker’s shock wears off.

Improved Density

You want to get as much bang for your buck out of every single strike in order to cause maximum damage with minimal effort. Though your fist can be sufficient if you know how to use it, there are several items in your purse that will add weight and force to your hit without causing damage to your hand. Here are a few:

• Flashlight – it’s always a good idea to carry a flashlight in your purse and if you do, then you can use it to hit soft spots such as the temple, eye, mouth, throat or groin.
• Your cell phone – don’t worry about breaking it; worry about surviving! A cell phone flat to the nose can do serious damage.
• The purse itself – use that thing as a club and take advantage of the weight.
• Change rolls – if you have a roll of quarters in there, they can do some serious damage either to add weight to a punch or to use in a similar manner as the flashlight.
• Mascara – again, it’s all a matter of how much force you use. If you hold it in your hand and aim the end at the temple, the eye or the throat, you can do major damage.

Video first seen on Expert Village. 

More Damaging Strikes

All of the improvised survival weapons items above add WEIGHT to your strike and are great but these items add damage. In other words, they can penetrate the skin and cause serious injury or even death if you hit in the right spot.

And the good news is that you’ll most likely have at least a few of these items with you. Aim at the tender spots: eyes, throat, groin or, as a last resort, the stomach or wherever else you can hit to cause damage. Here are a few items you probably have:

• Pens or pencils – your mama always told you not to run with pens, pencils or scissors because you’d put an eye out. Use this advice to your advantage!
• Nail files – If you’re going to carry a file, carry a metal one. They’re lethal.
• Car keys – Some people say that the car key idea is a load of malarkey but we figure that it’s a sharp object that everybody carries. A key to the eye or throat would hurt.
• Screwdriver – Don’t laugh – we women have the craziest things in our purses sometimes and, especially if you do handy things and have a tendency to carry things in your purse forever, a screwdriver in the purse isn’t as crazy as it may seem. They make fine weapons, too.
• High heels – If you think they’re painful to walk in, imagine how excruciating they’d be jabbed in an eye or other soft area. Before you go this route though, remember that you’re going to be running barefoot now unless you can get it back and on your foot in time to escape.
• Manicure scissors – These little darlings look great in the eye or carotid artery of somebody who is trying to kill you.
• Hand sanitizer or lotion – Have you ever gotten this stuff in your eyes? It stings like crazy and no matter how tough your attacker is, it’s going to sting him, too. Squirt it at him or squirt it in your palm before you hit him in the eye.
• Hair pins – Yes, a bobby pin can do damage but what we’re talking about here is that long wooden stick that some hair clips have. That is almost as good as an ice pick.

Extended Reach and Force

This type of improvised survival weapon allows you to reach out and touch your attacker from further away. They are extensions of your arm and may disable your attacker or add force to your blow.

• Umbrella – they actually make umbrellas specifically designed for self-defense. They’re durable and don’t break or bend like standard umbrellas do. Even a normal umbrella can be used as a club or to stab an attacker with. You can also use them as a shield in case something is being thrown or sprayed at you.
• Cane – these make great clubs and poking devices. The ones with the curved handles can also be used to hook your attacker either by the leg to trip him or by the throat to injure him.
• Hairspray, perfume and bug spray – if you use aerosol, you can get quite a reach from any of these common items and they sting like mad when it gets into your eyes.

Video first seen on Expert Village.

Miscellaneous

Though defense items typically fit into one of the three categories above, these items can be used offensively to disable an attacker and certainly bear mentioning.

• Purse straps, dental floss, your belt, or a scarf – all can be used to choke an aggressor or to tie him up, though you would probably be better off doing the former rather than the latter.
• Lighter – everybody has seen how combustible most aerosol products, including hair spray or bug spray, are. Use a lighter to make that stuff a flame thrower. If all else fails and you have a lighter in easy reach, catch your attacker on fire when he’s got you in a hold if you can. Any port in a storm.

As you can see, some of these items take a bit of creativity to fashion into weapons but that’s what day-to-day survival is all about. Your most valuable weapons are going to be your brain and your courage; without them, you’re done for.

Start viewing all the uses of an item instead of just the intended uses. It’s good practice should the day come when you need an improvised survival weapon straight from your purse! If you have any good suggestions for improvised weapons in a lady’s purse, please share them with us in the comments section below!

This article has been written by Theresa Crouse for Survivopedia.