Going through CDG the other day heading home, I was surprised when they scanned my carry-on backpack and asked me if I was carrying a knife. Since I carefully pack my six inch bladed "bread and cheese" knife in my checked luggage, not to mention such innocents as manicure scissors and mini sewing kit, of course I said no. They had me open things and started going through them -- mostly my toiletries. She paused looking at a fairly long metal comb I have, and also looked carefully at the two small umbrellas, and finally said to go ahead.
So I was shocked to get home, unpack and discover that potentially deadly knife in the side pocket of one of my grooming bags. Ooops. Yes, had put it there a couple of weeks ago thinking we might have wine and cheese on a train, but then forgot about it. How embarrassing, but not so much as if they had actually discovered it on me.

I went to Reagan National Airport a few weeks ago to drop off my son, who was flying to Chicago as an unaccompanied minor. When I went through security with him I was hauled over and the contents of my purse emptied. In it was my Laguiole picnic knife, which I carry with me everywhere. It was carefully examined and measured, and then I was told it was longer than was allowed in the State of Virginia and I could either leave the airport and dispose of the knife immediately or be arrested! Panic!
I ran back outside and threw the knife in a bush, then raced back inside to see my son off. I retrieved the knife later, but now I'm wondering if I've been harboring an illegal weapon for all these years. It's a little bit longer than a Swiss Army Knife,but otherwise pretty much the same configuration. It's gone back and forth to Europe with my (in checked luggage) many, many times. The only other time it was detected was at the Vatican a few years ago, when I was carrying it in my purse as I often do in Europe in the event we decide to have a picnic. A Vatican guard held it for me while we watched the Pope, then handed it back to me.

Years ago on the flight to Japan, my friend had a Swiss army knife with him. He was told he could not have it on his person during the flight, but that it would be held for him to be collected at our destination. That seemed to us as a very reasonable solution. I have no objection whatsoever to surrendering anything deemed dangerous, but shouldn't the items be returned if the owner desires it? My husband's good (and expensive) nail scissors were confiscated, never to be seen again.

My husband is diabetic..Last summer, no one at Dulles even questioned all the needles in his carry on....same thing coming back from Heathrow. They must have shown up on the x-ray. Not a word said...

Glad it worked out okay Patrick. My husband had forgotten his Swiss Army knife was in his toiletry bag when we flew to Prague in May. It was found on x-ray, the bag searched and it was then confiscated. Unfortunately no bushes in front of the Intl. Term. at SFO.

Noticed your name on a post yesterday and will enjoy hearing about your trip.

Needles are not forbidden with a prescription. You were lucky about the knife--my husband has lost about 4 of them through carelessness and I lost my good Swiss knife because it was in my pocketbook for Paris picnics.

Mu husband recently flew from Newark to Minneapolis on business. In his toiletry kit was a corkscrew, which also had a small 3" (?) blade, like one on a pair of nail clippers. The security person in Newark looked at it and said OK. In Minneapolis it was confiscated as a weapon. The problem was not the corkscrew, but the small knife. My concern is why is there no consistency throughout the system?

I can agree with no consistency. After 9/11, I traveled thru San Juan (SJU) on AA several times with the same sewing kit in my carry-on. Then, all of a sudden, one month they decided to take away all of my safety pins from it. Go figure. Yet, I've gotten thru other security check points with a corkscrew (forgetting it was in my carry-on). Not much consistency.

My article I always worry about is Knitting Needles, but nobody has ever stopped me or taken my needles.

When you think about it, anyone can hurt anyone else with a pencil or pen if they have the desire to do so.

So the inconsistent rules and enforcement at airports are really quite silly, but oh well...

Hi Patrick,

I'm appalled that they searched your luggage and did not find your knife.

Thank goodness you are a good guy.
(I think)

Yes, I am just absolutely thrilled with the state of airline/airport security after hearing about all these little "oopsy-doopsy" stories..."embarrassed" is not the term that comes to my mind when someone with any sort of knife in their carry-on luggage gets through security...and "feeling sorry for them if they did get stopped for it" doesn't come to mind either.

This reminds me of how many airport terms are oxymorons after 9/11:

airport security
cargo inspections
personal floatation device
secure checkpoint
air marshals
flight control tower

Lasy year, I forgot I had my wine bottle opener in a side pocket and it was taken away from me. I was very sad about that beause I had bought it many years ago on my first visit to Paris.

At the Raleigh-Durham (NC) airport, they now have a mailback option for items you can't take onboard and forgot to put in checked luggage. I think the service is $6 per item, though I think it is expensive, at least you will still have your stuff.

I think a knee to the crotch is about the most dangerous weapon I now carry-on, but I would love to bring my Swiss Army knife along and not check luggage.

Well, just to make everyone feel safer - Security at CDG airport in Paris recently refused to let me take my car-keys on board. Considering my car was parked in the UK airport I was going to and I had flown out with them, it was more than a little inconvenient to say the least. My keys are housed in a small plastic thingy, and spring out when you press a button (just like a flick knife). This is the key as issued with the car, so hardly my fault. Also, I failed to see why it posed any greater threat than a normal car key. It was just spring loaded, yet once released was just like any other key.
After much argument, the only reason they saw sense and allowed me to keep it was that it was a Citroen and I was told "Ah, Citroen. Mais oui!". Bloody jobsworths.

My Mum got her carry-on inspected at Paris CDG last November - they took out her nail scissor, but her Swiss knife made it onto the plane seemingly unnoticed by security.
Also, a couple of months ago, after passing security screening in Vienna, I found a nail file on the floor near the boarding gate - ohhh God forbid, nail files are weapons! I've seen more than one being confiscated...

So much for security

Federico
Venice, Italy

My husband and I were coming back from Thailand and had checked thru security in BKK and Taiwan and then arrived in San Francisco. When we went thru security in SFO, they were going to take my husband's good cigar cutter! Not sure what they thought it might be used for. It's not a knife at all. It's not even scissors! Oh well... he did get to mail it to himself before going thru security and it arrived back home safe and sound. No one mentioned it in ORD, BKK, Phuket, Taiwan... but SFO said, "You can't have that!" Things are very inconsistent.

My beloved Tahitian corkscrew was confiscated in Rome this year, but it had gone through unnoticed at LAX. I keep it in a leather toiletry bag that I never unpack, just keep adding to it, so I didnt realize it was a the bottom of the bag in my carryon.
The inspector girl just said,
"you should have realized it" and threw it in the trash. What a shame I hadn't realized it, I loved my little corkscrew.....

Last September at CDG, I had a pottery pitcher wrapped in bubblewrap in my carryon. The security woman told me that although she would let me go, technically it was not allowed because I could break it once onboard and then have a sharp weapon! Needless to say, I was very glad she let me keep it.

When we visited the Badia a Coltibuono winery in Chianti, we bought two bottles of wine to bring home as well as two corkscrews with the name of the winery on them. We didn't pay attention at the time to the fact that they wrapped the corkscrews up with the bottles so we were surprised when a security screener at the Nice airport asked us to take out the bottles from our carry-on luggage. What amazed me was that, rather than confiscating these corkscrews on the spot, the screener was nice enough to let me go back to the ticket counter and send these through in a small bag as checked luggage.