I've scoured the internet looking for a definite answer to the question: what can I legally EDC while in Switzerland without needing to have a permit/provide a specific reason? All I could find is that symmetrical blades, throwing knives, autos with a blade length over 5 cm and balisongs are illegal to even own without a permit, let alone carry, and that all other knives are hence categorized as dangerous objects (as far as I could tell, my German is quite limited) and are freely purchasable. (law of reference: entscheidungshilfe-messer-d%20(5).pdf) (although according to this Swiss article pocket knives are explicitly excluded from being categorized as dangerous objects in Switzerland https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/business/the-little-known-risks-of-carrying-a-swiss-army-knife/49068180)
There is, however, little to no reference to whether or not you're allowed to carry such objects for general everyday use (and not necessarily because of work related reasons/because you're hiking etc.). There seems to be a consensus that Swiss army knives are not considered weapons/dangerous and are hence 100% ok to carry without providing a reason (again, these were people's opinion, not any legal definition that I could find). That definition is however pretty lax, what is a Swiss army knife? Is it necessarily one with multiple tools on it, like say a Victorinox tinker, or a knife used by the Swiss army (like the Victorinox soldier, which has a one handed opening locking blade) or merely a knife made by Victorinox, like a Victorinox Evoke (fairly large folding knife), or any knife made by Victorinox, including the fixed blades.
And how about knives that have the same features as those previously mentioned but are not made by Victorinox, like say a Benchmade bugout, or a small fixed blade like an Esee izula or even a larger one, there's not any mention at all of such types of knives being weapons in the Swiss law. Could I walk around, let's say, Basel, Lugano or Luzern with one of these knives and have no worry? Does anything that has an edge on it need a justified reason for carrying? Is there any leeway/loopholes that allow for a fully worry-free EDC experience in a country were a citizen can literally get a fully automatic rifle after 1/2 weeks of paper work on a shall issue basis?
There is, however, little to no reference to whether or not you're allowed to carry such objects for general everyday use (and not necessarily because of work related reasons/because you're hiking etc.). There seems to be a consensus that Swiss army knives are not considered weapons/dangerous and are hence 100% ok to carry without providing a reason (again, these were people's opinion, not any legal definition that I could find). That definition is however pretty lax, what is a Swiss army knife? Is it necessarily one with multiple tools on it, like say a Victorinox tinker, or a knife used by the Swiss army (like the Victorinox soldier, which has a one handed opening locking blade) or merely a knife made by Victorinox, like a Victorinox Evoke (fairly large folding knife), or any knife made by Victorinox, including the fixed blades.
And how about knives that have the same features as those previously mentioned but are not made by Victorinox, like say a Benchmade bugout, or a small fixed blade like an Esee izula or even a larger one, there's not any mention at all of such types of knives being weapons in the Swiss law. Could I walk around, let's say, Basel, Lugano or Luzern with one of these knives and have no worry? Does anything that has an edge on it need a justified reason for carrying? Is there any leeway/loopholes that allow for a fully worry-free EDC experience in a country were a citizen can literally get a fully automatic rifle after 1/2 weeks of paper work on a shall issue basis?
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