Hi there,
I'm trying to source a merchandise item for a combat videogame.

I'm looking for a cheap (three or four dollars), militrary style
survival tool but, due to legal restrictions, it can't have any blades! <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

Does anyone know of such a device?

Thanks,
Dan.

Hmmm. Bladeless survival tool. Sort of like a survival kit without a means of making fire? First aid kit without bandaids or antibiotics? Diving tanks without oxygen?

That is not a survival kit, it is a toy. Of course, understanding that as a given, there could be quite a market for it. Just as long as it is not marketed as actually having the most often needed survival component. That could mislead and lead to death and massive lawsuits if someone believed it.

Given all of that, It could have quite a market, Especially if it was modifiable. Could it have removable pivots that would allow swapping out things like the Leatherman Micra does? At one of the knife/blade forums there was a modified Micra that was only one handle with the blade and other tools in it without the scissors. Quite nifty. You could mix and match components as needed for the situation. Could there be aftermarket blades available for replacing some less usefull thingie? Purchasers could even craft their own add-ins from knives to modified jigsaw blades... Of course, in today's litigeous society, that could lead to quite a few lawsuits all by itself...

Well, for the sake of discussion, it might be worth identifying a few such tools. In certain cases it might be worthwhile to have a tool without a blade and a pair of folding scissors for those times you might be under too close of scrutiny for even a tiny knife blade.

About the best you will do is something like these:
http://www.keychain-tools.com/sebertech.asp

The Sebertech M2 and M3 come without knife blades and are a little over 3" when unfolded

For your purposes I'm sure you could find a cheap clone of this kind of tool in the $3-4 range.

Also for the sake of discussion, in cases like that a card-based tool such as a Tool Logic or a SwissCard could be carried with the blade component removed.

http://www.keychain-tools.com/tl_tld.asp

Although depending on the circumstances this could also be confiscated for having too many suspicious ends being used for screwdrivers.

There was a Coleman tool that had removable components also a while back, the tools were sold in "cartridges" that fit in the knife. This tool's now out of production I'm pretty sure and it seems unlikely you'd be able to find enough parts for it to assemble a "complete" and bladeless tool.

Of course for the DIY types there's always the solution for a removable blade on a quality multi-tool posted on this very site: http://www.equipped.org/alterpst.htm

Thanks as always to noted survival authority Douglas S. Ritter <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

I still doubt you can get on a plane or a cruise ship though, even with a de-bladed leatherman. Anyone willing to try it?

I'm not sure on what legal restrictions you are dealing with, but I can tell you that I had a problem with a Sebertech M2 going through TSA checkpoint. I had thought I might have this figured out, but alas our government "wisdom" prevails--I HATE not having any tools at all with me!

None of the items listed will be allowed on a plane.
Pliers and screwdrivers, excepting eyeglass repair tools, are not allowed.

My Swisstech tool was confiscated - yes that tiny little keychain thing.


www.tsa.gov