69 Tricks and Tools of James Bond: Part 1 [How to Be Bond]

Jason Bourne rocks. So does James Bond. And, some might argue, Jack Baur. Hmmm. Seems like a pattern.

Previously, I explored the many tricks, tips and tools of Jason Bourne. Now, let’s explore the tricks, tips and tools of James Bond, part 1. This article will explore the tips, tricks and gadgets of James Bond’s first five films, Dr. No, From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, Thunderball, and You Only Live Twice.

Dr. No

Tools

  1. Bond’s gun is a Walther PPK 7.65mm, sometimes using a Brausch silencer. However, in the beginning, he starts out with a Beretta 418.
  2. Bond’s watch is a Rolex Submariner with a crocodile strap.
  3. The agency sends Bond a self-destructor bag.
  4. Bond uses a Geiger counter to detect radioactivity.
  5. Bond flies to a location on a Pan American flight.
  6. Bond wears a gun shoulder holster.

Tricks

  1. Bond’s agency (MI6) hides radio equipment behind fake book spines.
  2. While this is not explicitly said, we can assume that Bond uses a business card that features just his phone number. This might be done in order not to give too much away about his location or occupation, including not mentioning his name so that he can assume any alias. Update: Bond, in fact, uses a business card featuring Universal Exports and a phone number which is answered by MI6 as Universal Exports. (Thanks Jamie!)
  3. Leaving an office, he palms a gun to” steal”, and hides it under a box he is carrying. (It’s worth noting that this ploy fails because of the keen observations of M, his boss.)
  4. When Bond suspects that someone else is in his room, he quickly removes his shoes to avoid giving himself away by the sound of footsteps.
  5. In order to secure his hotel room, he applies a type of powder to the catches on his suitcase and a damp hair on a door. When the door is opened, the hair falls off, letting him know that someone has been snooping. Likewise, the powder gives away prying fingers.
  6. When traveling to the house of an enemy, he takes his car, but stops it close to the house and hikes the rest of the way by foot, to avoid being heard. Similarly, he turns off a boat and paddles the rest of the way, dropping the sail to avoid any type of detection.
  7. Bond fills a bed full of cushions and pillows to give the appearance that he is in the bed, and thus drawing fire towards the bed.
  8. Hiding from the enemy, Bond gets a reed cut, and uses it as a makeshift snorkel underwater to prevent getting seen by humans and smelled by dogs.
  9. In order to be undetected in a “enemy lair”, he knocks out a uniformed employee, and puts on his uniform.

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From Russia With Love

Tools

  1. Bond is given a briefcase that contains the following: AR-7 .22 survival rifle w/ infrared telescope, 50 gold sovereigns, Tear Gas cartridge disguised as talcum powder, ammunition for rifle, and a throwing knife that is designed to pop out of the case when something is pressed. The case itself is designed to release gas if opened improperly.
  2. Bond has both a pager and a car phone, at the time a luxury.
  3. Bond has a bug detector, which he uses to detect a bugged phone line in his hotel room.
  4. Bond uses a tape recorder disguised as a camera to question someone. In modern ages, use of an iPod Nano (the newest version record both audio and video), or a cell phone would be comparable.

Tricks

  1. Bond cools a wine bottle in the river next to his picnic spot. (OK, not really a spy trick, but smart anyways.)
  2. Bond’s signature move is to enter the office of his agency and throw his hat onto the rack. Perfecting a move like this is always helpful to impress.
  3. When checking for audio bugs, he not only uses a detector, but checks behind picture frames, on a clock and in a chandelier to find the bugs.
  4. After he discovers that his room is bugged, he requests another room, citing that the bed is too small.
  5. Bond waits until a person on the phone has hung up, and then listens for another click to indicate an eavesdropper.
  6. When confronted with an enemy, he pulls the top part of the subject’s jacket down to constrict arm movements.
  7. Bond uses a man’s belt to tie the hands of an assailant.
  8. When attacked by boats, Bond rolls gasoline drums into the water, then shoots them to create explosions that destroy the boats.
  9. Fighting someone with a poison tipped shoe, Bond uses a chair to restrain her.

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Goldfinger

Tools

  1. Bond uses a wet dry suit with a fake duck on top, most likely as a joke. (Thanks bobisagirl!)
  2. Bond drives an Aston Martin DB5 with license plate rotations, tire slashers, a bullet proof shield, an ejector seat, machine guns, and smoke & oil sprayers.
  3. Bond is given homing beacons, which would be the equivalent to modern day GPS units.
  4. Bond’s watch is a Rolex Submariner on a NATO issue two-tone green divers strap.
  5. Goldfinger’s personal bodyguard also used a Bowler hat with a metal disc strong enough to cut off a head, an industrial laser and Nerve Gas canisters.
  6. Bond uses a Leica M3 to capture images.
  7. When shaving, Bond uses a Gillette Slim Handle Adjustable 1-9 Razor.

Tricks

  1. Bond wears a tuxedo underneath a wet dry suit, so that he can change and appear normal.
  2. When fighting attackers, he sends one into a tub of water, then throws a lamp into the tub to electrocute the man.
  3. In a game of golf against a cheater, Bond switches balls to make his opponent’s win invalid (strict rules of golf).
  4. In order to save his life, Bond bluffs how much the agency knows about the master-mind’s plan. This gives him an fake advantage over the enemy.
  5. When in the enemy’s bathroom, Bond inspects the room for peepholes, and covers them with his clothing and shaving cream. In addition, he detects a two-way mirror, which lets him know a peephole is close.
  6. In a guarded cell, Bond managed to jump to the ceiling and stay there temporarily to lure the guard in and escape.
  7. Bond always keeps an eye on the person who has the keys to his handcuffs, so when he is dead, Bond can grab the keys.

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Thunderball

Tools

  1. Bond uses a jetpack to make a quick escape.
  2. Bond drives a Aston Martin DB4 with rear water jets.
  3. Bond is given a pill that tracks his location.
  4. He is also given a mouth air supply that supplies him with 4 minutes of air.

Tricks

  1. Bond noticed a supposed widow is not a woman, but a man, tipped off because the “woman” opens the door, instead of the man for her.
  2. Bond gets a massage, in part perhaps to relax his body after the stress he has endured.
  3. Bond uses phone cord to choke an assailant.
  4. He also pulls fire alarm to alarm everyone, and to get the enemy out.
  5. Bond records audio in his room using a tape recorder when he goes out. Then, when he comes back, he replays the recording speedily to find noises of intruders to tip him off where the intruder is.
  6. Once Bond has determined the location of a hidden intruder, he goes to the shower (the intruders location), and turns on the shower hot to inflict pain, and then uses the shower curtain to blind the enemy. Finally, Bond heaves the door into the man to completely defeat him.
  7. In order to break down some security, Bond gets the power supply of the enemy turned off. Even though the generators kick in quickly, it gives Bond enough time and causes plenty of confusion.
  8. In the poor position of being surrounded by the enemy, Bond shoots at both sides, then gets out of the way, which causes the enemy to turn against each other.
  9. Bond lights a bottle of alcohol on fire in a car to create confusion.
  10. Bleeding, Bond uses damp handkerchief to mop up blood and prevent too much loss of blood to avoid giving path away.
  11. When he notices a gun pointed at him, he turns his dancing partner of the enemy into bullet to save himself.
  12. Again when he is about to be killed, Bond grabs a harpoon gun in place of a normal gun and fires it.

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You Only Live Twice

Tools

  1. Bond uses a safe cracker to open a safe.
  2. Bond uses a cigarette that doubles as a gun.
  3. Bond wears a Rolex Submariner.

Tricks

  1. Bond fakes his death to relieve himself of some of his enemies trying to kill him.
  2. When he catches an assassin, he knocks him out, and disguises himself as the assassin to gather more intelligence.
  3. When being interrogated by the enemy he tries to bribe and then romances her in order to free himself.
  4. Bond keeps gun next to him in bed, and when woken, he shoots an intruder quickly. Keep your defense handy.
  5. When Bond smells gas, he dives into water quickly to prevent being poisoned by the gas.
  6. Attempting to test the depth of what appears to be a real volcano crater, he throws a rock into what he soon discovers is a fake lake.
  7. In order to infiltrate the enemy’s ‘lair’, Bond wears dark cloths and suction cups to climb and explore walls and ceilings easily.
  8. Bond uses a cigarette gun to kill agents and create openening for assets to enter the lair. He finds a way to let his assets in quickly, even if it’s just several.

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Can’t wait for part 2? Or 3? UPDATE: Part 2 is out! Go check it out here. They’re coming soon, but in the meantime subscribe, so you don’t miss the next part!

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Support Lone Iguana by purchasing any Bond movie featured in the above article using the Amazon affiliate links. Thanks for your support in making this post possible!

The writer of this post compiles the latest tech news and more at Squealing Rat and recently started a new project, Stretching Cow, which compiles links for educators. Find him on Twitter.

Sources for this article included Wikipedia, IMDB, James Bond Lifestyle and watching the films many times, for enjoyment and research. Thanks to x-ray delta one for the photo.


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25 responses to “69 Tricks and Tools of James Bond: Part 1 [How to Be Bond]”

  1. bobisagirl Avatar
    bobisagirl

    Cool list, I feel like trying some of these now!
    The pedant in me, however, feels it necessary to point out that Bond in fact wears a tuxedo under a drysuit, not a wetsuit. If it were a wetsuit the tux underneath would be sodden, as wetsuits allow a small amount of water in for extra warmth.

    1. loneiguana Avatar

      In response to bobisagirl

      Nice catch, thanks!

  2. Jamie Avatar

    James Bond’s business card, in fact, lists him in the sales division of Universal Exports. The phone number dials into an MI-6 switchboard, and answered as “Universal Exports”, where Mr. Bond is frequently “out of the office”…

    1. loneiguana Avatar

      In response to Jamie

      Thank you!

  3. […] This post was mentioned on Twitter by E.R. R. Sánchez, John Henry Cosby. John Henry Cosby said: 69 Tricks and Tools of James Bond: Part 1 [How to Be Bond] – http://goo.gl/jtR4 […]

  4. […] 27. How-To of the Week: 69 Tricks and Tools of James Bond […]

  5. Peter Avatar
    Peter

    “When traveling to the house of an enemy, he takes his car, but stops it close to the house and hikes the rest of the way by food…”

    I doubt he hikes by FOOD.

    1. loneiguana Avatar

      Thanks for catching that!

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  7. Daniel Kim Avatar
    Daniel Kim

    My favorite is a trick he used in Diamonds are Forever (I think), in which Bond quickly appears to be a couple making out in a corner by wrapping his arms around himself and bending over a bit in a dark corner. I thought it showed ingenuity and quick thinking with limited resources. The ability to improvise in this way impresses me more than the specialized gadgets he carried with him.

    1. loneiguana Avatar

      Nice! I’ll use that in the next part

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  11. […] I explored the many tricks, tips and tools of Jason Bourne, and the tricks, tips and tools of James Bond (part 1) . Now, let’s continue with exploring the tricks, tips and tools of James Bond, part 2. This […]

  12. Josh Boyd Avatar
    Josh Boyd

    In addition to his Card being the sales division of Universal Exports, he has the standing cover name of Roger Sterling. It’s seen later in the Moore films and Quantum of Solace

  13. Miami Vice Guy Avatar
    Miami Vice Guy

    Are you familiar with the book, How to Live the James Bond Lifestyle by Paul Kyriazi? It is a great book for the Bond enthusiast or any man really who wants to apply some of the principles of 007 to himself. The chapters are chock full of great information. IT is available at Amazon or Paul’s website.

    1. loneiguana Avatar

      Awesome recommendation, thanks!

  14. Miami Vice Guy Avatar
    Miami Vice Guy

    You are welcome. Paul is a very approachable guy, and he has a page on Facebook devoted to his book/seminar: type in “James Bond Lifestyle Seminar” in the search box on FB. His course is full of great information.

  15. […] 69 Tricks and Tools of James Bond: Part 1 [How to Be Bond]: Dr. No, From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, Thunderball, and You Only Live Twice […]

  16. […] Previously, I explored the many tricks, tips and tools of Jason Bourne, and the tricks, tips and tools of James Bond (part 1 and 2) . Now, let’s continue with exploring the tricks, tips and tools of James Bond, part 3. […]

  17. […] Previously, I explored the many tricks, tips and tools of Jason Bourne, and the tricks, tips and tools of James Bond (part 1, 2 and 3) . Now, let’s continue with exploring the tricks, tips and tools of James Bond, part […]

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