I think my mom threw away my Grand-dad's Blackjack and Brass Knuckles I had when I was in the Navy.
@Elderberry I never had a Blackjack,but I did get the family brass knuckles when I was 8. Mine were steel,not brass,though. Had them for decades,but lost them and pretty much everything else when the house burned down due to a chimney fire. Used to carry them in my pocket when I walked up to high school football and baseball games,and to my Little League baseball games when I was 8-12 years old. Had to walk past several blues bars on the way to the high school after dark and back home near midnight,and being a little white kid by myself,felt the need for a little protection. I later graduated to carrying a razor sharp Plumb hatchet that I spent hours practicing throwing,and I was truly dangerous with that thing. Never did throw it,though. Only time I ever used it two black teens jumped out from behind some bushes to rob me one Friday night as I was coming back from the grocery store after cashing my father's paycheck. Instead of trying to run away so they could grab me from behind,I just dumped the bicycle,jumped off of it,pulled the hatchet out of my belt,and screamed and ran at them. Smacked one in the forehead with the flat end,and the other one just dissapeared. Left the one I smacked laying on the sidewalk and bleeding from his head,jumped on my bike,and went on home and never said a word about it to anyone for decades. I did look in the newspapers for any news report about someone being killed or even attacked with a hatchet,and since there were no reports,I assumed the guy regained is consciousness and went back home. Or at least to look for a more reliable accomplice.
What I do know is nobody ever tried to rob me again after that. We are talking 1955 or 1956 here,and my father was taking home around 130 bucks a week. That was pretty good money back then. Never thought about it at the time,but sending a kid to cash a check like that every Friday night,and then have him come home on his own while carrying all that cash wasn't a good idea to start with. You KNOW there would be people watching and making plans to grab that money.