Glass breakers vs automotive glass.

[M. Sage]

A co-worker has a pocket knife with a glass breaker built into it. I don't remember what brand it is, but I'll find out. It's a big thing for your pocket, and he was joking about putting a car window out at work today. What he didn't know is that I had a "scrap" window out back, so we went and tested it.

He took two shots at breaking the safety glass, both pretty hard swings. Neither broke the window. So I ran out to my car and came back in with my glass breaker. Spring loaded punches do the trick. That window disintegrated. I think for the breaker on his knife to succeed, you'd have to swing dangerously hard at the window. Safety glass won't really cut you up, but it's not going to feel good, either.

Now I want to test one of those "escape" tools with the glass breaker and seat belt cutter. Something tells me you're going to have to swing unrealistically hard at a window to break it.

Again, the automatic center punch - just push it against the window, the window disappears. Probably cheaper than his knife or one of those escape tools, too.

 

[BigBoss0311]

video.

 

[jocat54]

​

A co-worker has a pocket knife with a glass breaker built into it. I don't remember what brand it is, but I'll find out. It's a big thing for your pocket, and he was joking about putting a car window out at work today. What he didn't know is that I had a "scrap" window out back, so we went and tested it.

He took two shots at breaking the safety glass, both pretty hard swings. Neither broke the window. So I ran out to my car and came back in with my glass breaker. Spring loaded punches do the trick. That window disintegrated. I think for the breaker on his knife to succeed, you'd have to swing dangerously hard at the window. Safety glass won't really cut you up, but it's not going to feel good, either.

Now I want to test one of those "escape" tools with the glass breaker and seat belt cutter. Something tells me you're going to have to swing unrealistically hard at a window to break it.

Again, the automatic center punch - just push it against the window, the window disappears. Probably cheaper than his knife or one of those escape tools, too.

Sorry, but got to disagree, I went through a windshield in a car wreck, it will cut you up. This was long ago-about 1968. Picked glass out of my head for many years. Just lucky as hell to be here, others not so lucky.

 

[M. Sage]

​



Sorry, but got to disagree, I went through a windshield in a car wreck, it will cut you up. This was long ago-about 1968. Picked glass out of my head for many years. Just lucky as hell to be here, others not so lucky.

Windshields are a different animal. I'm not sure about '68, but after a certain point they went to laminated glass. The stuff is nasty, you ain't going to take a windshield out with something that fits in your pocket, unless you happen to have a grenade...

ETA: Did some reading, the laminated safety glass in windshields is completely different. It's two layers of annealed glass with a layer of plastic bonding them together. The breaks are different from the tempered glass in the side and rear windows, which is a single layer of harder glass that breaks into small square chunks instead of the shards that the glass used in the windshield will produce.

I had a Bronco that was hit by a stray handgun bullet once. It didn't quite make it through the windshield.

 

[M. Sage]

video.

I should have. Next time I will. I'm thinking about buying a few windows from a junk yard and doing a comparison of those crappy looking escape tools with the center punch and some porcelain.

 

[proforguns]

Thanks ,good to know ,keep us updated my wife would break me if I broke glass here at home.

 

[Younggun]

Got a 2D flashlight from work, supposed to have a glass breaker and seatbelt cutter built in, I don't put much faith in it. Especially if it were used in an underwater situation where it's pretty much impossible to swing anything with much force.

 

[ChunkyMonkey]

Spark plugs pieces do the trick too, lol.

 

[M. Sage]

Spark plugs pieces do the trick too, lol.

Yeah, I need to try that out, too.

Where will I ever find used spark plugs laying around?

 

[Designated]

+1 on the spark plugs, throw and viola. Shattered car glass.

 

[matefrio]

Trick I've seen with those punches is to attack the corners of the glass down at the bottom.

 

[M. Sage]

Trick I've seen with those punches is to attack the corners of the glass down at the bottom.

Which punches? The ones you swing, or the center punches?

 

[matefrio]

Which punches? The ones you swing, or the center punches?

Center punches\spark plugs or an ice pick. Get to where the glass isn't flexing as much when you push on it.

 

[shooterfpga]

i carry an asek, it has a glass breaker on the end of the knife handle. im not sure how well it would work, but its 1x1x1 and has some heft to it towards the breaker. its not a pocket knife though.

 

[M. Sage]

i carry an asek, it has a glass breaker on the end of the knife handle. im not sure how well it would work, but its 1x1x1 and has some heft to it towards the breaker. its not a pocket knife though.

Yeah, I was thinking I'd like to try my LMFII against a window. The thing is that is really meant for chipping away plexiglass canopies on aircraft.

 

[timf79]

Windshields are a different animal. I'm not sure about '68, but after a certain point they went to laminated glass. The stuff is nasty, you ain't going to take a windshield out with something that fits in your pocket, unless you happen to have a grenade...

ETA: Did some reading, the laminated safety glass in windshields is completely different. It's two layers of annealed glass with a layer of plastic bonding them together. The breaks are different from the tempered glass in the side and rear windows, which is a single layer of harder glass that breaks into small square chunks instead of the shards that the glass used in the windshield will produce.

Nevertheless the inside glass layer might cut your face.
Therefore some high end cars (Porsche, I think) use windshields that have a plastic layer in the middle and the inside to avoid cuttings in the face.

The sharp edges of the ceramic cut right through the glass, but get stuck in the plastic layer.

When underwater, the electric openers will still work.
A glass breaker is tu be sued when the openers do no longer work. This is normally when there is tension on the glass. This tension will make it easy for a glass breaker to brake the glass.
Yes a punching tool is better and easier to use, but when you are in a drastic situation you will have so much adrenalin going that breaking the glass with a knife-glass-breaker will be no issue.

 

[M. Sage]

Nevertheless the inside glass layer might cut your face.
Therefore some high end cars (Porsche, I think) use windshields that have a plastic layer in the middle and the inside to avoid cuttings in the face.

The sharp edges of the ceramic cut right through the glass, but get stuck in the plastic layer.

When underwater, the electric openers will still work.
A glass breaker is tu be sued when the openers do no longer work. This is normally when there is tension on the glass. This tension will make it easy for a glass breaker to brake the glass.
Yes a punching tool is better and easier to use, but when you are in a drastic situation you will have so much adrenalin going that breaking the glass with a knife-glass-breaker will be no issue.

Yeah, the glass on laminated is going to cut you. It breaks different from tempered glass.

The only modern cars I know of that use laminated side windows were S class Mercedes, but they quit doing that a few years ago. The only reason I can think of to run laminated glass on a side window is to help keep people in the car during an accident and with the near universal use of seatbelts these days, that isn't worth the weight or the extra trouble it gives rescue workers getting into the car.

 

[barstoolguru]

I just carry around a pic of my mother-in law and hold it to the glass and it shatters all by it self

edit: works under water too

 

[scap99]

Keep in mind that the wife is likely to look like the MIL...just sayin'

 

[shooterfpga]

Keep in mind that the wife is likely to look like the MIL...just sayin'

i had the same thought lol.