Small Knife Safe for Air Travel

northgull

northgull

Joined
Jul 30, 2003
Messages
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I'm searching for a small knife safe for airtravel.. something that can be place in checked luggage, locked, to secure a good folder for carry at the next location. Any thoughts? :confused:
 
The TSA will destroy the lock or the whole safe to check inside. It's not worth the hassle for you to even bother. Declare it at check in so you can get insurance reimbursement when the TSA steals it.

Phil
 
Moving to Blade Discussion....

You can bring any knife you want in checked luggage. You might want to avoid bringing anything difficult to replace, though, since checked bags and their contents have been known to disappear....
 
Wait a minute ... I misunderstood you. I thought you were asking about a small knife that would be safe to bring in checked luggage ... now I realize you're asking about a small safe that you could put a knife inside. Okay, this does belong in Gadgets & Gear -- but Phil is right, they will insist on opening the safe if they can't x-ray through it....
 
This may be a crazy idea but what if you took a clear locking plexi box and attached it to the frame of your suitcase. The inspectors could see in it but could not open or remove the box.
Patrick
 
Hey, that clear locking box is a great idea! :D I'll have to remember that.

I imagine it would be the perfect way to transport knives, or anything else of higher-than-marginal value.

DD
 
Thanks for the replies. Makes me believe the best bet is to buy one at my destination or, FedEx one to my hotel from home and do the reverse when leaving. I trust the TSA personnel about as much as I do some boob off a chain gang!
 
I had no problems on my recent trip to Atlanta. I had sent some stuff ahead to my hotel and that was no problem. I had the TSA inspect my bag at the check-in and that seemed to work fine and eliminated having the bag opened out of my presence.

Upon leaving Atlanta I decided to just risk not doing the personal check-in and handed my bags over. Upon arrival home I noticed they had been opened and gone through but everything was still there.

I understand that you can ask to have them inspected by a supervisor and then sealed with special TSA tape. Might be worth a try. Otherwise, carry a handgun.......you'll have to lock it up and you can put your knives with it. :D
 
phatch said:
...when the TSA steals it.....
Click to expand...

Several people have mentioned this over the past few months. Personally, I think that if anything goes "missing" from your luggage it happens a bit further down the line - not at the TSA check-in. Maybe I've just been lucky, but all the TSA agents I have encountered over the past year have been very polite, professional, and accommodating - and I've never been refused an inspection of my luggage while I watched.

I just returned from Atlanta with a few very nice (!) knives in my checked luggage. The TSA agent who took my bag in Atlanta just asked me to confirm that it was my bag and that I had packed it; then, without opening the bag, or sealing it, he sent it through the x-ray. When I arrived home in Toronto, the bag had NOT been sealed, it had NOT been searched, and all my knives were exactly in the same position and without the "marks" having been violated.

(and if you think TSA people look and act like "boobs", you should have a look at some of the "security experts" at Canadian airports. Scary. :rolleyes: )
 
Life is about variety and compromise. That being the case, I bought a Kershaw Vapor and either use it or one of my Cold Steel medium Voyagers in my check bag when I have to travel by plane. I stow it in my shaving kit usually with a Victorinox Mechanic. So far nobody has gone far enough to steal from my shaving kit which is full of other metal bits. I haven't found any real disadvantages to this approach except the main knife isn't as cool as what I'd have if I wasn't flying, but it's still very servicable. It's a compromise from the high end folder (Benchmade, CRK, Microtech, Al Mar), Cybertool 29, WAVE and Micra that I carry normally EDC but it's actually a quite useful pair.

I also carry a small set of Gatco Crock Stix so it's no big deal if I occasionally need to touch up the softer steels than my normal EDC knives have. The Vapor works amazingly well for a $20.00 knife. The Cold Steels a little better still. It's kind of like going back to my roots.

John
 
Thanks, John.. I like the idea of placing the "travel knife" in a shaving kit. Think you are right on the money about taking along a "compromise knife" vs a really high quality knife. I'd really hate to lose my Sebenza, Mercworx Lachesis or Clotho or, Atwood Model 1 folders.
 
I put a padlock through my Spyderco's on one trip. Then I locked it to my bag. You could see it, but it would have taken a while to cut it loose.
:)


Blades
 
I wiretie all my check in bags. I also inform the TSA agent at the scanner that my bag is sealed to thwart theft.

I ask that if they need to be examined, they be gone thru there, and resealed with the extra ties I carry.

When flagged, they have always been cool about it, and checked and resealed my bag(s) in my presence.
 
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