Travel in China

S

Steelwolf

Joined
Jul 19, 1999
Messages
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Just returned from a short tour in China and had two knives confiscated. One was a beloved EDC, William Henry S07 Wharncliff with wooden scales, and the other was a little used Benchmade AFCK Axis. Huge pain to lose both. Chalk it up to stupidly not checking the laws in China, and travelling with knives I wasn't really prepared to lose. Never again, I swear to myself. So I'm off to look for some cheap, replaceable beaters for travel.

In the mean time, be fair warned:
Due to the recent troubles China has had with radicals chopping and slicing their way through the unsuspecting general public, knives longer than 3 inches blade length, or knives with locking blades are banned from general carry.

I got into the country with no problems and travelled for several days with a tour group, on a bus. No problems. Come the last day, I threw all blades in to the checked luggage in preparation for the flight home. But when the bag checked in, it was scanned on the spot and red-flagged. They let me keep my Leatherman, but took the other two knives, all the while shouting at me about breaking the rules etc.

Didn't matter that it was checked luggage. Didn't matter that I was leaving the country. Didn't matter that being in checked luggage, I would have no access to these horrible weapons until they and I were well out of their country and would no longer be threat to their illusion of safety. It really hurt, losing those two knives.
 
BTW, as is typical of these laws, I would have had no problems with "kitchen knives, shears, big fruit knives, razors, professional cutting tools like scalpels, butcher knives, gravers, tools for performances like spears, swords, halberds, and axes, hammers, cones, heavy canes or canes with spikes, alpenstocks and other sharp and blunt apparatus that could endanger aviation safety."

Go figure. :)
http://en.shairport.com/2012-11/09/content_15901053.htm
http://www.csair.com/en/tourguide/airport_service/security-check.shtml
http://en.bcia.com.cn/server/notice/safe.shtml
http://www.qdairport.com/qd/2009/en/index.do?method=airport&code=flyingnotes&type=passengerservices
http://www.szairport.com/szairportyw/ajxz/lkfwtt.shtml
 
That is why, when I travel by plane, the only knife or knives I'll consider taking in my checked baggage are an SAK or two, boring as it may sound.

Jim
 
Steelwolf said:
BTW, as is typical of these laws, I would have had no problems with "kitchen knives, shears, big fruit knives, razors, professional cutting tools like scalpels, butcher knives, gravers, tools for performances like spears, swords, halberds, and axes, hammers, cones, heavy canes or canes with spikes, alpenstocks and other sharp and blunt apparatus that could endanger aviation safety."
Click to expand...

Heavy canes?
What the hell?!?!?

Screw travelling by plane; if there ain't a road there, I no longer want to go.
 
Stabman, I thought they meant walking canes, but I'm almost definitely wrong on that.

James Y, my SAKs both have the big locking blade, so they would probably have gone too. I haven't found a traditional version that I like and anyway, my Leatherman fills the role quite well, except no bottle opener and corkscrew.

BTW, please no bashing of communist China. Each country has its own problems and enacts laws to deal with them in one way or another. After all, I come from a country that had to ban chewing gum because some irresponsible members of its populace jammed up train doors with it, where almost everyone relies on public transport. Compared to knives and mass mayhem in crowded areas, having to ban gum seems almost ridiculously childish.

This is just a reminder of the different laws in China, and kind of a poke at how ridiculous it seemed that they took the knives off me only when I'm leaving the country.
 
Not at all to defend the Chinese communists, but knife laws aren't much different in many western countries, and the trend there is getting worse, not better. Britain, in particular, has been effectively disarmed as regards personal carrying. It's the general rule across the world — although obviously such rules are subject to variable degrees of enforcement — and also subject to perhaps a quiet fudge-factor of US dollars being offered to the official.

As for myself, I'll take a Vic Classic in the checked bag and that's it. Doesn't print on clothes and it's handy enough for trips. If I'm not checking a bag, I'll either mail it ahead to myself at the hotel, or I'll buy a Classic locally. (They are available almost everywhere.) If bought locally I can either mail it back home — or simply leave it behind as a gift for the housekeeper, as I've done once or twice when mailing back was difficult.

While in France in the 90s, I bought a #6 Opinel about a week into a three-week trip and pocket-carried it and the Classic every day thereafter without problems. Shipped it back in the checked luggage and still have it.

Bottom line? Go light on the cutlery, assume the worst, and be mentally and fiscally prepared to lose whatever you take.
 
I was there in March during a period when a series of terrorist knife attacks took place. I brought home a suit case full of cleavers without any problem. Soldiers scanned the checked luggage at the door of the airport and passed me on in. I don't know but it might depend on which province you are in. I was in Sichuan.
 
AreBeeBee, Yeah, I'm re-thinking my travel packing and am going to look for some SAKs I am comfortable to travel with. That ubiquitous red scale with the shield and cross logo seems to be accepted in more places, even more so than Leatherman.

Sidehill Gouger, I think cleavers fall in to the "kitchen knife" or "butcher knife" category, so they weren't worried. Funny thing is that in almost any knife-related altercation across the world, chef knives, steak knives and cleavers tend to be the weapon of choice. Easier to get at, generally cheaper than the nice folders we carry, usually longer, or bigger and more innocent looking. But something about dedicated folding knives with locks... that scares the authorities.

I guess the idea is that there are legitimate uses for those knives, but the authorities can't think of a good reason why a law-abiding citizen should want to carry a folding knife.
 
Are there any innocent looking foldable kitchen knives? Some which can't be mistaken for dangerous normal folders?
How long was the blade on the leatherman?

Sorry about your loss. Even if you know the law air travel tends to make knives disappear from checked in luggage.
After that happened last time I only take some cheap crap with me which I don't mind to be stolen or which nobody would steal to begin with. :-p
 
Couple years ago I was in Scotland, and asked the local hunting outfitter what they carried-guy sold me a #7 locking opinel, and said "if ye get stopped, don't show the Bobby how to lock it". Ireland I had a little fallkniven lockback, but Ireland's better anyway. The Opinel is a good solution-well made, useful, innocuous and $10.
To be fair to China, I treat NYC exaxtly the same-opinel and a non-locking SAK...and in Philadelphia you can't have a knife AT ALL...unless you're at work doing a job that requires it.
Sometimes customs shows an interest in your stuff because it's nice stuff, and they would like to have some nice stuff.
That's a good reason not to bring stuff you're fond o as well.
 
Rather than blame the "commies" for this you point your finger at the Islamic terrorists. The Chinese have had bigger problems with attacks in their country than the U.S. has and they are doing what they think necessary to stop them. Cracking down on knives is just a part of that. You should be there when they suddenly flood a town with their army like I was.
 
Sorry, Sidehill. I didn't mean to make it sound like I was blaming Islamic anything. Just separatists/terrorists :p I won't pretend to know much about the country's troubles, but from the security guy's explanation, that was when they started to make it illegal, even in checked luggage.

As I said anyway, I can legally have, in my checked luggage, bigger knives with more cutting power in the form of chef knives or meat cleavers. And from what I have read in various news articles about knife related incidences, the edges of choice tend to be kitchen knives.

Sidehill, are you at liberty to say when and which town you were in? What was the army deployment for?
 
Jens, there is a knife called the Hocho, by A.G. Russell. You can see the second generation of this knife here.

You can see the first generation knife in this picture. I have been using the first generation Hocho for quite a while, and I must say that the steel is well done, with good, solid lock. But the handle area was a little bit uncomfortable because of the sharp corners edging the blade recess. Hopefully the new version, having had input from Alton Brown, will be more comfortable.

But I wonder how the authorities will treat this knife. Obviously a kitchen knife, but also a folding knife with locking. Legal by one rule, illegal by the next.
 
Steelwolf said:
Jens, there is a knife called the Hocho, by A.G. Russell. You can see the second generation of this knife here.

You can see the first generation knife in this picture. I have been using the first generation Hocho for quite a while, and I must say that the steel is well done, with good, solid lock. But the handle area was a little bit uncomfortable because of the sharp corners edging the blade recess. Hopefully the new version, having had input from Alton Brown, will be more comfortable.

But I wonder how the authorities will treat this knife. Obviously a kitchen knife, but also a folding knife with locking. Legal by one rule, illegal by the next.
Click to expand...
This is so cool. You'll probably never end up in a court in China to see how the conflicting laws should be interpreted, at least I hope so. :-D So all that matters is the perception of the law enforcement guy at that day. I guess unfolded in a nice box with some glossy recipes of Peking duck packed in there he wouldn't guess twice.
But if you actually carry it and they find it in a public place while going through your pant pockets :eek: Now you might be just on the way to your friends cooking party and not have a bag to carry it in but trying to communicate this in a foreign language?

I wonder what NY cops would say. Can you carry this in your pants if you have a legal purpose for it?
 
I was in Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan. A rumor had went out on the web that Islamic terrorists were going to launch another knife attack in the down town shopping area so the Chinese flooded the place with both the army and about 12 different police agencies. There was enough fire power on the streets to take on the U.S. Marines and all main building has snipers watching in every direction. Took me a day or two to find out why everyone seemed to be so paranoid.
 
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Opinels are great traveling knives. Bring a few sizes. If they get confiscated you are out $40 or less.
 
That AG Russell folding cook's knife looks great, but I'd hate to try to argue the issue with a Chinese cop. Or a British one, or a Philly one, for all that.

Go light, go cheap, carry no more than you can comfortably lose.
 
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