Canadian Customs Seizing Knives

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I'm well aware you can ship knives and receive them without hassle. I'm being more specific about when you actually get seized. I want to know if you really get prosecuted for one knife they deem prohibited or they just seize and destroy, without legal issues.
 
I had two cheap Chinese knives seized, they sent me a letter telling me so, I ignored it and that was that. Nothing came of it, the knives were presumably destroyed. They haven't opened any of my packages since.

I should mention the knives weren't an illegal design, they were liner lock flippers. Some Customs agent probably took one, flicked his wrist and the blade happened to open by "centrifugal force". If I had ordered things like balisongs or switchblades maybe I would be in trouble... or maybe not.

If they take it you can say goodbye to it. If it's very expensive you can arrange to ship it back across. You won't go to jail unless you're trying to smuggle prohibited items across the border.
 
Twindog said:
I wonder how Canada Customs would look at Busse's new Combat Terror Monkey Hell Razor? Just a tool?
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The Argonne Assault is the only prohibited Busse due to the knuckle-duster guard (knuckle-dusters are prohibited). Knives don't have to be tools. They just have to be non-prohibited. Grind the knuckle-duster off and it's suddenly allowed again. :rolleyes:
 
El Wray said:
My main issue here is :

I know that alot of people have had stuff seized, that customs basically declared to be prohibited weapons, if they were right or even if they were wrong. I want to know if you or anyone you know has ever been prosecuted for stuff like that or they just seize the stuff and you never hear from them again.
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This is a guess on my part, but I would think that Canadian Customs would have publicly available statistics on this. If they do have them, I haven't seen them. That would include prosecutorial events, fines, and even destruction to some extent no matter how vague.
 
No stories. Sent a spyderco mule a few weeks ago up north, reached in time w/o issues.

If you are careful and follow all rules, things should go smooth.
 
El Wray,

I feel you since knife laws here hither my yonder.
Now if you haven't gotten yourself listed in the CSIS or committed any crime in the past, be it petty, or worse, associated with sharp stuffs, i really don't see why you will get into trouble.
Imagine a chef has his huge Kebab knife seized at custom? They can't be putting him behind bars because he put food on people's table unless he was charged with stabbing/carving (insert what a chef would do with a knife) someone in the past.

A hike mate recently made fun of me that i carry WEAPONS THAT KILL PEOPLE.

Weapons are created by people. Tools are created by people.
It's the PEOPLE who kill/hurt, not the weapons or tools ( it will just sit there like any other matter, waiting to rust or to be operated)
 
I dealt a few times with Kirby Lambert and with a few Canadian members here without any issues. I declare the knives that I ship from the US to Canada as "Used Camping Tools" or "knives for sharpening". If you send flippers make sure the pivot is tight. I wrap the knives in velcro made zip ties to keep them from opening. I started this a long time ago after one of my Canadian friends asked me to. To the OP, if you did something illegal I heard the Canadian Customs will lock you up and throw away the keys.
 
Bought and sold many knives, and have never had an issue. As long as it is a legal knife, then you should not have an issue. Just be smart about what you are purchasing.
 
It is a gamble every time you bring something across, customs is such an inconsistent joke. You are left at the mercy of weather or not they look and if they do, what kind of day they may be having. A friend of mine had a Wayfarer seized and destroyed due to a weak detent,"Knife can be opened using centrifugal force." He then proceeded to appeal this with the agent that seized his blade arguing how many hundreds of spydercos for example can be opened the exact same way but breeze straight through to the retail outlets. The agent agreed with the complaint but seized it anyway.

Around the same time, I ordered a Rockstead Shin out of the States and it was also opened by customs, luckily my Shin made it through. The sick thing is, I ended up returning it two days later because the detent was the weakest I had ever experienced on any blade ever! So customs inspects it and puts it through?? I have had alot of success with Crk, simply because they are just about impossible to shake out, but I am nervous and a bit gun-shy these days bringing up anything from the States.

Adding to my friends experience, he had no option to return it to sender because with his knife being identified as a prohibited weapon, no courier service would transport it. I have had the best luck with USPS hand off to Canada Post...... I'm just assuming here, but I think such a high volume warrants in less actually being opened especially coming from a big, well known dealer.
 
Otts Eight said:
Adding to my friends experience, he had no option to return it to sender because with his knife being identified as a prohibited weapon, no courier service would transport it..
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You can return to sender through a bonded courier. I had a knife confiscated because of the axis lock. I sent mine back south through UPS with no issues. This was the only issue I have had with customs, and now I just get the seller to tighten down pivot(learned my lesson!)
 
If customs missed something and let it slip by them ..Don't post your success on an open forum...lol
They are the last line of defense on prohibited items....They will send you a letter telling you they seized it and what your options are....
From experience I can tell you to be sure of what you can import into Canada before you buy it...
No one will knock on your door but they will red flag you name and address and open every package that you import if they find that you did try to bring something you shouldn't have.
The knife laws are online and are pretty self explanatory....It's a great idea to read them..
If you buy a used knife from anyone online.... ask them if they could tighten the pivot screw before they send it so it passes customs with no problems....
Canada Post told me the other day that sometime this month of May Homeland Security will be monitoring ALL incoming packages so who knows how that will work out...
 
El Wray said:
I'm well aware you can ship knives and receive them without hassle. I'm being more specific about when you actually get seized. I want to know if you really get prosecuted for one knife they deem prohibited or they just seize and destroy, without legal issues.
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You won't go to jail. CBSA will give you a form with three available options:

1. Surrender the knife for destruction.
2. Ship the knife back to the dealer at your expense.
3. Appeal the ruling. (FYI, you'll lose the appeal)
 
Knifenutty said:
If customs missed something and let it slip by them ..Don't post your success on an open forum...lol
They are the last line of defense on prohibited items....They will send you a letter telling you they seized it and what your options are....
From experience I can tell you to be sure of what you can import into Canada before you buy it...
No one will knock on your door but they will red flag you name and address and open every package that you import if they find that you did try to bring something you shouldn't have.
The knife laws are online and are pretty self explanatory....It's a great idea to read them..
If you buy a used knife from anyone online.... ask them if they could tighten the pivot screw before they send it so it passes customs with no problems....
Canada Post told me the other day that sometime this month of May Homeland Security will be monitoring ALL incoming packages so who knows how that will work out...
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I am going to try to clear this up a bit, I have a lot of experience with this subject, unfortunately....

First.
Chech the CSBA page for what is and what isn't legal.
But, and this is a big but...

There is no 'real' rule to what is, and isn't legal in the world of Canada Customs.

I have had two very rare and expensive BM's seized. Both where axis lock knives, same as the ones I can buy at dozens of stores in Canada. (not these particular variations)

I have also worked at the main Canada Post distribution Center for Eastern Canada. (Not directly for CP)
I have talked to the Customs guys to find out what the 'rules' are.... They don't have a solid answer.....

The only guaranteed way that a folding knife will make it through customs is if the pivot is tightened to the point where the blade can't open.
That's it.

If the pivot can't or won't be tightened, you are taking a risk.
Customs has the 'wrist flick' rule.
Nobody will elaborate on exactly how they test a 'wrist flick' and when your knife is siezed, the letter you get does not tell you why, other than it is prohibited.

In reality, a simple Buck 110 with a lose pivot will be siezed.

There is no appeal.
If you are going to reply with, 'yes you can appeal the decision' you haven't read the back of an appeal slip!

Customs is not our 'first line of defense' they are our first line of government agencies with zero accountability...
There is no transparency, and zero knowledge of what is and isn't a 'dangerous weapon'
All knives are either tools or weapons.

It is irrelevant whether they can be opened with 'wrist flick' or not.

Is an Auto more dangerous than a lock back?
If you plan to do harm with an edged item, would you rather use an MT OTF or a 10 inch kitchen knife?

I think you get the point. Customs does zero in terms of 'making us safe' they just annoy a lot of honest knife users and collectors....

Sorry for the rant, and going off topic.

My main point, lock the blade by tightening the pivot and you remove yourself from the seizure lottery.
 
Rusty Shackleford said:
You won't go to jail. CBSA will give you a form with three available options:

1. Surrender the knife for destruction.
2. Ship the knife back to the dealer at your expense.
3. Appeal the ruling. (FYI, you'll lose the appeal)
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Forgot all three options, but really, #1 is the only option.
 
Contacting the local law enforcement is a hit or miss affair really as not all officers are versed in the Canada Criminal code and you could even be potentially mislead even by local police. The best thing to do is look into Canlii in google which should have the up to date Canada Criminal code and if the knife in question doesn't fall under any of the vague classifications then it should be okay. Though at the same time like I stated when the knife goes through customs it's mostly likely going to be under the scrutiny of an officer and if they are not familiar with Canadian law (Which would suck) they may deem it a prohibited weapon depending on how they feel about it.
 
Taraka said:
Contacting the local law enforcement is a hit or miss affair really as not all officers are versed in the Canada Criminal code and you could even be potentially mislead even by local police. The best thing to do is look into Canlii in google which should have the up to date Canada Criminal code and if the knife in question doesn't fall under any of the vague classifications then it should be okay. Though at the same time like I stated when the knife goes through customs it's mostly likely going to be under the scrutiny of an officer and if they are not familiar with Canadian law (Which would suck) they may deem it a prohibited weapon depending on how they feel about it.
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Canadian Law enforcement, and the CBSA have nothing to do with each other.

The CBSA follows it's own set of rules, and they are very different from the Canadian criminal code...

They take what they want, when they want, why they want.

Police Officers have to have just cause and transparency...
 
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