FBI guide warns of hidden knives

WorldNetDaily.com ^ | Wednesday, July 30, 2003 | Paul Sperry

[JohnHuang2]

WASHINGTON –Since the Sept. 11 hijackings, an FBI lab here has been compiling a database of easily concealable knives – including long, fixed blades hidden in canes, retractable short blades hidden in keys and lipstick tubes, and others made of nonmetal composites that can escape detection by airport magnetometers and X-ray machines.

Most of the nearly 90 samples photographed in the extensive database of concealable weapons are commercially available for less than $20, the FBI says. [This .pdf FBI document contains a gallery of photos and takes about 1 minute to download.]

"These knives should be treated as potentially dangerous weapons," warns the "FBI Guide to Concealable Weapons 2003."

The booklet, put together by the Firearms and Toolmarks Unit of the FBI Laboratory Division at Quantico, Va., includes X-ray images of the knives to show how they might look if concealed in a carry-on bag and passed through a scanning device. Those made of plastic composites appear "invisible."

"It got a wide dissemination" in the federal government, FBI spokesman Ed Cogswell said of the booklet.

Transportation Security Administration spokesman Brian Turmail says he is not aware of the booklet, however, and could not say for certain if it has been distributed to all the federal security directors at the nation's major airports.

The hijackers who took control of commercial jetliners and crashed them into the World Trade Center and Pentagon were armed with box cutters.

The foreword to the FBI booklet says it is the "first installment of a continuing effort to collect and distribute information on knives that otherwise may be dismissed as nonthreatening items."

[JohnHuang2]

Wednesday, July 30, 2003

Quote of the Day by goldstategop

[squidly]

Reminds me of that movie where John Malkovich built a plastic gun to kill the president with.

[First Amendment]

That settles it. No planes for me. If they can use knives made of plastic which are invisible with Xray, what has stopped them so far?

[CyberAnt]

Well, Geeeeee .. why don't we just print descriptions on how to do all this stuff - just in case the terrorists haven't figured it out yet ..??

[riverrunner]

This is nothing new this info has been around for years, sword canes have been around for hundreds if not thousands of years ect ect.

[Bob Eimiller]

After 9/11... any scruffy, wild eyed, suicidal, smelly, filthy terrorist...(or even washed, shaved, and Americanized ones for that matter)... wouldn't last 20 seconds with any kind of weapon...!

A plane load of... "Mad as hell and not going to take it anymore"...passengers "Ready to Roll" will tear his/their throats out rather than go out like sheep.

[harpseal]

This is nothing new this info has been around for years, sword canes have been around for hundreds if not thousands of years ect ect.

That is brand new High Tech compared to the Obsidian knife (composition obsidian blade with a bone handle). This is literally stone age technology. Obsidian knives axes spear and arrow points are the stuff of archeology. Using bone handles was something that predated the bronze age.

[Question_Assumptions]

Do airlines have blankets? Do carry on bags have retractable poles to wheel them along with? Do passengers carry laptops?

People used to fight "cloak and dagger", using the cloak to block and tangle. A blanket could be used. Snap off those retractable poles and you could have a good club or, with sharp edges, a nice knife of your own. Laptops? My iBook would make a heck of a bludgeoning weapon -- of course you need to be willing to sacrifice the laptop.

But, somehow, I don't think passengers will be as passive as they were on 9/11 and I don't think they'll have much of a pause before the passengers "roll".

[LTCJ]

I can't wait for the TSA to discover the old Field Manual on field expedient weapons.

Yes, Waldo, you can make a deadly weapon out of a bar of soap or a handful of pocket change and a sock.

And a Bic pen - the HORROR!

God save the Republic from bureaucrats and functional idiots.

[spodefly]

I have a pen that also has a very sharp blade concealed in it, ostensibly as a "letter opener". They are available for around $10 ... I have carried it in my coat pocket for years. It is a good pen.

I also accidently carried it on several flights. It was in the coat pocket of the coat that I wore that travel day, and I didn't realize it until after the flight. The 9/11 hijackers would have loved the blade on this pen because it makes a box cutter look like a toy. It is razor sharp, and pointed, and about 4" long.

Now I am more careful not to have that pen in my coat pocket, but the fact is, I travelled on at least 3 trips where it was in the coat pocket. No one caught it.

[harpseal]

I can't wait for the TSA to discover the old Field Manual on field expedient weapons.

Ah yes My favorite was teh sharpened pencil or the female's barrette. They are worried about sword canes when a plain old cane can be quite deadly and effective. If you want horror in anedged weapon consider a broken CD used against the throat.

While a Bic pen could be a good weapon it is absolutely nothing compared to a Cross pen one of the old chrome or gold filled kind much better resilience tahn the plain old plastic.

The only way the TSA can be all the passengers are unarmed is reuire all baggage and clothes to be checked for teh flights duration.

[Plutarch]

Heck, I have, by mistake, brought my trusty Swiss Army Knife on board several flights with no problem. If there are any hijackers with concealed knives, I am ready to do battle!

[RoughDobermann]

teh

I'm glad to see that I'm not teh only person who regularly screws up the word "the"! ;-)

[el_chupacabra]

couple of years back I borrowed a suitcase from my wife's uncle and took it back and forth to Chicago. While unpacking the back on my return, I learned that I had taken his freaking 10" hunting knife on a nice round trip in my carry on.

[harpseal]

I'm glad to see that I'm not teh only person who regularly screws up the word "the"!

That is my usual way of typing it.

[TEXASPROUD]

I'll see your Cross pen and raise you a MontBlanc Meisterstick Le Grand. Pressure applied at appropriate points does wonders for pacification. (And with more style.)

[1Old Pro]

The hijackers who took control of commercial jetliners and crashed them into the World Trade Center and Pentagon were armed with box cutters.

No boxcutter would stop me from jumping out of my seat and taking out a wimpy dirty littles Islamist fanaticist.

[Squantos]

I'll see yer Cross Bic and raise ya the metal hinges on my samsonite briefcase, a roll of quarters and a large bandana !!

Stay Safe !! (they ain't gonna get my swiss key)

[mhking]

Everyone keeps joking about Bic pens and pencils and other such items.

Ceramic knives are generally extremely sharp, and readily available.

As an example, the Ming Tsai line of ceramic kitchen knives can be found at your local mall. They're a bit more expensive than your standard steak and butcher knives, but as we've already been shown, the bad guys have deep pockets.

This is a lot more serious than we might think. (Not to say that the potential terrorist will probably be the recipient of a severe beatdown, but this is not the sort of throwaway alert that we've become accustomed to.)

[Quilla]

I'd be jumping up too Old Pro, but pre-9/11 was a whole different animal. Historically, when planes were hijacked, the hijackers demanded all kinds of things - including landing the plane. No one had ever dreamed of the suicidal scenerio of these fanatics. Heck, I don't think but one hijacker from each crew of 5 even knew they were going to die that day.