You're implying TSA employees are trained properly. I've had to surrender small items that are not prohibited due to incorrect assumptions that airport security have made.
I had a grooming kit with a pouch containing assortment of small things like nail clippers, tweezers, and tiny safety scissors that I carried with me on every flight. Gradually, the pouch became completely empty as TSA agents confiscated more and more of my items.
Yup, shortly after 9/11 I flew to Hong Kong and I forgot that I had my mini screwdriver kit (small screwdrivers for electronics, smaller than my pinky finger) in my bag. It got confiscated, to my disbelief.
Yes, HK searched my mini screwdrivers, and the security guy checked the size of the ends against his pinky finger, and since they were the same size, he let them slide.
Your parentheses make a good point: we don't know why if the OP was flying from/to the US at all. Other countries have different regulations. I've been allowed to carry a Swiss Army Knife onto a European flight because neither of its two blades was longer than 6 cm. (I've also had a bread knife confiscated because its blade was longer.)
