A Question

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.

AA Maglights make good Kubatons as well. Or a tightly rolled up magazine with rubber bands around it.

Sharkie is nice, but too large and annoying screw on cap.

Benchmade is compact, snap cap, and effective, BUT it's pricey and looks a little aggressive.

Tuff-writer pens look awesome, simple design and strong. David Brown hammered one through a 2x4, pictures are floating around somewhere. Only reason I haven't picked one up yet is because screw on cap and the cap won't sit securely on the butt when writing. Other then that, it looks simple and will make it pass any airport security w/o raising eyebrows. http://www.tuffwriter.com/

There are 100% high density plastic folders etc for sale all over in gun/surplus shops. [censored] sharp for plastic.

Hound

I dunno nothin' about that...

I usually buy a cheap knife in the city I travel too.
When it is time to come home I either send it in my checked baggage or give it away.
I bought a kershaw mini-cyclone in Toronto and byrd crossbill in Edmonton on my last two business trips

Speaking of pens, anyone check out these Rick Hinderer Kubatons or his Extreme Duty pens? They look awesome and I like the different ends you can add.

http://www.rickhindererknives.com/

Here's a pic of the Kubaton with some of the end attachments:

A lot of good advice here. I have been known to ship myself a knife to my destination or buy one when I get to my destination. Easy to send back to myself home too.

All this talk of plastic and ceramic knives, finding ways to fool the TSA, cracks me up.

Get caught by the TSA on a random search, or because you forgot to take your bottle of shampoo out of your bag, and have them find a plastic knife, implying that you were INTENTIONALLY trying to sneak a weapon onto a plane, and see how fast you end up in a federal PMITA prison.

Give up the knife when you fly, mail it to yourself, or put a cheap one in your checked bags. Don't be an idiot just for the sake of feeling "protected" for the couple of hours you'll spend in airports or planes, and end up in a lot worse situation than you bargained for.



(edited because I wrote "carry on" when I meant "checked bag" <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/doh.gif" alt="" />

You got that right MM. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" /> Be safe- think it over as this is solid advice. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

This is what I have been thinking all along.



I agree with you MM, I'm not advocating or thinking about carrying anything on a plane. I had a pair of scissors and a tape measure in my briefcase recently and you would have thought Osama himself was trying to get through the gate.

I just never gave any of this any thought until last week. I got caught out late last while in a bad part of town (on business) and stood on a corner with nothing but my dazzling white smile. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Just realized I wrote "carry on" when I meant "checked bags" I went back and fixed it.

The irony here is that the only place you could really do with your plastic shiv's is once you get into the holding cells of the State Pen...the Airports are a lot safer...LOL...keep clear of falling foul of carrying a weapon on a plane...it's not worth the risk .... and most are no better than you could improvise if you ever had to.

First off your opinion is noted.

Second I dont carry it in the checkin bagage. I carry it only where a strip search would find it. I pass through airport security with it all the time with no trouble. Its non detectable at this point until xray density scanners are deployed then its pretty much a no go.

Its all about choices you make yours I will make mine.

Hound

OK guys - let's relax a little! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />

The last time I flew was Blade 08', and I carried a heavy metal pen, very pointed stylus, and wore a belt with a heavy buckle. The TSA checkers just looked at them and passed them right on through. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Probably not the wisest thing to go on the internet and describe the exact technique you use to intentionally circumvent the law and sneak weapons onto a plane. Just sayin' <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

+1 MM

At least my ideas were perfectly legal. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

PK, at least for now!

Ya cuz the government could find its a$$ with a map lmao.

Hound

[color:"green"] Can you mail it to where you are going to be? [/color]

A steel barrel roller ball pen and a Sure Fire are my tools of choice for flying.