Sebenza like custom but legal in EU / Germany

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tillias

Joined
Dec 11, 2012
Messages
116
Hello guys. I have recently moved into Germany and there is very very ... very big pain here regarding knives and laws.

Basically you can't carry any locking knive you can open one-handed. This means Sebenza is illegal, Striders are surely not welcome here. All flippers of course, all Spydercos. majority of Benchmades and so on and so on. I hope you feel my pain.

On the other side if there are no thumb studs then knive is considered "two-handed to be opened" and can be carried legally. I have tried to talk with CRK representatives, but they don't care unfortunately. What a shame, it could be such a big market in these difficult Corona times :(

I have sent a question to Rick Hinderer, but I'm almost sure he will either ignore or will do nothing.

So it seems there is only one way, customs. It must folder with locking blade with some descent cutting edge / blade length min 3.5" Steel M390 or CPM-20CV Any suggestions will be really appreciated! Stay safe!
 
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tillias said:
Hello guys. I have recently moved into Germany and there is very very ... very big pain here regarding knives and laws.

Basically you can't carry any locking knive you can open one-handed. This means Sebenza is illegal, Striders are surely not welcome here. All flippers of course, all Spydercos. majority of Benchmades and so on and so on. I hope you feel my pain.

On the other side if there are no thumb studs then knive is considered "two-handed to be opened" and can be carried legally. I have tried to talk with CRK representatives, but they don't care unfortunately. What a shame, it could be such a big market in these difficult Corona times :(

I have sent a question to Rick Hinderer, but I'm almost sure he will either ignore or will do nothing.

So it seems there is only one way, customs. Any suggestions will be really appreciated! Stay safe!
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All Spydercos are not illegal to carry in Germany and its no big pain carrying a knife there. Sal makes plenty of knives specifically for countries with knife laws like Germany and England: UKPK, SPYDK, Pingo, PITS etc.
But why even worry about carrying a small folder, when Germany allows you to carry a fixed blade knife with a max blade length of 12CM?*

I go to Germany quite a lot. Here some of the knives, Ive legally carried in Germany and which I was able to EDC without problems:

o09qUMg.jpg

The German made fixed blade, GEK EDC, was specifically made to comply with German knife laws.
You could also just dump a Spyderco Street Beat in the pocket.


*unless they have changed this, which the Germans have been debating for a couple of years now
 
BladeScout said:
All Spydercos are not illegal to carry in Germany and its no big pain carrying a knife there.
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Sorry guys, it must be folder and locking knife with some descent cutting edge / blade length min 3.5" My fault that I missed the details behind the emotions.

The closest is http://rolandlannier.com/en/category/couteaux-de-poche/why-so-serious/ but the blade steel is not something I'm really excited about. I have cut several cardboards and it is pretty darn dull. At the end this is portable kitchen knife.
 
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Can you take a Sebenza or a non-flipper Hinderer and remove the thumbstuds? I've seen Sebenzas with custom thumbstuds before, so there's a way to do it non-destructively - or you could just grind them off...

Same with flippers - grind off the flipper tab and you got a two-handed opener.

Otherwise, a locking two-handed opener in the quality range you're talking about is almost certainly going to need to be a custom. There are probably some cheap models available in the sub-$100 range, but I can't think of anything decent.

Lionsteel and MKM make a few knives that have removable flipper tabs, such as the MKM Clap. They become two-handed openers with the flipper removed, so should be legal, and come in good steels like M390. The quality isn't on par with Hinderer or CRK, though.
 
To be honest there is long history of good folding knives in Germany.

If there are current special regulations or limits in Germany then a person in Germany will have a huge advantage over anyone outside of the country when it comes to available models.

Playing 20 questions/name some knives might be fun for some. For most though it's just a waste of time.
 
tyyreaun said:
Can you take a Sebenza or a non-flipper Hinderer and remove the thumbstuds? I've seen Sebenzas with custom thumbstuds before, so there's a way to do it non-destructively - or you could just grind them off...
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Yes I did, but detent is so smooth (good in US, very bad in Germany) that you can easy open it one handed. This means unfortunately you can't carry it.


tyyreaun said:
Otherwise, a locking two-handed opener in the quality range you're talking about is almost certainly going to need to be a custom. There are probably some cheap models available in the sub-$100 range, but I can't think of anything decent.
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I know, that is why I need help in Custom & Handmade Knives section. Price range is between 100 and 1000 $$$ / €

tyyreaun said:
Lionsteel and MKM make a few knives that have removable flipper tabs, such as the MKM Clap. They become two-handed openers with the flipper removed, so should be legal, and come in good steels like M390. The quality isn't on par with Hinderer or CRK, though.
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I have tried majority of Lionsteel knives (e.g. TRK) and this is crap for me -- the blade thickness is for tactical guys, not for me. Also my two exemplars of TRK had such a "cool" detent, that I couldn't unfold it with two hands.

Danke42 said:
Playing 20 questions/name some knives might be fun for some. For most though it's just a waste of time.
Click to expand...

Can you name me please at least one in M390 / CPM-20CV similar to http://rolandlannier.com/en/category/couteaux-de-poche/why-so-serious/, with lock (liner, frame, backlock ideally) and without crappy blade thickness like on axe? Don't get me wrong there are tons of custom made knives over there and especially in France, but they don't know what modern steel is... Sandvic is the best they put in their products.
 
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tillias said:
Yes I did, but detent is so smooth (good in US, very bad in Germany) that you can easy open it one handed. This means unfortunately you can't carry it.




I know, that is why I need help in Custom & Handmade Knives section. Price range is between 100 and 1000 $$$ / €



I have tried majority of Lionsteel knives (e.g. TRK) and this is crap for me -- the blade thickness is for tactical guys, not for me. Also my two exemplars of TRK had such a "cool" detent, that I couldn't unfold it with two hands.



Can you name me please at least one in M390 / CPM-20CV similar to http://rolandlannier.com/en/category/couteaux-de-poche/why-so-serious/, with lock (liner, frame, backlock ideally) and without crappy blade thickness like on axe? Don't get me wrong there are tons of custom made knives over there and especially in France, but they don't know what modern steel is... Sandvic is the best they put in their products.
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Nope.
 
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