How affective is pepper spray?
It’s a lot less affective than a fucking gun.
Especially in your own home.
Get one and learn to use it.
They should make a pepper spray that also doubles as a loud air-horn.
I’ve only one experience with pepper spray. Used it on an attacking rottweiler, and it did absolutely no good (he was attacking my dog). Hit him squarely in the face with the stream, and it had no effect that I could see.
FWIW: I was armed at the time, but there were too many kids around and I couldn’t take the risk of an errant shot (not over a dog, anyway).
I want to pipe up about having a knife for protection. In most cases it will just make things worse. A regular carry knife will cause harm but unless you cut them correctly there is a very good chance you’ll just piss the attacker off.
A poke in the arm or leg won’t stop someone motivated to hurt/rape/kill/rob you.
It also takes a bit more force than most people think to stab someone. Put some clothes on an uncooked pot roast sometime and slash/stab at it.
I’ve seen a guy (the attacker) pull a knife and use it on someone before. The one with the knife ended up with a worse cut. When he stabbed at the other guys torso his hand slid down the handle towards the blade and cut the crap out of his index finger. The stabee had a very small poke hole on his side by his ribs.
Get pepper spray.
The best way to use pepper spray is to trigger it with your thumb - not your index finger. It is fairly easy to swing at someones hand and knock the can out if you’ve only got a few fingers holding on to it. When you spray with your thumb you’ve got 4 fingers wrapped around it. The added benefit is if for some reason you need to physically defend yourself, you’re already making a fist.
There is an element of surprise with pepper spray you can use to your advantage. If you feel at risk reach into your pocket and take out the spray. Fist it with the safety off so no one can see it. If someone does try to attack you bring the can up quickly and hit them square in the face. They won’t know what happened EXCEPT they feel like their eyes are bleeding.
One course I took which covered pepper spray had an interesting revelation on it’s use. A guy put on a face shield and the class was handed dummy cans of spray. 4-5 people were picked from the group for a bit of role play - put in a situation where they needed to spray Face Shield Man. All of them managed to hit him in the face but used a single, short blast. What you really want to do is spray them, then spray them some more. This one instructor told us not to hesitate and just empty the can on them. If they buckle over after the first blast, reach under and spray his face some more. He’s attempting to rub this stuff off his face so you coat his hands while he’s doing it.
Then run, get safe, call the PD. 
As someone who has studied knife fighting and helped teach it a few times:
Do not carry a knife as a defensive weapon.
After you have learned how to fight with a knife, then you can make an informed decision on whether or not to follow my advice. And if you decide to, I suggest reading my links below.
There are many reasons, including the legal aspect, to not carry a knife for defense. The main reason for you, though, is that you do not know how to fight with a knife (I am guessing), and that is deadly to you.
Please check out Marc Macyoung’s site No-nonsense Self Defense and especially read his views on knife-fighting.
-Tcat
I’d also advise not carrying a knife for defensive reasons, if you’re not trained in defensive blade use, you can get in more trouble than you want…
however, i feel that you should still carry a knife, as it’s a handy TOOL to have, to quote a person on Bladeforums.com… “Civilized people use tools, savages tear”
pepper spray is a good thing to carry, but bear in mind it’s a deterrent only, it will give you time to flee the area and perhaps notify the authorities
another good thing to have is a powerful flashlight, once again, as a tool, lets say you’re walking to your car, in a bad section of town, there’s lots of places for baddies to hide, with a powerful flashlight, you can sweep the area with the beam, illuminating any questionable areas, criminals prey on the unaware/unprepared, using a flashlight to scan the area shows that you are situationally aware, and less likely to be victimized
the best way to avoid conflict with the seamier side of society is to avoid it, situational awareness is paramount…
as far as flashlights go, i’m personally partial to the SureFire line, there are at least three models you should look at…
the SureFire G2 Nitrolon is their entry level light, comes stock with a 65 Lumen incandescent bulb powered by 2 3V Lithium CR123a batteries, has a continuous runtime of about an hour, the Nitrolon plastic is incredibly durable, i have one that i’ve had for at least 8 months, it’s been living in my left front pocket, banging up against my keyring and Swiss Army Knife, a very rough, abusive environment, and it still looks as good as new, Nitrolon (fiberglass/polymer resin) is incredibly tough stuff
the SF 6P is the Aircraft Aluminum version of the G2, it has a Pyrex glass lens over the lamp assembly, as opposed to the G2’s polycarbonate lens, it also uses the same 65 Lumen P60 bulb assembly, continuous runtime is about an hour, uses the same batteries (all SureFires use CR123a’s), the finish on my 6P is a little worn, but the light itself is rock solid, i’ve replaced my 6P’s stock P60 with the high-output P61, which gives a searing 120 Lumens of light, as opposed to 65 Lumens, this performance comes at a cost though, the runtime of a P61 is 20 minutes…
still, the P61 is brighter than a 6 D-cell Maglite, and can fit in your pocket
the other SF worth looking at is the E2D Executive Defender, this takes the standard E2 Executive flashlight, with it’s slightly less powerful 60 Lumen bulb (still very bright though…) and adds in a scalloped “Strike Bezel” both front and rear, the bezel has squared off “points” that are designed to be used as a last-ditch striking weapon
the 65 Lumen P60 is blindingly bright, used on a perp. with dark-adapted eyes, their eyes should involuntarily slam shut and their head should turn away from the light, giving you a few seconds to escape, while the perp deals with the afterimage of the light seared into his retinas, he’ll be momentarily blinded, and seeing spots
the 120 Lumen P61 doesn’t give you any more “throw” (distance use) than the P60, it just gives you a wider “hotspot”, so aiming the light is less critical, the actual intensity is pretty close to the P60, just a hair brighter, what you’re really getting is the bigger hotspot…
bear in mind though, like the pepper spray, a powerful flashlight is only a tool to increase situational awareness, it won’t stop a determined assailant, but it should give you the ability to disorient the potential assailant and escape the area
your best bet to avoid victimization is don’t present yourself as a potential victim, make sure you’re situationally aware…
Hey, I’m back. I can’t access a computer on the weekends. But wow, thanks for all the info.
Hirundo82 I,m in Green Bay, Wi. I’m not sure offhand which kinds of spray are legal here. Right now I have The Neutralizer 15% OC key chain spray that my mom got for me.
China Guy Mr. Slant Seven Tomcat
Thanks for the warning about carrying a knife. I’ve been breifly trained in the use of a knife for SD. But in no way am I an expert. The knife I have is probably not legal to carry around with me. But niether was the butterfly knife that I think saved me from god knows what fate when I was 16. I was walking near where I live now. It was pretty late and someone walked past going the opposite way as me, turned around and started follwing me. (I am very observant when I’m walking)
I flipped open my knife and turned it back and forth so it would reflect the light. I looked back right after that and they had turned back around and were walking the other way again. So I kind of felt safer with a knife. But I do realize that it’s more of a danger to me if I actually had to get into it w/someone. So anyway I’ll put the knife away and stick w/ the pepper spray. Thanks
Eleusis I have been saving up to get a gun for home protection. Something about guns in my house freaks me out though. I love target practice with my dad’s rifles (especially his black powder rifle 
) But I’ve had a couple bad experiences with assholes and guns. Ex-boyfriend got pissed up and pissed off at me, decided it would be funny to put a (supposedly unloaded) rifle to my chest and pull the trigger :mad: . It didn’t fire, but when he opened it it was loaded. Nobody else at that party thought it was very funny at all. Needless to say he’s ancient history, that was the first and last time he ever did anything like that. I don’t hang around many people any more. I just don’t trust anyone anymore. Yeah, I’ve got great taste in men. :smack: (trying to do better, actually I just plain gave up for now)
But back to the point, sorry about the babbling.
I guess if the gun is for my protection and no one else knows I have it it’s ok. If I do get a gun I think it would be a .38 revolver. I heard you don’t have to have the best aim with that caliber. It’ll knock em on thier ass as long as you hit em anywhere.
MacTech I’ll check out the flashkight idea. I always thought about getting a maglite for my car. They’re heavy enough to doudle as a weapon. I’ll check out the ones you listed, they sound promising.
Thanks everyone. I’ve gotten some great suggestions and info. And as always I am very careful about how I present myself when walking. Scanning around for people lurking, and just to look attentive and confident. I know the more you look unaware the more likely of a target you are.
To OP, manystates hold pocket knives of 3" blade length or less legal if carried unopened.
Problem is that there are federal rules against so called flick knives and gravity knives. The butterfly knife you mentioned falls into that highly illegal group. Now your state may have rules making butterfly knife ownership and carrying legal, but it is unlikely. You also may find yourself in a world of trouble if you were to carry such aknife over state borders.
Yes, I know the butterfly knife is very illegal. It’s not something I carry around with me. (Only that once, my friends wouldn’t let me walk home that late without something for protection, yet no one volunteered to walk me home either :rolleyes: ). In Wi I believe 4" blades and smaller are legal if not concealed. I think that means you have to have a belt case for it. In my experience they’re a little slack on enforcement of balde laws around here. I bought a very sharp sword from a small shop here when I was 17. I know that it’s illegal to sell dangerous weapons to minors. But anyway, I took the 4" knife I had been carrying out of my purse already. It’s safe in my bedside table drawer. So I won’t be getting busted for that. Now I have to remember to get that machete out of my car. 
You seem very sensible theunfounddoor Check out local laws, you may be legaly able to carry a folded lock knife in your purse with no problems. That said a good flash light is great, but often a pane to carry being they tend to be large and heavy.
Does anyone know a flashlight bright enough to dazzle effectively but also small enough to keep in a regular pocket or purse? Something solid enough to use as a blunt weapon (even if only a few inches long) that would be good for striking bones and joints.
Buy a gun and learn to use it. Failing that, get a taser and learn to use it. A knife is a good weapon, but you have to have a certain level of innate ferocity to use one effectively. Being fast, strong, and having some training help too.
I’ve used pepper spray and been sprayed with it as part of certification. Yeah, police use it, but they don’t depend exclusively on it.
There is a problem with this though.
If a guy come up and intends to beat you down with his fists, the gun isn’t going to do much good. Sure, you could shoot him, but depending on what state you live in you may end up in trouble and spend some years in jail. With pepper you have a chance to get away clean.
I’ve also learned a gun isn’t always a deterrent. Like they say, if you are going to pull a gun you better be damn sure you’re going to pull the trigger.
I’m not anti-gun; I’ve got 4 guns myself and have had CWP’s and carried. I’ve been in situations where I had a gun on me and feared for my well being but not really my life. In that case it wouldn’t be proper to pull a gun - morally or legally. I’d be in a better situation to hose him with pepper, kick him in the nut, then the face when he bends over and call the PD.
You grossly overestimate the effectiveness of pepper spray. I’ve used it and had it used on me and it isn’t as quick or effective as you seem to think. Cops use the stuff, but they are also equipped with clubs, guns, and back-up.