There are lots of verboten items at my work. Federal contracting company doing computer services of various kinds. In Maryland.
So, the usual. Firearms, explosives, ammunition, tasers.
But also... knives 'including pocket knives'. NO WEAPONS! Among other things.
They even did a sweep in the kitchen areas looking for the knives folks use to cut up office birthday cakes. A buncha blunt scissor hoplophobic kindergarten teachers, they.
And many folks ignore the rule. A full size leatherman is useful if you actually have to open up a computer and do, you know, actual work on it. Because that's your job.
That's not my job, but there are plenty of things I use at least a blade for. Cutting plastic, for mostly. For that I use a mini-Leatherman. Sub 2 inch blade. And I don't wave it around in the faces of the busybodies and they don't go out of their way to check to see if I have one. It's definitely not a weapon. If I was angry enough that I needed to go all violent and self-defensy, I'd not turn to a tiny penknife blade, as my hands would be a better practical item for that.
I tell this story because I forgot to pocket my mini-Leatherman the other day and didn't realize it until I got to work. Been a while since I did that. I felt kinda nekkid without it.
I went to a Yanni concert a few years ago under compulsion. I had to go back out to the car to put my Swiss Army Spartan away.
ReplyDeleteA rough crowd, those Yanni fans!
As a backup tool, consider putting a Swiss+Tech Utili-key on your keyring. It's about 3/4" longer than a house key. I have several plastic store cards next to mine, so it's not obvious. It has several screwdriver tips and a bottle opener, in addition to a 1/2 serrated blade. Oh, and I carry the keys in a velcro key silencer wrap hung from a pocket with a small carabiner. Only place it doesn't go is court.
ReplyDeleteA mini-leatherman is in that pocket, along with a few more blades of various sizes in/on other pockets. Which reminds me, I need to replace a lost pocket clip knife (one for each hand). Why Leatherman can't design good tweezers is frustrating.