Carrying a fixed blade hiking in Alberta

S

supesknives

Joined
Sep 16, 2025
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This is not a question about laws. Almost every post mentioning "Canada" has got to do with laws. Yes it's legally allowed.

This question is about "what is your experience with carrying a fixed blade while hiking in Alberta Canada?". Do people give you dirty looks? Are you ignored? Have you seen other people carrying one (eg. on their belt)?

I recently got into fixed knives in a big way and I look forward to going on hikes, or even walking into Banff wearing one sheathed on my belt. It's all perfectly legal. But am I going to enjoy the experience, or am I going to hate it because people are going to stare with their judgmental gaze?

Thanks for sharing!
 
I spend a lot of time in the mountains West of Calgary and in the Jasper area. I wear a fixed blade very often, openly on my belt. A range of sizes. Everywhere from downtown Calgary, Calgary pubs and restaurants, small foothills towns, Rocky Mountain House, Jasper, trails and slopes, lodges, etc. Often a neck knife as well. Banff, same story.

You absolutely will not have a problem.
 
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The True North said:
I spend a lot of time in the mountains West of Calgary and in the Jasper area. I wear a fixed blade very often, openly on my belt. A range of sizes. Everywhere from downtown Calgary, Calgary pubs and restaurants, small foothills towns, Rocky Mountain House, Jasper, trails and slopes, lodges, etc. Often a neck knife as well. Banff, same story.

You absolutely will not have a problem.
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Have you ever been spotted by a cop in Calgary who would have seen your sheath on your belt? Just wondering if they ever react to sheathed knives. Thanks!
 
supesknives said:
Have you ever been spotted by a cop in Calgary who would have seen your sheath on your belt? Just wondering if they ever react to sheathed knives. Thanks!
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Calgary has a bylaw regarding this. https://www.calgary.ca/bylaws/public-behaviour.html

Carrying visible weapons and noxious substances in public places is not allowed.
  • Weapons includes knife, axe, hatchet, machete, baton, imitation firearm, bat, or saw.
So as always, an individual officer may see your knife and not comment. But another officer may see your knife and decide it's time to write you up. I've traveled to Calgary and have always had a knife visible in my pocket with a visible clip. Technically against the bylaw but being from BC I would have said WTF if stopped, not sure how effective a defense that would have been. No one said anything even in Bowness, but now if I went through I'd have the knife fully in my pocket.
 
supesknives said:
Have you ever been spotted by a cop in Calgary who would have seen your sheath on your belt? Just wondering if they ever react to sheathed knives. Thanks!
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I have interacted with RCMP and CPS many times wearing fixed blades on my belt and having visible clipped knives in my pockets. I have never had so much as a comment. I'm also a machinist and am always either dressed in work shop attire with boots, etc., or hiking style outdoors clothing. I do not act or dress like a hoodlum, and conduct myself in a respectful manner around law enforcement. Your mileage may vary, but if you're not wearing a big hoodie with your pants around your ass swaggering around, and if you're not visibly under the influence of drugs, you are highly unlikely to have a problem.

Now, when it comes to city limits, I'm talking reasonable knives here. Usually small to medium fixed blades in a leather sheath, on a nice belt and wrangler jeans. I'm not walking around with a 7" Ka-Bar or some sort of blacked out Cold Steel abomination. As Danke says, much is up to public perception, your behaviour, and the sensibilities of the officer in question.

But I also routinely carry a small leather Bucheimer 7980 blackjack, which is categorically illegal. I do not have a history of respecting non-firearm anti-weapon laws. So take this with a grain of salt. This is not advice, don't do what I do, etc. BUT, conduct yourself properly and you're unlikely to have any issues. I've been doing what I do without a second thought for 15 years and haven't had a negative interaction with anyone concerning knives or other objects in my pockets, ever. 🤷🏻‍♂️

If you're in a small town, in the woods, on hiking trails, or anywhere outside Calgary or Edmonton? Go nuts, man. No one cares. Have fun.
 
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The True North said:
I have interacted with RCMP and CPS many times wearing fixed blades on my belt and having visible clipped knives in my pockets. I have never had so much as a comment. I'm also a machinist and am always either dressed in work shop attire with boots, etc., or hiking style outdoors clothing. I do not act or dress like a hoodlum, and conduct myself in a respectful manner around law enforcement. Your mileage may vary, but if you're not wearing a big hoodie with your pants around your ass swaggering around, and if you're not visibly under the influence of drugs, you are highly unlikely to have a problem.

Now, when it comes to city limits, I'm talking reasonable knives here. Usually small to medium fixed blades in a leather sheath, on a nice belt and wrangler jeans. I'm not walking around with a 7" Ka-Bar or some sort of blacked out Cold Steel abomination. As Danke says, much is up to public perception, your behaviour, and the sensibilities of the officer in question.

But I also routinely carry a small leather Bucheimer 7980 blackjack, which is categorically illegal. I do not have a history of respecting non-firearm anti-weapon laws. So take this with a grain of salt. This is not advice, don't do what I do, etc. BUT, conduct yourself properly and you're unlikely to have any issues. I've been doing what I do without a second thought for 15 years and haven't had a negative interaction with anyone concerning knives or other objects in my pockets, ever. 🤷🏻‍♂️

If you're in a small town, in the woods, on hiking trails, or anywhere outside Calgary or Edmonton? Go nuts, man. No one cares. Have fun.
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This^^^^^ may be the soundest advice you'll get. I'm not from nor living in Canada but I will say here in the States if you don't act like a moron you typically won't be treated like one.
I lived in NYS for years where knives are very much frowned upon and illegal well most of them and never ever had a problem carrying legally and sometimes illegally. It's about you in the end from my experience.
 
Alberta is generally more open about gun and knife than other places Canada. If Quebec and Ontario are chill with it, I'm certain that Alberta would as well.

Open carry what is appropriate, wearing a big for self defense is a very weak reason, having big knife in a place where you are not allowed to process wood would make people ask questions. Avoid carrying around populated places, just don't do it in big city at all. The more remote the area, the least people care.
 
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Its interesting to note that bowie knives started becoming illegal or heavily restricted to carry in many places in and around the 1830s--- so this type of thinking isnt anything new, and way (way) before that, commoners/peasants would get arrested for carrying daggers or swords as they werent usually allowed to have them. Nowadays most often if you arent brandishing your knife like some unhinged looney and its worn like a respectable tool, then a lot of places wont freak out. Just never say "its a defensive weapon" if ever asked, because there's not a lot of places thats okay with that answer. Knives these days are tools first before anything else
 
I carry my bk9 in downtown Banff and Canmore and lake Louise and Longview every time my wife and I go to our condo and I have never had a problem with anyone giving me a look because of the knives I carry but my wolf dog has made a few tourist step back a few feet lol.
 
waynemanning74 said:
This^^^^^ may be the soundest advice you'll get. I'm not from nor living in Canada but I will say here in the States if you don't act like a moron you typically won't be treated like one.
I lived in NYS for years where knives are very much frowned upon and illegal well most of them and never ever had a problem carrying legally and sometimes illegally. It's about you in the end from my experience.
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Well, first of all, we aren't allowed to discuss or promote illegal activities on this forum. That said, for low-profile sheath knife open carry, my personal choices would be the Schrade "Sharpfinger" or the Cold Steel "Pendleton Hunter". Both have 3.5" blades, which puts them well under the legal limit for carrying in many jurisdictions.
 
Thanks everyone for sharing. I think one of the very best movies I've seen that show casual fixed knife carry is in the movie "Troll 2". In it the knife is shown in sheath and is used in 2 scenes. The times I remember seeing a knife in movies, it's often some over-sized survival bowie knife, rather than a beautifully crafted Scandinavian type hunting/bushcraft knife, so I found it awesome to see the main character just walk around casually throughout the whole movie with a Scandinavian knife on her belt.

Sikhs in Canada are allowed to carry their ceremonial dagger and it's important to them as a physical connection to their cultural and religious heritage. But hunting knives are also a connection to Canadian heritage due to the fact that many carried one in the pioneering past, and the pioneering past is central to Canada's history and heritage.
hunting-deer-old-west-miners-cooking-1888-photo-print-48.jpg

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a-french-canadian-hunter-or-courrier-du-bois-with-a-rifle-and-a-hatchet-colourised-version-of-10116481-date-1891-2JD68HK.jpg
 
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