Emerson Knives is working on a new knife design that is designed to meet the requirements laid out by the TSA for knives that can be carried onto a plane. Emerson says that the knife isn’t small, it just isn’t big. It’s blade is sized to maximize the allowed dimensions (2.36” in length and .5” wide).
In order to meet regulations, the handle must be basically featureless so it has been made fairly thick so there is something to hold unto.
The Hummingbird has a double detent instead of a locking mechanism since locking blades are not allowable under the new regulations. I suspect that it will behave much like a very stout slip joint knife.
There have been several photos released of the design in various stages. The latest picture (above) is quite small but it shows the knife fairly clearly. There have been larger renderings from earlier in the design process (below) but they show a handle that is likely not in compliance.
I suspect that we will start to see more companies follow Emerson in creating TSA specific designs. Spyderco, for instance, has created strong slip joint knives in the past to be compliant with various jurisdictions that forbid locking blades.
Check out EmersonKnives.com.
This early rendering of the Hummingbird has been replaced by the more recent image above.
