Upon being refused permission to enter an airplane while carrying a small tool case called a “Telephone Lineman’s Case” in the catalogue, I was informed that there is an FAA regulation prohitibing anyone from bringing any tool into a gate area, unless they are an employee of an airline.
The case was checked as baggage- AFTER Security removed all of the spare matte knife blades from a small holder they were in.
I used to carry a knife regularly. They can be very useful. (Don’t worry, I won’t post a list!)
Going through security in London, I realized that I had not put my Swiss army knife in my checked baggage. I was wearing a photo vest and it was in a pocket I forgot to check. The guard looked at it, said “Nice knife”, and let me through.
Another time I was at LAX and had a single-blade Case-brand knife. The guard opened it and held it up to her badge. She said if the blade was longer than her badge (it was about the same size), I wouldn not have been allowed to carry it onboard.
I’ve been through the airport countless times with an X-Acto knife in my backpack, though one time they did confiscate a can of spray adhesive (can’t have anyone gluing the pilot down, I suppose).
One thing that did kind of tick me off was that when I flew with my cat, they made me take her out of her travel bag. Wouldn’t run the friggin’ metal detecting wand over her, no, had to pull my sleepy doped up cat out and pray she didn’t freak. At least they let me take her with me. sigh
Given the lowlifes that run the security points I’m rather surprised they didn’t just shove the poor beast through the x-ray machine.
5.5" is legal to carry around in Texas. I looked it up. i hate going to the courthouse becuase my steel-toed workboots always set off the alarm. Once I dropped my keys and 4" tanto-point half-serrated Cold Steel Voyager into the little basket, and the Deputy working the metal detector just glanced at it and gave it back on the other side…I noticed he had one just like it :), but neither of us said anything (about the knife–I had to explain my boots setting off the MD). I was just going to get my license plates, though…I don’t think they’d let me take it into a courtroom.
Me too. They can’t be too careful. I’ve heard that there’s a real rash of cat bombs on the airlines these days.
I like to drink green tea and peppermint tea. Since neither are normally available in either airports or hotels I bring a few bags with me when I travel. The dummys in the Atlanta airport confiscated my tea bags because “they didn’t smell right.” This was not loose tea, these were tea bags with tags reading “green tea” and everything, and I could not get through to those guys that it really was tea. Three of them were having a conference, passing the bags back and forth and smelling them. They just kept saying, “doesn’t smell like tea.” After a few minutes of trying to explain, I just gave up and let them keep the tea - I certainly wasn’t going to drink it after it had been handled and sniffed by everyone in the airport.
I’ve carried on large technician-type toolkits before- with screwdrivers, pliers, X-acto knife, etc., without much fuss. I think it depends heavily on who the security person is, what mood they’re in, and what they think of you.
I also carry a standard-size Swiss army knife, and a credit card gizmo that’s got a knife in it, with no problems so far.
My favorite inanity is making you turn on cell phones, calculators, and laptops to make sure they’re not bombs. It’s tempting to program a bomb-like countdown screen that would appear when I start my laptop 
Arjuna34
But unfortunately MC, they normally never make you do anything other than turn it on to show the display. Except for one clown that used my phone to call his wife, they only look at the pretty display, and let it go. I’d think you could make a bomb or weapon with an LCD display pretty easy.
One again - more proof that the FAA doesn’t give a proverbial rat’s ass about security, just the appearance of it.
At Tribhuvan International in Kathmandu, they had a bulletproof system. First, you pass your checked baggage through the X-ray machines, and the security guys put a little yellow band around the bag indicating it’s been security checked, and then hand it back to you.
At this point, I assume you take the bomb out of your non-inspected carry-on and put it in the supposedly secure bag which the strap conveniently does not impede unzipping. You then check your bag through and get your boarding pass, and then go through a metal detector and x-ray your carry-on.
As I walked through the metal detector to the resounding ‘beep’ I always get when wearing my hiking boots, the security guard turned his attention to me. “I think it’s my boots,” I say. He nods and waves me through. I don’t know if he even had a little wand detector.
MC, I’ve been forced to put my laptop through the x-ray. Having been through the power-up routine before, I was a bit surprised. However, since in idle moments after a power-up exercise, I’ve played mental games of simpe modifications to laptops to allow explosives or weapons and still having them power-up, I sympathise with the security guards.
[a slight hijack]
My wife’s aunt was at the airport in TelAviv. She was waiting in line at customs for her return flight to the USA. The line wasn’t moving and she got a bit restless, so she asked the American behind her to watch her bags while she stepped out of line to see what the holdup was.
When she moved away from her luggage, the person behind her started screaming. Isreali security immediately arrested her. She was detained and questioned for eight hours. They asked questions such as “Why did you leave your luggage?”
In addition, her entire 747 was delayed and searched. Apparently, no one on the plane knew that she was the reason everyone got home eight hours later than expected.
So, next time you’re in Isreal, leave anything that even might be a knife at home. And mind your luggage!
(P.S. There are signs all over the airport that say not to walk away from your bags. And, yes, my wife’s aunt is blonde. She’s really a wonderful lady, but occassionally doesn’t think things through. She saw the signs, but figured they only applied to terrorists, not tourists. Duh.)
Heh, a kid was taken into police custody for haveing a d*** NAIL FILE, for Jove’s sake. But that’s w/ the stupid no tolerance laws after columbine.
My funny story about laptops and security checks was heard at least thirdhand, so it could easily be a UL, but it’s still funny.
Guy going through the security checkpoint with his Mac laptop. He’s asked to take it out and boot it up, which he does. Now, Macs, when they have a system error on boot display an error message that says “Sorry, a system error has occurred” with a little icon of a black circle with a short, burning fuse attached.
The guys says: “Oh! I got a bomb!” and spends the next day in detention being questioned.
Reminds me of another unserious temptation I had after our assembly class - to write a virus that would modify the bios on laptops of types favoured by business travelers to display the following on boot in large letters on the screen.
Device Activated
10 seconds to detonation
9
8
7
6
…
I packed a rather large cheese knife once. I didn’t check any baggage, so I had it in my carry one. They inspected it and said that it is technically not allowed, but didn’t think that anyone would seriously try to assult people with a cheese knife.
i’ve got a large spyderco locking knife that i carry with me all the time. when i traval, i just through it into my sutecase and i’ve never gotten a second glance.
I suspect the federal law , no “weapons” on a commercial flight, is intentionally vague to give lots of leeway in enforcement and prosecution. My keychain pen knife may not be a weapon but there is no distint size that makes it one.
Arizona state law is similar in that conealed weapons laws exempt “ordinary pocket knives” without specifying a blade length. According to the attorney that taught my CCW course a deadly weapon is anything designed for deadly force - pretty vague. Something not designed to be a weapon, such as the subway punk special - a sharpened screwdriver, that is used to threaten or used as a weapon is a deadly instrument.
Bottom line is don’t depend on well intentioned friends on the new for legal or medical advice.
[qote]My wife’s aunt was at the airport in TelAviv. She was waiting in line at customs for her return flight to the USA. The line wasn’t moving and she got a bit restless, so she asked the American behind her to watch her bags while she stepped out of line to see what the holdup was.
When she moved away from her luggage, the person behind her started screaming. Isreali security immediately arrested her. She was detained and questioned for eight hours. They asked questions such as “Why did you leave your luggage?”
In addition, her entire 747 was delayed and searched. Apparently, no one on the plane knew that she was the reason everyone got home eight hours later than expected.
So, next time you’re in Isreal, leave anything that even might be a knife at home. And mind your luggage!
[/quote]
Yep, that’s Ben Gurion Airport for you. The security guys have to have had at least infantry training to get the job -that’s six months, minimum. They take their jobs very seriously, to the point of paranoia. Also, you got to remeber that the Israeli public has a heightened safety awareness, and the instinctive reaction is [abandoned bag]=[bomb]. A friend of mine once forgot her saxophone at a bus stop, and had it blown up by the police. Some kids had called them in.
And blowing up a saxophone is a bad thing? Teaching middle school band, I’ve wanted to blow up a few in my time?
I certainly don’t make light of the security problems in Isreal. They know a level of terrorism we Americans can hardly imagine.