I carry mine in checked baggage, stuffed into an extra pair of shoes I carry.
Lost or mis-placed baggage is a pain, and at the whim of the baggage handlers. Theft from a checked bag will get me real angry, right quick. I use TSA-approved locks and insert a large typed note into every checked bag. So when a TSA employee opens my bag for inspection, the first thing they see is “All contents of this bag have been inventoried and photographed.”
Then underneath that message, I write in long-hand “Thanks for keeping this plane safe. Much appreciated.”
Schmatzy, yes. But it has worked every time. And you would be surprised by the hand-written thank you notes left on the back of those TSA inspection cards they are required to leave in inspected bags.
For a marginal cost you can Fed Ex yourself just about anything that they won’t let you have on the plane. Call ahead to the hotel and inform the front desk that you’ll be expecting a package and to please hold it. Then, when it’s time to go home, just send it to yourself. Sure, it’s a bit of a hassle, but it works and nobody is going to decide to relieve you of your $$$ tool/knife.
I’ve got a great mental image of a dude wearing a combination of wild west, medieval, and pirate costume with an equal complement edged weapons… Naturally, the pirate theme pushes the rest out a bit. . .
I carried a whittling knife or multipurpose tool since I was about 8 until after 9-11. I’ve gotten nailed too many times at the airport.
If you fly a lot, one tends to avoid checked luggage as it adds time to the trip. Also makes you less able to make last minute flight changes or show up right before the check in counter closes. I avoid checked luggage as much as humanely possible even though that means wearing 1 suit and only having dress shoes during the entire trip.
[/milk out nose] Thanks for the visual… I was hoping somebody would jump on that one.