Taking a knife abroad(on aircraft)

[mike the pike]

Hi all,i'm flying over to the Czech Republic in a couple of weeks to do some fishing/camping out etc,obviously part of my regular kit is my knife(which i'll use for filleting fish ,etc,hopefully).I understand for obvious reasons that i can't take it as hand luggage but can anyone tell me if i can take it in my main luggage(a rucksack) which will go in the planes hold?Any advice or experiences would be appreciated. Mike

 

[bigjackbrass]

You really need to talk to the airline you'll be using, Mike, because there is no standard answer.

I have carried knives in checked baggage before now without any problems, and this on flights to and within the United States where checks and restrictions are fairly severe. However, things change all the time these days, as I discovered with regards to cigarette lighters: the rules explained by my travel agent were exactly opposite to those in force at the BMI check-in desk, leading to some hasty repacking.

Several people I know don't even attempt to put knives in their luggage any longer, preferring to pick up a cheap knife at the destination, or even mail one ahead (but there can be restrictions on that, too). Bypass any travel agents and speak directly to your airline.

 

[Strider]

as far as i know... you can take knves on flights, as long as it's in your main luggage. I'm flying to Ecuador in 2 days now(tues 4th 03') and we're using an American air line. I haven't actually checked or anything.. but still, thats how it used to be.
-also, to be sure i'd pack your knife or whatever pretty well in your bag, like at the bottom. This way you have it on your side that it takes a couple of minutes to retrieve the article in question, plus any baggage handlers hopefully won't decide to rifle through your kit and liberate it from you!!! (i guess that more of a problem for me though, going to S. America...but still)

 

[johnboy]

Hi,

My work means that I fly fairly frequently.

Absolutely no Knifes whatsoever in carry on luggage or anything sharp like knitting needles! Or scissors. All of the Knifes in the resturants at Terminal 3 in Heathrow Are Plastic!!!

If you are going to take a knife Overseas It has to be in your check in luggage. I'd go for the smallest blade size possible. And folder rather than fixed. I'd also Stow it well away from any other bushcraft kit like Fire steels. Make sure you check in in plenty of time as well that way if you run into problems with any thing you are taking there is time to sort it out.

A call to the Airline in advance maybe wise as they can advise on most problems.

Good luck and have a great trip.

cheers

John

 

[ChrisKavanaugh]

We exausted this subject @ equipped. It doesn't matter if you know every rule and follow every procedure. All it takes is one overzealous scanner to ruin your day. Allways carry a preposted postal carton as suggested. You can always simply remove the item and mail it back to your own residence. You could also pick up a nice souvenier knife and mail it on ahead also as suggested. It is going to get silier before things calm down. A british tourist was stopped here at Los Angeles Airport. She had bought a G.I.Joe for a relative. The scanners siezed the plastic toy rifle as a weapon, all 4 1/2" of it. :roll:

 

[alick]

Pre 9/11, I regularly took a couple of smaller spydercos back an forwards to France in checked luggage - like 50+ return trips - with no difficulty. Haven't been travelling very much since. I'm sure it's much worse. I would comment that your bags are vulnerable to theft anywhere. I had checked luggage rifled through and a new fleece stolen in baggage handling at either Nice (departure) or Brussels (transit) , so I wouldn't trust anything valuable to the hold, even in Europe. Make do with something you can afford to lose but is still serviceable like a Frosts fixed blade, Good luck.

 

[Gary]

A knife in Hold luggage shouldnt be a problem as it is in accessable and as such no terrorist threat.

My advice is to take a cheap but good quality knife like the puukko's I reviewed or maybe a frost clipper - that way if the worst does happen you wont lose your expensive tool.

Something I have done in the past was to contact the carrier explain why I need a knife and axe and then you can surrender them at check in and have the carrier take them across for you and you collect them after baggage collection on arrival.

Best bet either way if contact you carrier.

 

[george]

I'd agree with Gary.

I used to travel regularly to S.E. Asia and often brought a new parang or golok or similar back to add to my collection when I returned to the UK. If I flew BA then I always checked in a little earlier and asked them to carry them for me. If they were securely packaged and addressed etc. I never had any problem. I assume they carried them in the hold and all it meant was a bit more time at the other end collecting them. Some of the other S.E. Asian carriers just insisted that they were securely packed in check in luggage.

This was in the early/mid nineties though and of course things may have changed beyond all reason - If I were you I would call my carrier and ask.

George

 

[stevec]

i went to a conference in the us, a while back, after 11 september. with me i had a longish, black plastic poster tube. the questions i got asked about that!!
"whats that?" "its a poster tube" "oh, so whats in it?" "a poster" "why?" "i'm going to a large chemistry conference" "what are you doing there?" "presenting my poster" "the one in the tube?" "yes the one in the tube"

i kid you not, a real conversation i had with airline people in washington and i had a similar one at boston(logan) on the way in, and again on the way out of the states!!! thing is you have to be sooooo careful, imagine "whats that" "its a rocket launcher, what does it look like to you? its a poster tube mate" think i'd still be there now!! long as you don't get anyone too twitchy you'll be fine. thing was that they never opened the tube, mind i supper it did go through the baggage scanners.
steve
hmm thats a nice ramble!

 

[Rob]

Knife in the hold luggage should be no problem at all, and if you arrive in plenty of time, you can cope with any problems.

BAA security are giving people the option of returning to the land-side area and posting stuff home instead of losing it - so the pre-paid package is a spot on idea - a couple of quid should cover all but the most overkill choice of equipment.

It amazes me how many people just chuck their Leatherman in the box and send it away to be filtched by someone or destroyed.

 

[sargey]

It amazes me how many people just chuck their Leatherman in the box and send it away to be filtched by someone or destroyed.

well it seems they're being sold through army surplus channels! my local place has a bargain bin full of confiscated SAKs at the till.

pre 9/11 i only ever once had to surrender a swiss army knife on a plane. flying home from a job in switzerland, i had to hand my victorinox hunter to the swiss air cabin staff, and collected it the other end.

it may be helpfull if you have supporting equipment with the tool/s in question, i have friends who often go on diving expeditions abroad. the dive knife gets less attention in with the other dive kit than it does in a jiffy bag on it's own.

cheers, and.

 

[mike the pike]

Hi all,thanks for all the suggestions.In line with your recommendations i contacted British European Airlines(who i am flying southampton to prague with)and i was told to pack my knife in my check in luggage and declare it,then i "should be ok".The "should be" doesn't fill me with confidence,therefore i'll take along a stamped/self addressed jiffy bag just in case.Another thing that hadn,t occured to me was the pilferedge issue, (particularly relevent to a rucksack with a zip at either end)so i've borrowed (ok pilfered)a large heavy duty polythene bag from work and the rucksack fits in there a treat,hopefully giving another line of defence! Thanks again. Mike

 

[sargey]

packing a rucksack inside another bag/sack/duffel is always a good idea, modern baggage handling systems don't do well with loose straps and buckles, they can get torn off, hopefully not ripping your ruck apart at the beginning of your trip.

cheers, and.

 

[clcuckow]

Blacks do a good tote bag just for this and gets all those straps and buckles out of the system.

 

[C_Claycomb]

Just be careful when you are packing that you don't do such a tight packing and wrapping job that you can't get into it in the airport. Or worse, once you have got into it, that it can't be re-assembled in 5 minutes by some :evil: security/customs official with more beer gut than brains.

I was over in Atlanta for the 2002 BLADE Show. My suitcase was CRAMMED with stuff I had picked up over the 2 week trip, plus various knives and such that I had from the show. I declared them at check-in and had to open the case. While one security person tried to find a way to test edge sharpness with the highest probability of spilling blood, the other ransacked my carefully packed luggage. When they were done they wadded all my stuff back into the case and all but had to sit on it to get it closed. I wasn't allowed to assist, "I might put something illegal in after it was searched". ARRRGHGHGH

Funny, they didn't give me a hard time about the knives. And the guy who searched at Heathrow had his hand on my 6" camp knife in my checked luggage and didn't notice :roll: but I got grilled on my fishing kit "Do those (hooks) need to be so sharp" :shock:

Best of luck! Hope you don't need to use your jiffy bag!!

Chris