Poll: So the TSA is letting people carry knives on planes

[Arfonious]

Let me answer that with another question; Why would I want to carry a knife on a plane?

 

[x EvilErmine x]

Spoiler

You know, most explosives are highly toxic. Consuming even small amounts could cause them to vomit blood. Yes, suicide bombers could probably take that risk because they wouldn't care about getting sick. It's not like they're planning to live it through anyway, that's true. However if they were to drink something that would make them them deadly sick and cause them to lose the skin inside their mouth don't you think that would be enough to tip us off that they are not carrying water?

Oh, you also conveniently ignored the part where I said that I wasn't saying that there was no danger danger in letting us bring water. You ignored the part where I said a knife can be used as a murder weapon, you ignored that I mentioned it can be used to make a bomb. Tell me how a knife is less dangerous than a bottle of water. Because that's the point I am trying to make here.

But some are not :3 Im pretty confident nitroglycerin isnt toxic immediately. All im saying is if they are aware the only test is to drink it thats easily bypassed.

I didnt address those because i agree. A knife is way more dangerous.

The points i disputed were these two, everything else we agreed on:

Tasting was a useful test in any way shape or form.

Testing the liquid would be easy or more efficient.

The rest isnt relevent to what i wanted to say. We agree.

WTF?...Why are you even bring a knife on a plain in the first place? What's that all about? What possible use would you have for a blade while on a flight?

If you absolutely need a knife where you are going then check that shit in with your luggage and and declare it with customs.

Oh and btw, anyone who says a 6cm blade isn't really that dangerous is talking out of their arse. Anything with an sharp edge can be deadly in the right hands (or should that be wrong hands?).

EDIT

It's not toxic, it's actually sometimes used to treat Angina as it can promote vasodilation and increase blood flow.

In cases of high exposure (such as industrial exposure from demolition explosive) then it can cause intense headaches, a condition known as 'bang head' lolz

Nitrglycerin is lethal in doses higher than 200mg-1200mg so it is classified as highly toxic even though it is used as heart medication. In fact a lot of medicines are highly toxic.

However I will agree that neither tasting or chemical testing are good solutions. I just find airport security in general to be stupid and that it's a step in a stupider direction when they suddenly will allow knives.

Cases of Nitroglycerin toxicity are rare and the symptoms are generally mild. 200mg-1200mg is the estimated toxic dose and i would add that it's not a very precise estimate either as there's 1000mg of wiggle room there, that's a fair bit. Treatment for an OD is generally just to increase central fluid volume to counter the drop in blood pressure from the vasodilation. So i would argue that it's actually just mildly toxic as the definition of highly toxic would be a chemical substance that has an LD[sub]50[/sub] of equal or less than 50mg/Kg body weight.

 

[MeChaNiZ3D]

Holy s***, really? While I can't see anyone holding up a plane with a pocketknife with any success, they could injure someone. I'm not entirely sure about the TSA's policies, but when I go on planes they don't allow fucking nail clippers, and I'd like to see all sorts of mundane but still sharp objects declared safe before knives.

Actually though, something I find hilarious whenever I go to an airport: the signs telling you what you can't bring on the plane start with "Sharp objects", and then "blunt objects", which begs the question: What manner of object ARE you allowed to bring?

 

[Gearhead mk2]

This is a really bad idea, and it shows just how stupid security can be sometimes.

 

[Geo Da Sponge]

Actually though, something I find hilarious whenever I go to an airport: the signs telling you what you can't bring on the plane start with "Sharp objects", and then "blunt objects", which begs the question: What manner of object ARE you allowed to bring?

I guess you're only allowed to bring objects which aren't blunt, but are made of a material that can't effectively be "sharp". So you're only allowed objects which are in sharp shapes, but made out of foam.

 

[Duncan Belfast]

And knives can be used to stab and kill someone. With a 6cm blade I could even use it to make a bomb.

How do you make a bomb with just a knife?

 

[Combustion Kevin]

I was flying last summer and while in Holland I had the chance to close-read one of the posters that announced what wasn't allowed on a plane. Amongst them were catapults and ballistas.

Well, how would they feel if they didn't ban them, and a terrorist brought down a plane with a trebuchet?

Cap: bark ing mad

Yeah, like that.

someone should make a game outta that, dog-fighting planes where you use medieval siege weaponry strapped to your aircraft, maybe even some broadsword boarding action in mid-air.

 

[Bug MuIdoon]

awesome! Having to find a pocket knife shop every time I go somewhere with just hand luggage is annoying as hell. It's cool they're realising that knives are needed by some people and that they're really not that big of a threat on a plane anyway.

 

[derelict]

Eh, knives are only as dangerous as the people wielding them. Same for guns I suppose, though it is easier to use a gun. I'm not sure I'm alright with a bunch of excitable and generally useless people getting hero complex on a cramped aircraft because they think their 2 inch implement is a useful force multiplier, but it may help discourage future assailants from taking the chance in the first place.

 

[zerragonoss]

I just want to point out than in most places the under six cm no fixed blade thing is how they define knives so legally they are not letting you take a knife on planes just utility blades or something. I know this quite while as I have been allowed to carry multiltools with a blade or two on them for years in school because they are not legally knive.

 

[The Funslinger]

Shouldn't the insane rulings start by removing the insane rulings rather than those who can be justified? Sure a 6cm knife wont be enough to hijack the plane or kill a lot of people, but you could stir up some hell. However a bottle of water, a tube of toothpaste, jam, perfume or moisturizer is strictly prohibited.

I might be wrong, but I don't think the problem is with those things, but rather liquid/paste/gel explosive compounds could easily be disguised as those things.

OT: Cool, I'm a habitual swiss army knife carrier. Although I'm English, and thus subject to British airport security. Damn.

 

[the doom cannon]

Yay! I can finally carry my swiss army knife and multitool on the plane again! This makes me really happy

 

[Yopaz]

Shouldn't the insane rulings start by removing the insane rulings rather than those who can be justified? Sure a 6cm knife wont be enough to hijack the plane or kill a lot of people, but you could stir up some hell. However a bottle of water, a tube of toothpaste, jam, perfume or moisturizer is strictly prohibited.

I might be wrong, but I don't think the problem is with those things, but rather liquid/paste/gel explosive compounds could easily be disguised as those things.

OT: Cool, I'm a habitual swiss army knife carrier. Although I'm English, and thus subject to British airport security. Damn.

Yes it can, but a knife can pose even more of a threat, even a small one.

And knives can be used to stab and kill someone. With a 6cm blade I could even use it to make a bomb.

How do you make a bomb with just a knife?

All it takes is a little chemistry using only the knife and things you're allowed to bring or things they actually give you on the plane. That's all I am willing to share.

 

[Lightknight]

I remember taking a flight with my troop when I was a kid and we all had pocket knives. But I don't really have any reason to have a pocket knife as an adult.

 

[Something Amyss]

Sure a 6cm knife wont be enough to hijack the plane or kill a lot of people

6 cm is still larger than the standard boxcutter blade. They used boxcutters to hijack planes on 9-11.

Bad example?

I know people are all hasty to try and justify less safety, but still.

 

[Aramis Night]

Eh, knives are only as dangerous as the people wielding them. Same for guns I suppose, though it is easier to use a gun. I'm not sure I'm alright with a bunch of excitable and generally useless people getting hero complex on a cramped aircraft because they think their 2 inch implement is a useful force multiplier, but it may help discourage future assailants from taking the chance in the first place.

This has always been one of the major reasons i have a hard time accepting the official story of what happened aboard the 9-11 flights. I mean seriously, box cutters?! Those are no more dangerous than what the TSA is now allowing with these knives. Yet i'm supposed to believe that it was enough for 6 people to overcome an entire plane full of people, let alone 2 planes. I'm not saying i'm a truther that believes the government was involved(I don't dismiss the theory either), but its just a rather hard version of events to accept.

 

[Vrach]

I dunno, I'm not really much of a guy to freak out over plane takeovers and such, but I don't see why this would be allowed. You can put your pocket knife into your luggage (or can you? I remember my aunt having some problems, but that was in Austria I believe; still, point stands, just allow them in the luggage if they're not already) and I don't think it's worth changing the rule just to make life a tiny bit easier for those flying with only overhead luggage.

I'd personally just implement a thing where such knives (and any other similar objects) would be labeled and placed into a special luggage that holds such items for all the passengers that are flying with only overhead luggage and need to carry a pocket knife. Implement a tiny fee for such things and that option works for the airline company and I personally wouldn't mind paying a small amount of money for such an occasion (I carry my Swiss Army knife with me at all times too, it's on my keyring). For the frequent flyers, they could always just work that into whatever plan they have for them to not make it a constant expense.

The thing is that while such knives are not really that dangerous, anything that can cause panic on a plane is generally best avoided. That said, I'm not all that familiar with airline security on board, so if they can deal with such issues swiftly and without any problems, I guess it's fine. I'd still stick to the "chuck em all in a box and throw it in with the luggage" solution though, just seems the simplest and safest solution to me.

 

[spartan231490]

So starting April 25th of this year (that's next week) the TSA is going to start letting people carry small pocket knives on planes again. The selection of knives you can bring is rather limited, you can only bring folding knives that have a blade length of less than 6 cm, a blade width of less than half an inch. No fixed blade knives, no molded grips, and no locking blades will be allowed on any of the knives.

Considering these rules, will any of you be taking pocket knives on board any flights in the future? If so what kind of pocket knives are you bringing?

Personally, I think it's a really dumb decision to allow knives on planes again, but considering that they are allowing it I would love to bring one (since I'm one of those people that always carries one on him anyway). Problem is, I don't have a single knife that fits all these characteristics. Most of my folding knives either have liner or frame locks, and even the ones that don't tend to have blades longer than 2.5 inches (a hair over 6cm). Even the smallest knife I have, a spyderco grasshopper, wouldn't be allowed on a plane because the blade is wider than 1/2 an inch.

edit: For those asking why someone would even NEED a knife on a plane in the first place, my response is that you don't necessarily need the knife on the plane. The thing is that many people don't like checking their bags, so they prefer to fly with nothing but carry on baggage (I'm one of those people). For those people who like to have an everyday carry knife with them it's nice to actually have the option to bring it on their trip without having to check their luggage. It has little to do with having a knife on the plane, and more to do with having their knife available to them at their destination without having to entrust the airline with their baggage.

6 cm is 2 and a third inches. Second, a knife with these characteristics isn't a knife, it's a paperweight/letter-opener. I wouldn't even use such a crappy knife to cut boxes at work.

 

[Yopaz]

Sure a 6cm knife wont be enough to hijack the plane or kill a lot of people

6 cm is still larger than the standard boxcutter blade. They used boxcutters to hijack planes on 9-11.

Bad example?

I know people are all hasty to try and justify less safety, but still.

Why thank you for quoting me entirely out of context. I know this is your thing so I am not surprised though. After spending so much time explaining why carrying a small blade can be so dangerous it's really nice to be informed that they can be dangerous.

 

[CriticalMiss]

I don't really carry a knife around, although I used to have a multitool that had one on it which I guess I would carry on to a plane if I still had it and needed it for opening bags of horrid peanuts or stabbing people who snore.

But since we are suggesting things that the TSA overlooked, what is their stance on sharpened sticks? Like super sharp and pointy ones.