Canadian buying knife from US, should I expect customs issues?

oprichnik

oprichnik

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Hello!

A couple of months ago I was lucky to get on the pre-order of Ramon Chaves Redencion 228, it was finally shipped to me last week and as of Sept.1st it has been held up at Canadian customs. Should I be worried? It's an expensive knife, not to mention, such a badass knife and I would absolutely hate to lose it. Any Canadians buy knives from the US? Do you have any issues with them coming into Canada?
Any comforting words appreciated...
 
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Canadian Customs is generally easy on fixed blades but can be a problem with folders that fling open to easily. It helps to have the seller tighten the pivot.
 
I have done it plenty of times, make sure what you are shipping is not a prohibited weapon in canada, and put "cutlery tool" as the package contents.
 
Ok, I feel better now. I've bought and sold watches to and from US before, but never what some might consider "weapons" - knives, so wasn't sure if it may be a problem.
 
The pivot must be tight so that the knife can't open, otherwise you are just playing roulette....

The rule is no 'gravity knives' so anything that can open with a wrist flick.
How hard the knives are flicked, and how customs does this test is not public info.

Not many knives have a detent that can withstand a hard wrist flick.

Knives with bearings are not possible to crank down, but can be "locked" closed with a little ingenuity.

Sept. 1st?!.....I will pray for you man.....you will get a letter in 3-5 weeks if it has been stolen,,,,err,,,,I mean "seized"...

It will not say much, except that your knife is gone, and you have no real way to get it back.
 
Never had an issue with fixed blades , although customs can hold it up for a while. Most of my folders are under $100 and purchased in Canada.
 
I'm in a similar situation, before it's actually happened yet. I'm thinking of shipping myself a couple of my knives while I'm in Canada. I'll make sure to crank down on the pivots, but would there be any fees or duties involved for a $150+ knife? I'd be addressing it to a friend, but in reality, I'm just sending something I already own to myself. The convenience isn't going to be worth it if it's going to cost me more than some postage.
 
Tax and duty are an it depends thing. I've had lots of stuff clear without a hiccup but I did get dinged on a Winkler Belt Knife. It shipped via FedEx so that may have been part of the problem. All the express carriers love tacking on duty and clearance fees.

Shipping via USPS is how I usually get imports from America and it's always been reliable.
 
JR88FAN said:
The pivot must be tight so that the knife can't open, otherwise you are just playing roulette....

The rule is no 'gravity knives' so anything that can open with a wrist flick.
How hard the knives are flicked, and how customs does this test is not public info.

Not many knives have a detent that can withstand a hard wrist flick.

Knives with bearings are not possible to crank down, but can be "locked" closed with a little ingenuity.

Sept. 1st?!.....I will pray for you man.....you will get a letter in 3-5 weeks if it has been stolen,,,,err,,,,I mean "seized"...

It will not say much, except that your knife is gone, and you have no real way to get it back.
Click to expand...

Ya it's pretty much luck of the draw as to what border agent inspects your package these days. They seem to sort of be 'cracking down' on flippers even though they aren't really prohibited. As mentioned, they'll wrist flick them hard to get them to open and then classify it as a "gravity knife" or "centrifugally opening blade" and seize it.

If they do, go the EXPORT route. I recently had to do that with a Pena custom knife and it should be delivered to my bro in the US by Tuesday. Annoying, but not a TOTAL loss at least.

At any rate, maybe you won't have any issues and they're just slow at customs. GOOD LUCK OP!
 
Should you expect issues? Hard to say, I will say don't be surprised if something happens that delays or even confiscates the item. It's best to send items to Canada with pivots snugged, or disassembled.
 
As i understand it Canada Post Customs only has 2 depots: one in Toronto region and the other in Vancouver area. The huge increase in online shopping has not been met by staff increases, so Customs agents are over-worked and the wait time for a package to be inspected is up to 3 weeks from Vancouver depot.
Don't worry, your knife will arrive and be fine, just don't expect it soon.
kj
 
I have excellent news!!! My Redencion 228 arrived today and to top it off NO EXTRA FEES (taxes, duties,..etc) even after being in customs for 3 days.
Here is a quick and dirty pic...ramon1.jpg
 
oprichnik said:
I have excellent news!!! My Redencion 228 arrived today and to top it off NO EXTRA FEES (taxes, duties,..etc) even after being in customs for 3 days.
Here is a quick and dirty pic...View attachment 575459
Click to expand...

Congrats! II usually ask sellers to send with USPS. The tracking is easy with Canada Post, and there are no brokerage fees as with FedEx and UPS.
 
S.Alexander said:
Congrats! II usually ask sellers to send with USPS. The tracking is easy with Canada Post, and there are no brokerage fees as with FedEx and UPS.
Click to expand...
Thanks!
They shipped it using USPS and when it got to Canada same tracking number worked with Canada Post, no brokerage fees, I was very surprised.
 
JR88FAN said:
The pivot must be tight so that the knife can't open, otherwise you are just playing roulette....

The rule is no 'gravity knives' so anything that can open with a wrist flick.
How hard the knives are flicked, and how customs does this test is not public info.

Not many knives have a detent that can withstand a hard wrist flick.

Knives with bearings are not possible to crank down, but can be "locked" closed with a little ingenuity.

Sept. 1st?!.....I will pray for you man.....you will get a letter in 3-5 weeks if it has been stolen,,,,err,,,,I mean "seized"...

It will not say much, except that your knife is gone, and you have no real way to get it back.
Click to expand...

A buddy of mine lost a Hinderer (at peak pricing a couple years ago) to CBS...

I've heard (secondhand knowledge) that "they" (CBS Employees) have gone as far as to invert the knife and do a reverse drop to get the blade open; same with cops too. If you try it many knives that won't open via wrist flick WILL open doing the drop.

So, us Canucks have to be really vigilant when it comes to shipping knives into the country as well as with what we carry as EDC. Better to be safe than regret it and lose a nice knife because somebody in authority managed to get it to open via "gravity"... :rolleyes::mad::thumbdn:


Fixed blades FTW. :thumbup:
 
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