Balisong Knives

[palacio]

Are they legal to import and own in your country :confused:
I know in UK they are illegal, but in other parts of europe are they
allowed :rolleyes:

[Tvividr]

No, not in Denmark, Norway and Sweden. As for the rest of Europe :dunno:

[ZDP-189]

It is illegal in the UK, Hong Kong, and many places. Unfortunately, our fourm policy bans the discussion of how to obtain and use prohibited weapons, so you'll have to tread carefully, or the discussion thread will get deleted.

All other knives and swords are OK.

In fact, as this thread is basically a legal question, I will probably move it to the Britain, Blades and the Law, subforum so that Danzo and Ross and the other legal mods can add their helpful insight.

[palacio]

How about in France & Germany?

[Danzo]

They are legal to own and buy in France, as many British schoolboys discover on a school trip!

;)

Of course it is illegal to take them back to Britain.

:(

I think they are legal in Germany, I will try and find out. I know the German knife company Herbertz makes balisongs.

Danzo

[Little claw]

I think they have been outlawed in germany sometime this year.

I know autos were okay under a certain size (equivalent to about 3" blade) but that may have changed too.

they were openly on sale in france when I went skiing this year and I've not heard any changes.

You may get more info on the balisong forum of bladeforums, since we're not talking about the UK specifically.

[palacio]

I have just been informed that they are illegal as well in Switzerland :Pissed:

[Tacol]

If some of you want to know why it's illegal in Switzerland, I gave Palacio this information :

Unfortunaltely this type of knives is absolutely forbidden in our country.
All knives which can be opened with one hand ( not a question of blade size) can't be imported, sold, bought,carried, etc...

If the blade is symetrical ( double edge) all knives are forbidden exception when the blade is more than 30 cm
Swords etc...

Spyderco and similar one hand opening knives are not allowed to sell except if you have an official federal seller patent. But it's stupid because you can't carry it anyway...

Quite complicated I know. But the knives you have here are unfortunately not welcome in our supposed over safe Switzerland...

Ask the police federal department if you want precise information I think it's somthing like www.admin.ch

Weird isn't it ?

Stéphane

[palacio]

If some of you want to know why it's illegal in Switzerland, I gave Palacio this information :

Unfortunaltely this type of knives is absolutely forbidden in our country.
All knives which can be opened with one hand ( not a question of blade size) can't be imported, sold, bought,carried, etc...

If the blade is symetrical ( double edge) all knives are forbidden exception when the blade is more than 30 cm
Swords etc...



What if it is a balisword? It's the giant version of a balisong knife. The average size of a balisword is around 4 feet long when open :yikes:

[Chux]

That will probably get you shot on sight ;)

[Tacol]

:rolmao:

[Tantalus]

i guess that a "balisword" would not be banned

for the simple reason that anyone daft enough to make one and try to use it would cut their own heads off long before they became proficient enough to even consider harming a 3rd party

in fact i would suggest that this concept deserves its own very special icon

Tant

or perhaps a column here (http://www.darwinawards.com/)

[keith_beef]

They are legal to own and buy in France, as many British schoolboys discover on a school trip!

;)

Of course it is illegal to take them back to Britain.

:(

I think they are legal in Germany, I will try and find out. I know the German knife company Herbertz makes balisongs.

Danzo

Yup, I'll confirm that there is no specific restriction on balisongs in France, other than the catch-all phrase in French law.

This catch-all is in the list of banned items, which after a quite specific-sounding list of things goes on to name "and any other [knife-like thing] which poses a threat to public safety"... (the list is famously dodgy)

This is similar to the concept in English law, of an item which, in and of itself is not a weapon, but which becomes one through use as one (e.g. a bar stool).

I have carried a balisong around with me in Paris (well, strictly speaking I had a matching pair of them), without being unduly worried about my collar being felt. But had I started twirling them around in a menacing manner, I have no doubt that I would have wound up quite quickly in prison.

KKK.

[palacio]

Hey Keith! Does it mean in France I could bring in Balisong knives if incase I participate in one of the shows there like S.I.C.A.C :)

[keith_beef]

Hey Keith! Does it mean in France I could bring in Balisong knives if incase I participate in one of the shows there like S.I.C.A.C :)

I reckon you'd have no problem with that.

I bought mine at the Salon Nautique (boat show) a few years ago.

Since balisongs are not restricted specifically, you should have no problem. On the other hand, if you're bringing them in through customs, then you might possibly be faced with some sterner questioning if the customs officer has a list with ambiguous definitions.

You see, if the customs list of "banned from import" items has a term like "dagger" and the customs officer interprets your balisong as being a dagger, you could be in trouble. When I referred to the list of specific-sounding items as being "famously dodgy", this is because some terms are used in the legal texts, without there being a clear definition of what they mean. Other terms are only defined in the "code des douanes" (legal texts covering customs, excise and frontiers).

If you are really interested attending the SICAC and bringing some balisongs, then I suggest you write to François Xavier Salle for clarification.


KKK.

[Danzo]

I suggest you write to François Xavier Salle for clarification. KKK.

Who's he Keith?

Danzo

[Tantalus]

http://passioncouteaux.free.fr/news.php?deb=0

under contacts ;)

Tant

[palacio]

I think the best way is to ask the people here at the French Embasy :D

[palacio]

Keith, maybe you could help me out here :D

http://www.britishblades.com/forums/showthread.php?p=89986#post89986

[keith_beef]

Who's he Keith?

Danzo

Tant gave you a big hint, Danzo...

He's the editor/proprietor of the magazine "Passion des Couteaux" and also organizer of the SICAC.

He's an avid collector, and quite an accomplished amateur leatherworker, from what I've seen of his stuff in articles in PdC.


KKK.