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Keep Calm Carry-Ons: 5 Best TSA-Approved Pocket Knives

By SCOTT PACKARD

on 4.5.13

Photo by ERIC YANG

Many of us remember the days of over-zealous and hyper-vigilant guardians of flight security; I’ve had children’s safety scissors, nail clippers (sans nail file), and three wooden toy swords (gifts for my sons) turned away in the name of national security. Being a serving member of the military didn’t help, even on the occasion when I was flying with both a service rifle and pistol on a contract aircraft.

The lifting of the Transportation Security Agency’s prohibition on knives brings both a boon for your every day carry (EDC) and a challenge in deciding on a folding knife that meets the TSA’s parameters. The search may involve more than simply looking at the list of requirements, though — the first implementation of any bureaucratic policy runs into the reality of execution on the front lines. Wading into travel regulations and the many suitable sharp options on the market, we’ve found the five best pocket knives (plus a bonus) that will both get the odd job done andactually make it onto a plane.

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Wenger Esquire

The Safest Bet TSA-Approved Knife: With a compact design with 6 implements for 7 convenient functions, the Esquire Swiss Army knife (SAK) is a minimalist choice with lots of capability. It includes a pen blade, springless scissors, a nail file, a nail cleaner, a toothpick, tweezers and a key ring. It’s slightly larger than Victorinox’s Classic (both companies are owned by Victorinox, so the battle of “original” vs. “genuine” SAK is now moot). Wenger’s springless scissors are superior, with a serrated self-sharpening edge, and for this reason alone the Esquire is the better choice. Consign yourself now to the eventual loss of the toothpick and then the tweezers — it happens with every SAK, Wenger or Vic.

BUY NOW: $17

Victorinox Midnite Minichamp

Best Well-Turned-Out TSA-Approved Knife: The 2.25-inch Midnite Minichamp is a SAK that packs 16 tools (TSA-compliant blades included) into a slim pocket carry. This knife adds an LED light to the basic Minichamp, a nice touch while you’re rooting around for your socks under a strange bed at 2 a.m. The most complete keychain-sized mini SAK from Victorinox, the multi-tool has 2 different blades, scissors, nail file with nail cleaner, cuticle pusher (works better than dragging ‘em on the ground, Neanderthal), screwdriver with ruler, a fruit peeler with scraper (trust me, she’ll love this), a marginal bottle opener with a magnetic Philips screwdriver, wire stripper, pressurized ballpoint pen and either tweezers or a toothpick — pick one and then replace it with the other when you lose the first.

BUY NOW: $48

K.I.S.S. (keep it small, stupid)

The TSA provides a list of constraints (must haves) and restraints (must not haves) for allowed edged blades: no more than 2.36 inches in length, 0.5 inches in width, with no blade lock and devoid of a molded handle. Those eased restrictions still have many in the EDC community scratching their collective heads. Measuring differences are going to be the bane of anyone who skirts the edge of the limits — tip to tang versus the blade proper will present a learning curve for TSA’s execution in the trenches. Don’t bet your recent acquisition on a basically trained Transportation Security Officer’s ability to make the distinction. Government agencies are ever conservative, but all the more so where life safety applies, so err on the small side, as there will be growing pains during the breaking-in period for the policy.

Case Peanut XX Prime Stag Pocket Knife

Best TSA-Approved Classic Jackknife: Coming out of the box razor sharp, the Case Peanut looks like a knife your grandfather carried. The stag handle makes each knife unique, and the antler will wear with age and use to add even more character. While not quite large enough for traditional carving, the Peanut handles small chores will style and agility. It measures 2.875 inches closed, and weighs 1.2 ounces — the right size to disappear into your pocket, yet large enough to get those sundry jobs around the house, yard, and office done; its second blade gives you a utility tool to conserve the edge of the main blade.

While the stag-handled version comes in stainless steel (not “surgical” steel, as mislabeled by Amazon), Case also offers several Peanuts with CV (Chrome Vanadium, or high carbon steel) blades for those who prefer carbon steel for the ease with which it takes a fine edge and acquires a patina. W.R. Case and Sons Cutlery Company has been making premium, hand-crafted knives for more than a century and still crafts the knives in Bradford, Pennsylvania with the finest materials and time-honored techniques.

BUY NOW: $69

Gerber Dime

Best TSA-Approved Entry-Level Multi-tool: The Dime is a solid basic option for light duty. While it elicits complaints regarding fitment and flimsiness, and initial tool opening tightness is a real fingernail destroyer, the inexpensive multi-tool handles small jobs just fine, and the package opener is convenient for cracking plastic clamshells. The scissors are better than most, as is the bottle opener, though both have a learning curve (hint: use the scissors right-side up).

BUY NOW: $16

Leatherman Squirt ES4

Best TSA-Approved Multi-Upgrade Knife: With the Leatherman Squirt, you get a significant bump in quality and durability — for only a few dollars more. Leatherman’s keychain multi comes with both needlenose pliers and a pair of scissors, eliminating a previous compromise in earlier models. For even more utility, the pliers come with wirestrippers in five gauges, from 20GA to 12GA, making the Squirt a no-brainer choice for a computer network tech. The mechanics of the Squirt are rock solid, and the tool opens and closes smoothly. (As a disclaimer, I’ve carried a Leatherman of one variation or another for over 25 years, and I’m partial to their tools.)

BUY NOW: $22

Emerson Hummingbird

Bonus: Best TSA-Approved Premium Holdout: Ernest Emerson, the maker of high-end tactical folders popular with military and law enforcement, is rumored to be modifying his Hummingbird blade to be TSA-compliant. A craftsman who focuses on utility over art, Emerson is a proponent of knives as both tool and weapon, and he designs and builds them for hard use, with 154cm high carbon steel and a chisel-grind edge. While we advocate you remain seated with your seatbelt securely fastened during flight, an Emerson would be the EDC you’d want if you get the call, “Let’s roll”.

LEARN MORE: HERE

cool .............

Jorge Lorenzo grabs 2013 Qatar pole position

fromTWOWHEELSBLOG

The first ever QP2 session in MotoGP with only 12 riders (10 plus the top 2 from QP1 joining them) saw Jorge Lorenzo take the first pole position of the season, his 26th in MotoGP and the 52nd of his career.

The Yamaha rider posted a blistering 1:54.714, but he had to sweat it as Cal Crutchlow continued to be in stunning form as he was the first rider to head under the 1.55 mark as he scored the second spot on tomorrow’s starting grid and it was his 9th front row start in MotoGP.

Dani Pedrosa took the third spot and he was a little more than four tenths adrift, while Repsol Honda rookie Marc Marquez will have to start sixth in his first qualifying session. Marquez had a small contact with Pedrosa, because the veteran MotoGP rider slowed down on the racing line because he thought he was being used as a tow, which ruined one of Marquez’ fast laps.

A surprisingly effective Andrea Dovizioso in his first qualifying session on the Ducati GP13 missed out on a front row start pipped by Pedrosa by a mere 0.009. Stefan Bradl finished fifth while Valentino Rossi completely messed up his qualifying and he was only 7th, almost a second adrift and will have to start from the third row with Alvaro Bautista and MotoGP rookie Bradley Smith who took 9th in his first ever MotoGP qualifying session, while the third MotoGP rookie, Andrea Iannone was 10th after passing QP1 with CRT rider Aleix Espargaro.

Nicky Hayden couldn’t do better than 11th and was more than 1.9 seconds adrift and 1.5 seconds slower than his new team mate. Aleix Espargaro who was the fastest rider in Q1 will start in 12th. Pramac Ducati’s Ben Spies was unable to make it into QP2, as he suffered a hard crash in FP4 which no doubt hampered his performance.

MotoGP Qatar QP2 results and starting grid:

01- Jorge Lorenzo – Yamaha Factory Racing – Yamaha YZR M1 – 1’54.714
02- Cal Crutchlow – Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 0.202
03- Dani Pedrosa – Repsol Honda Team – Honda RC213V – + 0.437
04- Andrea Dovizioso – Ducati Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP13 – + 0.446
05- Stefan Bradl – LCR Honda MotoGP – Honda RC213V – + 0.763
06- Marc Marquez – Repsol Honda Team – Honda RC213V – + 0.931
07- Valentino Rossi – Yamaha Factory Racing – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 0.997
08- Alvaro Bautista – GO&FUN Honda Gresini – Honda RC213V – + 1.156
09- Bradley Smith – Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 1.601
10- Andrea Iannone – Energy T.I. Pramac Racing – Ducati Desmosedici GP13 – + 1.809
11- Nicky Hayden – Ducati Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP13 – + 1.953
12- Aleix Espargaro – Power Electronics Aspar – ART GP13 – + 2.350