What a difference 7 years makes

In 1998, I flew from St Petersburg. to Taipei via Los Angeles and Seoul. When I arrived at the airport in St. Pete, I realized that I still had my Spyderco Endura* in my pocket. I showed it to the security guy at the gate, and asked him what I should do. He opened the blade, laid it across the palm of his hand, and said no problem- I could carry it on board. This is the knife:



And I have pretty big hands.

Fast forward to 2005. I'm flying from the Long Beach (CA) airport to Las Vegas, having arrived a few hours earlier from Taipei. On my keychain, I have a ratcheting bits driver. I am told in no uncertain terms that I cannot bring the tool onto the plane. I protest that even with my amazing kung-fu pirate skills, I would have a hard time using it as a weapon. I was told: "Sorry sir, no tools are allowed."

Here is the tool in question:



Times change. With an Endura, you could slaughter and dress out a water buffalo (or a pilot) if you had the need or inclination. With a ratcheting bits driver (and no bits), you could... quickly and efficiently remove any 1/4" hex fasteners you found. So that could be pretty dangerous, if modern airplanes are held together with 1/4" fasteners. Could be, I guess. I don't know much about airplanes.

* Thank you again Johnny Atomic.