No subject

I found the FTU's recent report on concealable weapons
(http://LB.wnd.com/FBI-weapons.pdf) interesting,
but find that it omitted a few possibilities, viz:

1. The pop-top steel lid on a can e.g., of catfood forms a sharp
edge when removed.  (I have a permenant scar on a finger
attesting to this.)  If half the disc were grasped in a cloth
it could be more effective than several of the items you list.

2. Similarly, the steel lid on e.g., a tuna can forms a sharp (and
flatter, and slightly more rigid) edge when removed with a can opening
tool.  A can opening tool can be very small, e.g., the military-style
can openers, which by itself is not dangerous.  Again, any piece of cloth forms a graspable handle on the resulting sharp-edged disc.

3. Even a beverage can, e.g., from a beer purchased in flight, can be
ripped into a sharp edge, although the thinness of the (typically soft
aluminum) metal makes this less effective than the above.

4. The large knitting (crochet) needles which I believe
the TSA admits could be filed into a sharp point, producing
a spike as effective as some you list.  As these are typically
aluminum, abrading them into a point would not be difficult.

5. It is possible that a skilled knife maker could chip a glass
bottle into a knife while in the restroom, producing something
comparable to the obsidian knife you list.  The production process
might be noisy however, unlike the above.

Comment, which you will no doubt ignore:
Given the facility with which weapons are improvised or concealed,
it might be a better idea to stop motivating the
actors, as distasteful as that might be to some in power.
Although some will enjoy the Israel-like police
state that foreign entanglement will otherwise drag the US
into, and some -perhaps your- careers might even advance faster
under such conditions.

Have a nice day

A. Citizen