Fernando thank you so much for the kind words!! and to you and David for the additional material in input! This was such an unusual topic that I feared there would be little response....but you guys always come through
Good question Dizos, and I had wondered about this as well. Actually these strange composites were effective in certain degree, and as one reference noted, they were better than being empty handed. In one of the references it was noted that several police officers in a melee were badly wounded in shots fired.....it seems that this was in the same text where these unusual firearms were seen. Another instance involved severe facial wounds.
I think these fall into the category of the 'street fighting' weapons of earlier times in degree, the formidable looking 'sword breaker' left hand daggers with the pronounced dentation. It has often been questioned whether they were used or not, and the same with these.....probably so, but to what degree cannot be determined.
Street fighting weapons are quite different than combat weapons in that they are intended for 'up close and very personal' contact. They were also intended to be concealed, and as I mentioned, I think many of these so called apache guns were likely to have been obtained by the general public for protection. Sword canes and blackjacks were also types of weapons that were used by thugs, but the blackjack was more for use by thugs....the sword canes of course were well known for gentry, less for the baser element.
It seems similar combination weapons to the apache guns found use as trench weapons in WWI, but I havent found details yet on them.
The knuckleduster was I know incorporated into a full size trench knife.
In one Sherlock Holmes sequence I watched, Watson was concerned he was unarmed as they went on a case into a rough district....Holmes laughed and swing his scarf around, which hit the table with a crash, with whatever very solid material was sewn inside it!! A true bolo type weapon.
BTW, the pepperbox was truly the forerunner to the revolver, and one of the big problems with them was simultaneous detonation......now that would be about as bad for the guy holding the thing I would think.
Thanks so much guys!!!
All the best,
Jim