Name/Title
Cast iron knuckledusterEntry/Object ID
749Description
Cast iron knuckduster, no markings.Use
To be worn on a hand to inflict greater injury when punchingContext
It is not possible to date this item and it could date from the 1850s to the 1950s. It would not have been for police use and may have been confiscated by police at some time, which is how it ended up the collection. It is the sort of thing that would have been carried by both violent criminals and problem youths throughout the early to mid 20th century. Knuckledusters were one of the items banned by the 1953 Prevention of Crime Act. due to a rise in violent offending with weapons. Prior to the introduction of this legislation it was not an offence in England or Wales, to carry a weapon in public for self defence, it was only illegal if the weapon was used in the commission of a crime.These items often feature in police collections of offensive weapons for educating school children and for internal training.