Moving to Japan....what does this mean for my knives?

corwise

corwise

Joined
Nov 10, 2006
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The military has told me that I'm probably moving to Japan, Okinawa to be exact, and I'm trying to figure out what this means long term for my knife collection.

First, since I refuse to trust the movers with all my Busse, CRK, Bud Nealy, etc, I'm going to pack them up and store them at my folks house. How do you go about storing knives for 3 or 4 years? I know not to leave them in the sheath, but other then that I'm at a bit of a loss. My folks are not knife people at all, so I'd rather not need them to do anything.

Second, anyone have any idea about the legality of keeping some knives in Okinawa? EDCing? (yes, this is probably a more specific question for the legal forum)

I will take a few knives I'm sure, so any real differences with dealing with the super high humidty out there? Just take them out and wipe them down a lot more often then I do now?

Anyone know if military APO's ship knives? I guess I need to figure out Japanese customs rules, I have a few customs on order and I'd be really pissed if they took the knife.

Anyway, just a few random thoughts, wondered if anyone else has had to deal with this and how they did it. Anything else to concider?
And while I appreciated all the folks who will offer to hold my knives while I'm gone, I'm sure I'll manage. :)

Dave
 
Dave, I spent 10 years in the army, and when i went to overseas posts, I left anything home I didn't want to loose. Period.

Just put a coat of oil on your knives, wrap them up in a clean rag, and store them with your folks.

Just take a couple of pocket knives, and depending on your MOS, one field knife, if in a field unit. Japanese knife laws are a lot stricter than ours. If you need a replacement knife while there, the PX will have some, or buy off the local market.
 
Careful wrapping them in rags, even with oil on them I've had moisture collect in the cloth and cause rust spots, on stainless steel too. It was a firearm that had rust spots, but it broke me of doing it never the less.
 
Find a nice dark spot for them where the hum, temp, etc.... will be stabile with good air flow. As for oiling, just use mineral oil, and have your parents check on them every 3-6 months and add a little if needed.
 
I did this test last fall and RemOil survived (just a few spots) 15 days in the rain and daily dew. I don't know about long term durability, but I was very impressed by its performance in this test. I would not wrap rags around the knives, just apply some oil and let them sit in a dry place. If the basement is at all damp, don't store them there, pick some closet on the main floor.

If you have any good friends who like knives, maybe you can store them with somebody who wouldn't mind fondling some Infi every couple of months to re-lube them...
 
You probably just need to pack them up and send to me and I will knife sit till your return.:D
 
Buy your carry knives at the PX in OKI, or buy them locally.

Store your knives with a big pack of dessicant (buy from Amazon if you can't find any locally http://www.amazon.com/Browning-Safe...ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1244073619&sr=8-5). If you have a lot of knives, you can keep them in a safe with a electronic GoldenRod dehumidifier. Both are available for under $25.

I use these for my guns and knives in my safe and in plastic storage buckets.
 
I spent 11 years with the Airforce at Yokota AB in Japan, just outside of Tokyo. I had no problems taking all my knives. The movers who packed me up actually packed a couple hundred rounds of .22 ammo and a box of shotgun shells!

We even had a Rod and Gun club on the base and I was able to keep 3 handguns, a shotgun and 2 rifles in my house. That was all up to the base commander. Right before I left in 1998 we got a new base commander and he made everyone on base put their guns in the security police armory, we had to sign them in and out when we went to the range on base. We could NEVER take a gun off base!

As for the Post Office on base, it is just like going to the post office in the US only they are run by GI's. You do have to fill out customs declarations when mailing something from the US but in 11 years I never had anything lost in the mail.

Have you been able to contact anyone you will be working with or been assigned a sponsor? If so ask them, my sponsor was the one who told me about the gun club.

Hope this helps, my experiance was 10 years ago so things may have changed.
 
Hey Corwise.

I'm from Japan. Okinawa to be exact! ;) Born and raised in okinawa city pretty close to Camp Kadena (The biggest base in Okinawa)

I'm sorry to hear that you're going to have to leave your knives with your folks.

The law in Japan is that you cannot carry around any pocket knives with blade length over 6 cm (2.4 inch)and overall length has to be less than 15 cm (5.9 inch).
Yes yes I know it's absurd.:mad: The only knives that I own that would be legal in Japan is Spyderco Ladybug & Cricket. While I love my Cricket I'm not looking forward to the day I have to move back to Japan.

Oh, and I have to add that even though your knives may be "legal" the Japanese police still can arrest or confiscate your knives. It's so wrong but I've read couple of horror stories about that happening in Japan. I would say 99% of the people in Japan are NKP so just be aware when taking your knife out.


As far as owning knives at home and not EDCing it shouldn't be a problem.
I do not know about the laws on base. I only know the laws off base but I'm sure it can't be any worse.

I don't know how the high humidty will affect your knives to be honest. I only started carrying after I left the Island. But I do know that I occasionally see rusts on cars and bicycles as the humidity is high and when you get close to the beaches you can almost taste the salt in the air.

Good luck on your move to Okinawa!
 
Spray them with some oil and maybe wrap them in waxpaper, if you are putting them in a container throw some pennies in the bottom they will corrode before the knife steel.
 
personally, i would ship them to my new address,you would have the best import collection there that anyone has seen.
 
cdhumiston said:
I spent 11 years with the Airforce at Yokota AB in Japan, just outside of Tokyo. I had no problems taking all my knives. The movers who packed me up actually packed a couple hundred rounds of .22 ammo and a box of shotgun shells!

We even had a Rod and Gun club on the base and I was able to keep 3 handguns, a shotgun and 2 rifles in my house. That was all up to the base commander. Right before I left in 1998 we got a new base commander and he made everyone on base put their guns in the security police armory, we had to sign them in and out when we went to the range on base. We could NEVER take a gun off base!

As for the Post Office on base, it is just like going to the post office in the US only they are run by GI's. You do have to fill out customs declarations when mailing something from the US but in 11 years I never had anything lost in the mail.

Have you been able to contact anyone you will be working with or been assigned a sponsor? If so ask them, my sponsor was the one who told me about the gun club.

Hope this helps, my experiance was 10 years ago so things may have changed.
Click to expand...

Hey, I spent 4 years at Yokota AB (actually working at Fuchu, a nearby JSDF base). Left in '83.

Corwise,

I lived off base for the first 2 years, so left all my guns and knives at home.

Didn't venture over to Okinawa, but I pretty much loved my time on the mainland. Have a great time.
 
Don't mean to hijack, just hoping for a quick answer. Why are there still so many US bases in japan? Is it just to protect japan as their not allowed to have a significant army of their own, or what?
 
Munky88 said:
Don't mean to hijack, just hoping for a quick answer. Why are there still so many US bases in japan? Is it just to protect japan as their not allowed to have a significant army of their own, or what?
Click to expand...

To keep some of our forces near North Korea and Russia! And to supply troops stationed in other countries in Asia. Yokota has a lot of Cargo planes...
 
I unwrapped an old rifle once that was covered in cosmoline and wax paper. It had no rust at all after 20+ years.
 
I consider Japan to be one of, if not the premier, the best knife and steel making countries in the world. :)

If you appreciate well made knives and the art taken to a very high discipline, Japan is a mecca...
 
I've used silicone spray and breathable SYNTHETIC fabric storage socks or cases with guns for years. Silicone is way less messy and doesn't saturate wood like grease (Cosmoline).

I spray a generous dose of silicone inside the container and also coat the gun/knife/whatever. It feels like light oil for a few minutes but then dries to a thin but slippery invisible layer. Wipe off any fingerprints, then store in a location that doesn't occasionally get wet (i.e., avoid putting near windows, bathrooms, water pipes) and doesn't experience a lot of temperature change.

Avoid cotton and wool, as they soak up moisture then release it back over time. Avoid plastic bags, leather, or non breathing synthetics (e.g., Naugahyde), as they trap moisture and don't let humidity escape.
 
What about oiling your knives and then sealing them in one of those food storage bags that have the vacumm unit to suck all the air out? i HAVE NEVER STORED ANYTHING LIKE THIS BUT HAVE BEEN CURIOUS HOW OR IF IT WOULD WORK.
Please dont risk your collection to shippers, my parents were in the military for 21 years, alot of time our stuff got lost , stored , and damaged.
Paul
Okefenokeeknives
 
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