What's the Best Knife to Take on a Plane? (Now That It's Legal.)

What's the best knife to take on a plane? (Now that it's legal.)

Now that we've gotten over the surprise that the TSA will allow small knives on board airplanes in the United States starting April 25, we can move on to the next question: What's the best travel knife?

Yes, yes, yes, the TSA really did change its tune. Despite seeing this news this on CNN, hearing about it on NPR, and reading about it in the Washington Post, we still had to Google "knives and TSA," because after over a decade of having the tiniest nail clipper mercilessly separated from our carry-on luggage, it's hard to believe this change. Starting April 25, it really will be okay bring along a knife that's up to 2.36 inches long, with a blade up to a half inch wide. (Why 2.36 inches, you may wonder. The answer is that?s 6 centimeters, and is the length of knife allowed by many other countries.)  The blades can't lock and there are other restrictions on knives still in place.

To help you decide what kind of knife would be best to have with you, we prepared this handy guide. Any knife you purchase through us helps support the Cleveland Park Listserv. So get one for every member of your family. Heck, buy a knife for everyone in your company. And why not: Buy even more so you can give them to your fellow passengers.

Black is always a safe color when traveling: Stains don?t show up as readily, and you can mix and match clothes better. If you want a knife that matches your generally black travel wardrobe, or which just looks elegant, the Victorinox Spartan Swiss Army Knife is for you: http://amzn.to/YNeP4E. It?s light, compact, and has 11 tools including a screwdriver, can and bottle openers, knife blade and, occasionally invaluable, corkscrew.

The Wenger Swiss Army Evolution Nail Clipper has a knife blade, self-sharpening scissors, nail file, and dedicated nail clippers. It?s the perfect combination knife and personal grooming kit: http://amzn.to/XPt63M.

If you're unsure of what knife to get, there's the Victorinox Swiss Army Tinker and Classic Knife Combo: http://amzn.to/VFnnyN. In this two knife set, the Tinker has a phillips screwdriver for tightening things that get loose during travel, and a toothpick for loosening things that get tight. The Classic has a nail file, toothpick and scissors, as well as other tools.

Victorinox's Bantam is for the ulta-utilitarian: It has just a blade, bottle/can opener/screwdriver combination, and tweezers. It?s lightweight and has a lightweight price, too: http://amzn.to/YXMmLy.

We saved the best for last, the Victorinox Signature Lite Pocket Knife. It has seven tools including a nail file, screwdriver, scissors, key ring, retractable ball point pen and a flashlight. We can?t tell you how often a flashlight has been handy to have, even on board an airplane, when we've dropped something under our seat, where it?s very dark. You can read about this inexpensive and practical knife here:  http://amzn.to/VFqM0J.