EDC in Airports - a modest proposal

So, here's my thought. When you forget a knife in your pocket at an airport, they give you a token in exchange for the beloved tool you're losing.

At the other end, you give the local security folks the token, and they let you pick a knife from the pile they've picked up since the last time somebody came by to pick up the knives they've confiscated.

Entirely too reasonable, I think.

I'd prefer a Fedex or UPS kiosk with a large supply of prepaid padded envelopes and a shipping drop point.

:buddies:

Airport security can't estimate the value of the knives.
One could walk in the departure airport with the cheapest knife on sale on DX, and come out from the arrival airport with the most expensive knife he can find.

Every time I see a modest proposal, I think Jonathon Swift aka Eating Babies.

They could easily take your knives, secure them somewhere in the cabin (or luggage compartment?) and return them to you at your destination.

But who said common sense was common?

They should have a set of small lockers, the size of the smallest post office boxes and rent them out for a couple bucks per day, or at a special rate if you are going to be gone for months at a time. Then when you return, just go to your locker and remove all your personal items. This may not be the best solution for inexpensive items, but for the more expensive things and those which hold a sentimental value this would be great if it were an option.

They will never do lockers because you could put an explosive in to go off at another time say near a holiday when they airport is full of people. Remember back in the seventies the airport itself was the target and we will get back to those days because they plane is more secure.I remember a couple of airport assaults with AK 47 's way back those could happen again.By the way I recently flew through Detroit they make sure you're disarmed and provide lots of nice planters filled with small trees and 4" diameter rocks in them HELLO!!

How about they just let us carry small folders like SAKs on airplanes again?
I don't need my Benchmade Infidel, or my Spiderco Waved Endura. But the stupidity of what you can't take on airplanes still just boggles my mind every time I travel. Especially when one considers many of the other things can still be found in an airplane.

OfThis is why I tend to completely empty my pockets into my checked bag - no more forgetting stuff

Qoose said:

Every time I see a modest proposal, I think Jonathon Swift aka Eating Babies.

Click to expand...

i think thats what he was getting at, baby skin makes for great gloves.

my luck would be me walking in with my strider and getting a craptacular gerber.

My friend brought along a strider but put it in luggage. No worries whatsoever. No-No to hand carry though.

Yeah, I'd sort of been thinking of going in with $3 swiss army knives and coming out with, er, something a little nicer as the punchline of the joke.

Such a dumb system. The SASE thing is totally the way to do this, and they should be required to have US post office pre-paid envelopes for sale **at cost** at security, not for like $40 or something - show some respect for flyers!

I was going from London to Italy and after checking my bag I remembered the small Leatherman in my pocket. I walked out the main doors, found a bush to hide it in and picked it up 5 days later when I got back. It was fine.

Jay R, sounds like a novel idea to me, but no convenient bushes that I recall at my local airport. Besides, if someone happened to see someone hiding something, there might be some really bad consequences.

At Fairford airshow a couple of years ago the security at the gates was much tighter than previous years (thanks bin laden). Anyway the silly sod forgot he was carrying his swiss army pen knife, it was predictably confiscated and placed in a bin with all the others. On our exit he asked for it back, the guard laughed and said ok if you can identify yours ... Chris was OK with this as his was the only blue special edition McClaren one in the bin.

He was a tit though for taking it in as we knew security would be in place. Oddly though that year it was still possible to purchase an axe or a selection of sharp knives from the tool stalls on the airfield.

Oh happy days....

B

LOL, last time I flew a year ago, I made the mistake of leaving my 9V Paklite in my pocket and nearly crapped my britches when the airport security guy was examining it, asking what it was, etc. He did let me pass thru with it. I wouldn't have entirely blamed him if he confisticated it. Who knows, with today's technology, maybe a small bomb could have been hidden in the LED head.

:sigh: All I can say is I miss the days carrying a smallish knife while flying and bringing my own beverage into the departure area. The knife I've become accustomed to not having...I just carry a bigger light.