I know most of us have an EDC that remains close at hand; however, I recently took a trip by air and felt completely naked without my companion once I arrived at my destination.

The question...

I know laws vary state to state and I don't want to be in violation of any TSA or state law.

What do you guys do?

I hate flying too without a knife. I DO always pack one in my CHECKED luggage. And as soon as I can, I retrieve it from my luggage, and all is well.

TKC, I hear you...I've had so much stuff stolen out of my checked bag, I'm leery of packing a blade but on second thought, there are a lot of knives on the market with no personal value which could be easily replaced.

i check the state law im going to ... all of em are pretty much online.... also see if there is recipricty in said state for my ccw.

and its only due to the whole "ignorance of the law is not a solid defence"

i carry those questionable items in my checked bags. then once in the car i pull em out. once your in the parking lot your clear.... inside the airport your still kinda fair game. tsa wont help you with any info i know that first hand. dont assume they say its ok it really is.

I fly a lot and rarely check baggage. I've just accepted that a large portion of my life will be spent without a valuable tool on my person.

I'm in academia, too, so I've gotta be careful, because people at a lot of schools are hypersensitive about "weapons". Like my SAK is gonna hurt anybody <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" />

zero tolorance campus = here... been that way for 15 or more years... even the colleges... i found i just take a multi tool.... for some reason there ok with it... never had 1 issue.... but yea MM... your kinda on par lots of places are hyper sensitive about it. i wouldnt sugest trying... it... i mean some one just got busted for having a wooden mock up of a rifle because there on the ROTC color guard....

Suzanne - great to hear from you again! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

You know, this brings up something that I didn't even think of until you said it, I need to make certain I don't have a knife when I'm on campus. The last thing I need is to get thrown out of my grad program for an EDC. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/doh.gif" alt="" />

with school i find i still take my knife...i just unclip it and have it in my pocket.

i figure if its ever needed then great, otherwise i never take it out. bad i dea but if its ever needed for some sort of emergency at least ill be prepared.

I read about the old man that got strangled on the escalator...id like to see someone get prosecuted after illegally carrying the knife that saved him.

When flying, I have a good sturdy pen on me. Might ask for a benchmade pen for my birthday.

Keep something cheap like a SAK buried in the bottom of your checked luggage. You know, FYI a flint or glass knapped blade doesn't show up on a metal detector...titanium also has a low magnetic signature. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />


When I was in college, I wore my Leatherman, my Spyderco Endura clipped to my pocket, and my Game Warden on my belt. No one ever said anything. I also carried a folding fillet knife in my backpack. The cafeteria only had butter knives. Kinda hard to eat a steak with that. I used the fillet knife in the cafeteria when eating. To cut meat, fruit, etc. No one ever said anything about that either.

I like your idea about the Benchmade pen! Have you ever seen a Cold Steel Sharkie? My local gun range has them, I'll check them out as well.