Just a note, it is not TSA's call for checked baggage. On our Alaska trip, I checked with TSA about my bringing my Whisperlite stove (checked baggage). It said I could, as long as there was no fuel. So, at the gate, I couldn't bring it, USAir wouldn't let me. Two flyers going American were allowed, as well as another flying Northwest. One of the American flyers was originally rebuffed, but the pilot actually walked by and he OK'd it.
I ran into two TSA guys at the Anchorage airport, and told them our story. They said that the TSA guidelines are just that, guidelines. It's up to the individual airlines and their discretion.