The Knife Cometh Back
October 30, 2025
Here’s what happened:
Jim and I were flying home from Seattle about a month ago, following our 2-week trip to the PNW (yet to be blogged, but it’s coming soon). We packed an extra suitcase to carry hiking gear and opted to carry that on. We checked our other two bags of regular stuff. Among the hiking gear was a first aid kit, including my Swiss Army knife, which, of course, I’d forgotten was in there… and which got the attention of the TSA agent. She pulled the suitcase aside, honed right in on the first aid kit, extracted the knife and did the equivalent of a finger wag.
I didn’t want to give up my knife (like everyone else who ever gets an item confiscated at TSA). She was quick to point out an option: mail it home. She nodded toward a small kiosk just twenty yards away.
Huh. I didn’t know you could do that. Not sure you can at most airports, but at SeaTac you sure can.
Well done, Seattle.
So… I did that. Knives are something very frequently confiscated, and there were instructions dedicated to how, specifically, to ship those. It was all pretty easy and fairly quick. I caught up to Jim just minutes later at our gate. And a month later, the knife arrived. Very, very cool.
Life of Wry 