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TSA airline approved Swiss Army Knife?
- Thread starter Farmer17
- Start date
When all the TSA security stuff started years ago, I bought a small Leatherman multi-tool that had just been released and was sold as "TSA approved" because it didn't have a knife blade.
The first time I flew with it, I had to argue with two levels of TSA agents in order to keep from having it seized.
The first time I flew with it, I had to argue with two levels of TSA agents in order to keep from having it seized.
It was in 2012.
Things change . . .
Pisgah
Member
Well, if you don't think you can kill someone quickly with a sharp pencil or a car key, you are woefully uneducated. And if they make you fly naked, you still have teeth and nails...
Screw 'em. I'd sooner board seeing everyone open-carrying a Glock.
Originally Posted by Bald1
"Sorry for your inconvenience but good. There was a time when a simple little bitty box cutter was ok too."
Ignorant is taking away one guys real short scissors, another's tiny screw driver, while letting me, a 6'4" 300# guy, aboard carrying a Sudoku book, 3 sharp #2 lead pencils and a 3 ft long hardwood stick. More people have been killed with sharp sticks and clubs than box cutters and it all started a good many thousands of years before box cutters even existed
"Sorry for your inconvenience but good. There was a time when a simple little bitty box cutter was ok too."
Ignorant is taking away one guys real short scissors, another's tiny screw driver, while letting me, a 6'4" 300# guy, aboard carrying a Sudoku book, 3 sharp #2 lead pencils and a 3 ft long hardwood stick. More people have been killed with sharp sticks and clubs than box cutters and it all started a good many thousands of years before box cutters even existed
Last edited:
There's always the checked bag option.
Grayfox
US Veteran
If its legal or not is entirely up to that one agent that checks you.
Most of 'em are dumb as a box of rocks.
Oh wait! You can't have a rock either.
Most of 'em are dumb as a box of rocks.
Oh wait! You can't have a rock either.
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One more of several reasons I do Not Fly Anymore.
Screwdrivers are NOT prohibited, so long as they are shorter than 7 inches. All tools were prohibited in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 while the airline fleet was having its flight deck doors upgraded...that prohibition was relaxed when all aircraft had armored doors, around 2006 or so...
What Can I Bring? All | Transportation Security Administration
Not true. There are clear rules in place. If a TSA officer makes a bad call on whether or not something is prohibited, ask to speak to his or her supervisor, and show them the information linked here:
What Can I Bring? All | Transportation Security Administration
Hmmm...I'll bet a lot of TSA officers have that exact opinion of the passengers they encounter...
I fly often, and like you, I hate to be without a few basic tools. About 15 years ago, I took a base keychain model Swiss Army knife, and used my Dremel to cut the blade off, leaving only the screwdriver/file, the scissors, the tweezers, and the toothpick. I left the unsharpened base of the blade -- the choil -- extended, so it would be obvious that the blade was missing.
Sometime later -- maybe ten years ago -- I picked up a Leatherman Style PS (now apparently discontinued), which was the only tool Leatherman made without a blade. I carry it with the Swiss Army tool and a small flashlight.
Every time I go through airport security, I put these tools in one of those dog bowls and send them through the xray. Every single time, the TSA folks take a good look at them...but I have never had any TSA officer tell me they're prohibited.
Here are the TSA's rules on what can and can't go...
What Can I Bring? All | Transportation Security Administration
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LVSteve
Member
That's ludicrous. I cannot count the ways you can do damage with a 7 inch screwdriver, and I've never been a high speed, low drag type ever in my life.
The amount of misinformation, and totally incredible anecdotes, posted on this thread, is just astonishing.
I would love to know how anybody almost got arrested for carrying small scissors. Joe Foss died on January 1, 2003, only a few months after TSA assumed responsibility for airport security, when things were still very chaotic and rules were being developed.
I have been through airport security, at airports all over North America and Europe, hundreds of times in the past twenty years. I can recall only two times I ever had an issue with any TSA personnel. Yeah, some are more personable than others, but they're not there to hassle you...they have a difficult job, and they are held strictly accountable for doing it.
How many of the folks here taking shots at TSA have ever smiled and said "good morning" or "have a nice day" to those checkpoint officers? You get what you give, and if you wear your contempt and disrespect as openly as you express it on here, it's no wonder y'all have had bad experiences.
The prohibition on tools, as I have always understood it, wasn't instituted out of fear they could be used as weapons. It grew out of the fact that flight deck doors were not armored, and tools could be used to pry those doors open, or disassemble them. Once the airline fleet's doors were armored, there was no need to prohibit small tools, and only those long enough to use as levers to pry the door are still forbidden.
While I may well be able to request a supervisor, explain the rules to them etc, the last thing I want or need to do while traveling by air is spend time debating with TSA officials. Not worth it for a pair of nail clippers, a small screw driver etc. If I really need those things on one end of the trip or the other, they can go in checked baggage
After watching John Wick, I'm amazed they still let us take pencils.
I have learned a lesson since I have started flying frequently again over the past couple of years. Always check a bag. Put your pocket knife and Leatherman in the checked bag, check it and forget it until you get to your final destination.
Use the time you would spend arguing with the TSA folks over your “TSA compliant” multi-tool, going over the bourbon selection with the flight attendant.
As to your “flying” knife, one needs to make sure it will comply with all the state laws where you travel. I have a small Case Stockman that will do anything I need while traveling, that I believe to be compliant with everywhere I go (including regular trips to NY/JFK).
Leave your Microtechs, ZT’s, assisted openers, automatics, etc. at home. A small, simple folder is like a Mora, really all you need.
Use the time you would spend arguing with the TSA folks over your “TSA compliant” multi-tool, going over the bourbon selection with the flight attendant.
As to your “flying” knife, one needs to make sure it will comply with all the state laws where you travel. I have a small Case Stockman that will do anything I need while traveling, that I believe to be compliant with everywhere I go (including regular trips to NY/JFK).
Leave your Microtechs, ZT’s, assisted openers, automatics, etc. at home. A small, simple folder is like a Mora, really all you need.
The most gruesome murder ever committed in my small home town was done with a Phillips screwdriver!
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