Bringing a knife with me in my checked baggage / TSA

D

Dentos

Joined
Oct 18, 2016
Messages
8
First of all, I dont know if this is the right place to put this thread to, I could fit it here after checking others but if I am wrong, please replace the thread.
Also, so sorry if this thread is a duplicate, I used the search section to see if theres any but could not find. Im just 3 days old in the forums so I might be looking to the wrong place, sorry again and please dont hate me.

Hello, I am from Turkey and we cannot bring knives from other countries thanks to our customs... Its not allowed even if they are not sharpened or even 0.5 inches, doesnt matter. So I have a friend in the States which is coming back in couple of months and this is a chance for me to get a folder, Ive decided on the Benchmade 556-141, its a small knife and I really dont know anything about TSA. It says its allowed in the checked baggage so I am sure that they let us pass but after I saw some threads here, people say they lost some knives to TSA. A while ago when I was in states, after I arrived, I had 2 watches in my baggage and one was missing when I landed. So I am guessing they are randomly picking stuff up or stuff they like? I dont understand how this works but I am in-need of help if you could.

Is there a chance that they will take my knife in the baggage?
Why do they take the knife from the baggage if you know?
And how do I prevent this situation, what do I have to do to make them certainly not take my knife away from me since its going to be my first LE knife and its pretty expencive, I can really not take the risk of that if I have the chance.

Please help me out about this situation and I will really appreciate any help I can get even the small ones. Thanks a lot and have a great day.

Best, Arman.
 
Hi Arman and welcome to BF. First off, don't apologize for asking questions, especially one as complicated as this one :). I travel quite a bit with expensive knives checked in my luggage and I have a system that seems to work OK for me...at least I've never yet had one come up missing.
Dentos said:
Is there a chance that they will take my knife in the baggage?
Click to expand...
Yes, there is always a chance TSA will take something something from your baggage. TSA is a fairly thankless job and they tend to have high turnover so I've noticed a wide range in the quality and training of the agents.
Dentos said:
Why do they take the knife from the baggage if you know?
Click to expand...
Usually it's as obvious as theft. It's clearly legal to travel with a knife in your checked luggage, so there can really be no other answer.
Dentos said:
And how do I prevent this situation, what do I have to do to make them certainly not take my knife away from me since its going to be my first LE knife and its pretty expencive, I can really not take the risk of that if I have the chance.
Click to expand...
I've had good luck with the following method:
Get yourself a good carry pouch. Something sturdy and with a secure-able zipper. I use this http://www.bladehq.com/item--Maxpedition-R7-Tactical--7072. Put your knife/knives in it and secure the zipper closed using the sturdiest, thickest zip tie you can fit. Take the secured pouch and secure it inside your suitcase to a hold down strap or loop with another zip tie.

If someone is going to steal, they have to cut the zip tie securing the pouch to the suitcase, the zip tie sealing the pouch and then open the pouch.

There's no guarantee that this will work, thieves will still be thieves, but it's enough to give a moment of pause to someone considering theft. They have to think, "if they went to this much trouble to secure this knife, how much trouble would they be willing to go to to get it back?".

I always travel with nail clippers or a SAK Jetsetter, so the first thing I do is open the suitcase, remove the knife pouch and verify the contents...right there in baggage claim. I'm not sure what kind of Customs inspection you might be due upon arrival in Turkey, so check you local laws first.

Good luck and enjoy your new knife!
 
Welcome Arman,

Hacknslash answered the questions pretty well. You are allowed and the TSA will, on occasion, take your stuff anyway.

I do something similar to H-n-S. I put my knives, or whatever I think they might be tempted to steal, into a bag with a note describing what all the items are and what there for. I do this so that the TSA knows I'm not trying to hide anything and also so its obvious I know exactly whats in the bag and that I expect to see it upon reaching my destination. I'm hoping this convinces the TSA to go after someone else's stuff to avoid a headache.

I have no idea if this works as intended or not but so far I have had no problems and I fly 2-4 times a year on average.

Good luck.
 
I will just cut to the chase and say this. If you put a knife in your checked luggage, make sure it's one you won't be too broken up over if it comes up missing at your destination.
 
Hackenslash said:
the first thing I do is open the suitcase, remove the knife pouch and verify the contents...right there in baggage claim.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I mis-spoke. I don't remove the pouch in baggage claim, I verify it's still sealed and connected to the suitcase. No point in spreading underwear all over the airport floor...

Labeling contents, as Kivalo mentioned, is a great idea. I'm going to start doing that too.
 
Just to be clear - if the TSA removes a knife from your checked luggage it is THEFT and not some sort of lawful confiscation. Some jurisdictions have knife size and mechanism laws, like NYC etc, and in those particular airports I cannot speak to the "Transportation Safety Administration" confiscating knives on behalf and under the authorization of some local ordinance, but that is not the question posed by the OP.

I have often traveled with a Benchmade knife inside my checked luggage and it has never failed to be where I left it when arriving at my destination.

You might want to use a cable lock to lock a lockable container to the frame of your luggage, and then use a TSA friendly combination lock on the container.
Then, as noted above, immediately open your luggage on arrival and check to make sure the contents are still intact.

If not, then the TSA would have some explaining to do, since you used their mandated TSA security lock and presumably only their personnel would have access to the contents.

Good luck and welcome to the forum.

best

mqqn
 
If Turkish customs won't let you bring a knife back in your luggage why do you think they're going to let your friend enter the country with one?

It sounds like you're setting your friend up for a really bad time.
 
Getting great advice here, Arman. Take some simple precautions with your checked luggage (don't just throw 'em in there and hope for the best) and you should be (domestically, at least) good to go. The more complicated it becomes for the opportunistic thief, the less likely he/she is to take the risk.
 
I have a Buck 110 as my dedicated airline knife. Not expensive at all, easy to replace, and fully capable of anything I'd need from a folding knife.

I also try to make it as unappealing to take my property as possible. I usually put it inside a few old socks, no one wants to go through your socks so you're pretty safe!
 
I found a small lockable box with a cable that can wrap around the luggage frame. I've used it a couple times. Before I had that, I'd put a zip-tie through the lanyard hole and through the laces of my shoes, or stuff it in with the deodorant, razor and toothbrush in my zipped 'bathroom' bag.

I like the idea of wrapping it in old socks. I seem to remember a website selling a 'dirty underwear' gimmick that had a zippered pouch included, which really looked like a skid-marked pair. They marketed it for stuffing cash or similar, but I think a small knife would fit.

I've also heard of folks breaking down an knife into blade and handle, and putting them each in a separate place within the luggage.
 
There is a knife law and regulation forum for these types of questions. I had the same question just a few months ago. I was worried about bringing my Chris Reeve knives through TSA and still decided against it, but I do often check-in my sub $200 folders.
I've had no issues so far. Simply wrap it in a paper towel or something, rubber band it, put it in a bag even (just make it notable and stands out) but put it deep in the luggage. You should have no issues with this, however there is always risk when flying so it's ultimately up to you. I'd do it.
Sorry to hear about your watches. Theres always a few bad apples in the bunch but I wouldn't let them scare you off.

Definitely do not ask your friend to lock the luggage, they will break this lock and might even find more reason to get annoyed and take your stuff.

LOL just read that another member zip ties their knife to an area in the luggage. This is not a bad idea, I'll probably try to do that next time.
 
Oh my, thank you a lot for these awesome infos, people. I did not expect this much help to be honest but you guys are awesome.

Also I always fail to quote somehow so I will not this time.
About making my friend bringing the knife, its not illegal to keep a single under 3 inch blade in the checked baggage and its allowed. Knives are not illegal in Turkey, we do have all the brands and stuff in shops and stuff, only problem is the customs of most EU countries especially Turkey is very strict about these stuff. But Ive brought a lot of knives from foreign countries myself, even the airport laws let us only in the checked baggage so no worries bout that. I am only worried about the TSA people taking it away but honestly, I have no other chance to bring the LE ones since they never appear to be in Turkish shops especially the ones with very limited stock, even if they do, they are like 5x expencive.

Again, thanks a lot for all the information and especially thanks a lot to @Hackenslash for his time to write all that down.

My best, Arman.
 
Another precautionary measure available is picking up some seal stickers and sticking them over closed lid edge. Sealed.
 
Once I flew from California to Utah to visit an old friend. When I pulled up at the airport there were Skycaps and TSA inspectors waiting in front of the terminal. My bags were inspected by TSA and turned over to the airlines before I ever walked inside. TSA did take the time to place a seal on my luggage at the time of inspection.

I have never experienced anything like this any other time. The seals were still in place when I picked up my luggage. Anyone else ever see anything like this?
 
sabre cat said:
Once I flew from California to Utah to visit an old friend. When I pulled up at the airport there were Skycaps and TSA inspectors waiting in front of the terminal. My bags were inspected by TSA and turned over to the airlines before I ever walked inside. TSA did take the time to place a seal on my luggage at the time of inspection.

I have never experienced anything like this any other time. The seals were still in place when I picked up my luggage. Anyone else ever see anything like this?
Click to expand...

You will see this with intracontinental travel when checking a firearm in your baggage.

best

mqqn
 
After having a Benchmade AFCK stolen out of my checked baggage by TSA years ago (and FYI, you have ZERO recourse against this), I take loss prevention a bit to the extreme.

To prevent THEFT by our wonderful :rolleyes: TSA agents, I now have a heavy-duty, 3/16" diameter cable lock inside of my suitcase that is wrapped around the steel frame inside the bag. This cable lock is NOT approved by the TSA, however, there is no reason for it to be as there is nothing hiding from view that they cannot inspect.

I only transport pocket knives where I can lock them onto this cable by running it through a hole in the blade (Spyderco, etc.) or through a lanyard hole in the handle (some of my other larger folders), and then lock the cable into the head of the lock (the Spyderco PM2 and Military are perfect for this, because the cable fits through the lanyard hole, AND goes through the Spyderhole in the blade).

This way, an unscrupulous TSA agan't couldn't remove any knife from my bag without some conspicuous-looking, serious trouble, like using a lock cutter to cut the cable, or a handheld drill to remove the rivets from the frame. :thumbup: I haven't had a knife stolen since, knock on wood... :foot:

The lock I use is this one:

Master Lock Python 3/16"

MLCOM_PRODUCT_8417D.jpg
 
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I actually would be more concerned about Turkish security than I am about TSA, but I may be biased.
 
I'm using the master lock python as well. Usually fits through lanyard holes. But could also be threaded around a bar between the scales. In the worst case you could have a thinner metal cable loop through an opening and then pull the lock through the thin metal cable. In any case the lock needs to be fixed to your suitcase. I usually secure it around those internal pipes which contain the pull out handles.

Only this year I managed to bring a few Busses as gifts to India without them miraculously disappearing as has happened before, even within the US and with cheaper blades. I guess the lock works.


Also I never got anything stolen from luggage which had these "inspected by tsa" notes in them. So it's probably the luggage handlers, or the TSA doesn't put notes into luggage they steal from ;-)
 
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I was gonna say hide it, disguise it, or lock it inside the checked bag.

It appears a number of others have already covered those suggestions.
The harder you make it for someone to remove an object, the safer the chances it will be there for you upon arrival.

The lock SpyderPhreak posted looks like a good option provided there is something inside the bag (metal frame, etc.) to secure it to. Additionally, you may wish to investigate the types of retractable cable locks used to secure laptop computers and electronics. I keep at least one of these in my bag to secure my carry-on, etc. when I am resting (cable-tie my bags to a chair, etc.), eating, watching a movie, etc. It only takes a split second for a bag to walk away ...

I would suggest securing the pivot (so the blade is restricted/tight in the handle) and/or possibly taping or zip-tying around the handle preventing the blade from opening.

Optionally, you might just mail to yourself.
 
I carry a $15 Kershaw in my checked luggage. If it gets lost, I pop my head into Wal-Mart and buy another cheap knife. I would never check in an expensive knife.
 
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