Leatherman Wave used by Sept. 11 terrorists

3REDUCK

3REDUCK

Joined
Feb 18, 2003
Messages
142
Saw on the news last night that the Sept. 11 terrorists used Leathermans when they took over the planes. There was also a clip of some members of congress passing around a Wave during the Sept. 11 commission presentation. Very sobering and unfortunate for a company as great as Leatherman to be dragged into that whole mess. Why couldn't the terrorists just use a p.o.s. multi-tool?
 
I have never been a conservative but I certainly agree with the gun lobby's argument that a tool is neutral, it the actions of it's users that are good or evil. Would we hate Bic Pens if the hijackers had stabbed the passengers with ball points? Leatherman has nothing to be ashamed about.
 
The clip that I saw said "they almost certainly used"

Is that almost as in almost pregnant, or almost as in almost pissed myself?
 
So what if they used a leatherman? The tool didn't make them do it. Before the security panic started, I used to fly with my full EDC complement, which included a locking folder, a multitool, and a neck knife. Most of the other passengers had pocket knives too, but I didn't notice anyone trying to take over the plane under the command of their 'evil weapons'. If people had more freedom to carry such things, hijackings like 9/11 would be LESS likely to happen; there'd be a plane full of people with the means to resist... but the government's not known for its intelligence...
 
I have serious doubts about the validity of the 911 Comm. anyway, seeing as how the Comm. Chairman Thomas H. Kean has strong business ties to Khalid Bin Mafouz....brother in law of Osama Bin Laden.

Hmmm.............
 
And if the terrorists had used some POS knockoff brand, would the commission bother to pass that around and the news report it? :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:
 
anthony cheeseboro said:
Would we hate Bic Pens if the hijackers had stabbed the passengers with ball points? Leatherman has nothing to be ashamed about.
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That is the EXACT thought I had when I saw the subject of this thread.

As for using a knockoff multitool, they'd probably still be calling it a Leatherman just so people would know what they're talking about (or due to their own ignorance). It's like Kleenex, Rollerblade, Palm Pilot, etc. -- a brand name that becomes so well known it gets used in place of the proper generic term - tissue, inline skate, PDA. Multitool = Leatherman to many people no matter how many other companies are making them.
 
The public seems to forget that prior to 9/11 citizens could travel with knives and multitools. Blades less than 4" long were ok under federal regulations. I got on many flights with my full complement of edcs which at the time were a spyderco police, military, Emerson CQC7, and a LM wave/supertool. I'll never forget watching Ollie North on Fox after 9/11 going on and on about how he was able to fly with a dangerous LM multitool and how the public safety was not being served by allowing people to fly with such dangerous implements. Screw North. I am somewhat disgusted now by the plaintiffs' lawyers release of video on CNN showing the 9/11 terrorists being allowed to board even though they set off the metal detectors with their box cutters. There is no mention that prior to 9/11 the box cutters were ok. IMHO this is not a failure of security, but perhaps of policy given the federal regs.
 
metallicat said:
The public seems to forget that prior to 9/11 citizens could travel with knives and multitools. Blades less than 4" long were ok under federal regulations. I got on many flights with my full complement of edcs which at the time were a spyderco police, military, Emerson CQC7, and a LM wave/supertool.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't know about this. Before 9/11, I almost always got stopped at the metal detectors because there was something on me that was setting it off. I don't know how many times I was wanded and how many jackets, sweaters and other items I had to remove in order to get through the metal detector. Only one of the many reasons I hated flying even before 9/11. The one time I did get a knife through the security checkpoint, it was by accident. I had a Vic SAK that I had forgotten was in my travel watercolor kit. That went through the x-ray, though. If it had been on my person I know it would have set off the stupid metal detector and I would have been stopped. In fact, I probably was stopped because of a zipper or something on that same trip.
 
Moondrop said:
As for using a knockoff multitool, they'd probably still be calling it a Leatherman just so people would know what they're talking about...Multitool = Leatherman to many people no matter how many other companies are making them.
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Interestingly, I know a lot of people in the theater trade in North Jersey and New York who refer to multitools generically as "Gerbers" or "Gerber tools".

Apparently they're popular among theater techs.

Oh, and TLC, you're clear that the Bin Laden _family_ is almost entirely made up of pro-Western businessmen who've disowned Osama for hurting their relationship with the American cash cow, right?
 
What the hijackers used as weapons is trivia. Their primary weapon was an aggressive, confident mindset, which causes most folks to do as they're told.
 
You cannot hijack a airplane with knives unless the crew and passengers are instructed not to resist. Now that we expect the hijackers to crash the plane if they gain control they would be overwhelmed by the passengers even if they carried 6" switchblades.

When my wife first asked me how the hijackers could have done it. I said flipply all it would take is a half-dozen guys with pointy sticks given the then prevailing directions to not resist hijackers. Now it would be nearly impossible. A Leatherman just wouldn't cut it anymore. :rolleyes:
 
The publicity could actually help the sales at Leatherman. We live in a society known for wanting what we cannot have. Anything taboo seems to be more desireable. Look at switchblades, just mentioning them sets off a desire for them. Then again we also have alot of paraniod dorks that think we shouldn't be allowed to have anything in their mind that can hurt someone else. Funny, I've never had a knife jump up and say, " I'm gonna cut your ass". :)
Scott
 
I heard the hijackers slit a flight attendants throat in front of everybody to make an example. Then ive heard that they said they were taking the plane to the middle east and everybody would be fine. The point is go down fighting no matter what.
 
Its just attitude and knowledge that picks the winner in that scenario of 9 /11.One group of people on one of the planes bowed up and decided to fight.Yeah they died but so did the people on the other planes.At least they fought and died saving other lives on the ground!
The other planes were overtook and destroyed with many civilian casualities!
The difference I think was reaction time and attitude!
As far as the government goes with its metal detectors get real!
Empower your people to stop the bad and it will happen!
I flew the day planes were allowed in the air again after 9/11 and the plane was almost empty!On my returning flight 3 days later I was detained by security because I had a small fingernail clipper in my pocket(Im a chef so I had about 8 big knives in a knife bag going onto luggage also)! They ended up braking the file off of the clippers and allowed me to pass!
Wow, the plane is safe now? Not!
Security means taking care of what is happening around you. So all I can ever say is do not back down!Doug.............
 
Hi All-

Knives and multi-tools will never carry a bad stigma due to these dirtbags. At least folks who live beyond a soundbite.

~ Blue Jays ~
 
Razorback - Knives said:
The publicity could actually help the sales at Leatherman. We live in a society known for wanting what we cannot have. Anything taboo seems to be more desireable. Look at switchblades, just mentioning them sets off a desire for them. Then again we also have alot of paraniod dorks that think we shouldn't be allowed to have anything in their mind that can hurt someone else. Funny, I've never had a knife jump up and say, " I'm gonna cut your ass". :)
Scott
Click to expand...

If I call correctly the sales of the large Kissing Crane knife went through the roof following a very newsworthy murder in the US some years ago.
 
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