Testing Brass Knuckles | Do they hurt you more than they hurt them? 

Question for Viewers: What other weapons should we look at?

I've been hit with brass knuckles before and four bones in my face were broken as a result. Now I've got a metal plate in my face. It's definitely effective.

I am a nurse in the ER and I can tell you that brass knuckles will definitely put holes in your head. We had a guy with 3 separate skull fractures and about 30 staples.

Im ashamed to say I used brass knuckles in a fight a long time ago and it seriously messed the other dude up. He immediately had to go to the hospital, he a had few facial fractures and had to get a ton stitches. I experienced no pain or injury from using them, so whatever that proves.

My dad seen a big bar brawl and watched a guy slip on brass knuckles and then wrap a white handkerchief around them. The guy started knocking people down. My dad then overheard 2 guys talking and one said to the other “hey, watch out for that guy with the broken hand over there, he’s beating the shit out of everyone” 😂

The thing is, you have to use MUCH more power to hurt your hand, compared to the amount needed to ruin somebody's face. So if you swing hard enough to hurt your hand, you probably just murdered somebody.

I’ve seen people get hit with brass knuckles 3 times in my life. In all 3 cases, the person that was hit suffered from broken bones in their face. In all 3 cases, the person punching was not injured at all.

Here in texas, you can basically carry anything on you. I always carry my brass knuckles on me. I’m very aware of how dangerous it can be to strike someone with it. I will only use it if very necessary. Just like any weapon, carry and use responsibly.

My grandfather went to Cambridge in England as an undergrad. He worked a bar at night and walked back home in some shady areas during the 1920's. He claimed to have punched two men with brass knuckles during his time there to escape being robbed. One lived, one did not.

My Grandpa gave me his brass knuckles as a gift before he passed away. He explained that most of them were fitted and the inner (the part which goes into the palm) was usually covered in something like a thick piece of leather to help with grip and to cushion the impact on the inside hand bones. He also explained that often people would wear a pair of gloves (usually leather) which again tightens up the fit to prevent slipping. I don't know how my Grandpa Franzese knew this stuff! ha

As a Bouncer with 17 years experience in Red Light Districts i worked 90% of my Time alone and a Knuckle Duster is a nice upgrade when you fight multiple opponents.

There is always the old biker trick of a bandana tied through the loop of a padlock. You keep the lock in your back pocket with the bandana hanging out. You can swing the lock from the bandana as an improvised flail or palm the lock with your middle finger through the loop. Used to be part of a particular MC dress code. Some guys had a lock pocket sewn into their Cut.

Wrap the backstrap. Two reasons. 1: They'll be more comfortable and the little bit of padding prevents them from hurting your palm. 2: If you use them, you will have blood all over your hand, and when that happens the backstrap will slide out towards your fingertips and your fist will collapse. Knuckles do not play. I think you can see that pretty well from what you have experienced testing them, but I want to reinforce the idea. You will lacerate skin, crush bone, and the difference between a lethal strike and just making the guy's head swim is small enough you do not want to be swinging anywhere near as hard as you would with an unassisted strike. Anecdotal evidence abounds in these comments, some likely more legitimate than others, but I will add my own story from the first time I used a set here. I was standing in an alley behind a friend of a friend's house, waiting for him to buy a little green from his paranoid buddy who 'doesn't like new customers'. Some guy walking down the alley was acting erratic, looking around and checking over his shoulder, so I put the knuckles on in my hoodie pocket, and leaned against the garage across the alley so he'd have to pass in front of me. Pulled my phone out and cranked the volume so I didn't look threatening, just bored. Guy was about ten feet out and I looked up and gave him a nod, just acknowledging his presence and letting him know I was seeing him, and he started running his mouth about how I didn't know him and what the hell am I doing talking to him (I got the impression he had already marked me and this was just an excuse to have a confrontation) and he took a couple aggressive steps. I decided he had advanced enough and stopped him with a jab that was aimed for his teeth but he tried to slip it and it hit him over his eye. He falls over, tries to get up, falls, hands are covering his face, blood everywhere, and then his hands drop when he loses conciousness and the nice smooth curve above his eye is now an irregular dent and his eye is bulging. I ran up to the door, told paranoid boy he can fuck himself, me and my friend need to go NOW. Later we heard the police and an ambulance showed and took the guy to the hospital. Paranoid boy told the cops he had no idea what happened, the cops said he might not survive, they didn't know how long he had been unconcious. It was WELL after we left before someone found him and called. Paranoid boy of course freaked out because the cops showed up, but they never came back so I assume either the guy made it and wasn't too fked up or they realized what had probably happened and didn't care that he didn't make it. It wasn't exactly a nice part of town, I am sure it wasn't the first time they found a man on the way to being a body in that alley. Long story short, the knuckles were easily more effective than an unassisted punch, and I learned not to hit people in the head with them like I mean it unless I fking mean it.

One point with the brass knuckles. You start hitting someones hands, forearms, shoulder, collarbone, ribs with those jabs - they're gonna know alllll about it, and it really doesn't need any power behind it at all. Just the ole 'shin bump' amount of force, against a bone with little to no meat padding it, and someone will want absolutely nothing to do with it.

They are legal in Texas. One thing you aren't considering, Being 55 years old, I have lost most of my power. This levels the playing field!

A friend of mine was up in Chicago this passed January and a guy in a pub started harassing him. When he told the guy to F off, the guy blasted him in the face with brass knuckles. My buddy is a really big dude, but not a fighter… he’s a very passive guy, so he thinks this other guy was messing with him because my friend was bigger than him. Turns out the guy that hit him with the knuckles just got released from prison 6 weeks prior after doing time for aggravated battery. The shot with the knuckles broke his orbital bone, two teeth, and detached his retina. My friend is also my tattoo artist, and with one eye barely working, it has crippled his livelihood. He has a wife and kids to support. The attacker was identified quickly and warrant issued, but to date is still at large. He ended up assaulting another person a few weeks later in another bar similarly and was identified through surveillance cameras in establishment. He is still at large as of this writing.

As a teenage we bought brass knuckle paperweights from the carnival and like yours they spread our fingers so far apart it hurt our hand to hit anything. A few years ago decided i wanted a real pair. Searched high and low but finally found a pair of quality, solid brass knuckles that fit my closed fist perfectly. I tested them hitting on a BOB dummy and heavy bag with no discomfort to my hand. I dont carry because 1. I dont want to kill someone and 2 i dont live in a bad area where i could see me ever needing them and 3 they are a quality collectable unlike so many cheap paperweight knuckles, id prob never find another pair.

Something I haven't seen mentioned here: brass knuckles make you impossible to disarm. Nobody can take it from your hand, unless they cut your fingers off.

My house was broken into, and i was attacked just last week. My wife was home. Closest weapon to me was my knuckles. I was able to get him out of the house and keep my wife safe, and only suffered minor damage to my left hand. And what damage i did take was due to a glancing blow that settled happily into concrete. Also, my style of knuckles is very different from the one you guys are using. I can say that if you just fully commit to the strike, it really doesnt hurt. As for the judge and jury, I'd rather be judged by 12 than carried by 6.

I had a friend get hit with brass knuckles in a bar fight…and he had to go to the hospital with broken ribs. It wasn’t even a clean punch and my friend didn’t think much of it until he woke up having problems breathing and found a big bruise on his side.

What I've learned from this is that hard2hurt is pretty easy to hurt. Haven't heard "own that hurts" so many times in one video in a while.

I’ve seen the damage a pair of dusters can do, and it’s devastating. It’s a great equaliser if you’re going into a fight against more than one person, you will only have to connect once. Even more dangerous if you can already throw a punch.

I got jumped by some melons one time, but I was able to talk my way out of it.

I really like the bone tactical “key chain”. It’s basically a small fist pack with 1 or 2 finger rings. You can make a normal fist with a added advantage.

I've watched your brass knuckle video before. But I just watched a video on how to properly hold brass knuckles and they're not supposed to be used by making a normal fist. You're supposed to brace them on the heel of your palm and the Knuckles part goes between the the first two Knuckles instead of going all the way over the second knuckle of your fingers. You may want to try that technique and see if it alleviates any hand pain.

Back in the 70s, I was a young teenager when I saw my big brother (he was 17) quickly put two guys down with brass knuckles (his were made of some kind of cast metal, but weren't brass), who were giving him a hard time. It was broad daylight and I never even noticed him put them on (he kept them in the back pocket of his jeans, from wear they would leave eventually an imprint on all your blue jeans). I was standing back away, holding a small baseball bat behind me just in case I was needed. Sometimes us brothers (4 of us) would get into fist fights with each other, but when it came to trouble, we were always very supportive. Great times.

Love how a channel called “Hard to Hurt.” You hurt yourself every episode.

Look, I'm almost 60, lived in North Philly all my life. I have a set of Brass Knuckles that I've had since I was 15. Believe me, they've been used on more than a couple of occasions. Thing is, when I was coming up, you didn't have a lot of shooting... we threw hands. If you were lucky enough to come across a set of knuckles, you may have a slight advantage. But like anything else, you had to be used to and know how to use them...

I was shown a variation with a fork. Grip the handle tight in your palm, fold the fork over the back of your knuckles, then bend the tines back up like spikes. We were (teenagers) at a restaurant late at night in a questionable part of town and getting hassled by some bigger dudes. Some random guy walked up to our table and made one to show us and threw it on the table. He said to make a couple more and use them outside if needed. I was more scared of that one guy than the table of a-holes lol

Back when i was in highschool we had a basketball player that superman punched another guy with brass knuckles over a girl. Long story short, the guy he hit was put in a coma and almost died. lost vision permanently in his left eye and had a shattered cheek bone and fractured skull. Dude that punched him went to prison for attempted murder with a deadly weapon. Case and point : while effective, unless your looking to make a bloody mess out of things dont carry brass knuckles.

You wanna be friends with someone who's not really into sweets. They'll never steal your candy or ask u to share lol

Yes Brass knuckles are more than effective. I've used them and the guy had to go to the hospital and get tens of stitches. Needless to say I was deeply ashamed for using them on somebody, it was more of like the spur of the moment kind of thing like most fights are.

I saw 2 drunk guys get their teeth punched down their throats by 1 older man who wasn't taking their B.S . Brass knuckles are very effective. Do not take them lightly, they will cause serious damage.

When it comes to protecting my family I leave my morals at the door and would do and use anything I could

"You close it out by not closing it out." That's some Confucius shit right there.

The area against your palm needs to be wrapped. Leather or cable of some kind is common. Also you really have to set them comfortably against your palm and this is going to vary for every user, honestly I think custom made are the only real way to go.

I trained muay thai for 5 years before switching to bjj but after 2 years in mt i stopped wearing wraps as i felt my hands could harden over time the last time i was training upper body striking for about 2 years and i built my hands up to being able to punch a metal structural pole with 12 oz gloves at full blast for a few rounds. My knuckles grew and the gap between them shrunk ive been in a couple fights since then and whenever i hit someone i almost didnt know if i made contact their face felt like punching through the air you can condition knuckles to take a bad beating even though the hand is weak structurally but there is risk of short and long term complications also genetics play a role as well.

I have real world experience with brass knuckles. I know someone who was attacked by a man who had brass knuckles. The victim ended up with multiple head lacerations requiring a lot of stitches and a concussion. They're definitely effective.

I've noticed that there are different sizes of brass knuckles. Maybe finding one that's suited to the user's hand size is the fix.

When I was a doorman, I never carried brass knuckles but I did carry home made ones made from a plastic bread board. No saggy pocket and wouldn't set off any detectors.

They used trench knives in WW1 that essentially was a Brass knuckle with a knife attached. Those were brutal.

Hepatitis néerdowell, is the name of my new thrash metal band.

Once, a friend hit someone on the shoulder who was trying to rob him. He did a hammer blow with his brass knuckles just above his delts, then flew out. He always talks about how he heard the guy screams while he was running

Sized and worn properly, brass/metal/composite knuckles are nearly discomfort-free, and absolutely devastating. Your palms are brilliant at absorbing impact, far more so than your knuckles. I've got a cheapo pair that looks identical to the ones in this video that I got off Wish for a dollar, and I've got a still-inexpensive pair that was properly fitted that I can punch cinderblocks with and not feel it.

Great video! If I have to choose between hurting my hand or protect my family, I've made my choise already.

Later this summer: "Why are all these watermelons growing in the middle of a park??? "

yeah they hurt your palm, but you know what hurts more? breaking your knuckles on someone else's skull.

One of my friends was assaulted by a guy holding those. Being a judoca, he managed to grapple and take the knuckles of the hand. Biggest mistake was that he theatrically threw them away, as they "did not save the thug" and recieved a textbook knockout uppercut while doing so.

I saw a pair at a local gunshow that was a tad bit thicker than those and had a single split in the middle and a glass breaker point at the hammer fist position. That pair may or may not have came home with me to play with and keep on my desk in my office 🤷‍♂️

Next Video: "Can POOL NOODLES really be this destructive?"

I really thought you’d hate them so that was surprising. During a fight even a quick hit to a dudes collar bone would be enough for them to surrender when used correctly this tool is devastating.

Why is Icy Mike cackling at the boy and his friend missing shots SO funny?

I'm a steel fabricator, I custom made my own sets of these... fit is very important, the ones I made used 3/8" plate for the finger rings, custom fit for my fists. The palm piece is 3/4" elongated oval, rounded and fits tightly against the inside of thumb when you curl your hand into a fist, it also adds quite a bit of mass. Also where the finger rings and palm piece join together the plate is angled about 15° so when you make a fist everything is nice and tight, but feels natural as a fist. I can literally punch chunks out of a 8x8 timber again and again and I feel nothing. I can see where an off the shelf pair, made out of a single piece of flat plate for economy could hurt your hand, palm or wrist... everyone's hands are different and you can't beat a custom fit for something like this 🙂

I put many layers of spongy tape around the part that pushes against the palm of the hand. Also the interior of the finger holes where the meat of the fingers will compress against the inner hole of the weapon. This works SO much better when I walk around town punching walls and telephone poles.

I am a smaller man so I carried one when I lived in Denver. Used it twice as self-defense, but in my off hand. It packs quite the punch as a jab and doesn't hurt as much :)

Added mass, greater focus of impact, a solid barrier between your fingers and anything hard you might hit, intimidation factor, in what way would they not work? They even distribute return impact across your palm, a much more durable part of your hand than your knuckles

The basic concept if it is it replaces your hand bones and knuckles which have any areas that can get hurt from a punch, and are also cushioned with flush and turns them to solid steel as all the pressure of the punch is still being applied to the exact same spot

My friends father was a young rocker in late fifties when he died my friend got his leather jacket there was foot long switch blade in breast pocket and brass knuckles right side pocket. That was a suprise

*"Your fruit killing skills are remarkable"* -Gaz 2007

I would love to see a video testing the use of big signet rings as a weapon.

I remember watching old-school tutorials on how to use the brass knuckles. The instructor was like, "think outside the box! You don't have to just hit 'em in the noggin, you can swipe their shin and kneecap with it!" And proceeded to teaching how to punch knives out of people's hands lol

Two things. This is my first encounter with your channel ( I may have surfed through in the past and not remember though.) and I really dig your pragmatic approach so I'm subscribing. Second, my father has told me what it was like to be hit with brass knuckles as a young man in his early twenties. He boxed for most of his teenage years so he knows what a solid punch feels like, with some bare-knuckle highschool stupidity thrown in, and he said it felt nothing at all like a punch. Not even a little bit. It was an entirely new experience. He said he was not knocked out. He was fully aware of what was happening around him but the hit dropped him to his knees and even though he could think about moving he couldn't actually make his body do what he wanted. Again, he wasn't stunned into a conscious K.O. as can happen in the ring. He described it as being cut from his body in a way so foreign and terrifying that even if his body had responded to his intentions he might have been frozen by pain and fear and unable to move anyway. He said it lasted for at least a minute and if the guy had wanted to beat him to death there would have been nothing he could do to stop him.

Hello, I know it’s an old video but better late than never! I’m in Greece and brass knuckles is something commonly edc together with a knife. The first time I tried to hit something with a BK I almost broke my fingers. Everybody laughed and then explained me the proper way. You fit the BK as rings but what you do is you hold as hard as you can the portion of BK which is in your palm. Like when holding a lighter. You are going to feel the impact but not in your finger, in the inside base of your palm. Hope I helped a lil!

I'd be a bit worried about blood too- a buddy of mine gave me a really, really light shot in the chest/shoulder with a set of spiked knuckles, and I'm confident that the vast majority of the time, a few strikes there would be devastating and painful enough to stop the fight with no blood drawn. Thoughts?

"Never heard of anyone good keeping one of these for anything good." Trench knife variants used by the US military in WWI and in the 1940s. The WWI trench knife had a rounded handguard which could be used as a knuckle duster. The Mark I of the 1940s had the knuckle dusters as well as the stiletto dagger all in one piece. Although the stiletto was the primary use of the weapon, the knuckle dusters were there along with different kinds of pommels as a secondary weapon in case the blade failed to work or broke.

Some loser tried robbing me on my way to work, so I punched them in the face with my brass knuckles. That taught them not to do bad things like trying to steal from people, and now we've been happily married for 15 years.

1:33 Casually walking in front of a dazed blinfolded guy trowing punches at a pinnata while wearing brass knuckles

Brass knuckles were actually issued to US soldiers in a few low-danger areas during WWII when they had a shortage of bayonets and pistols. They're a lot more comfortable if they're fitted to your hand. Gives your hand more weight and more support. The discount version is a roll of quarters.

There was a time when brass knuckles were required to be considered an official grandpa.

I've still got the brass knucks that my father carried when he was an MP from 1935 to 1939..then he became a glider pilot..hammer fist to the collarbone was pretty much how he used them, they never struck heads with sticks or saps or brass knuckles, would destroy government property, you know...

When I bartended years ago one of the bouncers carried a jewlers hammer on a lanyard in his sleeve. Have in his hand in a flash, really hurt a lot of guys, generally poppong out a eye and always seriously broken bones in face and head. He said brass knucks were excellent but sometimes took too long to slip on also brass knucks were an excellent for a sucker punch.

bought mine yrs ago in the 80's from 'Soldier of Fortune' mag. Yes they worked and yes they hurt your palm. Thinking of buying one ...for a paper weight, this time

I've had the unfortunate exp of having come across someone who had these used on them. Rather than going into detail imagine what a unhardened clay sculpture of someone face would look like if you threw a right hook towards the eye. It was one of the most gruesome injuries I've ever seen.

In Michigan you go to jail for simply being in possession of them, using or not.

Dudes beating a Spiderman pinata with brass knuckles is exactly what you'd see in a Spiderman movie

At least he knows how to defend himself ..even threw in a few scenarios..good stuff

in high school someone who fancied themselves a mobster beat someone up with knuckles in a weed deal and the dudes guts got all perforated and he had to go to the hospital for weeks and weeks. it still probably hurt his hand tho

I remember more than thirty years ago deciding to make a set of these. My father has access to a machine shop at work, so I started going to work with him at the weekends. My dad “ a master machinist ” has taught me the value of mock-ups and the hardest thing to get right with those wood test pieces was the palm fitment. I’m not surprised that a generic set would scare you because with that palm piece as narrow as the front of the knuckles, means the same amount of concentrated force from your punch Is winding up in your palm. From what I learned the only way to really put steam into these things is with something fitted to your palm. Even then though, no free lunch in physics the force must be spread out on a larger surface than the front.

When i think of brass knuckles, my second thought goes to the "Slap Jack." A vide sharing how effective the slapjack is would be interesting .

I just watched video prior to this one on how to properly use brass knuckles and, contrary to popular belief is that you're not supposed to wear the brass knuckles so that they are flush with your fist. You're apparently supposed to put that curved bar section and have it more in the palm so that the proximal interphalangeal is bent in a V shape giving your hand and wrist the proper support.

brass knuckles are a weapon youd literally only use if you were in a position where you were life or death fights...not just like a cool thing to use haha

That's the wrong way to use them. The hand is held more like an old-school "leopard punch" and the strike is like a boxing rabbit punch. You are NOT supposed to use a conventional punch with them. Most people do not know how to use them correctly.

I can see how they work but surely design wise they should have a short of cushioned areas to comfortably put your fingers in and minimise damage to yourself.

It’s crazy that you ran out in front of the guy in the beginning when you were laughing 😂

My great grandfather carried brass knuckles during his tours in WWII In both europe and the Pacific, airborne swore by them as a trench weapon

I feel like with the extra little bit of mass and the hard metal, you clap someone a few times at like 60% and they are already gonna start to think twice. Also there's the benefit that if they get the upper hand you can aim a gorilla smash with all your might at the bone just above the eye and you should split them open like a banana skin, most ppl are gonna be at least distracted when their own head starts pissing merlot

"You close it out by not closing it out." Make that kid your new head of social media!

Cheap dusters we used as youth were big bolt nuts that your individual fingers fit in, and a chain wrapped around fist along with a pad lock, or a super big carabiner hand fit in. The lock on the chain could also be used as swinging weapon. And all were just standard objects not classified and weapons.

Thanks for the information, I broke my dominate hand 6 months ago and still can’t make a completely tight fist and still don’t have all my power back yet so I been thinking of carry brass knuckles. Always prepare for the what if. Thanks

Did you know that, historically, some police forces issued brass knuckles to the constables? I've seen a pair in my local museum (in Trowbridge, England), and I believe there are surviving examples of New York Police brass knuckles. Also, have you seen "sap gloves"?

This pre cut lines are hilarious

😂”hold up save me some airheads “

If you punch a melon with bare knuckle is going to hurt you more of what it would with the brass knuckles.

I think that what you said at 11:06 is one of the main reasons to carry brass knuckles. Someone doesn't have to be a good fighter to cause damage/pain in a self-defense situation. If the person is, lack of a better word, small and weakly, elderly, or handicapped in some way. A weapon like this used against an attacker, without him/her seeing it coming, could do enough pain/damage to cause the attacker to give up or allow the victim to get away. Yes, it may hurt the victim some, but not as much as it would hurt the attacker if they are used correctly.

I've also been KOd by brass knuckle sucker punch. The point is you don't have to punch particularly hard to get the job done.

My dad rode the rails during the great depression and always kept a bar of soap and a pair of socks in his pocket. He would also keep a roll of coins on him as well.

I've seen one person getting suckerpunched by one of those, broken jaw and teeth flying. Never carried it around after that.

It sure is effective, saw a friend knock 2 people out with it once before he himself was put to sleep by another guy who hit him with a bar stool. He has a small stature but he is always getting into fights so he can throw a decent punch but those 2 that was knocked out by him were huge. All went to the hospital in the same ambulance, it was wild.

The old school gangster, street method, was a stylish ring on as many fingers of either hand, that you felt looked good on you.

J.R:He's got the those damn brass knuckles!