Flying With Knives

V

Vivi

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I haven't flown in a while. I know knives aren't allowed to be carried on planes, but what about the handles? The reason I ask is I want to bring my Caly 3 but I thought I'd just take out the blade and put it in my luggage and keep the handle on me to discourage anyone from stealing it if they go through my bags. Would they let me board with a knife handle in my pocket?
 
It's been my experience that any time you think you've got women or TSA figured out, you're in trouble. I've done a lot of flying, usually carrying some sort of stealth blade I shouldn't, but not with actual knives. I've had a few confiscated, it's to be expected. They've tried to take small screwdrivers and pliers, even flashlights, you never know what they'll go after. Knife handles are legal, a bit suspicious, more so in your pocket than carry-on.

Luggage theft usually only happens if it's easy and convenient. They might make an effort for something that stands out. Locks on your luggage stand out. Locks also catch and break on the conveyors all the time, sometimes ripping your zipper out. Luggage thieves usually just unzip, feel around inside the bag, and zip. I've always used zip-ties to secure my zippers. They're cheap, subtle, and unlikely to fail. Of course, you need a nail clipper or knife to remove them yourself, but there are always ways.
 
Newb said:
I've always used zip-ties to secure my zippers. They're cheap, subtle, and unlikely to fail. Of course, you need a nail clipper or knife to remove them yourself, but there are always ways.
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That's a surprisingly good tip. Definetly going to do that next time I fly. :D
 
Do yourself a favor and mail yourself any items you'll want at the other end. Flying commercial is as close as the average citizen gets to being processed for a stay at the county jail.
 
Ijfleming said:
That probably will depend on how alert the security people are. If they pay attention to your keys you could get it confiscated.. It's probably better off in your luggage.

Btw, I want one of those now :eek:
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about 10 bucks at Lowe's, I like mine.:D
 
I have an inexpensive Kershaw (~$10) that I keep in my shaving kit which is checked through. If I accidentally leave it in my pocket when I fly out, I'm only out $10.

ric
 
I've flown with decent knives in my checked luggage. Not custom but decent. I roll them up in a pair of socks, stuff the socks in a shoe and the shoe goes in a zip lock bag. I also use TSA locks on my bags. I've flown to the UK and around the US and so far so good.
 
i just flew from denver to hawaii last month with my SOG trident just sitting in a side zipper pocket of my checked bags, no problems.
ive flown chicago to rome with knives in my checked bags too, no issues even with customs...
shaving kit is a very good idea though! +1
 
Vivi said:
Would they let me board with a knife handle in my pocket?
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It sounds like a great way to end up owning half a knife.

I think the chances of getting the handle confiscated are much greater than having anything stolen out of your checked luggage.
 
This has been said before. Don't fly with anything you aren't prepared to lose. Period. If you have a knife that is a favorite/sentimental/expensive/etc, leave it at home or mail it to your destination. Recently I had my carry-on pulled apart because on the x-ray they saw a AAA battery and a pair of tweezers together "in a funny position". Trying to board with a knife handle (even empty) in your pocket will call unnecessary attention to yourself and cause delays while you explain what it is. I fly extensively as part of my job and believe me, in today's airports that is the last thing you want. Just my .02
 
I usually keep one in each of my checked luggage. I also have a nail clippers in with my shaving kit in my carry on for opening the zip-ties on my checked luggage.
 
Vivi said:
I want to bring my Caly 3 but I thought I'd just take out the blade and put it in my luggage and keep the handle on me to discourage anyone from stealing it if they go through my bags.
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Another idea would be the take off the blade and put it in another part of your checked baggage. An assembled knife might get nicked as a theft of convenience, but I really doubt any baggage handler or TSA goon would find the handle wrapped up in your jeans, and then the blade over in your shaving kit and put 2 and 2 together and steal both. I'd say doing that would reduce the risk of theft substantially.*



* With that said, I fly in and out of the States about twice a year and generally carry several knives in my checked luggage and have NEVER had any problem.
 
They don't really open up checked bags and go through them, unless the bomb sniffer or X-ray shows something threatening. There are way too many bags for manual searching even a small percentage. I've been in the bag handling rooms under various big airports, it's just conveyor lines and sorting. Like I said, thieves have to quickly unzip and feel around in a bag for something that feels like electronics or valuables, they don't have much time. And there are cameras in most areas. The shaving kit idea is probably safe enough. Avoid expensive looking bags, and I wouldn't bother with locks. The bellies of airliners all have little broken locks in them from the locks snagging on things and snapping off.

I don't check bags myself, it's just too risky. If I'm on a long trip I'll mail a bag, otherwise, I can fit a lot in a carry-on, lived out of them for many years in a previous occupation.
 
Vivi,

Most suitcases have metal frames. I take a knife and cut into the inner fabric so that I can get to the metal frame. Then I put a cable lock around the metal frame and through the Spyderhole on the blade. Then I lock it up and leave it alone. :)

I've wondered about just taking the handle with me too. Technically they can't take it because it's not a knife. :D
 
I really likes the world back in early 2001. Then customs and security people were sane people. I had my Fallkniven F1 in my carry on when flying from Sarajevo. SFOR ID is king when passing airport security :) I managed to get outside the security filters when i had a to wait in München. They discovered my knife in the X-ray. I had to go with one of the ZOLL-guys. He looked at my papers and when he realised that I was military, he just shook his head and said "dont take it on in the plane" and sent me off with my F1 still in my carry on. However when I and the rest of my group (25 Swedish SFOR troops) were to fly from Eagle Base in Tuzla, the US airport people made us go through the security check. What is the point of sending 25 fully armed people through security. We all had assault rifles, 9mm pistols, knives, flak wests, kevlar, multitools, weapon parts and whatnot. Can someone explain why we had to take out all metal from our pockets, just to put it back on the other side of the x-ray machine. We were Swedish soldiers flying home with a Swedish plane. Pathetic.
 
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