TSA compliant pocket "knife"

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Jan 18, 2020
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Hey ya'll. I'm looking to get a TSA compliant pocket "whatever" that feels like a pocket knife. Basically, I've been carrying pocket knives whenever I go out, and I immediately panic when I'm missing any of phone, wallet, or knife.. because I've carried them in same pocket. Every single time when I do not have a pocket knife because I have to fly, i hate the feeling.

So what I need is NOT something like Leatherman Style PS, or a Victorinox without cutting edge.
Because they DO NOT HAVE pocket clips.

What I need is something like this:
But the only thing is that.. it would be pockey and my front pocket would be ruined. So if something like that but in a format of a folding knife would be awesome.
Would anyone know of any product?
 
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I don’t know of any options for ya. But I have a sneaking suspicion that the TSA is still gonna give you a load of crap about carrying something that looks like a folding pocket knife and has a point on it. If it remotely looks like something, no matter how much you argue that it isn’t something, they’re gonna assume it’s something, and take it.
 
I don’t know of any options for ya. But I have a sneaking suspicion that the TSA is still gonna give you a load of crap about carrying something that looks like a folding pocket knife and has a point on it. If it remotely looks like something, no matter how much you argue that it isn’t something, they’re gonna assume it’s something, and take it.
fo sho Danny. I dont want it look like a pocket knife, just feel like it. So it can be a folding spoon or whatever, that just has a pocket clip and folding.
 
Get yourself a little flashlight with a clip. I bet TSA would confiscate that prybar.
 
Oops. Shoulda read first…
 

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They don’t even let you take nail clippers in a carry-on bag. These things are very cool little pocket tools, but even though they have no knife blade, they still look like pocket knives. And the scissors are sharp and pointy, so I see both of those ending up in the collection bin.
 
Well, you already excluded the two best and most practical options.

Maybe try searching for fidget toys instead of knives? You might have better luck finding something that fits your needs in that category.
 
TSA prohibits tools with or without a blade. They're afraid you'll dissemble the aircraft while in flight, or something. 🙄
The only options that work are:
1) Put the knife in a checked bag.

2) Buy a knife at your destination, and either gift it to someone there or mail it home when you leave. (if you're out of the country you reside in Customs  might be an issue when you mail it home.)

3) Mail the knife to yourself prior to leaving, far enough ahead of time for Customs to clear it, if applicable. (It would suck if it arrived at your hotel two or more days after you got home.)

I think (1) and (2) are the more popular options. (2) ensures your knife is legal to carry at your destination, if there are restrictions on things like blade length, locking blades, etc. at your destination.
 
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The Leatherman Style PS is supposed to be TSA compliant.

style-ps-black-fanned.jpg
 
"The final decision rests with the TSA officer on whether an item is allowed through the checkpoint."
 
The lady who cuts my hair recently flew and carried on her professional scissors, which met TSA guidelines. Now if I disassemble those scissors in flight, I have a very pointed instrument with a sharpened edge, yet a Classic SD gets thrown in the TSA bucket? Come on...
 
OP, for something that folds with a clip, consider a folding comb with a pocket clip?

For my travel tool, I got a Micra and snapped off the blade, then rounded it to a nub. Sometimes it goes through fine, sometimes it’s a problem that requires a TSA “manger’s” intervention after a little bit of arguing. But it is always approved eventually, as none of the individual items are prohibited—scissors, nail file, tweezers, bottle opener, screwdrivers.
 
Man, this is a tricky one! I don't know that I've ever seen a pocket tool which folds, has a pocket clip, isn't a knife, and isn't a TSA-approved model of a knife (which you've ruled out). Lots of stuff with pocket clips that don't fold, like flashlights and prybars, but those don't fit the bill.

What about a Chaves CHUB Flipper with no blade in it? Basically a folding knife, but you can remove the blade (and make it useful again when you land with a quick trip to the hardware store). For a cheaper alternative, lots of tool companies make folding box cutters like this; we keep a Klein Tools folding box cutter handy for packages, and it was something like $15.
 
All depends on who you get and what kind of mood they’re in. In my intentionally limited airport experience over the last 20+ years, I’ve found TSA agents to be right up there with DMV employees on the zero-congeniality scale.
 
I know a jeweler who had a hard time trying to carry on a set of small tols. They said they were "bomb making" equipment.

Think he got to check them.
 
TSA prohibits tools with or without a blade. They're afraid you'll dissemble the aircraft while in flight, or something. 🙄
The only options that work are:
1) Put the knife in a checked bag.

2) Buy a knife at your destination, and either gift it to someone there or mail it home when you leave. (if you're out of the country you reside in Customs  might be an issue when you mail it home.)

3) Mail the knife to yourself prior to leaving, far enough ahead of time for Customs to clear it, if applicable. (It would suck if it arrived at your hotel two or more days after you got home.)

I think (1) and (2) are the more popular options. (2) ensures your knife is legal to carry at your destination, if there are restrictions on things like blade length, locking blades, etc. at your destination.

Dont forget to thank the flight attendants union for lobbying hard and crying crocodile tears when they were going to allow small knives on flights and ruining it for us.
 
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