Airplane Travel

My disturbing journey into the land of Japanese Knives, plus a question.

1- Determine you will buy Japanese Knife
2- Spend 100 hours reading, only to have less of an idea of what you want, then when you started.
3- Buy Japanese Knife
4- Realize you need to buy stones for knife
5- Realize you are spending as much on stones, as on the knife
6- Buy more knives to justify buying all these stones.

7- Realize that you now have 3 very sharp instruments that you cannot bring on a carry-on.
8- Start looking for a very sturdy hard-cased suitcase to buy, just because you bought these knives.
9- Sign onto the forum and ask a question, since someone probably has a better idea based on experience.

Anyone have any suggestions? Maybe a small, hard case? How do people travel on a plane with these things?

Regards,
-Ze

I don't really see packing 3 knives are all that troublesome if done in a full-size suitcase.
If you were on a short-hop flight with only a carry-on I would see the issue more clearly.

Common strategies for packing fragile objects in full size suitcase is to basically surround
the object in question with soft-goods for locational stability and shock/direct impact reduction.

In other words, treat it like you laptop (ipad, etc) if you couldn't check it in.

edit: One thing you may need to consider is making sure the stones are in carry-on,
or if packed in the luggage they don't become dangerously loose (moving around).
inside your luggage.

It’s not that difficult .... wrap them in clothing (I assume you brought some), have them in a plastic bag as well just in case suitcase gets wet.... and place them in the middle of suitcase, surrounded by more clothing....

Thanks,
I have seen a few comments about knives, particularly the tips, not shipping well. Will box them up twice with that popcorn messy packing filler stuff and just shove them in my suitcase.
Much appreciate the replies.
Regards,
Ze

gringoze said:

Thanks,
I have seen a few comments about knives, particularly the tips, not shipping well. Will box them up twice with that popcorn messy packing filler stuff and just shove them in my suitcase.
Much appreciate the replies.
Regards,
Ze

Click to expand...

Another trick with tips is to use a wine cork as protection. I've seen people just stab the tip into one of the ends, but I prefer to take another knife and make a cut along the side of the cork and then slide it on and off the edge like a mini-sheath. It seems a bit more secure when it covers the last 20-30cm of the knife rather than only the tip. Wish I had a picture to hand to illustrate my crappy description.

cardboard saya is easy and does a good job...

Thanks. I like the idea and understood you perfectly.

RDalman said:

cardboard saya is easy and does a good job...

Click to expand...

I always take a roll of duct tape with me to make knife covers when needed for bringing things home.

I think if I had a few expensive knives to carry that way, I wouldn't rely on just clothing for protection. A saya for each knife would help, but one idea might be to get a section of PVC pipe large enough in diameter to hold the knives wrapped in bubble wrap inside. Or just pack your socks in there with the knives. PVC pipe is cheap, lightweight, and very resistant to bending or shattering.

Oh- and if your stones are soakers, when you THINK they're dry? They're not. It takes days and days and days.

Paraffin. That gets my vote for best answer. Then when I get home I can glue the PC to flat plate and make a bong. :newhere:

alterwisser said:

It’s not that difficult .... wrap them in clothing (I assume you brought some), have them in a plastic bag as well just in case suitcase gets wet.... and place them in the middle of suitcase, surrounded by more clothing....

Click to expand...

This is what I did when I bought 5 kitchen knives in the states and had to get them back to Denmark. Not rocket science.

In the past I have usually bought a small hard shell suitcase where ever I was and then dedicated it to my new knives. I then wrapped everything in newspaper, cardboard and duct tape with it all checked to destination. Was never a problem until I tried to transfer in Shanghai back in Sept. Never book a flight that has a transfer in China!!!

I travel with 2 or 3 knives in a duffel frequently. Never needed a hard case to keep them safe. Ideally they are in a saya but I've wrapped them in a cheap rag, then jacket, and stacked them together in the center of the bag without adverse effects for dozens of a flights (in the US, only a few to Malaysia/Thailand/Mexico too)