What knife do you pack when you travel by plane?

If I'm flying I take slipjoints or some other sheeple friendly knife and I mail the better ones ahaead of time, then I do the same on the return trip with any knives I bought while traveling.
 
Do they exist? I used to think they did!

I have personally had sheeple gasp in mild panic when I produced a small red SAK from my pocket, to tighten a loose flat-head screw in a university physics class. :rolleyes:
 
Somebody please explain to me why we would want to bring a commercial knife on a passenger plane in today's paranoid world? I carry nothing metal or sharp when I fly, not even a key. As soon as I land I go buy a leatherman and or a cheap (buck, case, clone etc.) sheath knife in a surplus store or a hardware store. No problems with airport security, and the flip flop sandles or tennis shoes come off easy enough. Besides, next time you are on the plane take a good look around your seat and think improvisation. It's there if you needed it. Why raise eyebrows and your profile by carrying a knife?
 
situation - terrorists kill the pilots and take hostages while threatening with bombs... there are no sharp objects on the plane outside of the terrorist's possession... you are also being watched by an armed terrorist whose job is to die for his country...

now improvise.
 
I used to carry a bug out bag when I travelled, it always stayed with me, in the event a plane went down it had my medicine in it assorted knives,SAK, sturdy 3 1/2" - 4" fixed blade, and a tactical folder, disassembled, with tools to put it back together, bottle of water, magnesium fire starter with tinder, compass with a mirror, one of those chainsaw chain, saws :confused:, and usually my GPS.
 
I FedEx my EDC to the hotel I'll be staying at a day ahead of my arrival. The package is deliveried to Guest Services and it's waiting for to pick it up when I touch down.

I've had no worries doing it this way. No lost knives, no weird looks...nada.

Something you may to consider.
 
BlindedByTheLite said:
situation - terrorists kill the pilots and take hostages while threatening with bombs... there are no sharp objects on the plane outside of the terrorist's possession... you are also being watched by an armed terrorist whose job is to die for his country...

now improvise.
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Unsap the "female part" buckle from the seat (it is made to be easy) you now have a flail.

Use your flotation device/ Seat cushion as a sheild against annother knife/ box cutter.

10 of you would overwhelm a terrorist or two and call his/her bluff.

Improvised enough for ya? :)
 
Thomason said:
I am getting ready to fly for the first time in about 5 years. My check in luggage is my old army duffle bag. TSA website says you can lock your luggage. They list certain brands of locks that are considered TSA certified. They have the ability to open these locks without damage, conduct an inspection if necessary and re-lock them. Does this procedure makes items any safer, who knows? I'm skeptical but I guess its better than nothing. I recently bought 3 Schrade slip joints. One of these will be in bag. Yes, my EDC is usually a more expensive knife.
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i like the suggeston made on an older thread to use split rings instead. They are cheap & they fulfil requirement that they can be removed, however they take more time and they are tougher then plastic ties. The point of securing luggage, far as I am concerned is to protect contents from TSA handlers. So lock that matches thier keys defeats that purpose, it make it EASIER for them to open.........

Oh yah, original queston- I carry Super Tinker SAK & Leatherman Wave
 
I will be traveling to Altanta by air in a few weeks and I purchased TSA certified locks for the trip. My main concern is not the TSA agent stealing my knives, it's the baggage handlers that will rummage through your stuff if it is not locked. If TSA wants to inspect my locked bag I'm fine with it as long as I am allowed to have a locked bag go through baggage unscathed.
 
If the TSA wants to inspect your luggage, they're going to whether they have to cut the lock or not. They can and will do this. You're not supposed to use locks that they can't open.

Of course the big problem with TSA locks - all a baggage handler needs is one of the keys and they can open any lock they like. Undoubtedly some of them have these keys, as does the general public.
 
Sadly, I pack only knives that won't break my heart to lose when traveling by air. Too many stories about knives that are 'lost' in inspections for me to be comfortable packing an EDC.
 
I always take my Spyderco ENDURA with me everywhere. When checking stuff for the plane I leave it in a piece of clothing in the suitcase, if a ramp rat steals it and I don't get a pay out its only a few bucks. I have never taken any fancy knives far from home so I don't know what I would do for the more valuable stuff.
 
Ryan8 said:
If the TSA wants to inspect your luggage, they're going to whether they have to cut the lock or not. They can and will do this. You're not supposed to use locks that they can't open.

Of course the big problem with TSA locks - all a baggage handler needs is one of the keys and they can open any lock they like. Undoubtedly some of them have these keys, as does the general public.
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Someone correct me if I'm wrong but if you ask that the bag be searched in your presence then you can put on any lock you want after the search is done.
:confused:.
 
Beware of Al Qaida grannies.
From YOUR friends at TSA:Special Considerations

Transporting Knitting Needles & Needlepoint

Knitting needles are permitted in your carry-on baggage or checked baggage.

Circular knitting needles are recommended to be less than 31 inches in total length .
 
I only pack knives that I won't miss too much if they are stolen out of the bags. Theft from bags has increased to the point where it's talked about on the radio. Airlines are doing nothing about the thefts.
 
I hate the current rules at airports. I remember, not long ago (I'm only 22) I carried lots of SAKs I'd bought as a souvenir from Switzerland in my carry-on luggage on an international flight. They only asked me to put the bigger locking ones in my check-in suitcase. And I was a badly dressed teen punk at that time (a couple of girlfriends fixed that).

Last week I was reading a PDF I downloaded from the Victorinox site that has lots of stories about SAKs saving the day. Two of them where on airplanes (in one of the stories a doctor performed emergency surgery, I don't remember the other one). With the recent laws, those guys would have died.

A month ago, when my girlfriend flew to Spain, she had a SwissCard in her purse. She forgot about it, because she doesn't even consider it a knife, when she went through the X-rays and metal detectors, all hell broke loose. It was kind of funny watching three cops handling the small scissors and letter opener as if they were nuclear weapons.

Anyway, I know that my bitching won't change the rules, so I'll have to adapt. I'm travelling to Spain on thurdsday, I'm going to take only things I can loose. A Wave, a Vic Huntsman and either an Opinel or Buck 110/112.

I bought a locking metal box to carry my knives. Can I send the box locked on an international flight? Or does it have to be open so it can be checked?
I'll call the airline to ask.
 
last month i went to Senegal for my holiday (nice country by the way!), and i just put in my luggage my first EDC, an old, scary-sharp, uggly "Doukdouk"...
I was a bit afraid that my luggage partially "desapears"... so i was not willing to loose a more expensive knife !
It was really sufficient, and i won't have cry in case somebody would have find it "to his taste" in the airport... :)
My second choise would have been usual SAK;
 
"If" I take a knife with me, and "if" the SHTF to where I actually need it while I'm 'out there' I will want to have the best knife/knives performance-wise I can get. So, I normally pack my EDC folder (excellent quality & relatively expensive but replaceable if lost) and a decent quality fixed blade (usually the CS SRK). Again, not the nicest or most expensive stuff I've got but excellent performers.

My luggage has been inspected by TSA before too (they leave a little notice in your bag) & they never messed with my blades. I'm considering taking my Swamp Rat next time but will probably leave it in favor of the SRK again though...
 
Marlin said:
Since you have to put the knife in the unlock check-in luggage...
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That is absolutely FALSE.

You may lock your checked baggage in any way you want to... after it has been TSA inspected. And you may observe the TSA inspection process if you want to.

The exact procedures vary from airPORT to airPORT. Notice I capitalized airPORT, not airline. The reason the procedures vary by airport is that no airport has been designed since the TSA 100% inspection mandate. As a result, no airport in current use is designed to accomodate the 100% mandate. Each airport has implimented it in its own unique way to fit its own facilities.

Here at Portland's PDX airport, after you check in you're instructed to carry your bag to a CTX machine (large x-ray machine) that is across the ticket lobby from the airline ticket desks. They then take your bag and X-ray it and inspect it further if necessary and put it on a cart and take it back across the lobby to the airline desk where it goes on the conveyor belt out to the plane. If you ask, you may observe the inspection process and then lock the bag before it goes off to the plane.

I flew out of Dayton, Ohio yesterday and the procedure is similar except that they've removed some ticket desks and replaced them with CTX machines. So, you check in that then carry your bag to the nearby CTX machine for inspection. After inspection, your bag goes on a conveyor to the plane. Again, you can request to observe the inspection and then lock the bag.

By the way, even though most bags are now unlocked, reported theft from baggage is DOWN under the TSA scheme. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, that it's ZERO, but it is down now that baggage handling employees are better-screened and under constant surveilance.

Keep in that luggage locks were NEVER meant for security in the first place. For example, there are two keys that will open every Samsonite hardside suitcase ever made. You can buy both at any luggage store. The purpose of the locks is not security but to keep the latches from popping open if the bag catches on machinery or something.

Finally, inspection of checked baggage does NOT date back to post-9/11 TSA. Airports began installing CTX and similar machines and performing inspection (including opening the bag when indicated) of a fraction of checked baggage on all flights including domestic flights following the Lockerbie bombing back in the mid 80s. What's new post-9/11 is inspection of virtually 100% of checked bags (there still not quite to 100%).
 
On hunting trips I put knives and other valuable items in the locked gun case. I never had them cut off the locks because they get a complete inspection before the case is locked. Has anyone else ever had the locks cut off an already inspected gun case? If that is really safe it might make sense to use a locked gun case with a non functioning gun to carry other more expensive items in a locked mode.
 
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