I obviously don't know what airport you normally operate from but: Here is part of the BAA's web-site relating to what may not be carried in hand-luggage:
"DO NOT pack the following items in your hand luggage:
Toy/replica guns (metal or plastic)
Catapults
Household cutlery
Knives with blades of any length
Razor blades
Tools
Darts
Scissors
Hypodermic needles (unless required for medical reasons)
Knitting needles
Sporting bats
Billiard, snooker or pool cues
Corkscrews"
Source:
http://www.baa.co.uk/main/general/tr...ips_frame.html
We could take this to the nth degree. I do support ypur viewpoint that nailclippers are hardly an immediately threatening weapon. But, the security staff, if you travel from a BAA airport, may have been given guidance that nailclippers constitite either a "blade of any length" or a "razor blade". I don't know for sure, but they
may have been thinking that...
I could, if I
really wanted to, mention that Hypodermic needles are not permitted in hand luggage
unless required for medical reasons. So who is not working with the other, BA or BAA Security??