TSA: "please verify that your used cane is not a sword before flying"

Hah! That’s nothing compared to the might of the Batusi!

3 Likes

It’s a legit cane, no hassles on the plane. I wouldn’t advise walking up to the scanning area twirling it like a baton or jogging around, but if you want to carry a cane that works as a weapon (and I can actually see why some folks might want to be armed when they land depending on where they’re going) this is a good option.

1 Like

A little cursory googling suggests that, as long as you can make it baggage claim without being assaulted, you’d be fine putting it in checked baggage.

2 Likes

In the BBC reality TV series about Heathrow they had a guy who was flying to Chicago, who was asked what was in his violin case, and made the hilarious joke that it was a machine gun.

Got detained, questioned, then a lifetime ban from the airline he was flying on.

2 Likes

This.

I’m all about mocking the dumb stuff the TSA says and does (and is), but it’s the mockers who are dumb here. The blade in that cane is a much better weapon than the tiny pen-knives that are also forbidden. A person who tried to carry it on would almost certainly be doing it inadvertently, but, because of that “almost”, they’d have to surrender it, and hobble unassisted to their next cane.

Yes, we have no need of the TSA. But since we’ve got 'em, they should do their job as best they can. This video is part of it. Y’all deriders are dumbasses. Sorry to bear bad news.

3 Likes

Yes, but the people who are carrying a sword by mistake won’t try to use it as a sword. And the people who are aware they are carrying a sword and planning to use it won’t care that they aren’t allowed to.

What if a potential terrorist, who finds himself weaponless on an airplane (his explosive hairgel having been confiscated at the security checkpoint), recognizes the sword cane for what it is, overpowers the old man, and uses his sword to hijack the plane?

What now, smartypants!

I wish that terrorist luck in trying to effectively swing a sword around the inside of a cramped airplane cabin from an 18" wide aisle.

2 Likes

:). My hair gel isn’t explosive, but my hair style might be :smiley:

In seriousness, the best weapon any one has is to literally act crazy. Whether if you are the instigator or the defender, if you are caught off guard in a high risk/critical situation, then you must be unpredictable.

If you are the attacker, the subjects rational defense plans will fail. If you are the defender, you can force the attacker into “plan b/c/d”, which is likely much weaker.

But much better to completely avoid those situations :smiley:

I’d have thought this was more your style?

http://www.borispalatnik.com/CaneGun_BCG.htm

You are correct. A knife on a plane? 20% of the passengers have likely been mugged or at least played around with knives. Pull out a sword?!–there isn’t any mental backup plan that most people have.

I make fun of the TSA. Their procedures are bad. I will make fun of Swords on Plane for at least a few hours. That is all.

Except that, I shit you not, someone I know had this happen to them. Not at an airport but rather at work. Her birthday gift was a cane bought at an antique store. She was playing with it at work one day and… Whoops! The handle came off, with a two-foot long steel spike attached.

If she had taken it through airport screening, not knowing about this would likely have cost her the cane, at a minimum.

1 Like

It’s easy to dismiss these kinds of things as not a real threat - that the very idea that someone needs a cane to perambulate, or might pretend to need a cane, and still be a threat, is ridiculous. But the truth is nobody can be dismissed because of their age or apparent infirmity. There are some downright dastardly octogenarians out there, yo.

I got a Cold Steel sword cane for the GF, and it has the triangular spike. But the latch is a button on the cane shaft. It was on sale, probably because the head was a chrome skull with fake ruby red eyes. We replaced that with a plastic handle from a thrift store orthopedic cane.

You can check stuff like this in your luggage, but it may not be legal where you are going. Your checked bags will get x-rayed.

or don’t pay $75 get a cane and take it on the plane.

Reminds me of walking sticks from my part of the world: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knobkierie

Ever had to use yours? Wouldn’t be much use against knives if an attacker surprised you and got in close.

My son had the same bright idea. Thankfully they knew a smartass teenager when they saw one, so they only made him miss his flight, because today’s fictional bomb is less deadly tomorrow. Or something.

The contenders in ‘Robot Wars’ often use electric wheelchair motors. No smoke without fire. If you get flipped and ice picked by some white-haired citizen, don’t come crying to me…

1 Like

Is he from the Hobbiton or Bree branch of Underhill?

So, what about the people who pretend not to know that their cane has a sword in it?