Yes my milage varied. They just cut the locks.
Yes, you can show up early and get everything inspected in front of you at some airports, but that doesn't work 'everywhere' (which is the problem with TSA, it's not uniform and there's no recourse - some officially permitted objects will be rejected by screeners, some items that aren't officially permitted will be accepted, and official policies aren't always followed, if you complain you are SOL)