Travelers going through security checkpoints at Honolulu International Airport frequently leave behind cell phones, iPods, cameras, sunglasses and belts. There were some who also recently forgot canes, a guitar, two 'ukulele and a couple of skateboards.

Hats, teddy bears, jackets, shopping bags and house keys also show up pretty regularly, according to Warren Kadokawa, Honolulu's transportation security manager for the Transportation Security Administration.

"Everything you can imagine, we've had at one time or another," Kadokawa said.

The most expensive items — worth $500 or more — or those considered "sensitive" because of personal information such as phones, cameras or recorders are sent to a facility in Maryland if no one claims them here. Eventually, the federal government or a contractor auctions off those items.

But Kadokawa encourages travelers to make some calls to try to find misplaced items.The Honolulu TSA folks hang on to other items for 30 days, then turn them over to the state lost and found, where Scott Haida, state terminal services supervisor, oversees a much larger storage area for forgotten items.

The state holds items for at least 45 days but Haida said staff cuts from 13 to 5 in recent years mean it's not uncommon to have some items sit for years.

Kadokawa said the federal checkpoints often end up with shopping bags, Christmas gifts, laptop computers, bottles of expensive liquor, house and car keys and they even have had dentures left behind.

Harry Yamanuha is one of three officers who spends four days a week working on what's left behind. And he and the others try to reunite people with their stuff — even keeping boxed lei in a little fridge next to their home lunches.

"Nothing surprises me anymore," Yamanuha said. "Like the guitar, it's so big. How can you forget it?"

But Kadokawa estimates only about one-fourth of the lost items find their way back to their owners.

He said an average of 10 items a day wind up in the lost and found in the TSA office. But a much bigger bounty of goods comes in the voluntarily surrendered items when people realize they brought along banned items that include pocket knives, utility tools, corkscrews and scissors.

A daily haul recently included eight corkscrews, two serrated knives, various nail clippers — banned for their tiny blades and box cutters.

They also gather a fairly lethal-looking cache of weaponry that includes switchblades, butterfly knives, brass knuckles and martial arts throwing stars.

Kadokawa said people who realize they brought their Swiss Army knife can take it back to the car, pack it in checked bags, give it to a relative who dropped them off or even mail it to themselves in mailers available near the checkpoint.

For all the electronic devices, phones, keys, bags, etc., the office tries to reunite people with their travel gear. Yamanuha said it's satisfying to return items to their owners: "They give you a big thank you."

Yamanuha advises travelers to get to the airport early, plan on what they are carrying after checking the Web site or calling to make sure you know what's allowed. He thinks people get rushed and anxious and that's how they leave things behind.

In addition to sharp things and banned items, the office also disposes of what they call "hazmat" items although the hazardous materials in these cases range from chemicals to large sizes of shaving cream, hair spray and hand sanitizers. And other disposal is required for liquids over the three-ounce carry-on limit.

That sometimes includes expensive Scotch, brandy and sake, when travelers forget they can't carry on those items anymore. Kadokawa said there's a procedure that requires two staffers to be present to dump beer and wine but higher-alcohol items get shipped out.

The state's Haida oversees a storage room stocked with boxes of scissors, cell phones, clothes, strollers and just about anything travelers might carry aboard.

The majority of items get left there, donated to charity and some are auctioned off, Haida said.

But the staff tries to help folks track down their belongings. "We have the public come in almost every day to claim something," Haida said.

Travelers who lost something should also check individually with the airline they flew on, he said, because each airline has its own lost and found.

Haida said the state usually auctions off items once a year. Last year, it was held in December at Aloha Tower Marketplace. "Currently, we are looking at trying to set up an online auction," he said.

Haida's employee cutbacks mean some things have been sitting at the airport since 2004.

He said the state has also given away scissors to schools, cell phones to programs that help victims of domestic violence, and other items to charities.

Back at the federal offices, coins and dollar bills that get left behind are deposited in a TSA account. The TSA has been able to keep the change since Congress changed the rules in 2004 to allow the agency to use the money to help with security costs rather than toss it into the federal general fund. Los Angeles International Airport picked up $89,375 from 2004 to 2007.

Honolulu's recent annual take of about $2,000 is small change compared with other cities.