 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: clarinettist1104
Date: 2012-08-22 18:11
Hi! I'm flying back to college on Monday, and I was wondering if anyone has had experiences with carrying reed tools, such as a Cordier tip trimmer and Vandoren glass reed plate and reed wand, on an airplane. Since they are kind of sharp will I be okay carrying them on board? I don't know that I would feel comfortable with them in my checked bag... kind of delicate...
THANKS!
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Author: GBK
Date: 2012-08-22 18:22
Take them on board. They'll come in handy while trying to slice through the in-flight meal.
When the terrorists take away our reed trimmers, they've won.
...GBK
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2012-08-22 18:23
I'd strongly suggest you individually wrap the items in sheets of bubble-wrap and put them into your checked bag. Otherwise you're taking a big chance of getting into trouble with the TSA.
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Author: kdk
Date: 2012-08-22 18:27
The problem is that you won't know until you get to the security scan, and at that point you may not have the option any longer of checking it with your baggage (which means it will be confiscated if you want to board the plane). If it were I, I'd wrap it as securely as I could and put it in my checked baggage from the start. The glass plate and reed wand ought to be OK if you wrap enough toweling or other padding around them. I'm not sure what's delicate or fragile about the reed clipper, but of the three, I'd least expect that to cause a problem because it doesn't really have an exposed cutting surface. But that should easily pack into a pocket in your checked bag with no danger of damage.
The result if anything breaks is that you'll have to buy a replacement when you get to school. The result of having them confiscated will likely be the same with the added possibility of being subjected to a more detailed search.
Karl
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2012-08-22 18:35
kdk wrote:
> If it were
> I, I'd wrap it as securely as I could and put it in my checked
> baggage from the start.
What checked baggage? Ever since they started charging for chacked baggage I started packing my carry-on the way I learned to pack in the Navy and can EASILY go 5 days before needing a sink and/or washing machine for my clothes.
They've made our lives miserable, haven't they ...
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2012-08-22 19:04
Airline deregulation brought cheap fares and razor-thin profit margins for the airlines, which continue to go bankrupt or merge with frightening regularity. So the remaining airlines have to charge extra for everything, including checked luggage.
World terrorism, with 9/11 being a huge wake-up call, brought heightened security to our airports, and the formation of the TSA. So airport security has become a major pain for everyone, including passengers.
Who "they", Quemosabe?
We have met the enemy, and he is us.
Carry the tools onboard if you wish, but you'll be rolling the dice. Maybe "they" will let you through, or maybe they'll take you into the side room and ask you to explain, after which "they" will confiscate your stuff.
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2012-08-22 19:18
David Spiegelthal wrote:
> World terrorism, with 9/11 being a huge wake-up call, brought
> heightened security to our airports, and the formation of the
> TSA. So airport security has become a major pain for everyone,
> including passengers.
You mean the APPEARANCE of heightened security? Locked & reinforced cabin doors have a lot more to do with real security than someone with a pair of scissors in the passenger compartment.
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2012-08-22 19:46
Point taken, Mark. Unfortunately though, the general public is highly swayed by appearances, and the media feed the fire. So every time there's any sort of security incident, there is massive outcry for additional security measures, by the same public that bitches constantly about security screening and other hassles they have to put up with when they fly.
I can't help but see the security issue from both sides, after having worked for 9 months as a contractor engineer to the TSA on the testing of security screening equipment for airports, which involved operational tests using human subjects (and TSA screening personnel) as well as engineering tests. Whenever there was an airport or airliner incident, public pressure on the TSA would put us into hyperdrive --- forget weekends, cancel your vacation plans, that sort of thing.
And airport screening procedures in the US are NOT standardized --- each airport has a considerable amount of discretion as to what they will and won't allow onboard, and how they screen passengers. Since the original poster of this thread stated that he/she is checking a bag, why not avoid conflict and just pack the gear carefully in the bag and let them throw it into the cargo hold?
I spent a few years in the Navy myself (on a submarine), where I learned to pack what I needed for MONTHS at sea in the mattress-pan of my bunk (the only storage space we were given). Packing efficiency is not the issue here, college students no doubt have a lot of stuff to bring with them!
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2012-08-22 20:00
I checked a large cardboard box once (with a nice homemade handle), with a baritone sax in its hard case inside the cardboard box. Upon arrival at our destination, there was a nice note inside the sax case from the TSA apologizing for having to open the box to inspect the contents. Fortunately they were careful and didn't damage anything.
Not really relevant to this thread, I guess, since the bari sax was a wee bit too large to carry onboard......But then again, it was a WMD (Weapon of Musical Destruction).
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Author: Bennett ★2017
Date: 2012-08-23 16:39
Take a padded envelope and some stamps with you. If TSA won't allow your stuff you can then mail it to yourself (and go to the rear of the line and start over.)
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Author: BflatNH
Date: 2012-08-23 16:45
I have not found mail boxes at airports recently.
I have not had any problem with Reed Geek scraper. It is a 1/4" square X 2" metal piece.
Post Edited (2012-08-23 16:55)
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