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Not sure if this is the correct place to post this or not but just needed to vent a little to someone who might understand. Also sorry about the length. I just got back from traveling for business. I brought along some scrapbooking tools and items to use while waiting out the 2 hours in the airport. I had gotten through security with my bag of tricks - paper piercer, brads, eyelets, scissors, paper trimmer, crop-a-dile etc on Tuesday. Saturday came around and it was time for me to head home. I went through security at that airport and the lady at security said she had to check my bag. I said no problem and that it was all just scrapbooking things. I figured she might take my paper piercer... maybe even my scissors. She reached in to my bag and took out my CAD. She said that she needed to go measure it. I told her that was fine. I waited patiently for her to come back. She did but also brought with her an older gentleman who was holding my CAD like it was a weapon and told me that i could not take it with me because it was too long. TOO LONG!? I have never heard of that rule before!! I told him what it was for and that I had previously gotten through security with it at a different airport. He told me that "if you are getting through security with something like this it's because the people at that airport aren't doing their job and they don't care about your safety". I was like oh great! Thanks for sharing that. I asked him what my options were. He said that I could either let him throw it away *gasp!* or I could check a bag with it in it. I explained to him that it was worth $50 and I couldn't let him just throw it away and that the only bag I had left was my open top mesh bag with my carry on stuff - wallet, other scrapping stuff, laptop etc. - in it and that I would not be checking that bag. He then told me that my last option would be to go to this little mailing center in the airport and mail it to myself for $15. I asked how long it would take for it to get to me and he said at least 3 weeks. 3 WEEKS?!?! I was trying my best to stay calm and keep myself collected and he then told me that if I was going to get upset he wouldn't let me have it and that he would just throw it away! Needless to say I kept myself together got it back from him went out of security to mail it and then came back through security fuming! ARGH! I could understand them taking my scissors, or paper piercer, maybe even the blades for my cutter but seriously my CAD? and because it was a violation of length??? Needless to say if I decided to travel with my CAD again I will be packing it in a checked bag and not my carry on. Thanks for letting me rant for a bit!
It's a sad world we now live in when we cannot take innocent items like CAD onto a plane, I can fully understand the scissors, paper piercer, etc. There is a big discrepency between security at airports, not just in the US. If I come back to the US, I travel for more than 24 hours at a time. I have learned only to take stamped images and my watercolour pencils and blender pen. I am sorry you had this experience, but safety is the key issue.
Don't you just love how you can take a paper piercer which can kill someone if you tried, yet a CAD is somehow dangerous. Now you know why a bunch of crazy terrorists were able to do what they did with box cutters. You have to question the intelligence of our Homeland Security leaders and why they can't see what can harm and what can't. When will common sense ever win the day?
What a jerk! I'd be fuming too if I was you. The part where he said he wouldn't give it back if you didn't calm down shows that this was nothing more than a power trip. Of course, if it had be me, it would've been smart for him not to give it back because I would've knocked him silly with it for being a jerk. :p
My husband travels for his job and he has complained about the discrepancies in airport security. He says that some of the screeners are just jerks who enjoy the power that they have to make people miserable over tiny things. He's very careful about what he packs in his carry-ons but he's still run into a few a-holes.
I hope it doesn't take three weeks for it to show up.
Gosh, that sounds like such a pain, you'd need to vent after that.
I have to say I wouldn't even have tried bringing the scissors and paper piercer - given that bamboo knitting needles are a no-no. But the CAD, that surprises me when there aren't really any blades or points involved. Hope it doesn't take 3 weeks to get back to you.
This rule has been in place for quite a while now - I had a friend whose CAD was confiscated almost two years ago. The TSA website is a great source of information about what is and what is not allowed. Sorry for them taking it, but maybe this will help someone else in the future.
__________________ ~ Jennifer Ellefson Created From Paper, a paper crafting blog
The CAD is large enough & heavy enough to hit someone on the head or beat them to death. Therefore Security can consider it a weapon.
Sorry this happened.
Gosh, that sounds like such a pain, you'd need to vent after that.
I have to say I wouldn't even have tried bringing the scissors and paper piercer - given that bamboo knitting needles are a no-no. But the CAD, that surprises me when there aren't really any blades or points involved. Hope it doesn't take 3 weeks to get back to you.
Knitting needles are now okay to take on board, especially the bamboo ones:
Quote:
Transporting Knitting Needles & Needlepoint
Knitting needles are permitted in your carry-on baggage or checked baggage. However, there is a possibility that the needles can be perceived as a possible weapon by one of our Security Officers. Our Security Officers have the authority to determine if an item could be used as a weapon and may not allow said item to pass through security. We recommend the following when bring knitting needles on an airplane:
Circular knitting needles are recommended to be less than 31 inches in total length
We recommend that the needles be made of bamboo or plastic (Not Metal)
Scissors must have blunt points
In case a Security Officer does not allow your knitting tools through security it is recommended that you carry a self addressed envelope so that you can mail your tools back to yourself as opposed to surrendering them at the security check point.
As a precautionary measure we recommend that you carry a crochet hook with yarn to save the work you have already done in case your knitting tools are surrendered at the checkpoint
Most of the items needed to pursue a Needlepoint project are permitted in your carry-on baggage or checked baggage with the exception of circular thread cutters or any cutter with a blade contained inside. These items cannot be taken through a security checkpoint. They must go in your checked baggage.
As far as the CAD goes, he was most likely considering the CAD a tool. Here's the rules for tools from the TSA website:
Quote:
ItemCarry-onChecked Axes and Hatchets No Yes Cattle Prods No Yes Crowbars No Yes Hammers No Yes Drills and drill bits (including cordless portable power drills) No Yes Saws (including cordless portable power saws) No Yes Tools (greater than seven inches in length) No Yes Tools (seven inches or less in length) Yes Yes Screwdrivers (seven inches or less in length) Yes Yes Wrenches and Pliers (seven inches or less in length) Yes Yes NOTE: Any sharp objects in checked baggage should be sheathed or securely wrapped to prevent injury to baggage handlers and Security Officers.
I think he was probably going with the Wrenches and Pliers rule. The CAD is longer than seven inches. He was within regulations when he told you that you couldn't take it on in your carry on. While I feel for you, you really need to check to see what is allowed and what is not allowed before you go to the airport.
This kind of thing has been on the knitting boards for a while. Knitting needles are on the allowable list, but as you said, not everyone enforces the rules the same way. Knitters have been taking along their own mailing envelopes and stamps, and mailing projects back to themselves if they're stopped at security. Cheaper than $15, and regular mail, not some weird 3 week shipping.
Good grief! What a world we live in eh? I don't get why they let the paper piecer and scissors through. I would have thought those more dangerous than the CAD. If I have to fly with any of my crafty supplies, they'll be going in the checked bag. I don't wanna lose them. Just stinks because of coarse then you can't use them while you're sitting and waiting in the air port but, if I have to chose between being entertained and being safe, I'll pick safe.
Being safe is "great" however it is how the people doing the job of keeping us safe conduct themselves. We are reasonable people and if things are explained in a reasonable manner, most people will be OK. It is the way we are told that most upsets us. As if they are the Gods of the Airport and all seeing, all knowing--- and we are justs peons who must get their approval to breath. (Can you see I have been there?) Tact + good Customer (without us they have no job) Service go a long way. :-D Gerry
__________________ 1 husband, 5 children, 10 grandchildren, Life is Good! IF ALL ELSE FAILS, I READ THE DIRECTIONS
How terrible! But thank you for sharing it with us, now we all know. The links provided are really helpful, everyone should take a look. I know they are trying to keep us safe, but I just don't get why something shorter than 7 inches is any less dangerous than something over that. And then they allow a paper piercer? I guess checking everything is the best option these days.
__________________ Martha
"When you recover or discover something that nourishes your soul and brings joy, care enough about yourself to make room for it in your life." Jean Shinoda Bolen
I can't imagine taking such a large/heavy item for traveling in the first place.
As far as security/safety goes, I guess it's possible you could puncture someone's finger with it while in the air! So maybe that would clasify it as a weapon.
Sorry this happened to you. I had a pair of tweezers (my best pair) confiscated. Never thought of eyebrow tweezers being a safety concern. Like I'm going to pluck the pilot's unibrow.
__________________ Pia "I am not old and haggard. I am Shabby Chic."
There are three sides to this. Yes, the guy was just doing his job. No, he didn't have to be so rude about it. Yes, you could have checked your stuff, but now they charge money to check a suitcase and fares are so high to begin with! It's a scary time in this world.
So sorry to hear of your experience. When we were traveling on vacation this summer, my DS put the snow globe we bought him in his carry on. The security people would not let him through with it because the liquid inside could not be identified!! As if we were going to make a bomb out of a snow globe!! I understand their point, but my DS was devastated that they were going to take it and throw it away. My DH had to leave the security area and go back down to the ticket counter where the airline attendant was nice enough to put it in a cardboard box and check it at no charge. At least we had a good outcome.
I can't believe they didn't make a stink about the paper piercer. My paper piercer is seriously scary looking! Maybe like a mini ice pick or something!
__________________ Julia Gluten free on 9/15/2008. I am a Celiac. 1 in 133 Americans is a Celiac and 97% of those who have Celiac Disease are still undiagnosed. Are you one?
We need a stamper in charge of airport security!!!
Or at least a crafter in charge. I am looking for a new job, perhaps I should apply to work for the TSA as a screener. I can only imagine what I'd get to see there. I find people very entertaining so, after working for years in a busy emergency department it will take a lot to frazzle me. :mrgreen:
__________________ Just taking it one day at a time.....
Well, post 9/11 has sucked the fun out of alot of things and flying is definately one of them. I think the first time it really hit me was waiting in line to go into disney and going thru the bag search. Here I am entering into the "happiest place on earth" with thoughts of terrorists and how they changed our world. Now it seems kinda normal but the first time was shocking. That $15 and taking 3 weeks to get your CAD back seems like a racket though.
i know the last time I flew with a CAD I punched holes in the flight attendant and brad her to the gallery and stole all the liquor...
Seriously, there has to be a better way than to mail it. For $15 you can check a bag...seems like there is a business profit for the airline to provide the box and check the thing.
All I can say is do you look like a terrorist or something....? Of course I hope you know I am just kidding...I understand the security stance but I also know how it must have felt to be put in that position...hugs for you...I am not sure I would have been able to be so cool about it...but then if you dont keep calm next thing you know you will be thrown to the floor and treated like a criminal... Blessings.
Not quite the same, but I have flown with my young family internationally for several years and once the eldest child put his backpack through and the scanner went off... they wouldn't let me help him as it was his backpack - um HELLO????? I'm his mother - I bought his ticket, I am responsible for him until he is an adult.... in the end my son finally found what it was - a pen that lit up when he wrote!!!!!.
Oh and NEVER take play doh.
However once you travel a few times you get quite good at remembering where you packed things etc...
We went on a cruise last year and the theme on it was scrapbooking. So I took my stuff, and last minute, remembered to get my scissors. Stuck them in my purse/carryon. Well, in process of this, with my job at that time, I used a pick that resembled an ice pick on one end, and the other had a magnet on it.
Going thru security, they took the scissors and kept them. (Got them back at end of cruise,) But, never said a word about the pick. DUH !!!!!!!!! Do you think?
The CAD is large enough & heavy enough to hit someone on the head or beat them to death. Therefore Security can consider it a weapon.
Sorry this happened.
I am so sorry that this happened to you! I have to question the security of all of our airports if they confiscate a CAD but not so many other things I see when I travel. I mean if I wanted to, I could really hurt someone with the brick my company calls a laptop....or what about the straps on the bag I use to carry my laptop....or my purse, it could easily be considered a letal weapon on any given day...it weighs more than my kid does!!
Sounds to me like you got an absolute CREAP and they were just trying to assert authority!! I wish my life needed spicing up by something so trival! (I have enough drama; be happy to share with your agent!!!)
__________________ KC
What if the Hokey Pokey is what it is all about?!
I think sometimes and depending on the person rules are made up along the way. I traveled to Cali. from New Hampshire and had baby bottles full of formula. On the way out I had to have it tested. (then some BH knocked them over and spilled it everywhere) Then when I left Cali. they didn't even test them.???What's up with that???
He was pulling your leg. There is no length requirement. He knew EXACTLY what your crop-a-dile was, how versatile it is, and wanted it for his very own or to give it as a gift for a crafty loved one for the holidays. He said it was a violation thinking you wouldn't go through the trouble of mailing it and it would be his... ALL his...
Good for you for thwarting his evil intentions!!
(Yes, of course I am kidding! Sorry you had to go through this, as if traveling isn't stressful enough right?)
I had someone at security try to tell me my Dunkin' Donut wasn't allowed on baord and he'd have to confiscate it. AS IF!!
(NOT kidding!)
Thanks for letting the rest of us know. Hope it arrives soon!!
Hmmm... picturing ways the CAD would be a weapon is NOT easy! I mean, I can see throwing it being dangerous, but it would be hard to "eyelet" or "hole punch" someone to death!
I had a similar situation! I was on business travel about two years ago and on one evening my friend and I lucked out on a great sale at a craft store. I was so proud of the CAD I bought that evening with a big% off coupon.
I'm SO glad that I didn't take it out of the packaging, though, because I didn't think a thing about it when I went through airport security. Of course, they zeroed right it on it and pulled me aside. I'm not sure exactly what rule it was but they measured it and said it was just barely allowable. I was so thankful that I left it in the packaging because if not they may have confiscated it. The screener even had to bring another guy over and then they consulted and measured and looked something up and finally ruled that I could take it.
My friend, who sailed through security, was waiting for me laughing because she had warned me about it when I bought it and I had given her a flip reply that what was I gonna do- punch the pilot to death! Anyway, lesson learned for me -- here I get aggravated everytime I travel that someone always is "surprised" that they can't take liquids on board and yet I was busted for the CAD. Scissors I knew were allowable if they are less than so many inches long, but a CAD! I hope it gets to you very soon...
I fly frequently and the problem really is that some TSA agents are on a power trip. There is no consistency from airport to airport about anything.
I am careful of scrapping/stamping and needlework tools I carry but have several times (particularly in one airport) been subjected to WAY past the acceptable line searches because I wear leg braces! I actually had one agent insist on searching "under" my breasts and IN my crotch- "because you cannot walk through the scanner"- which I could have if she would have permitted me to use my crutches after they scanned them. I reported her as a pervert since she clearly enjoyed subjecting me to the humiliating search- and NOT in a screened off area but in front of all the other passengers. She also threatened to have me arrested if I "resisted".
Other incidents were nowhere near as severe, but I have had embroidery scissors confiscated at one airport when I got them there through another airport, (and embroidery scissors ARE allowed), had a tatting shuttle questioned, things like that. I once was waiting in line when a really rotten and nasty TSA agent confiscated bandage scissors (the kind with only one point!) from a patient who was clearly recently post-op, who had paperwork from her doctor about her recent surgery, and who explained calmly to the agent that she would need to change her bandages before she reached her destination due to plane changes and airport delays. They took the scissors anyway.
Next time, get the TSA agent's name and report him. They are doing a very important job and I don't disagree with the rules, but I DO disagree with the ones who use their position to harass and intimidate, just because they can. That guy was rude and un-necessarily threatening to you and should be reported.
(hole) punch them for being over keen-
Just messing I am sorry this happened and even more sorry that the world is a place where a ababy bottle of milk can be a weapon!
Jules x
The CAD is large enough & heavy enough to hit someone on the head or beat them to death. Therefore Security can consider it a weapon.
Sorry this happened.
Just about anything can be used as a weapon. What about ball pointed pens? 3" scissors still can do enough damage to someone if they wanted to..
I understand why the rules are there, but some of them are just ridiculous. I travel for my job often, and the things that they complain about I usually argue back and say "The TSA site says.." and I have a printed copy with me.. they then leave me alone because I check everything before I go to make sure it will work on my carry on. I usually check most of my SB stuff other than the minor things that fit into my bookbag because some of the TSA agents just don't know any better, or if they are having a bad day decide that they are calling the shots. I give them points for putting up with the BS that they do sometimes, but I know some of them give a hard time, just to give a hard time.
OP, I'm sorry that you had to pay that much to ship your tool home. :-(
But my sympathies are with the TSA officers. They have a completely thankless job and I've personally witnessed them being harassed in ways that were just mind boggling to me. AND they are constantly being "tested" by undercover "'passengers" If they don't follow the rules they can be suspended or fired.
Of course, there are all kinds of people in every profession. If you think they are being unreasonable, get their name off their name tag and document, who, when and where you are and submit a comment. Check the TSA website.
We travel a good bit and there are inconsistencies, but don't count on the rules not being enforced. Better to be safe than sorry. And I've found that a bit of planning and disclosure go a long way. I always point out questionable stuff right away so that they don't have to "find" it, KWIM? The only thing I ever forgot was a bottle of Pepto Bismol LOL. I took a big swig, threw it away, and apologized. The TSA guy laughed about it with me.
I think sometimes and depending on the person rules are made up along the way. I traveled to Cali. from New Hampshire and had baby bottles full of formula. On the way out I had to have it tested. (then some BH knocked them over and spilled it everywhere) Then when I left Cali. they didn't even test them.???What's up with that???
Your allowed a certain amount of premixed formula through security without it being screened. At least from my understanding. The TSA website should tell you more about that, but it just goes back to whatever the TSA agent feels like on that given day...
We need a stamper in charge of airport security!!!
It seems security would benefit from quite a bit more knowledge. I can't imagine how they can plan for every possible situation. My story does not relate to stamping but here's what happened to me. Hope you don't mind me hijacking (no pun intented).
I was travelling by myself going to a band reunion. I had my clarinet with me as carry on. Well, it got flagged ... on came the gloves, out came the electronic thingy that checks for explosives as they ran it along the tubes of the clarinet. The lady pulled out my reed container, filled with reeds and says, "What's this?" I said, "They're reeds." She looks at me with a blank stare ... I say, "You need them to play the instrument." I'm thinking, OMG I'm going to have explain that too? Or put the darn thing together and play? Next she opens up my wallet and start fingering through the change. She totally ignored the container holding misc. pain killers but goes through the change purse ... go figure.
I think they were looking for drugs. In the end I realized I had cigarette papers in the case. You use them to soak up spit coming out of the note holes. However, they can be used for other things .... so I think that is why it was flagged.
Needless to say coming home I put reed holders and cigarette papers in my checked luggage. What an experience. lol ;)
