Traveling to Europe

canonfan11

canonfan11

Joined
Feb 28, 2012
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We will be in Germany, Italy and France for three weeks and I've read a few opinions on carrying knives throughout the EU. The consensus seems to be...be discreet and within reason. A non-locking 2.5" folder would be more prudent than an 8" KaBar.

Since I'm never without a blade, here in the US, I'd like some opinion on bringing the following for general cutting:

Morakniv Craftline 3.6" sheathed blade in the backpack:

opplanet-mora-bushcraft-survival-4-29in-blade-194900-main.jpg

Swiss Army Tinker in the pocket:

tinker-swiss-army-knife.jpg

Possibly a Ladybug:

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Any input or thoughts on the matter, especially from those living in the EU, would be most appreciated!
 
Check out Spyderco's line of non-locking Europe-legal folders. Or go with a SAK, which I'm going to do when we travel to Scotland in a couple of months. That said, I carried an Opinel N0. 8 Carbon in Paris (bought it there) with no hassle a couple of years ago. Didn't use it in public but it was great for cutting fruit, cheese, and those wonderful French baguettes.
 
For France the SAK in the pocket is OK.
On the other hand the Mora in the backpack is IMHO not wise. According to the law you must have a good reason to carry a knife. For instance if you are doing camping or something like that. But you are not allowed to have this type of blade with you just because you like it.
 
The Lanksy World-Legal is a solid choice for a folder, as is a SAK. I know nothing about fixed blade laws outside of the continental US, though.
 
Everytime I’ve visited Europe I have carried a delica. I try to be aware of what places I’m visiting in case of security.

Never had any issues and have used it in public in France and Spain.

I would not carry a Mora however.
 
Germany permits the carry of a fixed blade under 12cm/4.7 inches. You can thank the small but still somewhat politically powerful German hunter groups for that during the last round of changes to the knife laws.
 
Buy a Thiers made Laguiole when you’re in France, or buy one here before you go. I just picked up a stag handle, carbon steel Laguiole made by Robert Chazeau in Thiers, you can find them online for just under $100.00 at some online retailers.

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jdm61 said:
Germany permits the carry of a fixed blade under 12cm/4.7 inches. You can thank the small but still somewhat politically powerful German hunter groups for that during the last round of changes to the knife laws.
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Hi . Is that only on private land ? . As here in the UK you can carry any size fixed blade as long as your on private land .
 
No, the German hunters got their legislators to put in an "exclusion" for the traditional German fixed blade hunting knife, just like some else with some pull got a blade length to width exclusion in the automatic knife ban/restriction so that it wouldn't impact the old Hubertus type knives and such, just the stiletto types. Not sure what happened in Germany. i remember in the 1980's they displayed traditional automatics in the windows of tobacco shops. I guess BOTH of those are going the way of the dodo. I read a piece by an American army officer who managed to get a hunting license in Germany a few years back (it take s the better part of the year and you should plan on flying the exam at least once according to this guy) He said that if you manage to get that very hard to obtain hunting license and the attendant firearms permits, you could walk into a bank with a 44 magnum strapped to your hip and if you were in say a town in Bavaria and it was hunting season, nobody would bat an eye. That is the kind of juice those guys still have. They basally manage a lot of the forests over there and they are permitted to sell their game to restaurants. But they are also on the hook of say one of "their" wild boars tears up Farmer Gunter's fence.
R.c.s said:
Hi . Is that only on private land ? . As here in the UK you can carry any size fixed blade as long as your on private land .
Click to expand...
 
I have heard that Spain can be a bit odd, but my experience with France and also what I have been told about most of Germany is that the easiest way to get hassled about a knife or anything else is to look and act like someone who the police should be hassling. France has laws and such, but the streets of Paris around the Mutualite hall on the weekend of the SICAC show back in 2007 looked like casting call for extras for Game Of Thrones and nobody got hassled. Same as Blade even though a lot of those knives were technically illegal to carry around in Georgia up until this past year. In Paris, it was also the week of the Rugby World Cup finals and the cops WERE hassling hooligans who wanted to start something. But no surprise their.
 
jdm61 said:
No, the German hunters got their legislators to put in an "exclusion" for the traditional German fixed blade hunting knife, just like some else with some pull got a blade length to width exclusion in the automatic knife ban/restriction so that it wouldn't impact the old Hubertus type knives and such, just the stiletto types. Not sure what happened in Germany. i remember in the 1980's they displayed traditional automatics in the windows of tobacco shops. I guess BOTH of those are going the way of the dodo. I read a piece by an American army officer who managed to get a hunting license in Germany a few years back (it take s the better part of the year and you should plan on flying the exam at least once according to this guy) He said that if you manage to get that very hard to obtain hunting license and the attendant firearms permits, you could walk into a bank with a 44 magnum strapped to your hip and if you were in say a town in Bavaria and it was hunting season, nobody would bat an eye. That is the kind of juice those guys still have. They basally manage a lot of the forests over there and they are permitted to sell their game to restaurants. But they are also on the hook of say one of "their" wild boars tears up Farmer Gunter's fence.
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Thanks for the info its really interesting . Though I would suggest sticking with a slip joint with a blade under 3in . Most of the EU have their own laws on knives and unless you are well versed in their laws and the small prints . It's really not worth the trouble imho .
 
Slipjoint, Slipjoint, Slipjoint. As soon as it locks you can get it trouble. Pohl Force Knives that were marketed as two handing locking knives got dinged because it was possible to open one handed by the officer testing it.
If it has no lock you're good. Fixed blades under 4.7 inches are legal as long they aren't designed primarily as a weapon (Daggers, Karambits etcpp)
/edit: In regards to Germany.
 
jdm61 said:
SNIP He said that if you manage to get that very hard to obtain hunting license and the attendant firearms permits, you could walk into a bank with a 44 magnum strapped to your hip and if you were in say a town in Bavaria and it was hunting season, nobody would bat an eye.SNIP
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That is complete and total nonsense. Wrong on every point.
 
SAK or multitool in the backpack. Be discret.
Some tourist spots (Tour Eiffel,...) have a metal detector.
On the plane you must take it in your checked baggage.
 
Kevin Wilkins said:
That is complete and total nonsense. Wrong on every point.
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Correct, to carry a firearm in public you need a "Waffenschein" which is basically a Carry Permit (which virtually nobody obtains, exceptions are high level bodyguards and such). To hunt you need a "Jagdschein" (Hunting License) and a "Waffenbesitzkarte" (Permit to own a firearm) if you have those you can carry while you are hunting, you can't even carry on the way to the hunt. You need to lock your guns until you get there.
 
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The legal aspect is complicated and confusing, even for the LEOs. In France, any object usable for maiming / injuring (a screwdriver, a carpenter nail, a stone) can be considered a 6th class weapon (the most "criminal" class of weapons : sword canes, stilettos, etc. in other words : weapons with intent of killing). It's up to the LEO to determine if you are or not a potential murderer. That's were things can go smooth (for a pocket folder, forget the sword cane...) or definitely go south (with an ignorant / suspicious / overcautious LEO). I would advise to stay on the safe side of things : bring no knife at all. Airports are hot spots, if any. Buy something local (non-locking...) and enjoy it reasonably (I mean, don't carry into a major attraction, like Eiffel tower, Disneyland or to attend another "gilets jaunes" riot...). If you really like your buy, send it home per post, otherwise gift it or sell it before going home.
 
I carried a ladybug all over Europe and never had a problem. On the other hand, Europe doesn't like (big) knives. There are different laws per country. As you know there is a law and you have the interpretation of a law. Some laws in Europe are more excact than others. This leaves legatily open for discussion. More so because the specific place also matters. For exsample: its legal to carry a locking folding knife up to 28 cm ( 11 inch) total lenght in the Netherlands. But litterly every knife is illigal within the city boarders of Amsterdam unless you are using it for work. And even than you must be very discreet. It also counts for trainstations and soccerstadiums. I dont know the exceptions in France, Italy, germany and Spain. So...

Leave the fixed blade at home or only carry it in your backpack, out of sight. And only when you're in a forrest. Be verry! Discreet.

I also carried an Fontenille Pataud lagouie. The more traditional knives seem to be more accepted than the tactical looking ones.

The most safe way to go is a under 3 inch, discreet slipjoint as already suggested. And have fun in Europe!!!
 
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