Friday, April 08, 2016
How to Make a TSA Compliant Multitool
www.instructables.com: Carrying small pliers and screwdrivers at all times is helpful and comforting. So, when I travel without checked baggage, I feel strange leaving small multitools behind. Being without tools is weird. So, I decided to buy a used Leatherman Squirt on eBay (possibly a TSA auction of a previously confiscated tool), and modify it to meet/exceed the government restrictions on carry-on tools.
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7 comments:
What’s funny is that before I opened this article, I saw the headline and thought of the amount of times that I have heard stories from friends in that they sent a multitool through the TSA scanners. I think that some of the information in the article is valid and is actually a good idea while travelling, like dulling a blade. That will obviously help get you through security, however it then renders your knife useless in the future. Also, the whole idea of engraving “TSA Compliant” onto the multitool yourself seems very sketch and not on the books. After reading the comments on the article, it also seems that many multitool manufacturers make travel friendly tools that you can take with you. The author of the article even states that he got this tool through 6 times and then it was confiscated. I guess it just depends how you value your money and products you own.
This article is ridiculous. I cannot believe some people would bother to have a secondary or tertiary cheap multitool just to have it with them on a plane. I travel to and from school by plane, and will be travelling a longer distance in the near future, and I have to say that a multitool has never been needed in any of my travels. This how-to, while well illustrated and informational, is completely targeted at people with severe tool-attachment issues. I cannot imagine spending time to disassemble and alter a multitool just to be able to carry it with me on an airplane. After making a tool “TSA Compliant” basically makes the tool next to useless and not worth the time and money spent on it. Also, the idea of laser etching “TSA Compliant” onto a tool makes me feel a little sketchy as anyone with laser etching tech or an engraving tool could write this on anything.
I don't see how a multitool that has been modified in this way is at all useful. Sure, you have pliers with you on a plane now- but all the bits inside that make it a multitool (as in, having multiple tools) are useless. So why bother? Rather than spend the money or the time to modify the tool, just bring a small pair of pliers...which have the same functionality as the new multitool. I love to travel with all of my crafting tools, as I usually entertain myself on an airplane by knitting or embroidering or crafting in some form, which usually requires some kind of scissors and/or blade. I find that rather than risk someone confiscating my actually useful multitool, I can just as easily bring a small pair of scissors or pliers that are TSA compliant. And then I can avoid the sketchy engraving method.
I share the issues with this article that Fiona and Kim raised. By the time you make the modifications the author calls for you’ve basically made your multitool useless. I like having my multitool with me as much as the next person but I have never felt the need to have it with me on a plane. If I want it in my destination, I’ll put it in checked baggage or just ship it separately. That way I get an actually useful tool and I get to avoid sketchily laser engraving TSA compliant on my tools. That engraving is my other issue with this article. TSA isn’t actually stupid, they know what multitools follow their rules and the leatherman juice line doesn’t contain any of them. A TSA agent is going to actually check the tool to see if it contains banned tools they’re just going to confiscate it if it’s not on a list of approved multitools. Engraving TSA compliant on it might work a few time but it’s probably just going to make you look more suspicious.
This article is very interesting because you have to wonder if the people at the TSA checkpoint will actually allow for you to bring it on the plane even though it says that it is compliant. This past Christmas I got a wallet sized multi tool that clearly said it was TSA compliant on it yet the person at TSA still took it after it went through the x-ray. The amount of rules and regulations that are in place is simple just too many to count and not every TSA officer is going to know the list of accepted tools. That all being said I do have a love for my Leatherman Wingman and don’t know what I would do without it, so if there is in fact a way to modify a multi tool and have it be able to pass security I’m all for it. For me the best way to do this would be to look up all requirements and make sure that whatever I was going bring on the plane won’t get stopped by security because we all know that being stopped In the airport is that last thing anyone wants to do.
I'm not sure how to say this, but this is a stupid idea. What is the use in having a dulled and disappointing multi-tool? At that point, you're just carrying the tool for show, which is a whole other problem. It just seems idiotic to "modify" a tool in a way that makes it essentially useless, just so you can carry it on a airplane. Even if you modify it, that is no guarantee that it won't be confiscated. When you're standing in line for security there are signs with multi-tools depicted with a big red no symbol on it. At what point does that image not immediately register as "I shouldn't carry a multi-tool on the flight? Why should the TSA even examine the individual tools? What is stopping them from immediately confiscating the tool when they see it? Nothing. This modified tool may make it through a few times, but in the end it will be taken. And now you've lost $15. If you really need a multi-tool where you're going, put it in your checked luggage. If the airline is charging you extra for checked bags, try a different airline. Southwest is fantastic and allows free checking. There is no excuse or valid reason to do this.
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