Aside from a slow shoving-match over control of the armrest to one's right, there's a lot of spare time if one is flying. I occupied it with "mind-sword", which means that I imagined possible self-defense situations and my response to them. For example, what if someone get a knife onboard? (Which would not be that hard, given the caliber of security at airports. Am I the only one who, as I shuffle forward in my socks, waiting to retrieve my belongings, dreams of challenging them all to an iaijitsu duel? "Taste my watered steel, you dim-eyed troglodyte! I shall send you to the Land of Wind and Ghosts, that your intestines may be eternally devoured by wild boars! Yes, I have two forms of ID.") Well, I've got my bag, which I could use to block it, or a seat cushion, or Being and Time, which might as well make itself useful by taking a cut for me. Any of these things could be used to help avoid being cut. I went through a number of scenarios like this one: multiple opponents, different weapons, different situations. It's a useful exercise in itself, and potentially life-saving. I considered each time what weapons I had, even those things which were perfectly acceptable to carry on.

For example, my crochet hook. Obviously I can jab at the eyes or throat with it, if I hold it like a small stick (fingers wrapped around it, thumb along the line). It makes an decent although not terrific addition to a hammer-fist strike, when held in a clenched fist. Attacks with it to sensitive areas can cause a good deal of pain, although it's not a great weapon for such things, and it does give me a little extra reach.

The hook can be used on the ears or nose of the opponent, for example when grappling. Pulling back on the nose can cause them to raise their chin, giving me an opening for a choke. If I've got a hand, I can hook under the fingernails if they're long enough, causing a great deal of pain. The webs between the fingers are also potential targets, although I find them ineffective and difficult to keep hooked.

The crochet hook as a whole can be used to augment wrist or finger locks, held like a pencil. And this is when it really becomes effective. The middle, ring, and pinky fingers hold while the crochet hook, under the ball of the first finger, is ground against the bone. The pain this causes will keep the opponent from trying to break out directly against the lock, and acts as a potent distraction. The crochet hook can also be used as a fulcrum in certain wrist-locks, allowing one to bend the wrist more easily and preventing removal of the lock. In certain positions it can be driven against the tendons of the arm or wrist to cause pain and to weaken a hold.

Moreover, throwing the crochet hook can be a distraction. Most are metallic and brightly colored, attracting attention even if they will do no damage. The opponent may not know that there's no sharp end.

The crochet hook is an ideal weapon for those self-defense situations which are not deadly: an unfriendly drunk, for example. The pain and increased efficiency of the wrist locks may bring him to his senses, or allow you to control him until he regains them himself. It's not a great weapon against a knife, or even against a bare-handed opponent. You're better off not concentrating on it to the exclusion of other options. But as an unpleasant addition to seizing and controlling, it's excellent.

My brief examination of the crochet hook as a weapon doesn't really do it justice--there's much more to it, especially regarding the wrist locks, to which it is a surprisingly diabolical addition. I'll just leave with this last thought: knitting needles are okay for carry-on, too. Even the circular ones. A man must have a heart of stone not to enjoy those possiblities.