mailing a knife to Great Britain

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kolhoznik

Basic Member
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Jul 25, 2007
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I am selling a Gerber Mark I on ebay and received an inquiry about mailing it to the UK. Is this legal? Are there any other legal issues I should be aware of?
Thanks for any help.
 
Nope, no issues. If there where any legal issues, he is considered as the importer and will face the punishment (you can't fall foul of UK laws unless you're on UK soil). We also have another little presumption in law that you can't actually control what is sent to you in the mail, so even if it is seized by customs he'll just get a nice letter asking him to come and collect it (so they can nick you for possession... that's a lot easier to prove than importing via mail).
 
I sold a Fairbairn-Sykes and shipped to England. I never heard a problem and identified it on the custom forms. I sure he would have said something as he paid well over $100 for a 1960's copy.
 
Sold a Spyderco serrated Chinese Lum to someone in the UK knowing that locking folders were not permissible. I advised the buyer of that and that I claim no liability if he still wanted me to ship it. He responded stating that they are not illegal to own but illegal to carry. Shipped it US Global Priority Mail stating "pocket knife" on the customs form. He got it no problem.
 
The laws here in the Uk are a bit strange and very misunderstood.
Did you know I can legaly own just about any knife in the UK including auto's,you just cant buy and sell them (work that out) or carry them outside of your own property.
Sellers dont need to worry as the laws only apply to the buyer and even then all that ever happens from my experience is the knife gets sent back to the seller and the buyer gets a letter telling him to behave (then the seller sends it back and it arrives !).
I have over the years purchased a huge amount of knives from all over the world and never had any trouble.

Cheers
Si
 
THe onus in the UK is on the owner, possesor or importer so your should be ok. Presuming of course that the laws where you are allow you to export the knife.

Generally, the things you'd want to keep clear of if you don't want your name appearing on a police database somewhere are:

- don't sell anything to a person in the UK under the age of 16
- don't sell them a knife that is marketed/advertised as a combat knife (the law says a knife marketed for harming people)
- a nife wit a blade that is opened by a spring, gravity or spinning. Flick knives and butterfly knives etc.
 
hi, i live in the u.k and sell weapons to other people in the uk i have even sold 3 samuri swords and nunchaku's there is no problem as far as i know (long as they cant see it im good wrapping)
 
the law is

Source: Restriction of Offensive Weapons Act, 1959. Section 1(2).

Offence: It is an offence to import any knife as described in s.1(1) and sometimes known as a ‘flick knife’ or ‘flick gun’ and ‘gravity knife’

Powers: Arrestable offence.
 
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