Lockpicks and the TSA

[MortimerDuke]

Anyone here have experience going through U.S. airport security while carrying lockpicks on you or in your carry-on luggage? My guess is that it is a no-no for a couple of reasons, but maybe the TSA is more enlightened than I imagine.

MD

[GWiens2001]

Never had any problems. Just had them in my carry on with the computer cables.

As far as I know, they are not specifically banned. That said, I would not mention them. It would not hurt to have a lock or two in with them, so it they do check (they never have with me), you can say you are a hobbiest, and they are for opening only the locks you brought.

Gordon

[spandexwarrior]

I've flown with lots of picks and other tools hundreds of times and never had an issue. The official rule is that tools under 7" are allowed in carry-on. Picks are pointy-ish but don't have a sharpened edge so they might want to take a closer look but will let them through.

-Brian

[dosman]

Same experience here. I fly with them in my carryon quite a bit and no issues. One time I flew with 50 pick sets in my carryon and TSA didn't bat an eye. However if you have 1 lock in your bag prepare to get searched. Every time I forget and leave a lock in my bag they have to inspect and rescan the bag so take those out of your bag ahead of time. When I was departing from Schipol in Holland one time they had a discussion in Dutch about what I presume was the potential danger of me having an S&G 833 in my carry on (they specifically pulled it out and were looking at it), but they eventually let me through. I've also flown from the US to Asia with a set of picks I didn't realize I had in my carry on as well. The Korean screeners pulled them out but then let me through with no issues.

[teamstarlet]

That's really good to know. I've been wondering if it was something that they would pull you up on, and to be honest I'm kinda surprised that they're so lenient on it.

[spandexwarrior]

I had the same experience with a S&G 951, they checked it out but let it through. I wondered if they could see through it enough to see the ceramic inserts but figured it was better to just be on my way than start asking more questions. For sure, a lock like that is way more dangerous than picks - think what you could do if someone else was to sneak a sock through and you could get your hands on both... .

As for the picks being a problem, there's really nothing that I can see that would be an issue on the plane. The cockpit doors lock from the inside and I don't believe they have a key override from the outside. I've seem some older ones that did but I think they're been replaced or supplemented with additional reinforcements. I suppose you could cause some trouble in the airport with picks, but they're not illegal to have and it's not really something I could see TSA enforcing even if it was.

-Brian