Nope, not kidding. I flew bazillions of miles 1970-2000. All major airports in the US and some overseas. Being in the line of work I am, I am very familiar with FAA security regulations. Sure, a lot of airport screeners would try to confiscate a pocket knife for any of many reasons. Some probably just collected nice knives. But they had no authority to do it. They got away with it anyway. If you quote the FAA Reg No. to the supervisor, and make them look it up, you get to keep your knife. I used to do it a lot when I had extra time between flights.
Now I don't fly anymore (unless Uncle makes me and pays for it.) I refuse to contribute to the farce.