I found a nice Japanese sword with decorative sheath that would look great on my wall. I don't have a piece of luggage with me that it would fit inside (to check)...just a 22" roller. The shop owner has no clue how to ship it. I suppose a very long fedex or UPS box would do, although I don't know if they have any this long.
I'm assuming TSA would not allow me to carry on a 4-ft long deadly object, since my nail clippers are already banned.

What to do?

I have bought a number of swords over the years primarily from Hong Kong, Singapore and India. I typically checked them in seperately as I did not have any check in luggage either. I had the swords heavily packaged in bubble wrap. I purchased additional insurance as these were antique swords from the airline (BA and CX and AA) from the airlines i was flying on. Declared the sword as a "weapon"at check in. Then mentioned it very clearly (itemised) on back of Customs form for US entry dox. I have never had a problem bringing hese in using the above preocess. BTW this worked pre andpost 9/11. Hope this helps. Good luck.

This might be more difficult, as I will be dealing with TSA at Logan (flying to Newark). The customs people on Int'l flights are likely more reasonable.

I cannot imagine Logan TSA allowing this thing through despite any declaration that may be submitted.

I actually carriend two back from Pisa in the 70's. You carried them on the plane, the FA took them and put them in a closet, and you got them on the way out. Ain't gonna happen now.

I would go to whatever local packing and shipping store you can find and get a couple or three of the triangular box, the fedex one is 38 x 6 x 6. End to end with a couple inch overlap you have a 74 inch box, if you use three of them it's 110 inch box. You can bubble wrap it before packing and after, and check it.

If it's bendable I would buy a broom for a few bucks and tape the handle (toss the rest) to keep it from bending.

And insure it.

Even if you're thinking of packing the sword up and sending it as checked luggage, you should be aware of the airport entry inspection at NRT:

There is a security check on the way into NRT. They mostly just look at your passport and wave you through. However, if you are carrying something that looks like it may be a sword or knife, they will want to take a look at it. And they will confiscate any swords or knife before you enter the airport.

Back in the late '80s or early '90s, I sat next to someone on a flight out of NRT who had purchased a large chef's knife in Tokyo. It was taken from him by the security guards who saw it as he was going into the airport. During the flight, the FA returned the knife to him. (I remember wishing that they had waited until we were disembarking before handing him that knife).

Therefore - if you're planning to pack up the sword and send it as checked luggage, I would make sure that it doesn't look just like a sword in bubble wrap. Using a box would be a good idea.

I did something similar coming back from China. Bubble wrap in a Fedex tube. I checked it through and had no problems.

can't resist....

[Barry White]

I got your sword right here, baby. Yeeeaaaaahhhhhhhh.

[/Barry White]

FedEx, UPS, DHL, etc. would certainly work. I'd definiately lean in this direction if the sword has significant value as you can buy full insurance. You can also box it up and check it as checked luggage. The tracking and insurance isn't as good with checked luggage, though, so you will have to consider the value.

You certainly can not take it as a carry on but nail clippers are not, and never have been, banned by the TSA.

Where are you coming from and what type of sword is it?
For instance, if you are coming from Japan and it is an original samurai sword, I don't think you'd be able to legally export it.

Swallow it?

(sorry, I couldn't resist)

Take it from the experts. Check out the definitive aikiweb "traveling with weapons" thread: http://www.aikiweb.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2219. Discussed are wooden practice weapons (bokken/bokuto) as well as (metal) iaito and katana.

A couple of highlights:
- PVC tubes are cheapest and safest, you can use the bubble wrap inside.
- Using the actual term "weapons" is often not a terribly good idea as it can set off all kinds of reactions. At the very least, substitute "martial arts equipment" or "katana".

That said, things can still go wrong no matter what you do and how you describe it. Friends tried to UPS my weapons to me transatlantic from SFO three years ago to save me trouble (seeing I already had two pieces of checked baggage) only to have UPS return the package to them twice! Their justification was some BS along the lines of, oh no, weapons, what an unreasonable thing to try to send. Mind you, this was not an actual sword, just the wooden stick and sword (jo/bokken)! As a result of this, I am now keeping three sets of weapons in three different countries..

I'm part of a Viking Re-enactment group, and they deal with this a lot - especially going to events from the UK to the US and vice versa. Usually they do as was suggested above - wrap the heck out of them in bubble wrap, surround it in cardboard (usually cannibalized boxes reshaped into a tube) and check it with extra insurance... labeled 'sporting equipment' as swordfighting is indeed a sport. They've never had any problems with this, and the extra insurance usually keeps them from being delayed or lost.

I am not sure why you believe that. You will be checking in at the front desk... so the TSA at the security checkpoint will not even know you checked it.

Besides, as long as it is below plane... you cannot access it...

Best intro line I've heard all day.

Reminds me of a sword swallower I used to watch regularly, usual station was a corner of the Boston Common. I believe his moniker was Captain Jack. He had a whole spiel that he went through before the actual swallowing. The last 2 lines were:

"Dawn the hatch without a scratch."

and

drumroll, please











"Linda Lovelace, eat your heart out."