Improvised weapons are everywhere. Whether you are at work or home you can look around and easily come up with a plethora of ideas. For example, you could use your cell phone as a club if you attack soft points on your attacker. A stapler can become a leather devise if wielded properly. If you have a phone with a cord you can swing it at an attacker or strangle them with the cord. Some offices still have the guillotine style paper cutters. The big blades could be used as a weapon. 

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Traditional items like baseball bats are an obvious improvised weapon but what about a fire extinguisher? You can spray the assailant to disorient them. This can allow your escape or time to take further action towards them. The item that you choose can not take the place of training to use weapons. You need knowledge of the weapon and practice or you will just be flailing around.

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Surprising your assailant can work to your advantage. Use that advantage if you can. End the fight as early as you can. (Be safe but if you can make a difference, shouldn't you?) Be on high alert in soft target areas like schools and medical facilities. 

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Confidence in yourself and your skills can make a huge difference as well. Know what you can do and what advantages you use for your gain.

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Garden tools are another ready source of improvised weaponry. Typically they are sharp and easily wielded.

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Urban setting present a plethora of options. Children's sports equipment are a prime  example. Also, the increase amount of available metal make it a rich resource for improvised weaponry. 

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Look around you right now and find three things that you could use as a weapon, if you were threatened. I'm guessing it wasn't too tough.

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Be prepared for anything. Chances are in your favor that you may not need it but if you did need it and didn't know how to use that weapon, you're toast. 

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There are many chemical options that exist in the world around us as well. Bug spray could be used in a pinch. It is not going to incapacitate your opponent like you would think but it could buy you the time you need to make a secondary action. Bear spray is another option. The cans spray a long distance and can maintain space between you and the opponent. Potatoes guns are pretty easy to make and pack a punch. Think outside the box: poison darts, poison oak attacks or PVC bows. Again, whatever you choose you better understand how to use it so you don't end up damaging yourself and while your assailant stands there laughing at you.

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It's always a good idea to keep practicing self-defense but there are other skills you may consider learning as well. Flint knapping would allow you a basic understanding of how to make sturdy sharp objects out of whatever was available. Knot tying is essential so you can make traps and secure weapons in construction. Certain weapons like the atlatl will take more practice than others but it can be fun to learn now and useful to know then. 

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Thinking of armor ideas is a fun exercise. Of course, solid ballistic gear would be best to have on hand but what if you don't have that? Bullets will shoot through a lot of materials so understand that alternate armor options won't work with bullets. It might not be a bad idea to have a shield to defend against blunt object attacks. You can use magazines and duct tape to provide a protective layer over your extremities. Sports gear can be used to help protect your body from abuse. A helmet would be a great idea and really any kind would be better than nothing. You may be able to make iron armor that would stop a bullet but it would be heavy as heck. 

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When you think of improvised weaponry that could also include items for perimeter security. Electric fencing is a great deterrent. You can make caltrops to have in certain areas or use barbed wire. You can plant thorny vegetation to deter others from going a particular direction. You can bury 2 x 4s with nails in them under your driveway or dig a fall trap to catch any trespassers. (None of these things should be done in today's society due to liability issues but in an SHTF situation it may be useful to know)

 

Most martial arts weapons were created from tools that were used as weapons. You can make throwing stars, nunchucks, or utilize your walking stick as a bow staff. Practice now so you can be confident then.

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If you choose to employ a trap like a log fall, pitfall, bear trap, or a Tasmanian devil trap, make sure you are certain of your target. (Again do not make these now! They could seriously hurt someone) Make certain that everyone in your group knows of the trap's location so that they don't accidentally trigger it. 

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You can also improvise items to alert you to a trespasser's presence. A mousetrap with a .22 caliper bullet can send off a loud alarm that will confuse the trespasser. Try to make your home the hardest target possible with gates and loud brush they have to crackle through to get to your home. You may be able to electrify your gate as another deterrent. In a long-term survival situation, ammo will be very precious. Any amount you can conserve through the use of improvised weaponry the better.