Explain glass breakers to me...

Lock1454 said:
A glass breaker on a knife has always been a "Wow, that'd be handy..." feature but usually brings about problems with the ergos and hand poking. I've thought about picking up knives with glassbreakers before but I usually end up just passing.

This however go me to thinking, I usually carry a LM Charge oh me... I wonder how successful the screwdriver (either micro or regular size) or tip of the pliers head would be in performing in a glass breaker in a pinch. If any of those would work, would be a rather nice feature :)
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The key to the effectiveness as a glass breaker is in the hardness of the material used. Since glass is very hard, the material breaking it must also be very hard (or at least very large and heavy). As mentioned earlier in the thread, most glass breakers are made of carbide or ceramic. Vandals will often throw a spark plug (ceramic insulator) at a car window to break it. The steel in the screwdriver tip or pliers isn't very hard compared to the glass. And they both have relatively blunt tips. That would make it difficult to use effectively, unless it was applied with great strength. A dedicated glass breaker will be made with a very hard material, shaped to a very sharp point. This ensures that the most force can be applied to a very small point on the glass, without deforming the point on the breaker.
 
flipe8 said:
I know the spring-loaded punches work better than the glass-breaker on my Umnum does, but it does work. I came across a rollover about 2 months ago and used my Umnum's glass-breaker to take the driver's side windows out.While on-duty, I'm reaching for the spring-assisted breakers, but I'm glad to have the breaker on my EDC.
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I gotta ask; Hammer type (Life hammer) vs. spring loaded punch vs. non-spring loaded punch. If you kept one in your car all the time which one would you use?
 
In my truck I carry a seatbelt cutter and automatic center punch. The center punch doesn't need to be swung like a hammer .There are times when you can't swing - injuries etc.
 
Clang! said:
I gotta ask; Hammer type (Life hammer) vs. spring loaded punch vs. non-spring loaded punch. If you kept one in your car all the time which one would you use?
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Hi,

Spring loaded punches are best. They don't require any swing room. Simply press against a corner of the window. Even children can do that. Another plus is that the shattered glass will tend to fall straight down rather than be blown all over the place by impact.

A word of caution. Automakers are starting to put laminated safety glass, just like windshield glass, in side windows on some models of cars. Though generally restricted to higher end models at this point. Glass breakers are pretty ineffective against laminated safety glass. Hammer types can punch a small hole, but it generally takes some kind of saw to quickly remove that kind of glass.

dalee
 
dalee100 said:
Hi,

Spring loaded punches are best. They don't require any swing room. Simply press against a corner of the window. Even children can do that. Another plus is that the shattered glass will tend to fall straight down rather than be blown all over the place by impact.



dalee
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+1 they work alot better than just smashing a window with a metal spike
 
dalee100 said:
Hi,

Spring loaded punches are best. They don't require any swing room. Simply press against a corner of the window. Even children can do that. Another plus is that the shattered glass will tend to fall straight down rather than be blown all over the place by impact.


dalee
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Agreed. Well said:thumbup:
 
dalee100 said:
Hi,

Spring loaded punches are best. They don't require any swing room. Simply press against a corner of the window. Even children can do that. Another plus is that the shattered glass will tend to fall straight down rather than be blown all over the place by impact.

A word of caution. Automakers are starting to put laminated safety glass, just like windshield glass, in side windows on some models of cars. Though generally restricted to higher end models at this point. Glass breakers are pretty ineffective against laminated safety glass. Hammer types can punch a small hole, but it generally takes some kind of saw to quickly remove that kind of glass.

dalee
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That's why Victorinox made the Rescue Tool.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zApUSw0xsRY
 
I always get a kick when someone posts about how window breakers are a gimmick and they can just use the knife tip to break a window. Good luck and hope you don't wind up with a few stitches at the ER.

I remember an episode of "COPS" where after a police chase it took an officer about a good 4-5 whacks with a full size D-cell Maglite to break the side window. Window breakers won't always work on the first try either but it is 10 times a better and safer option than using a knife blade.

Morale of the story....

If you are gonna carry a window breaker, know how to use it.

Know how to break windows in more than one way.

Don't use the knife tip as a window breaker!!! You could injure yourself severely thus instead of responding to the emergency you know become part of the emergency.
 
MORIMOTOM said:
people who break windows with either a spark plug or ball bearing are probably burglarizing the vehicle.
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Agreed.

I'd seen something in the news a while back, saying that spark plugs were among the most popular window-breaking 'tool' of choice among car thieves/vandals. It's difficult to see a legitimate purpose for it, in a true 'emergency' situation. I think the only reason so many people know about it is because it's so frequently used by criminals (and documented in police reports and insurance claims). I'm not real impressed with folks who seem to like bragging about using 'em this way.
 
When the door will not open in an emergency, that pretty well means one of two things, one, you're about to find Nemo, or two, you've had a good impact on that door, which broke the locking mechanism, in the latter case you'll be lucky if you know where you are, let alone that there's a glass breaker on the knife in your left pocket.
 
GWashington1732 said:
When the door will not open in an emergency, that pretty well means one of two things, one, you're about to find Nemo, or two, you've had a good impact on that door, which broke the locking mechanism, in the latter case you'll be lucky if you know where you are, let alone that there's a glass breaker on the knife in your left pocket.
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Normally, it really does not have much to do with the locking mechanism. It typically has more to do with either pressure being applied, or a deformity. On many of the accidents we respond to you can pull the handle and the mechanism will work fine. It only takes a dent in a front quarter panel to jam a door many times.

The obvious choice would be to try the other side. Chances are, if all your doors are stuck, and you have to be extricated, you were not going to be able to get out of a car yourself anyway. You more than likely have a dash pushed into your lap, or something else.

Also, helping is not always helping. If you see a bad accident and think it would be a great chance to use your glass breaker, you may be wrong. The most important thing in many cases is to take c-spine precautions. Knocking out a window and pulling someone out may do more harm than good. That is, unless there is some other circumstance that would requite their immediate removal. Such as a fire.

Adam
 
Haze said:
Out of them all the ASH-1 and a thrown spark plug were the only things that broke a side window on the first try.
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I think the mighty Anniversary Steel Heart 1 might shatter an anvil! What a sturdy hunk of INFI it is! :D

When I used to volunteer in the local FD, we kept a spring-loaded center punch in the rescue van that responded to car accidents. It worked well on car windows.

Stay sharp,
desmobob
 
I've seen a collapsible baton being used on a side window before. It's not very effective. A spring-loaded center punch with a carbide tip works well. The steel tipped ones do not work any where near as well. Another thing that works well is to take a claw hammer(preferably a framing hammer) and use the claws instead of the strike face.
 
JCK said:
Thanks for the info. As a Firefighter in Aus, how often do you use glass breakers when you attend car crashes? Are you guys normally the first to arrive on scene? or is that another service (hopefully this isn't getting too OT)
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i work in the Illawarra .We are not usually first on the scene due to duplication of rescue services & weird political machinations.However once we arrive controlled glass breakage is one of our concepts at MVAs.
Often the side of a car will be removed even in a minor collision.The glass has to be managed (roll down the window & break it inside the door). This is to enable better patient handling. If a vehicle has rolled the windscreen & side windows can be broken already. I believe that glass is a major hazard (after spilled fuel etc). If a windscreen is broken already then the Sawzall reciprocating saw is used to remove it entirely if necessary. The newer bonded windscreens are harder to remove than the old ones with rubber trim & seals.
There you have it -the science of alternatives
cheers
 
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