# metal or plastic/  polycarbonate style tonfa?



## Porong (Jan 8, 2019)

I FOUND A VIDEO WHERE THE INSTRUCTOR SAID THE WOODEN TONFA COULD BE DANGEROUS SOON DO YOU THINK THIS MEANS A PLASTIC/ POLYCARBONATE TYPE OR STAINLESS STEEL TYPE WOULD MAKE A GOOD SUPERIORLY DANGEROUS DEVICE AGAINST A KNIFE if I have proper training to use it I mean  could a stainless steel or polycarbonate/ plastic type be easily cut with a knife or would you be more concerned  that I had the proper training  in the use of  the tonfa Rather than worry is about it being cut with a small knife (  I don't  know how easy it is to cut or slash these things thoughts please thank you I  mean do you think a stainless steel tonfa could be a good Alternative to a gun if properly used?


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## jobo (Jan 9, 2019)

Porong said:


> I FOUND A VIDEO WHERE THE INSTRUCTOR SAID THE WOODEN TONFA COULD BE DANGEROUS SOON DO YOU THINK THIS MEANS A PLASTIC/ POLYCARBONATE TYPE OR STAINLESS STEEL TYPE WOULD MAKE A GOOD SUPERIORLY DANGEROUS DEVICE AGAINST A KNIFE if I have proper training to use it I mean  could a stainless steel or polycarbonate/ plastic type be easily cut with a knife or would you be more concerned  that I had the proper training  in the use of  the tonfa Rather than worry is about it being cut with a small knife (  I don't  know how easy it is to cut or slash these things thoughts please thank you I  mean do you think a stainless steel tonfa could be a good Alternative to a gun if properly used?


dangerous to who ? there definitely dangerous if you hit someone on the head with one , to them that is, there also dangerous , but less so if you hit yourself on the leg,  no one is going to cut through with a knife, a sword, maybe.

no theyre not a good alternative to a gun, if I'm being attacked by a bear , I'm choosing the gun


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## Bill Mattocks (Jan 9, 2019)

Porong said:


> I FOUND A VIDEO WHERE THE INSTRUCTOR SAID THE WOODEN TONFA COULD BE DANGEROUS SOON DO YOU THINK THIS MEANS A PLASTIC/ POLYCARBONATE TYPE OR STAINLESS STEEL TYPE WOULD MAKE A GOOD SUPERIORLY DANGEROUS DEVICE AGAINST A KNIFE if I have proper training to use it I mean  could a stainless steel or polycarbonate/ plastic type be easily cut with a knife or would you be more concerned  that I had the proper training  in the use of  the tonfa Rather than worry is about it being cut with a small knife (  I don't  know how easy it is to cut or slash these things thoughts please thank you I  mean do you think a stainless steel tonfa could be a good Alternative to a gun if properly used?



Tonfa are wooden sticks with handles.  Like any type of bludgeon, they can be dangerous - to you as well as anyone you might hit with them.  Learning how to use tonfa correctly typically requires a small sacrifice, usually in the form of bruises to the face and elbows.

Whether tonfa is effective defense against a knife or any other weapon depends very much on the abilities of both the attacker and the defender.  There are no definitive answers to be given.  Anyone claiming to know a universal answer to that question is clueless or selling something.

As to your statements about cutting, slashing, and so on, I am confused.  Tonfa are not used in that manner.  The tonfa is a stick with a handle on it.  It is used to block, to thrust (punch) and to bludgeon.  I am not aware of any other uses, except maybe to start a fire, and that's some expensive kindling.

Personally, I have never seen tonfa made of anything but wood.  I have seen some training tonfa wrapped in foam, but they seem to be pretty useless to me even to train with, because part of the way you use tonfa is based on its weight for spinning.  A light plastic tonfa covered in foam will react very differently and the skills learned would not be useful.


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## Flying Crane (Jan 9, 2019)

Punctuation is your friend.  Use it.


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## pdg (Jan 9, 2019)

Bill Mattocks said:


> Personally, I have never seen tonfa made of anything but wood. I have seen some training tonfa wrapped in foam, but they seem to be pretty useless to me even to train with, because part of the way you use tonfa is based on its weight for spinning. A light plastic tonfa covered in foam will react very differently and the skills learned would not be useful.



They are available in various metals (aluminium, coated steel, stainless) and in plastics.

Plastic doesn't necessarily mean light or weak...

I have 'plastic' mallets that are heavier and more resilient than wooden ones.


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## Danny T (Jan 9, 2019)

Porong said:


> I FOUND A VIDEO WHERE THE INSTRUCTOR SAID THE WOODEN TONFA COULD BE DANGEROUS SOON DO YOU THINK THIS MEANS A PLASTIC/ POLYCARBONATE TYPE OR STAINLESS STEEL TYPE WOULD MAKE A GOOD SUPERIORLY DANGEROUS DEVICE AGAINST A KNIFE if I have proper training to use it I mean  could a stainless steel or polycarbonate/ plastic type be easily cut with a knife or would you be more concerned  that I had the proper training  in the use of  the tonfa Rather than worry is about it being cut with a small knife (  I don't  know how easy it is to cut or slash these things thoughts please thank you I  mean do you think a stainless steel tonfa could be a good Alternative to a gun if properly used?


Uhh...Yes, no, maybe.
Really having a hard time following your statement/question here.


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## Bill Mattocks (Jan 9, 2019)

pdg said:


> They are available in various metals (aluminium, coated steel, stainless) and in plastics.
> 
> Plastic doesn't necessarily mean light or weak...
> 
> I have 'plastic' mallets that are heavier and more resilient than wooden ones.



OK then.  *I* have never seen them.  In any case, I don't think they are designed to cut or slice in the manner the OP appears to be suggesting.  I don't think much of them as some sort of carry weapon to defend against knife attack.  I really did not want to get into an argument over semantics.  I suppose you could cast them in iron or concrete, but why would you?


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## Gerry Seymour (Jan 9, 2019)

Bill Mattocks said:


> OK then.  *I* have never seen them.  In any case, I don't think they are designed to cut or slice in the manner the OP appears to be suggesting.  I don't think much of them as some sort of carry weapon to defend against knife attack.  I really did not want to get into an argument over semantics.  I suppose you could cast them in iron or concrete, but why would you?


"Iron Tonfa" sounds like a bad Kung Fu movie.


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## pdg (Jan 9, 2019)

gpseymour said:


> "Iron Tonfa" sounds like a bad Kung Fu movie.



I would probably watch that.


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## Porong (Jan 9, 2019)

I MEAN I found on ebay metal tonfas since tonfa can disarm knives do you think a metal version would be a good defensive device or do you think it could be easily cut by a small blade I don't like guns I really think I would rather club some one to death than use a gun I don't like guns but surely you would think if there was a stainless steel tonfa it would be more dangerous than a wood or plastic version? Thoughts please thank you sorry if repeating my self ( I think I repeated the previous question ) but maybe the true answer is the effectiveness may depend on proper training?  And or what part of the body you hit? I mean a plastic or metal baton against the right body part could surely be dangerous? Do you know it may not be as common at this point in time but there is a collapsable/expandable pr24? It's made of metal


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## Dirty Dog (Jan 9, 2019)

@Porong, are you seriously asking if a knife can cut through a metal bar? Have you ever handled a knife? 
And why on earth would you think that a metal club is inherently more effective than a wooden one?


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## Porong (Jan 9, 2019)

I DON'T Like guns may be its like maybe it's like the previous post said a knife won't work maybe a sword will I would tend to think If you hit some one with a metal stick it would probably cause more severe injury than a wooden or plastic one would this not be true? I MEAN I would think A metal stick would be deadly with fewer hits than a wood or plastic one


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## hoshin1600 (Jan 9, 2019)

Porong said:


> I MEAN I found on ebay metal tonfas since tonfa can disarm a knife


Your thinking is so far off I would suggest you try training somewhere.  You are making an assumption that a tonfa can disarm a knife. it isn't the tool it's the person.  Also a knife isn't going to cut through a piece of wood. Stick with wood.  In order for anything to be effective you need to train and training with metal tonfa will possibly damage your joints and nerves if you are striking with it. It would also fatigue your muscles.  There are reasons we still use wood baseball bats.


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## Bill Mattocks (Jan 9, 2019)

Get some help. I'm done here.


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## Gerry Seymour (Jan 9, 2019)

pdg said:


> I would probably watch that.


I’m a fan of bad Kung fu movies. I used to watch a lot of them.


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## Gerry Seymour (Jan 9, 2019)

Porong said:


> I DON'T Like guns may be its like maybe it's like the previous post said a knife won't work maybe a sword will I would tend to think If you hit some one with a metal stick it would probably cause more severe injury than a wooden or plastic one would this not be true? I MEAN I would think A metal stick would be deadly with fewer hits than a wood or plastic one


A metal tonfa would be somewhat harder than wood, but not necessarily more deadly. Weight and structure matters more than the hardness difference. More important yet is the ability to use it well. Based on your posts, I’m guessing you aren’t trained in the use of this weapon. If you want to use one, get training, then decide which version works best for you.


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## jobo (Jan 10, 2019)

Porong said:


> I DON'T Like guns may be its like maybe it's like the previous post said a knife won't work maybe a sword will I would tend to think If you hit some one with a metal stick it would probably cause more severe injury than a wooden or plastic one would this not be true? I MEAN I would think A metal stick would be deadly with fewer hits than a wood or plastic one


yea, it's the old riddle, what's heavier , a pound of rocks or a pound of feathers, if you hit someone with a 2ft ft stick that weighs a lb, then it has the same energy, no matter what it's made of, if it bends or deforms on unpack, then some of that energy will be lost, ,but if your talking about a hard wood or rigid Polly carbonate, then that's not going to be very much at all.

but as a general rule of thumb, it a lot less bother if you don't kill people


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## Gerry Seymour (Jan 10, 2019)

jobo said:


> yea, it's the old riddle, what's heavier , a pound of rocks or a pound of feathers, if you hit someone with a 2ft ft stick that weighs a lb, then it has the same energy, no matter what it's made of, if it bends or deforms on unpack, then some of that energy will be lost, ,but if your talking about a hard wood or rigid Polly carbonate, then that's not going to be very much at all.
> 
> but as a general rule of thumb, it a lot less bother if you don't kill people


Man, your autocorrect is amusing me more than usual today, Jobo. Why did I pack that tonfa in the first place - much harder to deploy out of a suitcase. And what is that carbon-based parrot doing in the story?? This is going to be very difficult to explain at airport security.


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## jobo (Jan 10, 2019)

gpseymour said:


> Man, your autocorrect is amusing me more than usual today, Jobo. Why did I pack that tonfa in the first place - much harder to deploy out of a suitcase. And what is that carbon-based parrot doing in the story?? This is going to be very difficult to explain at airport security.


new phone, which is worse than the fire tablet


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## Gerry Seymour (Jan 10, 2019)

jobo said:


> new phone, which is worse than the fire tablet


I find that hard to believe. How can any autocorrect be worse than the Fire?


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## jobo (Jan 10, 2019)

gpseymour said:


> I find that hard to believe. How can any autocorrect be worse than the Fire?


I'd turned if nearly off on the fire which has,following a very unfortunate incident ,ended up at the bottom of a canal, so I'm on this phone till I work up the enthusiasm to walk three miles and buy a new one


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## Gerry Seymour (Jan 10, 2019)

jobo said:


> I'd turned if nearly off on the fire which has,following a very unfortunate incident ,ended up at the bottom of a canal, so I'm on this phone till I work up the enthusiasm to walk three miles and buy a new one


It seems there should be more of a story to that. RIP, Fire.


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## pdg (Jan 10, 2019)

gpseymour said:


> It seems there should be more of a story to that. RIP, Fire.



Did it auto install a book on chi or something and think "I want to be water"?


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## jobo (Jan 10, 2019)

gpseymour said:


> It seems there should be more of a story to that. RIP, Fire.


oh there is, been considering puttingit in" self defence" as a case study


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## Gerry Seymour (Jan 10, 2019)

jobo said:


> oh there is, been considering puttingit in" self defence" as a case study


That makes it sound like the Fire was the attacker. I suppose water is the appropriate element to oppose a Fire attack.


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