TSA baby-steps it towards more rational policy concerning knives on planes

Well, it's a bummer that 91mm SAK will not be permitted by this (even though the picture they give seems to show one). Heck, I don't even think the Cadet's blade will fly, even though the actual cutting surface is < 5.5cm. I mean, they may allow it, but I'd hate to have my Cadet confiscated...

Hopefully this new change will create a demand for a 91mm SAK with *no* large blade, just the small blade. It'd be great if they came out with 2,3 and 4 layers with no large blade so we can once again fly with a SAK in our pocket. Glad that I'll be able to pack my Rambler or Classic, but really hope to have something bigger as well.
 
It's not much of a deal to shorten the blade on a 91mm (closed) SAK. Just be sure to put a little retractable tape measure on your keychain to demonstrate that you have rendered the knife "legal". The Ambassador and the Money Clip sport legal blades. The Waiter needs to be shortened. These observations are based on what I have lying around my ipad.
 
The way I see it (and correct me if I'm wrong), the knife must be in your carry on luggage, not on your person. I saw no mention in the TSA release that you can actually go through the metal detector with a knife in your pocket (or in the x-ray tray).
 
bdev said:
The way I see it (and correct me if I'm wrong), the knife must be in your carry on luggage, not on your person. I saw no mention in the TSA release that you can actually go through the metal detector with a knife in your pocket (or in the x-ray tray).
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No where does it say that it must be covered by a bag versus in your pocket. http://www.tsa.gov/sites/default/files/assets/pdf/tsa_permitted_items_update.pdf
I don't see why it would matter either way, but the rules are so ludicrous, you never know.
 
Just realized the curve on my Peanut would count as "molded." But then I already knew Peanuts were badass.

PeanutFightingII.jpg
 
The TV media morons have been going on and on all day: "who needs a knife anyway", "we're all at risk", "I think I just pooped my pants" etc
We'll see if this unusual attack of common sense on the part of the TSA lasts.
 
My bare hands are more dangerous than a knife that would meet these requirements. IF (big if) the TSA reverses course on this new policy, they better start handing out mandatory "security mittens."
 
The whole deal is stupid. Golf clubs and baseball bats are now OK? How the heck do they fit in the overhead!!? I just flew 17K miles and had to check a small 3 day bag 2X due to no overhead storage left.

The whole time we have been without so much as small pair of scissors, you can carry knitting needles... hmm stabbed by a fingernail clipper or a 12" long aluminum needle??

This past January I nearly lost a pair of fingernail clippers changing planes at Incheon- had carried them to the phils and 1/6 back already!!

Rules posted are arbitrary. Nice to have my tiny classic but not sure I will risk it.

Bill
 
My wife and mother in law were travelling with me about a year ago and each packed some big steak knives in their carry-ons ( which I didn't know about at the time). My motherinlaw passed through no problem but my wife was stopped and the crack security man had a look of shock and dismay as he pulled out a small bottle of shampoo from my wife's bag. He wagged his finger at her, confiscated the shampoo and passed her through.
Thank goodness! You know how dangerous shampoo is. If she attacked the pilots and washed their hair against their will and the suds got in their eyes, well you know how that stuff can sting!
Just rename the TSA Clown College for what it's worth.
 
So the TSA is going to allow small knives to be carried on again. Yay! They have a lot of restrictions. Boo! It's progress though.

  • 6cm in blade length max.
  • 1/2" blade width at the widest point.
  • must fold = bye bye Candiru.
  • No lock = bye bye lots and lots of stuff.
  • No "molded handles" = bye bye Spyderco UK Folder.
My Victorinox Super Tinker is 7cm so that's out. This could be the thing that get's me into a traditional.

What are your thoughts on your newly legal "airplane knife"?
 
My guess is that they suck at word choice and really meant "contoured" handles, and because they think contoured handles improves grip when stabbing or something.
But really, who needs contoured handle when all you need is JIMPING.
 
sogflash said:
What's the problem with molded handles?
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I am hoping to get some ideas on knives that fit the requirements rather than a discussion of those requirements. It's the government, I don't expect much. I'm just glad that any knife is allowed.

Now, what knives shall we carry? The current requirements place the knife in the traditional category although some SAKs will be acceptable. I think an Alox Farmer however probably has the 7cm blade which is too big. Basically they're allowing pen knives.
 
Some more things I wasn't aware of:

-Molded grip apparently means any kind of polymer or modern shape of grip
-Blades can't be WIDER than a 1/2-inch!
 
If only they knew that a 9-11 event was impossible on 9-12. If box cutters were issued to passengers a 9-11 event would be even less likely today than with these silly restrictions. On 9-12 folks swarmed from the safest method of travel to a much more dangerous one. The reason for 9-11 was not box cutters, it was a failure of the United States as a whole, government and non government alike, to realize that humans can be convinced to have faith that killing others and their own death is less important than revenge, a few verses in the Koran, their martyrdom, and so forth. If we had understood that, 9-11 would have been impossible. The rules established after 9-11 were feel good in nature only. Another example of blaming the tool for its misuse by a flawed human. The new rules were obviously arrived at by a committee of non knife folks, I'm sure, with great deliberation.

The new rules are the bright light of sanity casting a mere crack of light under the door. To dilute the political (though possibly, logical) rant, even the bloody British allow more than a half inch wide blade. That eliminates most all Spiderco's.
 
Here's a good article I found; it's about the former head of the TSA supporting lifting the restrictions. Why he couldn't have said any of this while he was actually in a position if influence, I don't know.
http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/06/travel/tsa-carry-on-hawley/index.html

orange02camaro said:
i love knives but this is a terrible idea, please tell me what has changed from now and '01 when they were banned? nothing, knives are still just as sharp, we need to keep the airways safe, this isnt the way. if you need a knife where you are going, dont carry it ON the plane, put it in your luggage and thats that. get it when you get your bags. you wont need it on the plane, 2.3in is no good for self defense, what are your gonna need it for? to open chips? man up and get a grip. no way a knife should be in the cabin.
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What's changed between now and 2001 is that cockpit doors are locked and reinforced, flight crews are told to not cooperate with hijackers, and passengers will now fight anyone who tries to take over the plane. Those three things are the reasons why the 9/11 attacks succeeded, and they've all been fixed. There's no way anybody's ever taking over a plane again.
Now, could somebody try to attack a passenger or flight attendant with a knife? Yeah, they could, but why would they? There's no chance for escape, and they'd only be able to slash them (you can't really stab with a slip joint,) for a few seconds before being wrestled to the ground. Even a worst-case scenario would only have the attacker injuring, (or killing, though that's be unlikely with such a small blade in such a short amount of time,) two or three people before being subdued. Compare that to a similar person, on the ground, with access to guns and explosives.

HJK said:
My wife and mother in law were travelling with me about a year ago and each packed some big steak knives in their carry-ons ( which I didn't know about at the time). My motherinlaw passed through no problem but my wife was stopped and the crack security man had a look of shock and dismay as he pulled out a small bottle of shampoo from my wife's bag. He wagged his finger at her, confiscated the shampoo and passed her through.
Thank goodness! You know how dangerous shampoo is. If she attacked the pilots and washed their hair against their will and the suds got in their eyes, well you know how that stuff can sting!
Just rename the TSA Clown College for what it's worth.
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A bottle of plastic explosives disguised as a shampoo bottle can bring down a plane. A knife can't. The ban on liquids and pastes is annoying, but it does make sense.
 
In mentioning that passengers will now fight- I was asked by friends why the passengers did not resist. Up until that time, what people knew of hijackings were that the plane was diverted and landed at a location of the hijackers choice. At that time, it became a hostage situation where most if not all of the passengers were eventually released/freed.

It is safe to conclude that these passengers were thinking the same.

This event taught us all that this cannot be concluded anymore. We learn and hopefully evolve.

Bill
 
Dan57 said:
A bottle of plastic explosives disguised as a shampoo bottle can bring down a plane. A knife can't. The ban on liquids and pastes is annoying, but it does make sense.
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Repeating this because I think many people miss this point. Re-enforcing the doors and locks on the airplane, along with 300 angry passengers who are willing to fight back has made it so that a 9-11 style hijacking is extremely unlikely to ever take place again.
Terrorists know this though also, just look at the the shoe bomber or underwear bomber. Their goal wasn't to hijack the plane, but to just blow it up. And the only reason they really failed was not because of anything passengers or security really did, but because they failed at creating a bomb that would go boom.
The problem with a bomb is that there is nothing other passengers can really do. How do you stop someone from discretely putting their hand into their pocket halfway though a 10 hour flight and clicking a button that instantly blows a hole into the side of the plane. There is no real way to fight back, other than stopping the bomb from getting on in the first place.
So this is definitely a step in the right direction, but they still have a long ways to go.
 
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