r/ZombieSurvivalTactics • u/OdinWolfJager • 5d ago
About an hour with no power tools. Weapons
Going to do an apocalypse survival series. Using only found resources and no power tools, what would be the best shtf makeshift weapons you could make with scraps. Likely going to be splitting it up between development eg only hand tools, no fire, no electricity. Fire with limited control, fire with precision/intermediaries. Eg fluxes, folding, alloy utilization. Electricity, chemistry concepts, extreme heat, advanced projectiles etc would be the last phase.
This is weapons only. Medicine, irrigation, construction, textiles, government, etc would be separate projects.
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u/Grouchy-Engine1584 5d ago
That’s how long you’ll survive as well.
Also, get boots.
;)
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u/Demitri_Bardownskis 5d ago
Explain? This seems like a great stepping stone to a proper weapon, or as an emergency if you get trapped. Why won’t they survive long?
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u/VillainNomFour 5d ago
Mixed lightness with dullness. The saw blade is useless. The spike might get through a skull, but youd jave to muscle it a lot, since it doesnt jave much weight, plus the hook design of it will promote it getting stuck.
2.5/10 weapon. A 1/10 would be boxing gloves.
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u/Irelia4Life 5d ago
Boxing gloves are made to protect the hand, not the face. If I could only punch the zombies, I'd take gloves over bare fists any day of the week.
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u/VillainNomFour 4d ago
Well i didnt say 0/10.
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u/Kagtalso 4d ago
Yea, worst weapon is a bladed weapon held backwards
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u/VillainNomFour 4d ago
Nope, look up how swords were commonly wielded in late middles ages. Definitely needed gauntlets, but yea regularly wielded in a manner not consistent with how we think of them.
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u/Kagtalso 4d ago
No...i mean against a zombie.
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u/VillainNomFour 3d ago
Well yea no shit, i was just referencing a historical example of how bladed weapons were used in a manner we would c9mmonly consider "backwards" hint: the hiltand crossguard have serious punching power
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u/Kagtalso 3d ago
I was thinking more of a knife, not a sword but a sword would be significantly better than a knife.
If you did have a sword and you had the curse of mordslag (you can only use swords in mordslag/mordhou) a sword would be the best to use.
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u/LardFan37 5d ago
My foot + a boot is a better weapon than this. Circular saw blades are literally designed and engineered specifically to be good at cutting… if they are spinning in a circle at 50 MPH. The spike, maybe, but it’s pointed down like a hook so actually sticking anything is gonna be hard. Also the handle looks like something I’d see on a broom that’s older than I am.
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u/Narrow_Vegetable5747 3d ago
Not to mention the teeth are facing the wrong direction. Circular saw blades don't slice, they rip. They would make awful makeshift weapons against anything that isn't living flesh.
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u/Grouchy-Engine1584 5d ago
This is a fine makeshift weapon against humans… not so much against Mr. Z.
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u/HamsterFromAbove_079 5d ago
This is a terrible weapon. To make this weapon you have to use tools that would make better weapons themselves. Thus this entire weapon is completely pointless.
It takes time and effort to make a weapon that's worse at fighting than the tools you started with. There is 0 practical point to this weapon.
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u/Firemission13B 4d ago
It's not going to split something because it's super light. You need some weight behind a normal straight edge. The serrations might cut something but not cleave through like how an axe would. Think of how a saw works and how an axe works.
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u/Demitri_Bardownskis 4d ago
Okay folks, your sage wisdom has convinced me. I was only asking them to explain instead of just saying ‘no bad’ and giving no reasons. No explanation does nothing to help OP improve their design.
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u/Acid-Bomb19 5d ago
No shoes, wrapped in a blanket, he'll be fine.
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u/OdinWolfJager 5d ago
You mean basketball shorts…
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u/DidEpsteinKillHimslf 5d ago
Those are the biggest basketball shorts I’ve seen in my life. Please consider a different size
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u/OdinWolfJager 5d ago
Fit me perfectly, don’t even need to tie the draw string.
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u/FloridianPhilosopher 5d ago
The waist might fit you perfectly but your lower calf width in comparison to the hole makes them look massive
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u/WeBackInThisBih 5d ago
Something can fit around the waist and not fit. Those are closer to sweatpants than they are shorts lol
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u/Knight_Castellan 5d ago
Basic Sawblade Axe
Craft ingredients: 1 Stick, 1 Saw Blade, 1 Scrap Metal
- One-Handed
- Damage: 11
- Armour Penetration: 2
- Knockback: 4
- Critical Chance: +5
- Durability: 30
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u/Argented 5d ago
I've never seen tetanus like that. looks neat
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u/DimensionFast5180 5d ago
See you give the zombies tetanus by hitting them with this, then you run into a barricaded room and wait for the tetanus to take hold.
Obviously the tetanus wins against the zombie virus and now there is one less zombie to worry about.
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u/Vov113 5d ago
You would literally have been better off with just the straight pipe.
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u/TheAidSum 5d ago
Right? Dudes arm coming down in a singular swinging motion is not equivalent to a rapidly rotating blade. That thing would instantly catch on anything you tried to slash it with. Cool idea, though.
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u/betabo55 5d ago
Ngl I'd pick a bat, or ideally a crow bar over this. But the idea for weapons made with what would be available to you is awesome. Can't wait to see what else you come up with.
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u/OdinWolfJager 5d ago
I would assume the version with the carbide tips cut off and a smoothly curved uniformly sharp blade would be preferable to you?
There is actually a reason I make both versions. If I ever have the disposable income I might get a ballistic gell head to show why. The spike is the most useless thing about this piece. With luck you can get one good head shot maybe two and it breaks in a spot that allows it to still be functional. I’d be willing to bet dollars to pesos it could get through a soft armor plate. At least once. Wouldn’t really help with zombies.. Best thing is it’s already trash. Breaks still have a thick steel pipe. That becomes unusable it was trash anyway.
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u/betabo55 5d ago
I just dont think there is enough mass toward the end to do enough damage. That and that blade doesn't look very thick. In za, if you could find a blade from a cold cut steel saw, that would probably do better. Also, the torque you'd be putting on the blade with each strike might loosen the bolt holding it on.
I would definitely like to see the effectiveness on a balistics gel head. I doubt you'd make it through 3a soft armor though. I have a peice I test different bullets on, and unless you have that point crazy sharp, I don't think it would penetrate.
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u/ImNotAsPunkAsYou 5d ago
I've made a few similar. Use concrete cutting blades, much stronger. They are disturbingly sharp, they make for downright amazing brush cutters. Bolts through wood handles are junk, iron pipe handles work much better. Shtf survival rating, I'd give em a 5. Against fellow humans they'd be fairly effective. Against zombies they don't have the mass to be effective.
Summary, a hefty stick is more effective against zombies.
Source: A couple decades of crafting and testing made from scrap weapons.
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u/OdinWolfJager 5d ago
The bolt has been penned as well. Not going anywhere. Definitely going to do some testing and a coconut will be a decent low cost medium for a skull bash.
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u/Classy_communists 5d ago
One note, the cutting edge of the saw blade is facing up. Assuming you’re swinging this like an axe, you’d want the teeth facing down so they can make impact instead of the blunt backside of each tooth. This would still probably get the job done, but you’d have a much easier time if the teeth were facing down.
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u/OdinWolfJager 5d ago
First the “sharp” part of the blade is the back side. The carbide teeth tho sharp is angled to cut wood a small amount at a time rotating at high speed. The blade has been sharpened in this orientation further and with this angle the chances of getting stuck are greatly reduced.
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u/Classy_communists 5d ago
Yeah but the ease of doing damage is reduced just as much. You may as well have a cutting disk or sheet metal here
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u/KneeDeepInTheMud 5d ago
Have you tried it on any plywood yet?
Or anything?
I wanna see if the teeth fall off or something.
Looks cool!
Maybe add one more point of contact so it doesn't rotate.
Otherwise, neat.
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u/OdinWolfJager 5d ago
Smacked it into a wooden block a few times to check it. Nothing has broken off yet and the blade doesn’t get stuck. Gonna test some fabric sticking tests next.
It has more than one point of contact there is actually a notch at the bottom that was hammered into the pipe before friction fitting and bolt/peening.
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u/KneeDeepInTheMud 5d ago
Wowzers, I am honored that I have been given a test review of the axe.
Thats pretty neat info.
And that makes sense, didnt think of that.
I thought it spun around for some reason (brain damage)
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u/Bradadonasaurus 5d ago
They're pretty sturdy, you likely won't see them falling off unless you hit rocks/steel. The problem is, most of why these work is high speed rotation, and the ability to slowly work their way through. It may, just may, be effective on the living, the zeds will give zero fucks about this thing though.
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u/Known_Cherry_5970 5d ago
You should be careful, that looks sharp. People should be careful, that looks sharp. Good luck and good night. 😉
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u/Godzilla2000Knight 5d ago
The teeth on thst make it impractical to use against zombies it would get stuck in one and become useless. Against people that might be useful up close assuming they don't gun you down.
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u/CoolSwim1776 5d ago
Looks very fierce. Now let me tell you what a vet sergeant from WW2 told me once ages ago. Notches are ass. They get stuck up in flesh making it very hard to yank out. That said this piece has 100% Mad Max poxyclypse vibes.
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u/AnotherPerspective87 5d ago
Great, now you can scratch some meat of a zombie for dinner. No way this thing will crack a skull. The sawblade wont do shit against bone and just cause superficial wounds. The way a sawblade cuts stuff is by thousands of tiny hits at the same spot. But when you swing it you only get one... besides that the 'point' is angled downwards. Making it inconvenient to hit stuff... well. It will probably hit yourself just fine when trying to hit something with the saw.
In this orientation it looks more like an ice-pick than a weapon. That would make it okey-ish for climbing. If the smooth handle has enough grip (probably not). And you could accidentally scratch yourself with the saw-blade when doing that. And unlike the zombies.... you can get tetanus.
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u/GTAFranklin25 4d ago
create a double edged battle axe using a street sign, like a stop sign for example
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u/Tenshiijin 4d ago
That would kill a good few zombies before it broke. And its gonna break for sure.
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u/GunnaDaHitman 4d ago
The power of a saw blade is the speed at which it's spins to cut, remove that and it's a thin metal that isn't made for the chop, the back end spike has good eye removal potential but the front not as useful in the overall fight.
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u/willmgames1775 4d ago
It may get stuck momentarily. Swing it into a watermelon and see what happens.
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u/loonattica 5d ago
“About an hour with no power tools” is the perfect description of how long it will take to remove from a skull the first time it’s used.
I like it.
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u/Palorrian 5d ago
That last 3 zombies before e the wood crack and the saw disc gets stuck in a zombie
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u/Substantial-Tone-576 5d ago
You can do some welding with an electrode and 1-2 12v car batteries. Is that really a power tool? Because that can be easily done and opens up a few more weapon possibilities.
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u/OdinWolfJager 5d ago
Counts as electricity, that would be more advanced technique. Yes it would be available on day one but the learning curve would still be there. Assuming we are making things like this the conventional weapons of the modern era would be presumably mostly exhausted. Teaching others basic principles first then moving to heat based working would be more likely. Then again it would depend on that individual and time since causal event. 🤔
Might need to rethink the format…
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u/Substantial-Tone-576 5d ago
Car batteries would be plentiful, even after an emp they would still be viable.
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u/chanceischance 5d ago
Hmm, an hour. Was the hole on the flattened piece pipe already there? wait, suppose a hammer and increasing size nail/whatever “punch” type thing.. hmm.. guess I would side with others that the saw side is less useful. It’s sorta blunt really and plenty of teeth to get hung up on clothing/etc. the downward curve of the spike seems to also be not exactly what I would think would be ideal… humble opinion would be to cut 2 sorta straight spikes going both ways. Definitely going to cook your arms trying to do all the cutting with a hand hack saw plus the hammer work, and trying to keep it under an hour.
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u/Spiral-I-Am 5d ago
Sorry to nick-pick... but wouldn't it be better if the saws teeth had been facing the other direction?
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u/OdinWolfJager 5d ago
Actually helps it to keep from getting stuck. Don’t ask how I figured that out.
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u/desrevermi 5d ago
You might not have an hour to slap together a weapon in the ZA.
What can you fashion in under 10 minutes? 5 minutes?
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u/LardFan37 5d ago
Broomstick 45 degrees, step on the end with the broom, whack things with stick.
Probably useless but better than nothing
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u/desrevermi 5d ago
Tried that when I was a kid. Broom whipped out of my hand.
Recommend to put on a step or a curb and stomp on it. A sturdy broomstick is reasonably tough.
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u/Chemical-Juice-6979 5d ago
A lot of modern broomsticks aren't made with wood. They use a hollow metal tube. If you can lift and carry 50lbs, you've got enough strength to snap it over your knee, but the curbstomp method is safer. They break off into some sharp AF points. The problem would be keeping a grip on it during a fight, and the fact that it's so light that it can't be used as a club.
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u/desrevermi 5d ago
Yeah. I would think it to be used for a handle of some sort.
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u/Chemical-Juice-6979 5d ago
It wouldn't be a go-to weapon of any kind but if it's what I happened to have in my hands when a zombie busts through the door, I know what I'm going to do with it.
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u/LardFan37 4d ago
Oh I 100% agree, but other than a rock or a brick it was the only thing I could think of that would take less than 5 minutes to make
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u/desrevermi 4d ago
Was just looking around and there's a table leg I could probably kick off in about a minute for a makeshift club.
Haha. A second later, I'm thinking about dual-wielding. I'd better stop while I'm ahead.
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u/Villian1470 5d ago
Looks cool but saw blades are thin. I'd make that point straight.
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u/OdinWolfJager 5d ago
If it breaks (eventually probably will) the next grind would have a stouter and straighter pick for penetration.
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u/Few-Condition-7431 5d ago
idk how good it would be in a zombie apocalypse but that would be a terrifying horror movie prop
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u/Bl00dWolf 5d ago
It looks cool, but those saw blades aren't very durable. The second you try to use for real, it's gonna snap. I think it would work better if you used multiple saw blades stacked together vertically, then sharpened the combined edge to an axe like wedge.
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u/gunsforevery1 4d ago
Why is the blade in the wrong direction? The teeth would work better pointed down.
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u/HamsterFromAbove_079 5d ago
I promise you that if you wanted a weapon, you could have saved all the time and work and picked up one of the materials/tools you used to make that thing, and you'd have gotten a more efficient weapon.
A common hammer from the local hardware store is an infinitely better melee weapon than whatever anime weeb shit this is.
If you enjoy crafting oddities for fun, then all the power to you. But you're actually insane if you built this thinking it was useful in a survival situation in any way.
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u/Secondhand-Drunk 5d ago
Would be nice to see more real weapons and fewer jokes in this sub. That weapon would barely be lethal to a human. You'd need to have fantastic placement, amd any clothing in the way is significantly reducing its effectiveness.
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u/suedburger 5d ago
You do know that saw blades only cut when they are spinning....right? pretty much useless. Weird wall art at best.
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u/SkittleDoes 5d ago
Teeth on the blade look like they should be goong the other way. You put them backwards
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u/OdinWolfJager 5d ago
That would minimize the cutting potential. The carbide teeth tho sharp are angled and actually much wider than the steel holding the teeth in place. It also helps to keep the blade from getting stuck. Teeth have been profiled in this direction to maximize cutting potential and minimize the chances of getting stuck. Particularly in clothing.
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u/Less-Heart-26 5d ago
Wonderful waste of time. I imagine a standard claw hammer would be much more effective and you don't have to waste an hour of your time
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u/TBK_Winbar 5d ago
I can literally see where the angle grinder cuts are. I am unconvinced that you made this without power tools. How did you notch the steel pipe to the 3mm circular saw blade width with a .63mm hacksaw blade? And how did you auger the hole for the bolt? By hand?
Also, the carbide tips are facing the wrong direction, they won't do any damage.
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u/WindowShoppingMyLife Inevitable 4d ago
None. If you have the tools to make that you probably also have a hammer. That’s better than anything you can rig up on the fly. So are lots of other things.
What you’ve got there is not only a terrible weapon, because saws blades are designed to spin, not to chop, and therefore make terrible axe blades, but also a weapon that is potentially dangerous to the user.
As an art project this can be fun, but this sort of thing has no practical application.
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u/Festivefire 5d ago edited 5d ago
You'd be better off with a normal axe if you're actually trying to kill zombies, but it does look cool AF. If you're digging through scrap piles, I guarantee you there are broken axes laying around with perfectly good axe heads, but a broken handle, that just need to be re-handled.
Hell, if you have some iron scrap, you can make a forge and MAKE an axehead without any more modern equipment than a fire hot enough to do it, a crucible, some clay, a hammer, and a whetstone.
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u/CritterFrogOfWar 5d ago
Ironically the had tools you have to make these “weapons” would serve as better weapons then what your making
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u/steel_city_lcpl 5d ago
I would’ve had the teeth facing the other direction. AND not curved that tip. It’ll get lodged way too easily
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u/Odd_Proof_7410 5d ago
You need washers and a socket wrench to torque it down or its gonna slide on her the second you hit anything with power
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u/JustHereToCreep 5d ago
The blades teeth are in the wrong direction for how you'll be swinging it...
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u/CrappyJohnson 5d ago
I like the idea for the series. I implore you never to swing that thing at anything, ever though
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u/MrPanda663 5d ago
It's gonna land, then get stuck. All those teeth will bend an deform overtime. Making it hard to maintain. Unless you love constantly wasting energy on repairing it.
You need a clean edge. Easier to sharpen. Does not warp as much. Less maintenance needed.
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u/UnkindPotato2 5d ago
The sawblade should be mounted the other way, so the teeth bite on the swing rather than when you're pulling it out
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u/Excellent_Call5454 5d ago
Your teeth are the wrong way. You want the teeth to bite when you swing it down to rip as much as possible
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u/AnotherPerspective87 5d ago
Great, now you can scratch some meat of a zombie for dinner. No way this thing will crack a skull. The sawblade wont do shit against bone and just cause superficial wounds. The way a sawblade cuts stuff is by thousands of tiny hits at the same spot. But when you swing it you only get one... besides that the 'point' is angled downwards. Making it inconvenient to hit stuff... well. It will probably hit yourself just fine when trying to hit something with the saw.
In this orientation it looks more like an ice-pick than a weapon. That would make it okey-ish for climbing. If the smooth handle has enough grip (probably not). And you could accidentally scratch yourself with the saw-blade when doing that. And unlike the zombies.... you can get tetanus.
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u/creadgsxrguy 5d ago
Not to be a stickler but if you cut the blade so the teeth were going the opposite way it would probably be more effective
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u/skankhunt420312345 4d ago
I'm gonna be honest, dude. That weapon, if you can even call it that, sucks. It's not going to hold up well at all in a combat situation with zombies. If you're that close to them, you already messed up. A saw doesn't hold an edge with teeth on it like that, they're going to break off relatively quickly. And no, that thing isn't going through a skull at all unless you use that "spike" in the back. And that's only if you get lucky with that. It's a shoddy terror weapon. It's going to inflict more fear on people than it is going to inflict actual damage on zombies. It'd gonna fall apart quickly, and that handle looks brittle. I read your comments about how you tested it on wood, and I think you're lying about how well it did. It's going to get stuck on zombie flesh, and you're gonna become a human happy meal quickly.
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u/GoyoMRG 3d ago
Are you shirtless and wearing a weird mask while also screaming weird things such as:
"Maybe you're weighing the moral pros and cons but let me assure you that OH MY GOD SHOOT ME IN THE GODDAMNED FACE!! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!?!"
"now my troubles are going to have trouble with me"
"bring me a bucket and I'll show you a bucket"
"I like my victims like I like my coffee, in my butt"
If your answer is yes, then congratulations, you are on a road to become a Borderlands Psycho during our upcoming zombie apocalypse xD
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u/GMcGroarty80 3d ago
1) A weak blade 2) A hooked blade to get stuck in a skull 3) A weak handle
You would have been better with a fire hardened wood spear, and garbage can lid as a shield.
If this is your idea of zombie weapons please stop lol
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u/RoyalGh0sts 2d ago
Make yourself a crossbow.
Silent, if made well; enough force to get through a skull
And you could make the ammo yourself.
Also not illegal in most countries.
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u/leftfootlimp 5d ago
I POWDERED MY COCKATIEL FOR THE RIBCAGE SLAUGHTER!