Confiscated by TSA. Ever happen to you?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Stand Straight

Stand Straight

Joined
Oct 11, 2013
Messages
823
My son and daughter-in-law are visiting for Christmas. He knows I’m a knife enthusiast so he researched knives for one that I might like as a gift for Christmas. He gift wrapped it (ZT) and put it into his carry-on bag. While preparing to leave Honolulu airport the x-ray saw the knife. TSA confiscated it. My son very loudly wished the airport staff a Merry Christmas which nearly made them miss their flight. :(
Lesson: if you only have carry-on; mail the knife.
My guess is that TSA will have a nice company Christmas party with at least one nice prize for raffle, if it makes it that far.
 
I am so surprised there is no option like shipping it home from the airport. I am certainly no traveler so I am not really up on what's up at airports but I thought there were Fedex and UPS boxes as well as a mail drop off box. Of course they could have recognized it was Xmas and made arrangements to have it placed in with the baggage.

Oh well, TSA SUCKS as usual.............................
 
Has he not flown anywhere in the past 15 years? I'm sorry this happened, but I gotta say, I fly a lot for work, and every single airport I've been in in this country has countless signs that you absolutely cannot miss on the way up to the security line which all make it clear that knives aren't allowed on the plane.

That said, most of the major airports I've been in will allow you to mail your knife home for a fee. At my home airport, they have red mylar bags which you can use for around $10 to mail your knife. Sorry man, and hey, at least he's there with you for the holiday! Merry Christmas, man.
 
TSA just sucks! I travel quite a bit and they can allow one the option of getting out of line and shipping the knife.... someone saw their Christmas gift and obviously didn't give your son that option.

I owned an Emerson Lagriffe for several years and made the mistake of leaving it in my backpack..... Another wonderful donation to TSA....
 
BOHAWG said:
TSA just sucks! I travel quite a bit and they can allow one the option of getting out of line and shipping the knife.... someone saw their Christmas gift and obviously didn't give your son that option.

I owned an Emerson Lagriffe for several years and made the mistake of leaving it in my backpack..... Another wonderful donation to TSA....
Click to expand...

I was in LAX and completely forgot I had my spyderco cali 3 in my edc bag. Told the TSA guy from the start that giving it up was not an option for me....I offered to pay double to have it mailed to my house but it wasn't an option either. Had to check in my carry on.

I agree...all airports should have a mail option or some other way of keeping possession for goods that aren't allowed in the plain.
 
He tried to carry a ZT knife onto a passenger jet?? He's lucky it just got confiscated. Count your blessings he didn't get arrested. They don't mess around with that stuff anymore. Sorry to hear it was taken though, ZT's are nice. Merry Christmas.
 
ak585479 said:
He tried to carry a ZT knife onto a passenger jet?? He's lucky it just got confiscated. Count your blessings he didn't get arrested. They don't mess around with that stuff anymore. Sorry to hear it was taken though, ZT's are nice. Merry Christmas.
Click to expand...

Well, it was a wrapped Christmas present and in the retail box zipped up in his carry-on. If TSA had the option of mailing the knife, they should have made that choice abundantly clear.
I once had a key-chain knife temporarily confiscated while going into a courthouse, but was given a receipt so that I could claim it when I left the building. That made sense.

Thanks all, and to all a very Merry Christmas.
 
ak585479 said:
He tried to carry a ZT knife onto a passenger jet?? He's lucky it just got confiscated. Count your blessings he didn't get arrested. They don't mess around with that stuff anymore. Sorry to hear it was taken though, ZT's are nice. Merry Christmas.
Click to expand...

No kidding. The TSA guys are just doing their jobs. That's it. And it isn't like there isn't dozens of signs on all manner of language, including pictograms with red circles and a slash going through guns, knives, etc., all the way up to the check in point. When I traveled last, they even had the warnings in English and Spanish playing as a recording on the PA system. Over my travels in the last ten years, it seems there have been great pains taken to ensure that no one brings weapons (ZERO TOLERANCE doesn't exactly sound like old Granpa's whittling knife, does it?) on planes. Warnings on TV, talking heads beating up the subject, radio hosts chewing it up on occasion for a couple of hours... seems to me the message is clear.

Simply check in your knife with your luggage.

Many airports have FedEx or UPS vending machines that you dispenses a bag and tag, and you put your knife in the bag and ship it home if you don't want it in your luggage. I found this out when I forgot about my corkscrew purchased on a wine country tour that I left in with the wine bottles. I stepped out of line, ran like a demon to the complete opposite side of the terminal, hit the FedEx machine, then ran all the way back to make my flight. It was really close on timing as they made me start over in line to be checked, but it worked.

As noted, he was lucky he wasn't arrested. Still, sorry about the knife. That really sucks.

Robert
 
Every since 9/11 it's not a secret that many items are on the "not allowed" list for carry on luggage. It's been all over the news over the last 10 years or so (crazy things that people try to take on a flight, including guns, ice picks, knitting needles, etc.) knives is possibly in the top 2. Gift wrapping or not, it's still a knife (seen as a weapon) and could be used despite the wrapping. As mentioned, luckily no one was arrested.
 
That sux, however unless.you live under a rock even children know what u can/can't bring on a plane. My ex worked for tsa for a while. Couldn't take how dumb most people really were. No one reads, everyone thinks they're special rules don't apply to them. Two deadly words uttered by the masses "I THOUGHT". Again sorry that confiscation was only recourse and sorry the giver didn't know better. At least he's sharing your company this am as opposed to other possible outcomes. Happy happy to all, n safe travels
 
My GF at the time forgot and had a Leatherman Micra I had purchased for her in her purse while trying to fly. They let her mail it home, albeit at a high cost. I wonder if better knives do not get this option.

I am about to fly Sat. I am wanting to bring presents for family which could include a number of knives. A check bag is $25. Two day trip. Still, it would be worth it if I felt secure that all the items would make it safely.

I'm not gifting knives I guess. I'll carry on.
 
Last edited:
The TSA is a pathetic joke that is nothing more than a facade to make fools feel safe. They shouldn't be taking anything that belongs to you, ever. Theatrics and theft.
 
While I'm not a fan of the TSA I support the policy of absolutely no weapons on a plane. If you try to take a knife, etc. on a plane it should be stopped...perhaps if they "cared" about passengers they could/should offer mailers for such items...and confiscated.
It is our responsibility to be aware of the rules and what we carry when we fly.
 
Sounds like the TSA was simply doing their job. Should they allow dynamite on board - so long as it's gift wrapped?

Expensive lesson learned but he got off easy.

Eric
 
A pocket knife is not a weapon, and there's no way to access something from a checked bag while in flight. Remember when people used to check firearms at the airport?

At some places now, they will break into your car, search it and take anything they deem necessary while you are away. They'll even leave you a little note saying they've done so… I honestly think the TSA was designed to piss people off and annoy to the point where people just throw in the towel and accept having zero rights.
 
As much as it sucks, this is easily avoided. The rules are pretty clear on what can and can't be in carry on luggage, and gift wrapped does nothing to make the prohibited unusable. While I agree much of this is to make people feel safer, and probably doesn't do much to stop a truly determined person, you are in essence agreeing to the posted rules.

Did he ask if there was any option to have it mailed or checked?

All said I had this happen to me once when I was flying more frequently for work. I flew out to a branch office to do an install, checked my knife (a Queen Canoe) on the way out. A shipment of equipment I was there to install got delayed, so I ended up switching to a later flight. I had the knife in my pocket from working earlier in the day and forgot all about it until I got to the checkpoint and tossed it in the XRay line with my keys etc. Nobody made a big deal about it, and I could have made arrangements but didn't have time so I gave up the knife.
 
Airport security in Israel is even more painful than the TSA in the United States. When they found out someone else was in the room when I packed, they searched my entire person and my bag. They thought there were bombs in my sandals... what the hell?

After almost an hour of painstaking searching, they (surprise!) found out I was in fact, not a terrorist. Who would have known?

Whenever I buy or make a knife in Israel I don't even bother bringing it to the airport - they'll confiscate it no matter what, so I just ship it home.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top