I’m confused. I carry a small, mini sized Swiss Army knife with me almost always, in some pocket or other. By habit, when I reach the check in desk at an airport, it goes in to my hold luggage, as I’d always assumed that you couldn’t take them through the security scanners.

However, twice this year I’ve forgotten and left it in my pocket, only noticing much later on. No alarms went off, no lights flashed. Both times at pretty major international hubs. So, what’s the score? Can you take a small knife on a plane or not?

No.

No. You just got lucky. If found it would have been confiscated at best.

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/2011/04/13/scots-cop-arrested-on-jet-knife-charge-86908-23058044/

(In Scotland any knife being carried must have a blade less than 3″ long which does not lock unless covered by exceptions like tools of trade etc.)

I have the same kind of knife, and it stays in my carry on, never had an issue with it. But then I use a small allen key set as a decoy.

I thought it was the sequel to snakes on’t plane.

both of which would be confiscated if found.

Allen keys have been looked at a few times and let through

I suppose it’s the “if found” bit that confuses me. My belt buckle sometimes sets the scanner off, so surely a knife should too?

Mrs carlosg once went throught customs with a safety blade that she used for opening boxes in the warehouse she worked in ,it passed through the xray machine and wasn’t picked up . It was only whilst going through the bag while on the plane that we found it!

Usual scenario is….
“can I look in your bag Sir”
open bag, “ah, this must have shown up” show allen key set
micro rummage through bag
“ok, fine Sir”
minature swiss army knife remains in bag.
I know – I’m such a renegade.

I lost a very nice leatherman to airport security at Berlin. Totally forgot I had it in my laptop bag, already checked my luggage and running late.

are all metal detectors made equal? Only we have a ‘wand’ at work which gets belt buckles and similar size stuff but doesn’t get the 10″ plate and 10 or so screws in my leg. Do they only work on some metals/alloys? I am beginning to wonder if they are still in there!

Spyderco Squeak: UK legal carry, non-locking blade, the finger notches stop the blade closing on your fingers.
You still have to carry it in your hold luggage on a plane, though.

Does carbon fibre show up in a scanner?

Neither of those have a bottle opener! Or a screwdriver/nail file/etc….

Screws and bolts in body won’t set off a scanner, that’s just urban myth!

Neither of those have a bottle opener! Or a screwdriver/nail file/etc….

Produce carbon fibre knife at random foreigner – “Oi, peasant, hand over your bottle opener/screwdriver/nail file”

That Spyderco knife looks like its got something that enables me to clip it to my belt. Wow.

Want.

the carbon one clips to your belt too, you’d be right deadly then…

CaptainFlashheart – Member
…/nail file…

and a thousand international man-of-action illusions crumple and blow away in the wind 🙁

Darcy, seen earlier…

🙂 @ Scaredy!

I have been through airports several times with leatherman mini on my keyring (in carry on bag). Keep forgetting to leave it at home, one day it will be binned by an overzealous scanner person.

The carbon fibre one too? 😮

*swoons*

Question for the posh people – don’t you get metal cutlery down the front of the plane anyway ?

Scaredy, yes you do. In both business and first. 🙂

On the Rapiscan machines, the operator sees a dark patch where any dense materials are found (ie steel). A blade is a very identifiable shape, but a Leatherman will show up as a dark splat. If they can’t identify it as something suspicious, they’ll leave it alone.

You’ll loose it though, if they do decide to have a look. It’s much better off in hold baggage.

And don’t try it in the States, either – you’ll be shot!

yes you do. In both business and first

so then we’re relying on “fear of being considered a bad egg” to stop them all from mass butchery ?

body scanners set off on metal, but also on a random basis too. i’d rather just not loose my possessions. mind, some of the scandinavian security staff are properly hot… 😛

Scaredy, yes you do. In both business and first.

i stole a spoon…

I suppose the thinking is that terrorists won’t/can’t afford to fly up the comfy end! 🙂

Duffer, one of them was a US airport!

You used to see big tubs of confiscated pointy things at airports always full of Gerbers, Leathermans etc, must be heartbreaking to lose on of those.

Can’t really see the point in banning small pocket knives really. You could easily fashion something like a garrotte from shoelaces and a pen or something though, if you wanted. In fact someone bent of killing/terrorism would easily find enough stuffs on an aeroplane that they could kill/create terror with tbh.

don’t you get metal cutlery down the front of the plane anyway ?

Easy then; nip into first class, slice up someone like Flashy (got to show you mean business or they’ll just think you’re a mental), grab an air hostess as hostage; et voila- plane hijacked. 🙂

If they can’t identify it as something suspicious, they’ll leave it alone.

Shouldn’t something that isn’t easily identifiable as being suspicious automatically be treated with suspicion?

Duffer, one of them was a US airport!

Have a quick look outside your house – is there a suspiciously non-descript black car up the road, with two men in suits inside? Does it look like there’s a sniper on a nearby tall building?

Duffer, I live near both MI5 and 6, so yes, there’s often that outside! 🙂

I suppose the thinking is that terrorists won’t/can’t afford to fly up the comfy end!

Well if I was a suicide bomber id be in 1st, It’d be on the credit card

Yeah, ittud be a bit daft, on a ‘non-return’ flight, to only book cattle class, woo’t it? 😕

Shouldn’t something that isn’t easily identifiable as being suspicious automatically be treated with suspicion?

Of course not. There’s no point causing inconvenience to law abiding travellers when a terrorist’s luggage is so easy to identify.

A terrorist’s rucksack :

why would a terrorist use a clear plastic rucksack?

What I could never understand is the ban on nail files. If you could take over a plane with a nail file, you deserve the bloody thing! As for flying back, I’ve had an M9 Bayonet in my daysack & an oppo had 4 charged magazines (30 rds each) and 2 Phosphorous grenades. All by mistake of course. Although this was a military flight, however I don’t know whether thats a strike against the scanners or the RAF bod manning it.