The Phantom is a comic book superhero who got his start as a daily strip in the newspapers.

His right hand sports a ring with a skull emblem.  Villains who receive a right cross to the jaw from The Phantom will forever be marked with a skull shaped scar, a visible reminder to all that they are an evil criminal.

This sprang to mind when I ran across the following on my Internet wanderings.

Brass knuckles that sport three little skulls along the striking edge.  Anyone unlucky enough to be on the receiving end would look like The Phantom really, really didn’t like them!

How much would such shiny engines of destruction cost?  Surprisingly little, which indicates to me that they are rather shoddily made.

As has been pointed out by knirirr and others, there are some questions as to the effectiveness of knuckledusters as hand-to-hand defensive devices.  There certainly are questions as to their legality, as ownership and carrying of brass knuckles is banned in various municipalities, states, and even entire countries.  Don’t even think of ordering unless you are sure that you will not be breaking any laws!

So far as I am concerned, I have no intention of using the devices for their intended purpose.  Purchasing a pair would be nothing more than a waste of money.

But they are so gaudy, so gauche, so irredeemably flashy like a twenty dollar whore.  They draw the eye like a dangling key ring draws the attention of a toddler!  Added to this is the allure that they are, indeed, banned by law in so many places.  I desire to own a set just in case they are made illegal in my neck of the woods some time in the future.

A purely American response, I am sure.