penguinboyt

Oh Definitely, my favourite joke as a kid was god talking to an angel saying he was going to create a country with unparalleled beauty, a vast amount of natural resources and make the people the nicest, kindest race on the planet. The Angel asked why they would get so much compared to others, to which god replies, wait till you see the neighbours I give them, lol

CND is Canadian dollar, and ours has sucked for a few years now, lol. We're about 70 cents to one US dollar

Yeah, same issue here in Canada, we do have Home Depot but they pail into comparison to the US versions. You could ask if your local stores have suppliers that could get them, or keep an eye our for random products that have something that may work. I just checked ebay and there are chinese sellers selling packs of 100 for under $10 CND (Approx 68 Krona)

I was just thinking of something just a bit smaller then a marble, not sure exactly where to find it to buy, I know I have a few kicking around here ( I tear most things electronic or mechanical apart to scavenge before I throw them out, no idea what I found them in). To mount it I was thinking drilling a hole with the centre of the hole just a bit inside of the wood for the middle pieces, place the ball in as you assemble it making sure it can't come out. It wouldn't be that simple though to taper the side pieces so it wouldn't move too freely and not roll properly.(Quick search showed a 1/4 inch ball bearing at homedepot.com for 65 cents, if you happen to be in the states)

I actually backed the kickstarter for the real fidget cube and this is without a doubt the best "knockoff" I have seen. One thing you could add would be the spinning marble (ball bearing), it would be an easy one to add in but finding the space may be difficult. Great project

Actually we had one in a store i worked in from the Ukraine, it was far more ornate and delicate but I would maintain you would get one solid swing and hit out of it. It would likely lodge in someone before the handle broke at the weak point which was only about 1/2 inch thick and the spikes were much smaller. It would have been enough for one emergency and this build is closer to a baseball bat, especially if the dowel is hickory. Yes, it wouldn't last too long but as long as the intruder didn't have a gun this would protect you quite well and at least thwart his attempted robbery and likely land him for a good stay in the hospital and possibly kill him. If you build this and actually hold it i would wager it would feel safer then you think, and still look really cool above a mantle