TSA sharp items

Yes, you can. 1/2 inch is less than 4 inches.

Who knows! They are so inconsistent. My husband had a similar item attached to his keychain that he literally carried on for years, flying 6-8 times or more per year, and last time we flew they took it! A month prior he had flown with it no problem. Good luck to you. :)

I have found the same problem with the TSA in that they are so inconsistent with what is allowed from one trip to the next! I bought a TSA compliant belt from Bison Belts so I wouldn't have to take off my belt along with my shoes and it has worked perfectly for 2 years but then recently flying back from San Francisco the TSA agent told me take off my belt and when I told him (nicely) that it was TSA approved he got nasty asked me how would I like to be strip searched! To be fair though once while I was in Paris getting ready to fly back at CDG airport, we had arrived 3 hrs early and the lines were so long that I didn't think we were going to make our flight but a French Security person looked at our tickets and realized that we needed help and took us though the last security check and we boarded the plane 5 minutes before they closed the door, I am sure that person has a place in heaven. Another item that the TSA is inconsistent with is AAA batteries, most of the time no problem but I have had some taken away. I love to travel and will continue to do so but I think much of the anxiety and bad behavior we read about passengers on CNN, etc, is initiated with the fact that you have to run a gauntlet just to get to your boarding gate (which may change while your waiting) and then be crammed into a tight seat with little leg room. Now that my ranting is over I still love traveling in Europe (especially through the backdoor) and will do so till they lock me in the nursing home!

Where to buy a small corkscrew without a blad is another matter.

http://tinyurl.com/kcmzowq

You can buy all those things cheaply enough when you get there, or just buy wine in twist-cap bottles which are more common (and not second rate) there.

AAA batteries being taken? Never heard of that being an issue. Must of been a bad day for that TSA agent.

I travel weekly in my job and usually by air. I am a knitter and always take my knitting bag with me in my carry-on, which includes metal needles and small scissors. I also have in my purse a nail kit containing small scissors, nail clippers and a nail file. I have never had any of these items taken by TSA.

The only battery issues I have heard of were with lithium batteries, which cannot be loose. They have to be in their package or a case so that they don't roll around.

As stated above, it is the inconsistency which makes it tough. My mini-first-aid kit has scissors for cutting moleskin etc. They are (in total) about 3 inches long, with a bent and blunted tip. Mostly they are passed without comment however twice I got to open my suitcase and fish them out. A ball point pen is far more dangerous than those scissors could ever be, but no one has ever asked to see my pens.

Thanks, everyone, I appreciate all the info.

It is the TSA inconsistency I was concerned about. I could imagine a TSA agent saying the cuticle nippers are not considered scissors, therefore you can't take it aboard. Or that scissors have to have rounded points. Oh well, I guess I can just bring a nipper that isn't my favorite, and resign myself to having to buy one upon arrival if it comes to that.
Another TSA story: on a flight NY-Boston and back, I accidentally left a mini Swiss army knife in my purse. It got through the X-ray machine both times without question.
Thanks also for the info that screw-top wine bottles are more common and not second-rate in Europe. Last time I flew to Europe was before TSA existed, so I never had to think about this in those days.

Those Boomerang corkscrews are super! I may own a small collection of them ;-) But Remember - they MUST be in checked luggage flying FROM Europe!

I'm still at a complete loss as to why I can bring ballpoint pens and full-sized pointy scissors (at last check), but not those (typically) dull and crummy, tiny foil-cutter knives...although I HAVE seen those menacing, roving gangs of French sommeliers on CNN, threatening to poke peeps on airplanes with those dull foil cutters ;-)

Scary.

epltd reminded me - I carried a pair of binoculars in their case on a trip to Costa Rica. When I arrived, I realized that there was a little penknife in a tiny side pocket of the binocular case. It was a "free gift with purchase" that I had forgotten was there. I resolved to put the knife in my checked luggage on the way back, but I forgot. It made the return trip tucked away in its side pocket, undiscovered even though both directions (actually four flights total) the case went through the scanner. At the same Costa Rican airport on the way home, they confiscated my empty water bottle, but ignored the half-full one my daughter (my cute blonde daughter) had in the side pocket of her day bag, completely visible.

Coming back from Nova Scotia this summer my husband was pulled out for more screening, then searched very thoroughly. He was pulled out because he'd forgotten to get out his 3-1-1 bag. But it was the folding 4" knife in his coat pocket in his bag that got him more scrutiny. Since he didn't want to give up the knife, he checked the bag. An arrival, the zipper had ripped and the knife was gone.

All this was my fault. As I was packing a shared checked bag the night before, I'd asked him to put his coat in his carry on. I should have realized that he'd put his knife in the pocket, and I also should have anticipated that he'd forget about it the next morning. Silly me. I take complete responsibility.

When the screeners found the knife, one said, "How'd we miss that?"

Karen, sorry to hear about your bad experience. Travelers go out of their way to avoid checking a bag exactly because of mishaps like yours with ripped and ruined bags. I suppose it was just a coincidence that the bag containing the knife was damaged, right? (sarcasm)
I guess it does no good to fume about the vindictive attitude of TSA, just try to take it in stride and not let it ruin the trip. When I've had such experiences I've tried to remind myself that at least I and my loved ones arrived without injury.

@Eileen makes a good point about flying back to the U.S. from Europe. Countries there have different rules than the U.S., and those rules change just as frequently as the ones here. I flew to Brussels a few years ago and changed planes in London. I had a pair of nail scissors (less than 4", approved by TSA) which were flagged in security at Heathrow. They pulled me aside to go through my bag. A security agent told me that the rules for sharp objects changed very often (sometimes they allowed small scissors, sometimes not) so she had to check to make sure they allowed scissors that day!

@epltd, you solved your own problem: bring items you don't care about, in case they're confiscated. After that trip, I bought a cheap nail care set which I bring on every trip. If it's confiscated, I still have my better set at home.

There was no disputing that this knife should have been in carryon. It wasn't a little nail file of a knife, but a pretty serious fish-gutting, bear-scaring one. I do doubt that the suitcase just happened to rip right there, but whatever.

Go figure various rules on sharp items by security agencies around the world. My fully TSA acceptable corkscrew was confiscated by French staff. A very small folding scissors that had may international miles was recently confiscated in another country when passing through a security checkpoint. Hmmm.

Yes, Bruce, you are right. BTW, many thanks to Michael Schneider for the above link to the Amazon page selling a corkscrew w/o blade -- even though it might be this very model that was taken from you, Bruce! At less than $10 US it is not a terrible loss, though the inconsistent security rules certainly are annoying. These days most airlines charge more than that to check a bag.

After we'd gone through security in San Francisco on our way to Europe, I opened the pocket on my backpack where I keep my sunglasses case and small camera to discover a 6" Phillips screwdriver. Neither my husband or can figure out how it made it into my backpack?? We both whizzed through TSA Pre line without issue and were surprised the TSA didn't check it out or confiscate it. . Surprisingly we remembered to put in our checked bag on the way home, and the screwdriver made the round trip to Europe.

Again, the inconsistencies of the TSA at any one time or at a given airport.