Where did brass knuckles come from?

I recently came into possession of a hypothetical pair of brass knuckles, and it got me thinking: where did they come from? Why are they so dangerous (and possibly illegal, hence the hypothetical)? Would plastic ones be as dangerous? They seem almost charmingly old-fashioned in this age of hi-tech, long-distance weaponry.
I do not advocate buying knucks
I hope to never use them
But if I have them anyhow
I’d rather use than lose them.
Sorry, the Purple Cow inspired me.

Carrying them is illegal, even if not specifically, in most jurisdictions in the United States. They qualify as a concealed weapon. They are very effective as a force multiplier on the hands of a trained fighter. The toy seeming ones are less so. Real combat brass knuckles are heavy, and provide wide coverage of the knuckles, as opposed to the front of the fingers. The inner part is usually solid, or tubular. Brass is the best choice to combine hardness and high mass.

Kinetic energy is mass times velocity squared. Raise the mass, and the same speed of punch delivers more energy, and the brass transfers the impact from your fingers, to the heel of your hand, which is quite useful, if you hit stuff hard enough to break your own fingers. Hit wrong, and you can break all four fingers, of course.

I think (WAG warning!) that the brass knuckles we have now are the sole remaining bit of a set of gauntlets worn by armored fighting men of years ago. Such men learned that after loosing their sword, or spear, they could still knock the crap out of an unarmored man with their gauntleted hand. Gauntlets are just a tad bit ostentatious, though, on a city street. Always the favored weapon of thugs, and thieves, it was probably not long before the business portion of a set of gauntlets was adapted to covert urban use.

Tris

Rule of Reason: “If nobody uses it, there’s a reason.”

I think the “gauntlet theory” is pretty unlikely; the cestus was introduced far earlier by the Romans (Greeks, too, I think). I think it’s a pretty obvious observation in every generation that it’s easier on the hands, and harder on the opponent, to hit with an object other than one’s hands. The most easily concealable of these items is one that fits over the hands: a glove, a cestus, brass knuckles, or even a rag.

While plastic knucks would be dangerous, they ain’t as bad as brass; brass is hard and heavy, causing damage by itself. Plastic would just protect your hands.

I can only contribute that “brass nuckles” are possibly first mentioned in the US in 1855. There is a cite from the Chicago Times (figures) that says

Don’t know what to make of that quote. The most interesting thing is that they said that “new implement” meaning that it wasn’t known much before the mid-1800’s.

Anecdotal evidence: A history guy here in Sac who works at Sutter’s Fort explained to tourists that sailors of the 1800’s carried short swords, called cutlasses which often had brass handles. The brass handles had a brass bar that protected the knuckes in battle and could also be used to strike opponents. He said that this is where brass knuckels originated. FWIW.

Also, they are illegal to possess in Califonria. Penal Code section 12020 provides that it is illegal to possess metal knuckles.

Anecdotal evidence: A history guy here in Sac who works at Sutter’s Fort explained to tourists that sailors of the 1800’s carried short swords, called cutlasses which often had brass handles. The brass handles had a brass bar that protected the knuckes in battle and could also be used to strike opponents. He said that this is where brass knuckels originated. FWIW.

Also, they are illegal to possess in Califonria. Penal Code section 12020 provides that it is illegal to possess metal knuckles.

Anecdotal evidence: A history guy here in Sac who works at Sutter’s Fort explained to tourists that sailors of the 1800’s carried short swords, called cutlasses which often had brass handles. The brass handles had a brass bar that protected the knuckes in battle and could also be used to strike opponents. He said that this is where brass knuckels originated. FWIW.

Also, they are illegal to possess in California. Penal Code section 12020 provides that it is illegal to possess metal knuckles.

Yes the force is transfered to the palm of your hand, but not all the force. You’ve still got the brass pushing down on your knuckles after you hit something. As you can imagine, that hurts quite a bit. But I’ll assume you can get used to them and reduce the amount of force that impacts your knuckles.
Er, I mean uh, violence is bad kids…
Bearflag70, I think your right about the origins.

Bearflag’s observation is probably confirmed in part by the famous “knuckle duster” trench knife, which appears to be the apex of the dual-use hand combat weapon.

I wonder whether or not the knuckles developed independently. It seems logical that one could simply knock off the blade of a sword or knife pommel and find it to be a readily concealable and effective weapon. On the other hand, the 1918 trench knife seems to incoporate two distinct and disparate weapons into a single, very dangerous looking device.

There are conflicting opinions as to the nature of trench warfare in the Great War. Some say that hand-to-hand combat was extremely rare; others say it was the inevitable result–and the very intention–of virtually any conflict. The 1918 knife could be either the fruit of hard-bitten experience or the fanciful work of an uninvolved designer. I don’t have a conclusive answer in favor of either side.

While I appreciate bearflag’s post, he/she did say it was anechdotal.

I have bought/sold quite a few swords which date back to the early 1800’s. I don’t remember seeing any which had any “knuckle” shapes. NOt saying there aren’t any, but most swords had a simple design, which included a curved strip which protected the hand./knuckles.

What someone would have to do to show that it came from an early 1800’s sword, is show a picture of a sword which had an “undulating” knuckle design. Go for it.

I say it evolved independently.

I’m with samclem - The fact that smacking someone in the face with the knuckle guard of a saber would definately hurt like hell does not mean that it was the origin of the modern brass-knucks.

It doesn’t take rocket science to figure out that holding something heavy in your hand allows you to do more damage, and figuring out that a great shape is an oval, rectangle, or D is not tremendously complex. For instance, a good-sized link from a large chain (say from a shipyard) would work fantastically, and I shouldn’t think that hard to find.

My own speculation, based on shady memories of one of my arms-and-armor books, is that “brass knuckles” are a basic weapon technology like clubs, spears, and slings, and can be found in almost any culture going way back. In some cases it’s just a loop of bone or wood, in other cases a spiked monstrosity made out of steel, but they have the same root form and serve the same purpose.

Some basic research on google seems to support this:
Here
Hawaian variety

and about a bajillion sites describing the Okinawan “Tekku” as the progenitor of the modern day knucks.

If I think of it I’ll check that book of mine - it has weapons and armor from all over the world, including Aboriginal, African, Native American. . .

I would say that the concept would become immediately obvious to anyone a minute or so after punching someone on the jaw without them.

There is an exhibition of these in the Pitt Rivers museum in Oxford and it seems that most cultures had something similar.

They’re illegal in the UK too. But you can get them as “stage props”