I used to have one. Never had to use it for real but in practice you can really apply some very intense pressure causing alot of pain.

I Myself, Have Dedicated my time and training to apply My Kubaton And Koshi-No-Bo In all aspects of the arts. It is an extension of all Waza and Kata that I use for , COMPLIANCE, to cause pain without causing Injury. I have used my compliance tools in many defense situations during my Job. It is Effective and the the point. But I must add. To use it correctly it takes months to apply it Just right. With that said, Most defense situations, almost 99% of the time Never go according to your training, which  makes it that much harder.

~J~

I cannot go into great detail of my job. But work in a Private protective services unit in my sate. I also Work as a Private Investigator.

I still carry mine with me. Even if I never need to use it for self defense it does make a good key chain.  It also very nice to know that I have it when needed.

YOUR RIGHT THE THE SHARP SHOOTER IS NO KUBATON  IT'S LIKE A STEEL WHIP. YOU DON'T WANT TO BE HIT BY IT TRUST ME AND I FIND MYSELF HOLDING IT IN MY HAND OR SHOULD I SAY WEARING IT ON MY HAND A LOT MORE THAN NOT.  IF YOU THINK IT WON'T WORK YOU ARE MORE LIKELY TO BE DEFEATED BY IT.  I TEACH KNIFE FIGHTING AND I WOULD RATHER HAVE THE SHARP SHOOTER THAN A KNIFE. THE KUBATON  IS NOT TRI SECTIONAL AND HAS NOT MUCH RANGE AND IT IS ONLY USABLE IN CLOSE DISTANCE.
IF YOU CARRY A SELF-DEFENSE DEVICE YOU SHOULD CARRY IT IN HAND WHEN OUT SIDE YOU MAY NOT HAVE THE CHANCE TO PULL IT OUT.
AS MARTIAL ARTIST WE ALL KNOW THIS SO IF YOU DON'T YOU BETTER BE GOOD WITH YOUR HANDS.
THE SITUATION IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN NO ONE LIKE MASTER LAMBERT IS GOING TO ATTACK YOU. GOD HELP YOU IF HE DOES! YOU WILL NEED MORE THAN A LITTLE KUBATON THAT'S ONLY GOOD IN CLOSE RANGE.
WITH JUST 3 KEYS ON MY SHARP SHOOTER I SPLIT A APPLE IN HALF TRY THAT WITH A KUBATON.  ANY ONE WHO KNOWS ME WILL TELL YOU I AM NOT IN THIS FOR THE MONEY AND I HAVE GAVE MORE SHARP SHOOTERS TO PEOPLE THAN I HAVE SOLD.  I LOVE PEOPLE AND WANT TO HELP MAKE THEM SAFE.  I KNOW THIS DEVICE WILL SAVE LIVES AND THAT IS A GOOD REASON TO HAVE INVENTED A DEVICE THAT'S LEGAL EASY TO HOLD AND HARD TO DROP. I DONT LIKE MOST KEY CHAIN DEVICES BECAUSE THEY ARE EASY TO DROP HAVE NO RANGE AND I USE MY FINGERS BETTER TO POINTS. THE KUBATON HAS NO CORD FOR TRAPING OR CHOKING IT'S USE IS LIMITED.

Tom
I actually have too many keys to carry it in my pocket. Which I guess will make it work better with more weight on the end of it.
If I am outside walking to or from my truck I always have it in my hand usually swinging it (mostly for fun or out of boredom walking to my destination).

But I agree if it was in my pocket I dont think I could pull it out in time to really use it effectively.

Scott

Lol
I dont think of it as a weapon I think of it as a key chain that I can play with.

Scott