DIY Escape Tool

[Mike 56]

Do it yourself escape tool http://www.instructables.com/id/emergency-vehicle-escape-keychain/
Mike

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

Great idea that

[ecfiffer]

cool idea, i'll just go buy one... oh wait i have one, its call my wave !

[Dunc]

Why is it that the white ceramic part of a Spark plug is so good at breaking toughened glass ? 

Dunc

[cgk]

Why is it that the white ceramic part of a Spark plug is so good at breaking toughened glass ? 

Dunc

Good question.  All I know is that it is popular to break the ceramic out of the spark plug and throw them through car windows...f$^%'in punks.

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

Why is it that the white ceramic part of a Spark plug is so good at breaking toughened glass ? 

Dunc

Good question.  All I know is that it is popular to break the ceramic out of the spark plug and throw them through car windows...f$^%'in punks.

I'd imagine it was a combination of the shape giving it an impact over a very small, focused area, and the fact that the ceramic material is extremely hard.

[Mike 56]

What ever the spark plug insulator is made of it breaks glass real easy. Ghetto thieves EDC a peice in there pocket.
Mike

[Freudian Frog]

Somehow, I think I'd rather be carrying a manufactured tool so as to have someone to blame when it doesn't work right...

[Mike 56]

When i got my Swiss rescue tool i went to picknpull auto wrecker to try it out on cracked windows and seat belts we all so did the spark plug thing it worked well. We took a spark insulator and taped on the windows and we thew the insulator at the windows both ways it shattered the safety glass.
Mike

[cgk]

Somehow, I think I'd rather be carrying a manufactured tool so as to have someone to blame when it doesn't work right...

Id rather you used something my daughter made....hopefully I would have enough time to reach into your burning, sinking vehicle to relieve you of your knives and MT's before it was too late. 

[Freudian Frog]

Yer after the wrong guy there.

I'm the cheapo, remember?

[cgk]

Yer after the wrong guy there.

I'm the cheapo, remember?

Yeah but I think I may be even cheaper so your crap may be better than my crap.

[John]

The insulator from a spark plug is in fact porcelain,

 interestingly the same material used in teeth Veneers,if that's the case in an emergency one could just bang ones face off the window  

[mzil]

It makes perfect sense that a rescue tool is a permanent feature of your keychain and no bigger than say, a key. I wish instead of this DIY one I could just buy one but I want it to be no bigger than this one. Does anyone know of a commercial version this size?

[enki_ck]

It makes perfect sense that a rescue tool is a permanent feature of your keychain and no bigger than say, a key. I wish instead of this DIY one I could just buy one but I want it to be no bigger than this one. Does anyone know of a commercial version this size?

Well not exactly this size, a bit bigger. I have a "resQme" in my car. I live between two rivers, every so often someone drives into one of them, so I play it safe. I prefer to gave a spring loaded centre punch. Who knows if you'll have enough space/strength/time to swing something with enough force.

Automotive Rescue Tool - Res-Q-Me

[mzil]

^Thanks, but my key chain is already too big and over crowded as is. That tool would be way too big to add to it. I was really hoping for one like the DIY version of this thread: no bigger than a key.

Maybe I will just have to bite the bullet and make one.

[hugh_h]

This isn't going to be what you want to hear, but after working in the automotive safety group of my company for 19 years, I really don't think there's much use for these rescue tools. A first responder--fireman or police officer--might need to break some glass or something, but I never heard of an individual who needed to cut away a locked belt or break glass to escape a wrecked car. Sure, there are people that need the "jaws of life," but you can't carry that in your pocket. You should also see how windshield makers try to make their glass impenatrable...it's not like you cause a pin point dent and the thing breaks apart. (Although, the side glass isn't as tough--make a note of that.)

And if I *still* thought I might need some kind of escape tool to save my life, I sure wouldn't:
a. Do it myself to make something out of a several layers of a credit card and a piece of spark plug, or
b. Leave it on a key ring, that could get locked in place during the crash when the steering column got all jammed up. What if you can't remove your key? Are you going to remove the emergency tool from the ring? If you're in a life-or-death situation, don't count on your fine motor skills!

DIY stuff can be cute...but--If you really think you need an escape tool to save your life, this ain't the one you want.

[mzil]

It is however the only small enough one I've ever seen that I'd consider carrying on my person every single time I leave the house. Any thing larger, such as a rescue-me, I'd never carry on me 24/7 even if you paid me 10 dollars a week to do so, and somthing (the DIY one) is better than nothing.

'Yes, I guess buying a giant one you leave in each car and have another version for travel or when in friends' and co workers cars (making you "Mr Geek" in their eyes) will function better, but that's just not happening for my kind of lifestyle.