New Zealand

G

goodman335

Joined
Jan 6, 2012
Messages
34
Hey there!
This is my first thread ( just joined) I wanted to know if anyone knows the knife laws in New Zealand such as what I can and cannot carry, what is the maximum blade length etc..I'm going to be moving down there in a few months for a little while and I don't want to mess up or set off any alarms if people see me carrying a knife. I e-mailed a police station in Wellington and they weren't exactly helpful. Can anyone help?
 
You cannot carry knives in public in New Zealand...I know this from personal experience(ie,being convicted of carrying a knife in a public place..CASE sharktooth which was confiscated and destroyed....generally a small slipjoint will not get the goonsquad on your back but this is totally at the discretion of the officer involved....good luck....FES
 
I visit my brother fairly often in Wellington and I did some research on this subject some years ago.
I was basically told that I was perfectly safe with a SAK Classic. So that is what I carry and I have a medium size stockman in my suitcase for slightly larger home chores.

The truth is I have never needed more than that..........

Have fun in Wellington.......It is a cute little town.:)
 
Wellington is a great spot - go check out The house of Knives in Petone for your knife fix!
 
I'm from NZ (now living in Singapore) and the law is pretty simple: you must have "reasonable excuse."
If you have lots of tattoos and basically look like an ex-con / gang member, then any knife is likely to get you into trouble.

If you look decent, then you will have no problem with most common folders, providing you don't go waving it around in public.
And if you're out hunting / hiking then you can practically carry whatever you like....

NB: daggers, autos, balisongs are illegal tho

FWIW my EDC in NZ was mainly an Emerson CQC8. I open a lot of mail, parcels and boxes... so that's my reasonable excuse.
But I woudln't generally carry my Cold Steel Vaquero Grande unless out in the bush.
 
Sweet thanks man, yeah the cold steel big cowboy is kinda on the larger side lol. I carry my Buck 119 wherever I go but It seems like its not going to be that way in NZ =(
 
Fixed blades would be frowned upon unless you were out hunting.
Keep it foldable and low profile.

As mentioned "self defense" is not a "reasonable excuse."
Multitools and larger victorinoxes no problems.

You're not going to be stopped and searched unless you are suspicious or fit a profile.
 
Daniel L said:
I'm from NZ (now living in Singapore) and the law is pretty simple: you must have "reasonable excuse."
If you have lots of tattoos and basically look like an ex-con / gang member, then any knife is likely to get you into trouble.

If you look decent, then you will have no problem with most common folders, providing you don't go waving it around in public.
And if you're out hunting / hiking then you can practically carry whatever you like....

NB: daggers, autos, balisongs are illegal tho

FWIW my EDC in NZ was mainly an Emerson CQC8. I open a lot of mail, parcels and boxes... so that's my reasonable excuse.
But I woudln't generally carry my Cold Steel Vaquero Grande unless out in the bush.
Click to expand...
Were you allowed to bring the Emerson CQC 8 and the Cold Steel Vaquero Grande with you when you moved to Singapore? I know that Singapore has strict weapons laws, exempting only police and military. Did Singapore customs give you any hassle? Just curious.
 
I didn't bring my Vaquero "Bagel Knife" Grander but no issues with the rest of my stuff. As long as its not an explicit weapon and you are squeaky clean then no problem. You can even own guns here in SG and compete IPSC - just have to leave them at the armory.

Then again, I tend not to overtly EDC in Singapore... New Zealand is definitely far more relaxed in that regard with a farming / hunting heritage.
 
Being a tourist when I went to NZ, I didn't really have a reasonable excuse to carry a blade. I just kept a Benchmade Rescue 5 deep in my pocket for emergencies, and a small SAK classic for that leading edge and scissors. If you're wanting to carry for self defense, then don't; You're better off carrying a Hinderer Investigator pen, or if you're not willing to spend, an Uzi tactical pen.

In Wellington, check out the TePaPa museum. It's free and has a lot of history about NZ.
 
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