Boker SO4PRO-K: Return of the Shomer-Tec Ti-Bop?

The pocket stick is one of the most useful yet simple self-defense tools in the martialist’s arsenal. It has no moving parts; it cannot fail mechanically; it is light and easy to carry; it is usually (but not always) legal to carry. Pocket stick techniques can be adapted from yawara methods or from more modern kubotan training manuals, but there’s no need to invest a great deal of training time in the weapon. You hold it in your fist and you plant it in vulnerable spots on the other fellow. The pocket stick concentrates the force of your strikes, can’t feel pain, and won’t necessarily draw blood. It’s about as perfect as a low-cost, non-blade force multiplier gets.

Over the years I’ve covered any number of different pocket sticks, combat flashlights, and keychain gadgets used for self-defense. The one about which I’ve received the most queries, long after it was no longer available, is the Shomer-Tec Ti-Bop. This was a small, knurled pocket stick of titanium, rounded on both ends, that was just barely big enough to use as a fist load and striking implement.

Shomer-Tec as a company is still around and still sells a variety of useful items, but the Ti-Bop, to my knowledge, has been out of production for years. You can imagine my interest, then, when knifemaker Boker introduced a keychain pocket stick that strongly resembles this little tool.

Offered under the less-than-poetic moniker “SO4PRO-K,” Boker’s metal pocket stick has both a koppo-style finger loop and an end loop to which a keyring can be affixed. Available in steel and titanium, the S04PRO-K was developed by someone named Rainer Wenning (there is actually a website, http://www.so4pro.com, that redirects to a German forum where pens, knives, sticks, and other gear are discussed.

The SO4PRO-K is 5.25 inches long and half an inch in diameter. The finger loop (which is what makes a koppo stick a koppo and not a yawara — the ability to loop the stick through your middle fingers so you can open your hand while retaining the weapon) can be manually resized. It’s a simple length of paracord with melted knots at the end; the knots nestle in the machined holes. The keyring loop is likewise a length of paracord, but this has been gutted so that it will lay flat.

The drawback of the Ti-Bop was that it was relatively short. The SO4PRO-K is more than long enough to project from a large hand. It does, however, lack the Ti-Bop’s extensive knurling, which I always appreciated for the firm grip it provided. Still, with the finger loop in place and the ridges at the base, the S04PRO-K is steady enough in the hand. My pinky tends to curl around the top of the ridges, which gives me enough traction to strike with the stick.

Boy, does this thing hit hard. That’s a function of the weight of the stainless steel, and of course buyers of the steel model (rather than the all-titanium version) will notice the drag on their pockets if the SO4PRO-K is used as a keyring. The smoothly machined, rounded tip of the stick leaves heavy divots and dents in whatever surface you smash. The damage this would do to an attacker’s cheekbone, the back of his hand, or even his muscles (if you were to strike for the chest or arm) is readily apparent when you heft the tool.

Bokers has demonstrated a real affinity for workable self-defense tools in recent years. The production of this high-quality, nearly indestructible pocket stick is evidence of that fact. You can’t get a Ti-Bop unless you find one used, but you can buy the SO4PRO-K while supplies last. I’d advise you to do just that while they’re available.