All About Pocket Knives

OMG, what's next?

https://jalopnik.com/swiss-army-knife-v ... 1851463354

We are in the early stages of developing pocket tools without blades,” a spokesperson for the company told CNN. Though it won’t be discontinuing its bladed version, the company has been trying to figure out how to serve customers in places — specifically England and some Asian countries — where knives aren’t as welcome. The British government, for example, is considering new legislation on carrying blades in public.

The Swiss Army Knife has its roots in 1880s Germany. Then the Swiss Karl Elsener took production over the border. Soon a competitor emerged in the company Wenger, and for a while the Swiss government split its orders for the tools between the two of them. Wenger called its version the “genuine” Swiss Army Knife, and Elsener’s Victorinox called its version the “original.” The two companies ended up merging in 2005.

Though 9/11 did a number on the company as pocket knives became much more scrutinized and policed in its aftermath, Victorinox and its knives have stuck around. The company made its 500 millionth Swiss Army Knife in 2017. Its most expensive edition, the $395 Swiss Champ XXL, has 73 features, including a fish scaler, tweezers, and a wood saw.

Since I cannot force society to change back to the way I liked it a Victoriox without a knife blade is a useful offering. The first day in 7th grade wood shop we were told we were required to bring a pocket knife to class. Today boys caught secretly drawing a picture of the boy scout utility or camp knife that all boys carried in my elementary school are expelled. A friend who teaches in the public schools deliberately broke off the blade in his SAK so that he can carry it at work without risk of being fired. I live in a blue state. Liberals have a strangle hold on state government and the public schools but I'm not moving out of the state I was born in in the forseeable future. Some places not leaving your usual pocket knife at home or in the car is a crime. At one time Leatherman made multi-tools without knife blades. They might still make them. Not eager to pay retail for a new one I had an older Wave reassembled with a second file and wood saw replacing its serrated and plain edge knife blades. A SAK is more comfortable in a pants pocket. I'll buy a Victorinox with no knife blade.

I daresay that even a knife like that without a blade may still be confiscated by TSA or similar, just by looks alone. Imagine the reaction pulling that out on a plane to cut a thread with the scissors...

Personally, I prefer the French Army Knife

Miller Bro's wrote: ↑Tue May 14, 2024 7:05 am OMG.....

Dimitri, you should post that here also.
viewtopic.php?t=20319

This is pathetic.

Posted without comment.

knife7knut wrote: ↑Tue May 14, 2024 8:55 pm Posted without comment.

Ray those are the only ones my wife lets me use without supervision.

I don't know what is more disturbing, the fact that a knife company is trying to market a knife without a cutting blade or that only six people on a pocket knife forum bothered to post a comment to this thread

Miller Bro's wrote: ↑Wed May 15, 2024 12:04 am a pocket knife forum...

There you go. No blade, not a knife. What's to say?

The Victorinox Jetsetter Series was introduced in 2012 as a bladeless tool and was largely dictated by restrictions placed on air travel. Recycled story over a decade old.

It is completely against the company policy where I work to carry a knife, a gun, or any kind of 'weapon' either on our person or in our company vehicle.
I may, theoretically, break that rule every day. I may allegedly have multiple knives on my person daily, and hypothetically a firearm as well.

But if somebody else wants to carry a blade-less multi tool, I think that is fine. I believe in freedom.

One compromise between going bladeless and carrying whatever you prefer might interest members who regularly go in the post office or other federal buildings. Signs on post office walls write no knives citing a federal law and an administrative code. Violating that law has the same consequences as carrying a firearm, a felony, but that law exempts knives with blades up to 2 1/2" long. Only the administrative code prohibits blades 2 1/2" and under and it's doubtful they could make a criminal case out of it. Certainly not a felony. The compromise is routinly limiting the blade you carry into town to 2 1/2". It is very unlikly the postal inspectors would bother an old man in a rural post office about a pocket knife but limiting the blade you carry to 2 1/2" eliminates the posibility of losing your gun rights over a knife.

State and local laws are a seperate issue. In my case blade length is not in state laws but the state does not pre-empt knife laws like it does gun laws so city laws have to be looked at individually. Fortunately all the state and local laws I've read exempt knives that are being used for your job.

Their tool that includes a bottle opener makes it obvious the Victorinox Jetsetter Series are tiny. They are not large enough for the tools I want so a new bladeless Victorinox is interesting.

Without a knife blade, we won’t be able to call them a SAK.

Railsplitter wrote: ↑Wed May 15, 2024 12:10 pm Without a knife blade, we won’t be able to call them a SAK.

You could always call them a, '' Swiss Unfinished Knife ''.

knife7knut wrote: ↑Wed May 15, 2024 6:36 pm

Railsplitter wrote: ↑Wed May 15, 2024 12:10 pm Without a knife blade, we won’t be able to call them a SAK.

You could always call them a, '' Swiss Unfinished Knife ''.

OK who is going to accept the mission of procuring a Victorinox Jetsetter, run it through TSA at a major airport and document the results …. I have no upcoming travel plans otherwise I’d accept the mission.

As an aside note on the mission, my wife recently flew solo from Wilmington NC (ILM) and as I was watching her go through security the TSA Agent returned to me with a tube of lotion that didn’t pass so it may be to avoid confiscation of the Jetsetter with proper planning. However, ILM is far from a major airport.

Could be an interesting outcome

Some years ago one of the active target shooters at our local range was an army sergeant. While he and his subordinates passed through TSA to board a commercial flight on their way to fight in Iraq TSA confiscated their nail clippers. The bayonets for their assult rifles were fine in sheaths on their belts but personally owned nail nippers in carry on bags were far to dangerous for TSA.

My mother lost her tiny Case 6233 pen knife to TSA. I gave it to her about 50 yeas before she lost it. The procedure for getting her on the flight was an airline employee brought a wheel chair out to my car then wheeled her all the way to the plane. My mother had been a great grandmother for many years. While I thought it unlikely that she'd go insane, whip out her Case, over power the woman pushing her wheel chair then wheel herself on to a vicious airport slashing attack TSA was terrified by the risk.

However, while I doubt TSA would let Jetsetters or bladeless not-SAK on flights I so rarely fly that TSA is not relevent to me.

Modern Slip Joints wrote: ↑Thu May 16, 2024 3:29 am Some years ago one of the active target shooters at our local range was an army sergeant. While he and his subordinates passed through TSA to board a commercial flight on their way to fight in Iraq TSA confiscated their nail clippers. The bayonets for their assult rifles were fine in sheaths on their belts but personally owned nail nippers in carry on bags were far to dangerous for TSA.

About 10 years ago, I took a U.N. flight from Kandahar, Afghanistan to Kabul the capital. I was forced to put my duffle bag and backpack through and X-Ray machine and walk through a metal detector. Slung on body armor/vest carrier was an M-4. On my hip was a M-9 Berreta and a 7" Strider fixed blade. That is how I boarded the plane .... You would not believe all of the silly little rules over there and more and more piling up with every year that past.

The Taliban had ONE basic rule: Keeping fighting until they win.... Guess who won in the end?

Although I am an American Airlines “Million Mile Club” member, since retirement I seldom travel by air. When I do, my one EDC is typically in a checked bag. No problems or delays with TSA security. However I’ve had a couple of instances where I packed several knives in checked baggage.

The first time was a trip from Boston Logan to DFW. I had acquired several pocket knives while in New England, which were in my checked baggage, which I’m sure was passed through the TSA x-ray. Subsequently when passing through the TSA checkpoint I was pulled aside, asked to empty my pockets (I had already placed the contents in the tray prior to going through the metal detector), then wanded and patted down. When we landed, upon retrieval of my checked bag I found a sticker on it, saying the bag had been opened for inspection. I suspect they opened it after x-ray revealed the knives in it. And I suspect they then flagged me for added scrutiny at security.

This suspicion was confirmed later on a flight from DFW, when I was taking some pocket knives to give to our son. The knives were in my checked bag, but when we checked in the agent transposed the baggage check tags attached to our bags. She placed my bar-coded tag on my wife’s bag, and my wife’s tag on my bag. (We did not realize the mistake until we claimed the bags after reaching our destination). When we went through TSA security I passed through without incident. My wife however, was pulled aside for questioning, wanded, and required to wait until patted down by a female TSA agent (there were no female agents available at the time so we had to wait until one was available). No way of proving it, but I strongly suspect she was singled out due to the x-Ray inspection revealing knives in what they thought was “her” checked bag.

Ken

If I remember correctly, after 911, TSA was confiscating nail clippers with a folding nail cleaner.

The new SUK won’t be any different.