Sal - A TSA Compliant Knife Please

The one country that does aviation security right is Israel, imho.I have read that the only reason for this proposed change is to be more in line with international aviation security standards.I have gone through TSA security with a tiny bic lighter with no problem only to have it confiscated the same day at a different airport.This has happened several times.I wouldn't be the least bit surprised at the first minor incident with this new policy that the TSA would change the rules entirely.Spyderco already makes quality tiny little key chain knives but to design a knife just to satisfy the TSA's spec's would sorta be like having the inmates running the asylum.Just my opinion.:)
[video=youtube;YNO-AzPxS4U]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNO-AzPxS4U[/video]
 
Right now we're still "thinking" about it. Any time there is a shift in knife law, markets are affected. This is a knife law shift, which opens up a new market ........for some.

Company's like Victorinox and Leatherman have been servicing that type of knife a long time, and do a good job. There's nothing wrong with a good quality traditional folder. And there are many good companies, even in America, that produce them; Case Ontario, Queen.... It's a new market for those not already producing knives that will work for the legal shift. We think our bug and Honeybee comply, but we'll need a ruling to be sure.

As mentioned, we wouldn't try to move a new product into the Golden queue until we can catch up.

Also always interesting to see what government powers come up with as laws. Always interesting to see how our industry reacts to those changes in laws.

sal
 
One would think ( common sense being a contributing factor ) in such matters as this new proposed shift in TSA ruling that existing models in the Spyderco line of key chain knives would be compliant.:)
 
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Sal Glesser said:
As mentioned, we wouldn't try to move a new product into the Golden queue until we can catch up.

sal
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Thanks Sal,I'm looking forward to buying a second Para2 just to keep for " back up " when they become available again.What a great knife that is!:thumbup:
 
Sal Glesser said:
We've begun a design, but the retrictions are really restrictive.

We can still offer a better steel, but innovation has been linited.

sal
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Sal Glesser said:
There's nothing wrong with a good quality traditional folder.
And there are many good companies, even in America, that produce them; Case Ontario, Queen....

As mentioned, we wouldn't try to move a new product into the Golden queue until we can catch up.

sal
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What you mention about a better steel sounds great.
The problem is that you usually need to go custom if you want a traditional with a great steel, and feel there would be a good market for a production traditional with a great steel.

I realize its not Spyderco's niche, but a production traditional with a great steel would sell well. Also realize Golden is having trouble keeping up with the great products you now offer, and understand a traditional may never be possible.
 
How about airlines running knife and non knife flights?
How about one air line running knife flights and the rest
run non knife flights?
Let the people decide for them selves and see how it turns out.
 
How about airlines running knife and non knife flights?
How about one air line running knife flights and the rest
run non knife flights?
Let the people decide for them selves and see how it turns out.
 
button said:
How about airlines running knife and non knife flights?
How about one air line running knife flights and the rest
run non knife flights?
Let the people decide for them selves and see how it turns out.
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Its a good idea...in theory. The problem is once again the human element. You are trusting individuals who are about to face substancial cuts to implement a policy that only increases the already tedious workload for those remaining. That and airline flights must fit within a certain window at certain airports per the FAA and based on the the particular model of plane, # of passengers etc...a lot of which has been set in stone for quite some time. To undue this all now would be, well, a nightmare at best. This is the same reason the double decker airbus never really took off here at airports. Too many time slots would have to be changed to accomodate one set of planes, which is a financial nightmare. In that time you could have say, three 737's take off and arrive at a terminal in the time one airbus double decker could. Sorry to get off topic, so I would think it is still a wait and see on a spyderco rendition per Sal. It is really too early to speculate now.
 
button said:
How about airlines running knife and non knife flights?
How about one air line running knife flights and the rest
run non knife flights?
Let the people decide for them selves and see how it turns out.
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You could come up with a thousand "this on this flight, not on that" type scenarios. Knives or not would be very very low on the majority of people's care scale. Kids and no kids flights might work though.
 
shawn_ray said:
What exactly is the point of this thread? Does the OP really want Spyderco to build a knife so you just can use a Spyderco in a plane? What??? Who really needs a pocket knife during his flight? Buy a SAK if you really need to cut something on a plane...
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It's not expressly about having a cutting tool on a plane, but more about being able to take your cutting tools with you with carry on luggage. If you're going on a short trip, most people simply take carry on luggage. I know personally, it is very annoying to not be able to bring even a small SAK with me.

Personally, after the new guidelines are enacted, I would still only bring a knife that I would not miss if it was confiscated or lost. Vic Classic, Tinker, etc.
 
BoxANT said:
It's not expressly about having a cutting tool on a plane, but more about being able to take your cutting tools with you with carry on luggage. If you're going on a short trip, most people simply take carry on luggage. I know personally, it is very annoying to not be able to bring even a small SAK with me.

Personally, after the new guidelines are enacted, I would still only bring a knife that I would not miss if it was confiscated or lost. Vic Classic, Tinker, etc.
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The Victorinox Tinker has a 68 mm main blade. The TSA limit is 60 mm. I measured mine. Seems too restrictive to me. As somebody posted on another (non knife) forum, "After 9/11 you could take Excalibur on a plane and you wouldn't be able to hijack it." Passengers who know they will all die if they do nothing are capable of amazing things. And cockpit doors are hardened, too.

Think about it. How many commercial flights originating in the USA were hijacked pre 9/11? How about since then? An aware flying public is one huge contributor to this change.
 
The media or TSA wouldn't come out and say this but this new rule is about basically one knife,the Victorinox Classic.The airlines and flight crews don't want passengers boarding their planes with any knife imho.As a passenger on a commercial flight you're in an environment that's not a democracy,something that actor Alec Baldwin still hasn't figured out.:eek::)
 
skyhorse said:
The media or TSA wouldn't come out and say this but this new rule is about basically one knife,the Victorinox Classic.
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I agree. A few other knives may coincidentally fit within the requirements, but it's pretty clear to me that the TSA are doing everything they can to not allow anything other than keychain SAKs on planes, what with the rules about blade width and "molded" handles.
 
Sal Glesser said:
Hi Cactus,

We've begun a design, but the retrictions are really restrictive. A "stick" handle like a SAK, a thin blade with a "trademark" non functioning hole. All of the features that we work hard on; locks, ergonomics, one hand open, etc. have been eliminated. We can still offer a better steel, but innovation has been linited.

sal
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Sal:

Apparently Emerson is working on a knife (called the Hummingbird) that will use their "double detente" system to keep the blade open as well as closed, and that doesn't violate TSA's restriction on "locking" because it's not actually a lock. The knife has that elliptical hole in it, that's their trademark (or maybe that horizontal thumb stud is their trademark). I'm not sure if they have a patent on the double detente, but I know they license their wave to you. I don't think they're going to wave their TSA knife, though. That would probably be a deal-breaker.

Update: Actually I just looked at the picture of it, and it has a semi-ellipse hole.

(BTW, really looking forward to that Karahawk. It's really getting tough to find a good karambit, especially for small to middle-sized hands. I have an Emerson but wouldn't mind having a Karahawk with S30V or something.)
 
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