As a kid growing up I can remember a blackjack hanging behind the kitchen door of my grandmother’s house. It was black basket weave with lead head. My grandmother said that it belonged to my grandfather and that he carried it in the Army. My grandfather died when I was three but I knew all about him. He quit school in his early teens to help out on the truck down at the dock in New York with his father and from all accounts liked to fight. I assumed the blackjack was just insurance to protect a soldier’s meager paycheck. The blackjack did accomplish one thing, like all other weapons it prompted my interest.

Not long ago a very good fried of mine from the forums Russell A Natkin better known as BoerBoelGuy turned me onto Scott and Todd Foster known affectionately on the forums as the Foster Brothers. Todd makes saps and Scott makes blackjacks. BoerBoelGuy arranged for me to have an example of each of their work.

Before long a heavy little box showed up at the steps of the mercopian mansion. First I will discuss Todd’s sap. The first thing that struck me about both Todd and Scott’s work is that they scream “handmade”. The word that comes to mind after that is classic. The leather is a rich beautiful brown with black accents running through it with tooling along the seam. This sap is filled with 10 ounces of lead shot packed loosely so as to slightly disperse upon impact. Again this classic looks like it should be dropped into the back pocket of a 1930’s detective as he puts on his fedora with his other hand.

When picking up Todd’s Black & Blue blackjack for the first time all I could think about was how bad it would suck to get hit with it. The Black & Blue called such because of the black and blue leather making up its handle encases a 10-ounce lead head molded directly to the spring forming the handle. All the leather used to create this masterpiece including the Convoy style strap permeates the immediate air with the smell of fine leather. The Black & Blue begs to be stuffed in the waistband of an old time beat cop or dropped discreetly in the rear jack pocket of any officer whose agency stills allows the right tools for the right job.

Scott, himself an officer tells me that for him and Todd this is a labor of love. Whenever it seems that making saps and jacks becomes more of a job than a pastime the Brothers Foster sit back a bit and relax. The best way to contact them is on the forums, Scott goes by Disector and Todd is cleverly known as TODD1. Besides custom orders they will post when they have specimens for sale.

Only when I do a class do I realize how much stuff I have in my collection from Kubatons to knuckles. I also get a fair amount of toys in for T&E. Seldom do these items end up in my EDC and if they do it is because they are so good that they replace something else. The Foster Brothers creations are the first tools that I ever really added. I also have to admit that a lot of it has to do with nostalgia and wondering what was going through my grandfather’s mind when he slid his jack into his pocket. Or maybe one just like it rode in the pocket of my Great Great Grandfather Francis McGrail who came on the job with the Elizabeth New Jersey Police Department in 1894.

In typical mercop fashion I had to come up with SCDU plans for the sap and blackjack. For carry options the three I decided on in order of preference are-
		Strong side back pocket
		Waistband cross draw position
		Bag carry about the same position as strong side back pocket

Deployment options and use all started with my strong side pinkie finger being used to index the tools to facilitate the draw. The initial strike from the IWB cross draw position is an angle #6 backhand. Drawing from strong side rear I like the first strike to come out of the pocket and then up and under kind of like the same motion as pitching a horse shoe. The chin is the target but the rest of the head may present itself as your attacker hollows out to avoid a suspected groin shot.

Saps and jacks being impact weapons seek bone targets. When striking care should be given not to drive through the target but to strike with more of a whipping action to fully utilize the fluid shock generated by the weighted head. Like with all strikes this also has the benefit of stopping you from over extending your arm and allows you to better redirect during the strike.

If you believe your personal protection plan can benefit from one of the Foster Brothers fine tools, then contact them (Scott / Todd) and see what they have available.