9/17    Can you pack a knife in check-in luggages or is it totally banned?
        \- well i think it is possible all bets are off for a little while now
        but i have brought stuff like machetes, large daggers etc in checked
        luggage. the bans on checked baggage are usually combustibles,
        pressurized stuff, live electronics, agricultre and animals. i am
        not sure if the airlines or the national authorizies impose the rules
        on guns. i think the hard question is what random stuff will the
        disallow on carry on and how restrictive will they be on volume.--psb
        \_ I, and several other passengers, had toenail clippers and swissarmy
           knife keychains confiscated this past weekend...
           \_ I'm surprised they let you keep the toenails.
              \- i dontunderstand this things with the keychains ... are
              they concerned you can use them to pry stuff open? i mean i
              think i can do more damage hitting someone with my hiking
              boots or a mechnical pencil. eh? --psb
              \_ better safe than covered with searing hot jet fuel
                 \_ there's probably lots of ways to disguise primitive weapons
                    and get them aboard, but i guess it's good they're trying.
                    if you brought a selection of seemingly innocuous parts
                    you could probably build a more dangerous weapon.
        \_ I was just on Air Canada last nite (Toronto->SF), and check-in /
           security took about 1.5 hours. they replaced the knives on the
           flight dinner with plastic, but the forks were still metal.
           \_ I think a terrorist can stab someone with just a ballpen or a
              key, or break someone's neck with bare hands if he knows some
              martial arts.  I think the safest way is to handcuff everyone
              onto his seat and not allow bathroom breaks.  But that's
              impractical, and handcuffing alone violates FAA regulations.
              -- yuen
              martial arts.  -- yuen