Easy-Off Oven Cleaner as a Weapon

[Snake45]

Noticed the "tip" today about using a can of Easy-Off Oven Cleaner as a weapon. As I've been using this stuff for more than a decade to remove enamel paint from rare, restorable plastic model car bodies, I thought I'd give you my two cents on it.

The active ingredient in Easy-Off is lye. This is harmful stuff but hardly incapacitating. I routinely hold the model car body in my ungloved hand as I spray Easy-Off on, and then, about 20 minutes later, again as I brush the goop and the old paint off with an old toothbrush (which takes maybe 5 minutes). In both cases I just wash my hands in soap and hot water immediately thereafter and have never felt any discomfort whatsoever. I do have a friend, however, who was doing this once and got some of the stuff between his arm and the sink that he was leaning on for some period of time (in excess of 5 minutes). It DID eat into his flesh and left a wound that reminded me of a shark bite. (He was using a brand called Mr. Muscle but the MSDSs on the two products are nearly identical.) This gory wound caused him no pain at all while it was being inflicted (it hurt like hell later, of course).

The stuff would be nasty on or in your eyes and I ALWAYS wear eye protection when using it, even if nothing more than a $2 pair of sunglasses. Spray this stuff into someone's eyes and it WILL cause them eye damage--eventually--if they don't get it flushed out most rikki-tik. They will probably close their eyes but even so, I wouldn't count on this stuff keeping someone from cutting my throat or beating me to death with a pipe before it REALLY started to hurt.

And then there is the spray pattern. Easy-Off doesn't come out in a stream, it comes out in a spray, so you would have to be within a few inches--I'd say one foot at the very outside--of an attacker's eyes to have any effect at all. If the attacker is wearing glasses or "shades," he won't even know for several minutes (if at all) that you were spraying him with something you considered to be a "weapon."

As you can see I'm not too wild about the protective properties of this product, as IMHO it has just about zero stopping power. IF you can manage to give someone a good dose of it right in the face (the eyes, particularly), IMMEDIATELY take advantage of the situation and MOVE while he's blinking or reacting, so he doesn't just start attacking where you just were in blind fury. Get around him/behind him and get away (or bash him over the head with a chair, if you're feeling particularly dashing).

Multiple attackers and your weapon is Easy-Off? Rotsa Ruck, baby.

[ericire12]

Yeah, I saw this on the blog too. I also think it might be more trouble then its worth, but it will be interesting to see what other "alternative" weapons come out of the discussion on this thread

[fightingquaker13]

Any thing you can get your hands on eric. I would bet good money there are a half dozen things within your reach right now that could do damage, including the laptop you were typing on. Its just another form of situational awareness.
FQ13.

[tombogan03884]

 The pen is mightier than the sword.... If the pen is jammed into your opponents eye, ear canal, or chest.
A tightly rolled magazine or a hard cover book can serve as striking weapons. The most dangerous weapon is the mind of a determined person.

[Overload]

Since you can't travel with the Easy Off can (explosive), you'd have to leave it when you flew home.  I wonder if that same local convience store might sell a cheap pocket knife or steak knife that might cost the same of less than the oven cleaner (since you'd have to leave it too)?

[Sponsor]

[fightingquaker13]

Since you can't travel with the Easy Off can (explosive), you'd have to leave it when you flew home.  I wonder if that same local convience store might sell a cheap pocket knife or steak knife that might cost the same of less than the oven cleaner (since you'd have to leave it too)?

Good point. We get a bit obsessed with good gear here. I will admit to being a gear freak when it comes to camping, guns, fishing gear and cooking tools. In fact, I divide the world into two categories, gear and stuff. Gear you spend money on, stuff you buy the cheapest that will work. But the point about knives is well taken. A ginzu will do just as well as a randall if all you want to do is stick it in the guy's stomach and run like hell.
FQ13

[long762range]

The problem with using Easy Off of any other commercial product to defend yourself is..."YOU WILL BE ARRESTED FOR FELONY ASSAULT"

You cannot use acids, lyes and the like to defend yourself!

 If the product blinds or otherwise leaves permanent scarring you can also be charged with "MAIMING" which can get you an additional 20 YEAR SENTENCE!

Also YOU WILL BE SUED AND LOSE THAT SUIT.

[Ping]

+1000 long762range. That is why mace is meant to incapacitate, not maim nor harm permanently.

[MAUSERMAN]

What about brake cleaner and a lighter.

[Big Frank]

A couple days ago I read on Snopes about using wasp-killer spray as a self defense weapon. A lot of the reasons why you shouldn't are the same for it and oven cleaner.