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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region Forums2.36" okay. 2.37" not okay?
The new TSA rules allow small folding knives on board airplanes. The blades must be no bigger than 2.36" long and 0.5" wide.
Really?
Show of hands: Who has a ruler that can measure 2.36"
I can measure 2-3/8", 2-5/16", even 2-19/64? But 3.36"?
Why do we always do this sort of shit?
Arctic Dave
(13,812 posts)leveymg
(36,418 posts)I see . . . why not 7? Why can't I take an AK-47 on board - that would be my 2A right, wouldn't it?
It's just numbers and more numbers . . .
Stinky The Clown
(67,808 posts)Had they expressed the size to the closest 1/8" *below* the international standard we'd be fine. Or maybe express it both ways, so it is clear world-wide: 6cm/2-5/16?
Someone with a 2-3/8 blade could literally go to jail for that extra 16th inch. Measure the blade and call it "close" and you could be making a big mistake.
**OR**
Just say 6 cm. Almost everyone has a ruler graduated in mm.
leveymg
(36,418 posts)In so doing, they created another set of problems. Situation Normal, All F-cked Up.
muriel_volestrangler
(101,322 posts)Of course, then they fuck up the dual measurements by also saying "less than 1/2 inch in width" without an equivalent in cm. But the width requirement doesn't seem to be used elsewhere (eg http://www.heathrowairport.com/heathrow-airport-guide/heathrow-security/hand-baggage ).
Which does bring up a question: why is a wide knife more dangerous than a narrow one?
slackmaster
(60,567 posts)That extra 2.2 thousandths of an inch could make a real difference.
I used to carry a folding Buck knife with a 4.5 inch blade on planes all the time.
bluedigger
(17,086 posts)It complies with an international convention.
Honeycombe8
(37,648 posts)I don't see why they'll be allowing pocketknives, anyway, of any size. They're weapons and can easily be used to slit someone's throat. I wonder what the reasoning is. No 4 oz shampoo bottle, but a knife is allowed?
hlthe2b
(102,298 posts)of fractions, but then again, I highly doubt the average "TSA" agent can do so.
Ok, ok, I know that that is insulting for those who strive to be professional with the TSA, but in my experience, the stereotype is not without some truth.
Warpy
(111,282 posts)that I had planned to cut yarn when I was knitting. They whined about the kntting needles, bamboo circs, but I pointed out the bamboo was far too fragile to make a good garotte.
Next time I'm going with a dental floss container to cut my yarn. Let's see the little bastards confiscate that.
If they only realized how dangerous I am with just my thumbs...
Nurses know how to hurt people.
hlthe2b
(102,298 posts)Oops, I probably should not have said that...
Good thing I'm a pacifist...
Union Scribe
(7,099 posts)TransitJohn
(6,932 posts)n/t
dsc
(52,163 posts)2 5/16 is 2.3125. 2 3/8 is 2.375. Frankly I would have written the reg as 2 3/8 but 2 11/32 would also work and some rulers can measure that.
cthulu2016
(10,960 posts)Mopar151
(9,989 posts)It's 60 mm (2.364), rounded down to 2.36. In common American inch dimensioning systems, a "2 place" dimension is +/- .01, sometimes called a "scale" dimension for the usual method of measurement. As are fractional dimensions, i.e. 2 3/8", is +/- 1/64 (or .015). And, if Gandalf Jr.,Wizard of the Haunted Fishtank, selects the wrong "H limit" metric clearence fit from the drop-down menu, they can be the exact same number, sorta, kinda.
So, that's how we get to things like this - give an idiot an expensive tool (like Solidworks), a very highly developed system like ANSI or ISO standards, and they can needlessly complicate anything (aka fuck up toast)
I fix this kind of stuff for a living.......
Fire Walk With Me
(38,893 posts)Eliminate them both immediately.
Demo_Chris
(6,234 posts)MineralMan
(146,317 posts)Time to go to Amazon and get the smaller version of my Schrade Old-Timer stockman's knife, just for travel. I've carried a pocket knife all of my adult life, and am not ready to stop. Until now, I've been putting my pocket knife in my checked luggage when I travel. But, if I can carry one now, I'll get one that fits the regulations.
I use it for a wide variety of tasks. The most frequent use, though, is opening packages. Any packages, including those nasty blister packaged products. I cannot say how many times I've opened something for someone else with my pocket knife. Too many to count.
I once field dressed a deer with my Shrade Old-Timer stockman's knife. I left my other knife in camp. It did a great job, even for that use. I was surprised.
hatrack
(59,587 posts)Just asking . . .
talkingmime
(2,173 posts)pink-o
(4,056 posts)2 golf clubs!!!
And yet: You still can't take full-sized toiletries or a bottle of water thru. I had a passenger sent back to the Ticket Counter because he had a freakin' SNOW GLOBE!! Some genius figured it had more than 4 oz's of liquid, so it had to be checked in. This is the mentality we're dealing with.
So...you can beat a Flight Attendant up with a putter, or cut her with a Swiss Army knife (it's okay: The Cockpit doors are locked, so the Pilots are protected!) but you and I still have to take our shoes off, buy itty bitty tubes of toothpaste, and leave our tweezers at home.
I'm starting to think Sequester might actually be good for the TSA!!!!
slackmaster
(60,567 posts)...walking stick from climbing Mt. Fuji.
The security people put a sticker on it that said "Weapon" in English, and they put it in the checked baggage.
It did make the journey OK, and I was reunited with it in San Diego.
They didn't care about the Shuriken I had in my carry-on, even though carrying that concealed in California is technically illegal.
Javaman
(62,531 posts)a horse built by committee.
slackmaster
(60,567 posts)...I use a precision dial caliper.
Why do we always do this sort of shit?
I don't know, Stinky. It's kind of like the state of New York deciding that a gun that holds 7 rounds of ammunition is OK, but one that holds 8 is not.
Here in California we go for more sensible numbers like 10. At least that's the base of the most commonly used numbering system, so it makes some kind of sense.
In_The_Wind
(72,300 posts)unblock
(52,257 posts)2.54 cm per inch.
2.36 inches = 5.9944cm
2.37 inches = 6.0198cm
tjwash
(8,219 posts)Why do I know that it was a bunch of guys that made this shit up?