Flying with knives in checked luggage - do you worry about theft?

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knifeperson

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What are your thoughts and experience with traveling with your knives? I have heard many tales of valuables disappearing from checked luggage and was wondering what to do about this. I'm about to go on vacation and would love to bring my good (Chris Reeve) knives in my suitcase but wonder if I need to worry about it. Do you guys bring your Sebenzas and Umnumzaans with you? Do you have tricks to make it more likely arrive with you? Had any bad experiences? I recall a bike trip I took last year and one of my companions said his Leatherman tool was not in his toilet kit when he got to the hotel. And my CRK stuff is worth ten times as much! What to do - just travel with cheaper knives?
 
I don't check luggage, so my travels are knife-free.

Though, I have mailed myself DE razor blades on occasion. Which makes me think that insured services (FedEx,UPS,USPS) are safer than packing knives in checked luggage.
 
Yes, knowing how some TSA officers are I don't normally fly with knives. But then again you could get lucky but I still wouldn't risk it.
 
I traveled to Denver on business recently with some fairly decent knives (benchmade, spyderco) in my checked baggage; put them in socks and then in some shoes. No one bothered them, but that doesn't mean I wasn't worried about them the whole time. Just weighed that worry level against me not having some knives I was comfortable with in a strange city. Shame that we have to make that trade-off these days....
 
I'm old enough to remember getting on a plane with my knife in my backpack and lighting a cigarette in the smoking section, now I wouldn't fly with my knife anywhere on the plane and we know how the smoking thing went.
 
bull4242: Right, my feeling exactly. I carried a Sebenza overseas once and later wondered whether that was really a good idea. Since they can see what's in your suitcase with the x-ray, I was thinking that a the x-ray profile of a knife could cause a TSA inspector to search for it in the luggage. Then when they saw how "nice" it was, it might end up in his or her pocket. And putting it into a sock wouldn't help with that.

That's what I was getting at in my original quote: if you stuffed it into something that was opaque to x-ray (i.e. a metal container) then it might go undetected. Yup, it's pathetic we have to protect ourselves from the ones who are supposed to be helping us.
 
You're a brave one flying with your sebbie!! Certainly, any unscrupulous TSA could potentially make out pillaging searched bags...I'm not ready to think about that yet. I just travel with some OK, midrange knives and hope for the best--not much of a strategy, huh?? And to think, this type of travel is what my spyderco co-pilot was invented for :eek: Long rants are possible on this subject (and will likely occur, deservedly), but the facts are: if you have to travel, you have to find a way--at least for now.
 
My advice is don't bring your knives on vacation. Ken Onion had his knives stolen from his checked luggage a while back. I would leave your beloved knives at home--Please.

I moved from Tokyo back to the states and I had a bunch of Bark Rivers I had to check. For security I bought a thick wire with loops on each end and threaded it through the metal frame of the luggage. Then strung the knives through the wire through the lanyard holes and padlocked the ends of the loop. Then I wrapped up the knives in a pouch with the wires hidden as much as possible. My thought was to make it as difficult as possible to remove the knives. Anything loose can quickly be pocketed. I would do something similar if you absolutely have to take the knives with you, but really, I think it is best if you leave the CRKs at home. My knives got home safely but still I was concerned. There is also a possibility the bag just might get lost entirely.

xtal said:
...insured services (FedEx,UPS,USPS) are safer than packing knives in checked luggage.
Click to expand...


The insurance for lost luggage with an American airline is not that much (around $300 if memory serves) which is not going to cover a single lost Chris Reeve let alone multiple ones.

Travel with knives you can afford to lose.
 
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I have never had anything stolen from luggage, and I have never lost any luggage, in 35 years of air travel. However I will not pack anything expensive in my checked luggage unless I absolutely have to. Typically when we resort to flying we are going to a destination where the knife laws are suspect so I typically carry just a Leatherman. I have some lower priced knives that I would carry if I wanted to take a real knife.
 
As mentioned in similar threads, I turn my folders into knife kits. Blade in one check in suitcase, handle in another. Screws, bushings, springs, washers, spacers, assembly tools, etc. can be carried on in a sandwich bag. Thieves are opportunistic. Reduce their opportunities.
 
I would not worry about theft........I would worry about TSA taking it before it ever got that far.
 
Can't bring it onboard and I wouldn't even think of checking a bag with a nice knife in it. If you have to have one check a throw away OR buy one on vacation and mail it home.
 
One option is to remove the blade from the handle.

Then you pack the blade into your checked in baggage and carry on the handle.
 
Sorry for jumping in with my first post being about this topic. I frequently fly with checked bags and almost always throw in a small, cheap Kershaw or something similar. I've arrived at my destination several times, opened my bag, and found my small folder had been very purposely placed dead center on top of everything else.

I took to mean that my checked bag had been X-rayed and the knife investigated. I wouldn't ever travel with an expensive knife because in addition to theft I think the TSA could easily come up with some other reason to confiscate a very expensive "potential weapon" regardless of the fact that it is entirely legal for me to have it.
 
I have traveled literally hundreds of times...I will usually put my small sebenza in the pocket of a pair of jeans pretty deep in my suitcase, my quark Ti mini 123 in the pocket of yet another pair of pants, and never had a single problem, nor has my suitcase ever been disturbed. I do, however, always have my CCW checked in my suitcase.....this also may be a reason that no one messes with the bags as they realize me, the airline, TSA, etc are all aware of the valuables inside ...
 
You all are scaring me out of flying with my quality steel. Is airline security that corrupt? Or is this as rare as bigfoot?
I would throw a $hitFit if even my $100 knives didn't show up upon landing, much less my babies.
And I can't even go to the bathroom without fondling my knives, so I have to pack something.
The take-down / separate idea would work great IMO.
 
HuntBomb said:
Or is this as rare as bigfoot?
Click to expand...

Not rare. My cohorts and I have 30% travel jobs. I had a Spyderco taken from my checked bag flying out of Lambert (that sh*thole of an airport in St. Louis) and a Blackberry taken flying out of Philly. My boss has also had items "removed" from his bag. You can complain all you want to, the TSA doesn't care. Ultimately, the lack of accountability within the TSA with regards to "small item" theft is the root cause of all of the issues people are having with things disappearing from their luggage.
 
MVG said:
One option is to remove the blade from the handle.

Then you pack the blade into your checked in baggage and carry on the handle.
Click to expand...

Just double-check before trying it. A friend bought some grips for his 1911 at a show, and since they were "firearm components" and he didn't pre-report them, the TSA wouldn't let 'em on. Luckily he had time to run to the post office and mail 'em.
Now, whenever he buys knives at a distant show, he mails them to himself the day before he flies home.

I flew once with a Leek in my checked baggage. It arrived just fine, but I brought it because it's my least expensive blem that I consider acceptable to EDC.

Had 2 SAK Classic's confiscated at 2 different airports when they were still on my keychain. That's the original reason I don't carry that way anymore.
 
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