CBSA seized a legal knife.

Why buy from China; when there are plenty of North American dealers who know how to tighten down a pivot...
 
  • Like
Reactions: DMG
Bob Denman said:
Why buy from China; when there are plenty of North American dealers who know how to tighten down a pivot...
Click to expand...
Tighten the pivot isnt fool proof at all and can also damage the pivot if its running on bearings. Best practice is being sent with two packages separately, blade and handle. Then again with CBSA, anything can happen, they even seized slip joints at some point.
 
Last edited:
Oh no!! What did they steal????

Kmikaz3 said:
This is what you’ll get in case of seizure


g9MzbnC.jpg
Click to expand...
I always ask to have the knife shipped completely disassembled.
 
stjones said:
Oh no!! What did they steal????


I always ask to have the knife shipped completely disassembled.
Click to expand...
Luckily, they haven’t steal anything from me….yet. A fellow member on FB group has had a trade with them and they exchanged with this valuable piece of paper. /sarcasm

It was a Reate Horizon D
 
somniloquist said:
Canadian law guy here. The definition that the Canadian International Trade Tribunal of "centrifugal knife" is quite a bit broader than how it has been interpreted in the courts in a criminal law context. You can see a summary of the decision which sets out the definition here: https://cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publications/cn-ad/cn18-01-eng.html It is this decision that the CBSA are acting upon when they seize folders at the border.

Basically, any knife that can be opened with one hand is likely to be seized by the CBSA if they inspect it. Also, if you plan to appeal the decision, you will need to understand administrative law in Canada. Common sense definitions, dictionary definitions, hurt feelings or whatever else are irrelevant to making a winning case here. If you don't have a lawyer arguing on your behalf, your chances of success are probably low.

Now I'm obviously a knife guy and think this decision is garbage. However, reading through the comments here is a bit amusing. The brand/country of manufacture/potentially IP infringing design of a folder is irrelevant to the CBSA seizing it as a prohibited weapon. Also, the operation of the CITT and its decisions have nothing to do with politics or the government of the day. The decisions are made by bureaucrats who interpret complex laws and regulations relating to the importation of goods into Canada. Obviously, I think they have it wrong here but my personal feelings don't change anything.

The only way this decision will get changed is if you argue through through the first instance and appeal steps with the CBSA/CITT and then end up at the Federal Court of Appeal. I'm guessing that would take about 3-5 years (and you can guess how I know). You can speak to your MP but honestly, they aren't going to care. You are a person suspected of importing a prohibited weapon and you want them to go to bat for you? Unlikely.

Anyway, this whole thing leaves me feeling cynical but the way around this problem is to only buy folders from dealers shipping within Canada. I wish I had something more hopeful to say but that's basically it.
Click to expand...

With knives, as with so many other topics, bureaucrats ARE largely "the government of the day." Politicians come and go. Bureaucrats are, relatively, forever. The % of the body of law represented by administrative regulations vastly exceeds the law passed by legislatures. Our Internal Revenue Code is mostly thousands of pages of opaque administrative regulations, some literally incapable of being understood, even by the IRS "subject matter experts," as they have been forced to admit on occasion. And then there are administrative "interpretations" of law and rules, which have the force of law. Our IRS also exercises "non-acquiescence." They lose a case, but the law of the case only applies to the litigants in that case UNLESS the court ruling against the IRS is the U.S. Supreme Court, which takes very few cases. For all other taxpayers, the IRS bureaucrats apply the IRS interpretation, even when repeatedly and uniformly found grossly unlawful by one federal court after another, including the U.S. Tax Court, forcing the taxpayer to surrender or go to great leagal expense to vindicate his/her/their rights. It does seem more clever to avoid being placed in the clutches of the bureaucracy and it minions.
 
Last edited:
CBSA has a lot of power to make lives miserable. It's a bit like in the states telling someone pfffft, it's only the ATF. Even the advice to send it in parts is difficult because they can seize it by determining that A)it's to circumvent their assessment, or B) that it's an illegal kit. It's a messy situation, and before anyone mentions, no there are no "rights" in this matter, it's not the way Canadian law is written. It's fair to disagree with the way things should be, but don't confuse that with the way things are. CBSA has more powers of enforcement than almost any other LE body I can think of, internally and externally. You can get lucky by pulling tricks, but if someone decides they don't like you, it's all manner of trouble, and right now with the registry kerfuffle going on, taking moves against CBSA if you are also under the amnesty... I don't see that ending well. And before anyone throws politics on it, both sides allowed these powers to exist.
 
Well, I see by the tracking that cbsa has released my knife and it is on route😀that’s 1 week since they held it. There’s at least one common sense cbsa officer .This is a basic folding knife with no flipper tabs or cut outs on the blade or any kind of assist feature. Decent size blade though, with “Damascus” blade and unique wood handle. Anyway , still schetchy ordering across the border. No more across border folder purchases for me. Thinking about ordering a custom fixed blade buck from the US so I am guessing that would be safe.
 
Yup! Paying taxes always is cheaper than finding another knife!
 
I feel like it really depends on the customs officer. They’re people too, so clearly some have more issues than others. For example I recently sent a Reate T3000 over the border with absolutely no issues and super fast shipping. I’d completely disassembled the knife, and they never even held it.
 
Leo Greer said:
I feel like it really depends on the customs officer. They’re people too, so clearly some have more issues than others. For example I recently sent a Reate T3000 over the border with absolutely no issues and super fast shipping. I’d completely disassembled the knife, and they never even held it.
Click to expand...
It also depends on the office it goes through, some are more under the gun to keep packages moving, and the volume reduces the chance that your package gets extra attention, but might be at the cost of speed.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top