Anyone ever go through this BS at Canada/US line?

H

hicomp2

Joined
Dec 10, 2005
Messages
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I have a Cold steel SRK I almost lost to a Canadian Border Guard 11 years ago. A friend and I were crossing over from Maine one night to go see the Dancing girls in St. George. At the border the Guard asked about weapons, and I declared my SRK. His eyes lit up and he wanted to see it. I pulled it out of it's sheath, from under the seat (after explaining to him what I was going to do so I didn't end up shot). He took the knife and looked it over, asking me if the knife was for defensive purposes. I insisted it was my hunting knife. He kept asking me over and over "Is this for defense?". I stuck with my "Hunting/fishing tool" explanation, and he let me through. He told me if I had said in any way the knife was for "defense", he would have confiscated it. I have not returned to Canada since. Has anybody else had to deal with this??? It was like he was trying to trip me up with semantics in order to steal my knife!!! :mad: :jerkit:
 
If he had wanted to steal your knife, he would have found a way. He was doing you a favor by drilling the Canadian legal definitions into you, so you wouldn't make a mistake once you were in Canada and get into more trouble than just losing the knife.

Sometimes you have to take events at their face value: no harm, no foul.
 
Esav Benyamin said:
If he had wanted to steal your knife, he would have found a way. He was doing you a favor by drilling the Canadian legal definitions into you, so you wouldn't make a mistake once you were in Canada and get into more trouble than just losing the knife.

Sometimes you have to take events at their face value: no harm, no foul.
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Very good and thoughtful response, Esav.

We haven't been to Canada in years but I always encountered more rudeness from the American agents rather than the Canadians. The last time we were in Toronto was years before 9/11 so it had nothing to do with tightened security.
 
Yeah Esav, he did me "a favor" alright... he showed me foolish the law can be pertaining to knives...LOL!!!
 
Well, we all know that, even in the US, even in knife-friendly jurisdictions, there's always someone who thinks a knife is just wrong. If that someone is a police officer, he can cause you a lot of waqsted time, or worse, not just a few minutes at a border stop.

It's no fun being questioned when you know you're right, but take it for what it ended up as, just a brief inconvenience. You have to learn how to roll on past the small stuff.
 
My wife and I hit the lucky number to be searched at the BC border when we were heading up to Vancouver once. The agents were very friendly, searched our car completely and didn't bat an eyelash at the double edged dagger (Explorer Night Raider) that I had in plain sight on the back seat. That was in early '85 though, so a lot may have changed since then.
 
Welcome to Bladeforums!

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You wouldn't have to worry about being shot coming into Canada; the guards don't carry firearms.That said, I remember coming into the US with a couple of buddies at the same crossing in St Stephen/Calais and was held up for a LONG time by guards who did look like they wanted to shoot! We were going climbing in the White Mountains, but the guards still couldn't understand WHY we had these large "picks" with us even after we explained they were climbing tools(remember-White Mountains, climbing:confused: )They put us in little rooms looking at us and at their monitors, probably looking at porn for all I know, waiting for one of us to break and blurt out our REAL intentions or something.Anyways, after a bit longer, they asked our professions and as soon as two of us said we were firefighters, they totally changed their attitudes and were all sunshine and lollipops. BTW, I have been in contact with a couple of border guards who jokingly said they get plenty of Americans to reveal what sidearms they are carrying into Canada by asking "which guns they have on them" instead of "if they have any on them". I don't know if it's true , but it was what I was told. And , for what it's worth , my knives have never been a problem coming back home.
 
Just realize that carrying a weapon is an offense in Canada and you won't have a problem. Unless you are carrying a knife that is on the prohibited list like a balisong, auto or push dagger. Stating that the knife was for hunting/camping was the smart and right thing to do. As of late you have to be careful with knives that can be easily flicked open. More and more cases of Customs agents confiscating flickable knives have been happening over the last year or so.
 
Hi hicomp...

"I pulled it out of it's sheath, from under the seat (after explaining to him what I was going to do so I didn't end up shot). "

No need to worry about our boarder guards.. The Canadian G-ment doesn't trust them with firearms yet.. Nice Eh!! First line of defence and they aren't allowed to carry sidearms, yet the thugs in Toronto carry Glocks...

Go figure...

As far as boarder guards go..

They are just doing their jobs..

ttyle

Eric...
 
If I remember, it was called the "55 club", or something like that. My Father said it was open back in the 1960's when he and his Buddys used to go up. There was another Bar, on the bank of the river right in the center of town (I can't tell you the street, or name of the club as I don't speak French), right across the river from a huge old stone church. It was down stairs. Look for red lights. If there is a red light out front of an establishment, you should be all set. Sorry I don't have more specific directions, but when I was single and going up, I used to drink...LOL!!! I'm sure I could find either place again, but I doubt the wife will let me go LOL!!! Have fun!!!!
 
hicomp2 said:
If I remember, it was called the "55 club", or something like that. My Father said it was open back in the 1960's when he and his Buddys used to go up. There was another Bar, on the bank of the river right in the center of town (I can't tell you the street, or name of the club as I don't speak French), right across the river from a huge old stone church. It was down stairs. Look for red lights. If there is a red light out front of an establishment, you should be all set. Sorry I don't have more specific directions, but when I was single and going up, I used to drink...LOL!!! I'm sure I could find either place again, but I doubt the wife will let me go LOL!!! Have fun!!!!
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HA!!! That sounds like "THE CHICKEN COUP".I work in st.George but I live an hour and forty minuets away in bains corner.
 
About the same number of years ago, I got the same treatrment over my cold steel Trail Master. I was going up there Bear hunting. He finally let me keep it but not before a bunch of static.:mad:
 
I have a seven inch fixed blade knife. I was hiking in the woods and a police officer saw me as i was leaving. He did not say anyhting about the knife (it was in a sheath on my side). So me being curious, i walked over to him and asked him if it legal to carry a knife like this. He asked me why i was carrying it and i said for camping purposes like chopping wood and such. He told me that is the right answer and if i said for self defense, he would of taken it away. He also told me that if i was walking downtown on a busy street with that knife it would be trouble.
 
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