 The Oboe BBoard
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Author: WoodwindOz
Date: 2013-05-27 03:22
I am hopping on a plane on Wednesday (!) to go home, and this will be the first time I will be travelling with reed making equipment.
Obviously I can't take knives on board with me, but I am already overweight in my luggage (23kg after two years is a pittance!) so I was wondering if anyone has taken sharpening stones in their cabin luggage, or are they considered a weapon? :D Mine is one of those huge diamond stones and it is significantly heavy, so if I can take it in my hand luggage I won't cop so much in overweight fees.
Any other strange reed making items that might come to the attention of security? Aside from the obvious knives?
Rachel
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Author: jhoyla
Date: 2013-05-27 05:45
You're right, 23kg is woefully insufficient.
While I am sure that there are rules and regulations for everything, you are basically at the mercy of the individual at the security counter. If he thinks it is a weapon (or, say, that you could turn a piece of airplane into a weapon with your diamond stone), you are sunk. Diamond stones are too expensive to risk losing in this way. Same goes for mandrels, spring-hooks - if the security specialist thinks it is like an ice-pick, say goodbye.
I had a cake-fork taken from me in Heathrow once. A cake fork. I never saw it again.
Have you considered mailing your books and shoes to yourself in a parcel? :-) Big weight reduction there. Parcel-post is less expensive than overweight, if they allow you to pay for it.
J.
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Author: oboi
Date: 2013-05-27 17:07
Remember to take your screwdriver out of the oboe case. I stuck all my reed-making equipment in my check-in. If checking in stone, remember to wrap it well or tucked in clothing. I cracked my sharpening stone that way.
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Author: oboeandy
Date: 2013-05-27 21:02
Rachel,
I packed my sharpening stone in my carry-on bag once and, unfortunately, would not risk it again. The x-ray machine flagged it as a dangerous weapon, possibly due to the metallic residue still present on the surface of the stone. The security agent then had to inspect all of my bags (including my oboe case) by hand. He told me that I should always pack sharpening equipment in my checked baggage. I heeded his advice, and I haven't had any similar incidents since then.
Happy travels!
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Author: ohsuzan
Date: 2013-05-27 23:34
I recall someone on this board some years ago who got stopped by TSA because of oboe staples -- apparently, they looked like some sort of weird bullet casing to the screener. I've never had any problems with that -- of course, I've only ever carried made reeds, and not the bare staples.
One of my friends did lose ALL her packed oboe gear -- knives, stones, etc. -- from her CHECKED luggage. Luggage arrived, but had been pilfered. Hard to figure how (or why) that happened, but it did.
Bon voyage, Rachel. Let us know how your travels fare.
Susan
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Author: oboemoboe
Date: 2013-05-28 11:06
There's some good advice here so far, and I would just like to add to remove all traces of cigarette paper from your oboe case. Over my 2 years of touring with a show for two years, I learned that some security agents will freak out over cigarette paper, especially when combined with your shaper tip (which can look like drug paraphanalia to some). I learned my lesson early on, and checked everything except for my oboe and my reeds.
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Author: Wes
Date: 2013-05-28 22:42
Times have changed! In the 1990s, I went to an IDRS meeting with a lady who played the oboe also. In the airport departure lounge while waiting to board, she took out her oboe reed materials and proceeded to scrape reeds with her razor reed knife! No one noticed or seemed to care!
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Author: ohsuzan
Date: 2013-06-03 02:00
So, Rachel,
Did your oboe gear make it in one piece? Any TSA issues?
Susan
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Author: rgombine
Date: 2013-06-12 06:53
I know this is late to the party but I suppose it might be useful to someone in the future. I always take items out that I am worried might be flagged and put them in the bin to be inspected outside my gig bag. That includes sharpening equipment and my reed case that is full of my funny looking chudnow staples. Everything had always gone thru including my large, very heavy metal diamond stone and a large (10") sharpening steel. I have never tried to take a mandrel garyfagin@earthlink.neton a carry on and I leave screw drivers at home. No problems w cigarette paper. (I fly home to visit my folks often enough that I have an extra knife stashed there!)
Hope that is helpful.
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