Checked luggage and knives...

[FoxholeAtheist]

Gollnick: This is a friend of mine that I know pretty well. She and her hubby are both in the SCA and have an appreciation for cutlery. They also do some catering jobs on the side. I'm pretty sure that they'll see it as a beautiful and useful tool, and not in the superstitious light...

On the other hand, her married name will be Akasuki Goldstein.

I'm pretty sure that I'm going to end up shipping the knives down. It will be less hassle at the airport, but (more importantly) it sounds like a more certain way to get the knives to the destination.

 

[Gollnick]

I'm pretty sure that I'm going to end up shipping the knives down... it sounds like a more certain way to get the knives to the destination.

I don't know about that. There's plenty of threads around here from people who have lost knives to shipping companies including cases where the package was obviously deliberately opened.

People like to ballyhoo the airplane case because it's an opportunity to bash on the TSA and everyone hates the TSA.... but, in fact, my guess is that when knives are stolen from checked baggage, it's the unseen baggage handlers more often than not.

My favorite story seen here a few years ago was the member who shipped a sewing machine via UPS with full insurance. It arrived with the box bashed in and the machine damaged. UPS refused to pay. Why? Because they claimed it was inadequately packed. How did they know it was inadequately packed? Well, it got damaged didn't it? The fact that it got damaged proved that it was inadequately packed and, therefore, not covered for damage. That's the tightest ship in the shipping business for you.