How not to keep your wire-cutters from being stolen

If you want to keep your wire-cutters from being stolen, attaching them to something heavy might work -- but not if you attach them with wire.

My boss was tired of our wire cutters getting stolen. I'm not sure this will solve it (via Schneier)

I write books. My latest is a YA science fiction novel called Homeland (it's the sequel to Little Brother). More books: Rapture of the Nerds (a novel, with Charlie Stross); With a Little Help (short stories); and The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow (novella and nonfic). I speak all over the place and I tweet and tumble, too.

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http://technomonk13.tumblr.com/ heath

I believe it can be safely said that this boss has probably advanced as far as he’s going to in this company, and probably, his life…
geolith

Noting plastic sheath. Perhaps it’s hardwired to 240 V line?
- Kibo
  
  Perhaps it’s hardwired to 240 V line?
  
  That was my first thought too. I tend to assume any opportunity for taking things easily is actually some sort of puzzle-based trap designed by Steve Meretzky. My first instinct is to type “LOOK AT CUTTERS” and then if the world prints out “The cutters appear to be harmless” I’ll know they are deadly.
http://disqus.com/Kimmoth/ Kimmo

Actually, I wouldn’t be surprised if this is quite effective. The wire is more of a request than a directive…

At least until some smartarse comes along and pinches them just to make the point.
planettom

I still think this might be effective. Because it’s going to stop the types that walk off with a pen (like me), not consciously embarking on a criminal career. But if you cut the wire… you have sealed your fate.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=551343828 Scott Frazer

As with most pictures on Reddit, it’s best to take the caption with a grain of salt. It’s a funny caption for the picture, but I can imagine several places that this setup would probably be effective enough.

Ski rental counter springs immediately to mind.

Or as I said in the comments over on Reddit: paint it pink. People just don’t steal pink tools.
- Gian Paolo Ilari
  
  ski rental counters use metail chains. :~).
mano

This solution will have overwhelming success against thieves of an equal or lesser competence
backyardfoundry

If this were done by a co-worker, it would look pretty funny for him to have a wire-cutter with a lump of wire still attached (since I’m assuming he doesn’t have anything to cut it with.) So he has to steal it in an obvious way and then remove a distinguishing mark. Or maybe some joker staged this whole thing to get on BB.
princessalex

Why not just untie the wire?
McGauth925

As noted, it’s a good deterrent for basically honest people. And, whoever did it probably did it on purpose, because it’s just too delicious NOT to. I would do something like that on purpose.

I’d like to call attention, though, to how much we just love to criticize others. I see it in myself, I see it here, and in lots of places. The biggest problem we face ISN’T stupidity; it’s our unending need to make ourselves feel better at the expense of others.
milkman

AH WIRE! My only weakness!
CH

Yeah, I would also think this is effective enough for most situations. If somebody actually wants to steal them, sure, that won’t work. But mostly I would guess it’s just the ordinary people borrowing stuff, putting it down somewhere, and totally forgetting to return them.

I used to lend my (own, bought it myself) headset at work, but after I got tired of every single time having to go hunt for them (I lend my headset to x, who lends it to y… gee thanks!… who has no idea where he put it down… maybe in the test area… aaaaaaargh), I just never ever lend my own personal stuff any more… or scissors, there is never any scissors in the office supply room when my scissors once again are MIA, so now I lock them in my office drawer. You want to use my scissors, you use it right next to my desk… and put it back on my desk. I so can relate about the red stapler in Office Space!
awjt

But what if the wire were secretly electrified? Now THAT would be FUN.
Dv Revolutionary

It will work just fine against a large swath of the population. Stop pointing out this security’s weak point your endangering the operation.
Narmitaj

re Kimmo – “At least until some smartarse comes along and pinches them just to make the point.”

Something like that happened to me as a teenager working in a pub. I cycled down from my house, chained up the bike in the car park and went to work. Came out to find the bike still there but the chain was stolen.

On another tack, some people laugh at me (in a minor way) for putting cheap little stickers with my email address on the back of my phone and iPod, on the grounds that these are easy to peel off and so pointless. But I disagree… stealers gonna steal anyway if I happen to lose it, but honest types might find it and get in touch. I did lose an iPod (without a sticker) on a walk once; maybe I would have got it back if I had made it easy for the finder to track me down (and maybe not, of course).

A sticker would have made my life easier when I found a Blackberry (the device) just sitting naked on a path in Cheddar Gorge a few months ago. It was already locked enough that I couldn’t call from it, so it took an effort to look through the address book, find a possible contact, ring her, get her to find a non-Blackberry contact point for the owner and get in touch with him. Would have been easier with an em address stickered on.
- http://disqus.com/Kimmoth/ Kimmo
  
  re Kimmo – “At least until some smartarse comes along and pinches them just to make the point.”Something like that happened to me as a teenager working in a pub. I cycled down from my house, chained up the bike in the car park and went to work. Came out to find the bike still there but the chain was stolen.
  
  Bwaahahahahah, gold : D
http://openid-provider.appspot.com/lordbyteme Lord Byte

Now if your boss stopped attaching everything to wires, his wirecutters might not get stolen so often…
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=5310808 Christopher Locke

I see nothing wrong with this.
Christopher Arthur

Foolproofing at it’s finest.
LegendofPedro

You’re all assuming the wire is to prevent theft. It might be to prevent the cutters from falling.
Tom Hale

Take an electrical cord and JB Weld it to the wire cutter with the plug end of the cord either hidden or inaccessible. Remove the insulation from the handles also. It doesn’t have to actually be plugged in -who would take the chance of getting shocked for a cheap pair of wire cutters.
Scratcheee

This sort of reminds me of a time years ago when I was instructed to lock up a piece of equipment with a cable and lock. For extra security, I was told to wrap the cable around the handle TWICE.

One cable. Wrapped twice.

P.S. I share the opinion that the purpose of the wire in this case is to keep the wirecutters from walking off and getting mislaid somewhere else.
$1207948

Wonderful…!

:-))
bcsizemo

I wouldn’t say it’s to keep it from getting stolen as much as it might be for locating them.

They are always at the end of that wire, which is attached to a point that you know. I mean that wire might be 5 or 6 feet long so they are easily usable, but you’ll always be able to find them.
coop

Love the image.

It works better as a metaphor for stupidity than real criticism though.

When I was in high school I worked at a hardware/lumber store. They carried a wide range of products, including chain, rope and electrical wire. Which, were of course, located in different departments, placed at opposite ends of the store.

Each display had a cutter, but they kept disappearing, not stolen, just put down in the wrong place – usually in ‘house wares’ which was in the centre of the store.

Eventually we put each of the cutters on a leash; electrical had a chain, the chain cutter had a rope and the rope cutter had a wire. Worked well.
- Antinous / Moderator
  
  Eventually we put each of the cutters on a leash; electrical had a chain, the chain cutter had a rope and the rope cutter had a wire.
  
  People who don’t sew tend to underestimate the enormous destructive power of fibers on sharp edges.
Guest

Schomebody schtole my wire schnipperz
http://twitter.com/tomthegeek tomthegeek

via Schneier? Don’t you mean Reddit? http://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/juonf/my_boss_was_tired_of_our_wire_cutters_getting/
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1153257811 Jesse Hamilton

The bolt cutters in the chain aisle at Home Depot are “secured” the same way.
bolamig

keeps the honest people honest, and that aint easy!
http://deanj.org/ deanj

I worked in a hardware store throughout high school and part of college (Miner’s Ace hardware in Grover Beach, CA FTW!) and this is completely fine. All of our cutters were shackled similarly and I’d bet I’m the only one who ever cut the cable (it was too short for some unique task and, I promise, I reattached it when I was done).

First off, if someone wants to steal pliers they’re probably going to go steal the brand new ones off the rack in the tool department and not the 5 year old pair on the leash in the electrical department. This is just to keep the tool where it belongs and not a real security measure.

Second, in the photo this is a pair of wire cutters and they’re leashed by braided steel cable. You’d want cable cutters to cut that. http://www.amazon.com/Klein-63050-2-Inch-Leverage-Cutter/dp/B0000302X1/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1316115297&sr=8-3 Wire cutters will just make a mess of the cable.
D Wyatt

Proof that most bosses have no idea how to do the job of the people below them.
francoisroux

I’m surprised that nobody has said FAIL yet?