Picking up a theme that arose in another thread, I'm starting it afresh here. My question is, what small items that can easily be carried in pocket, wallet, briefcase, etc., will also do double duty if necessary?

These items will probably pass security checkpoints because of their obvious uses.

For instance, hand cleaner usually contains alcohol and can therefore also be used as a fire accelerant. In another instance, dental floss can also be used as sewing thread or even fishing line.

Feel free to chime in.

paper clips can serve as needles, awls, and ties for small bundles

Twist ties can also serve manu uses.

Duct-Tape! 'nuff said.

Pack of smokes - decent tinder and a good excuse for carrying the lighter.

Gauze bandages - They are just as good as cotton balls for tinder and of course you could cover a wound with them (use the duct-tape to hold them on.)

Someone here (I think Jet) proposed stuffing the ends of their shoe laces with Zippo flints (you know the part that seems to be made of shrink-wrap)

Of course you can (and probably should) replace any cotton shoe laces with paracord boot laces and run doubles.

Backing your buttons with buttons on the inside makes them much more durable and provides extra's if you pop one.

Picture hanging wire is very close to equivalent with some wire saws and if you carry it in the package from the convience store you can say that you intend some decorating at home - the office etc. It will also serve for snaring if needed.

Steel Guitar strings also serve the above purposes well and may be ignored by security if you have a guitar or are known to play one - again keep them in the package with the marketing stuff that declares them to be innocous.

For improvised blades I haven't been able to better the CD broken in half. Dulls rather quickly tho. Great for a few defensive slashes on skin but won't easily get through clothing.

For self defense I think that the roll of quarters in the bandanna is great (even if you have a blade) And keys protruding tip first from a clenched fist makes a mean weapon as well.

You will probably be able to get a kubaton through as a decorative key fob if it isn't annodized black. Get some pretty scroll work done and have your initials on it and make it shiney.

A solitaire mag-light is essentially a small Kubaton and it will pass every time on your key-chain.

Foam Ear-plugs make great bobbers for a light fishing line and they deaden sound well too.

Speak with a custom jeweler and you will probably find you can wear as much snare wire as you want as a woven bracelet or ornate necklace or even woven into a woven belt. All you have to do is make it shiney and look decorative. Same goes even for some small blades - Of course here we tread into the smuggling of contraband issue.

Nylon zip-ties are acceptable to security guards and may be quite useful in any scenario involving building damage. These may be carried in pockets or sewn descretely into any double stitched seam of any clothing we wear. Just open a small slit in the fabric on the inside of your Jeans outer seam between the rows of stitching that run vertically and slip the zip tie in until the head is all that is left. It should fit snugly and if you want you can take one stitch through the head to hold it in place lightly but not so tightly that you would need a blade to liberate it. You can probably carry about 10 zip-ties this way comfortably. Same is possible in shirts with double stitched seams

Carrying a CD player with head-phones is often quite acceptable. This allows you to carry the CD's and it also allows the opportunity to fabricate or find headphones which have strong enough wire to substitute for snare wire. They may be stiff and bulky as headphones but they will pass if you make them well and the larger diameter wire will actually carry the tunes with less resistance which may make for a clearer sound.

More later

How about a needle?

If magntized, it can be floated and used as a compass while still being used to sew things together.

Bandana
Wear on head as covering from sun.
As hankerchief to clean nose.
As a sponge to absorb dew to collect water source
As a tourniquet
As a bandage

I've got the bandanna covered.

The needle would be considered a "sharp" by security and would be confiscated, would it not? How would you carry a needle in your wallet? Taped to a piece of cardboard or something? Fill me in.

Wow. I am humbled. I thought I was good at repurposing, but you know way more than I do. I'm ready for more ideas. Bring them on.

I can never by mithered with getting stopped and searched at security so I always try to carry no metal at all, if possible. My EDC shoes dont have any metal grommets and I try to wear trousers with no metal studs if i'm travelling abroad. This limits my airport carry. I was thinking about carrying a bone needle or something similar to stop the bother. Any thoughts?

"Mithered?" I've never heard that word before.

I'm not giving up on being prepared just to make it easy on the rent-a-cops. That's exactly what they want. They want you to be fearful. They want you to want to avoid the hassel. They want you to simply chose to be metal-free. That's not for me. I'm going to be as inventive and creative as possible while still being perfectly legal and innocuous.

Oh, mithered is a northern English way of saying bothered.

This just came to my attention FBI Guide to Concealable Weapons They are watching for these but they admit that they cannot see them with current tech at the security checkpoints. If you want to be scared that someone else might be abe to get a weapon on board - go ahead. If you want to try yourself, well, this is the list.

Dang! Now I gotta work on my collection some more!!! <img src="images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

D