A solid, safe weapon, May 25, 2011

First, the "holes" in the item picture are actually light reflections. This is a solid piece of smooth, black-anodized aluminum. My average hand fit around it perfectly.Like many of the other reviewers, I tested this weapon on myself! There aren't many weapons where this is safe to do. The amount of difference in pain threshholds for hands vs shoulder was a lot more than I expected. Even a light amount of pressure is enough to start some pain. Try it on yourself!I also had a chance to try this on a large dog that jumped up on me. A light touch to his side was enough to get the dog's complete attention, and slightly firmer pressure was enough for the dog to back down.This is also a good "fiddly" object. Smooth, solid, and with a good feel. I've enjoyed carrying it around so far. Highly recommended.EDIT --...

I bought three of these (not the one picture but the one they send, lol) for my wife and two coworkers. Definitely an effective Kubotan of the pointed variety. Lighter than most others and thinner because of the finger groves. The three that were sent (through the 'martial art...' sellers) were all aluminum, not plastic. I've never had a plastic Kubotan so couldn't really say which is better. This one is not for my hands, which need something a little thicker to grip and thrust with, but my wife prefers hers (this one) to my standard flat end Kubotan. This one does look more stylish and cruel if your looking for shock value. Some of my coworkers friends have commented on the devious phallic shape (shows what kind of friends they are). If your looking for something light in your pocket/purse but still effective on pain if not more so, this is a good choice. Though thinner, it won't slip your grip on slams because of the finger grooves. It's not going to load the average...

Just received this the other day and it is somewhat different from the one pictured. The hand grip area is completely solid and has 3 little donut like rings equally spaced in it dividing the grip area into four parts, one for each finger. This makes for a very secure grip. The diameter of the grip area is sligtly smaller than the top and bottom parts. It's made of aluminum and only weighs 1.6 oz. so is very easy to carry. Even just lightly tapping it on bony areas of the back of my hand caused a some pain so I'm sure a hard wallop with it would be painful indeed. The shipping was fast and I'm quite satisfied with it. Youtube has some good videos on the proper usage of a kubotan you might want to check out as well.