[Skippy]

Me and my brother will be backpacking in Europe for a month and well be in the following countries: Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, France, and Switzerland. My question is, does anyone know the legality of carrying a folding knife for purposes of self defense? Is there a size limit? Do any of these countries ban it outright?

I ask because we will be staying in the cheapest hostels we can find the whole time and as a result may be in some rougher neighborhoods.

Thank you for your input!

I tried a google search but came up with little

 

[boronsbote]

Since April this year it is forbidden to carry any folding knife that can be opened with one hand and any knife with a fixed blade or a folding knife whose blade can be fixed with a length of more than 12 cm. It is forbidden to carry a knife that is designed to be opened with one hand (for example a CRKT with Carson Flipper, a Spyderco with that hole for fast opening or so..) regardless of its size!!! 12cm count only for fixed blades or knives which must be opened with both hands and whose blades can be fixed.
BUT there are exeptions for hunting, also if you need your knife for your profession AND for camping and so on.... So it is not likely that you will have problems as a backpacker. This new law is total BS. Most citizens doesn´t even know about this and the huge stores here like Aldi, Lidl, Plus (equivalent to walmart ) recently sold those knives without any advice....
You will not be thrown behind bars for carrying such a knife with you anyway, but they will confiscate it and you may have to pay for it...
But, as mentioned, there is an exeption which i think would apply to backpackers.

P.S.: AND NEVER NEVER NEVER say you carry a knife for self-defense here... THAT is - unfortunately enough- not a sufficient reason for our lawmakers...

 

[Skippy]

Rough. Thank you for the advise!

 

[boronsbote]

Your welcome!

Those new laws are totally BS - part of a disarmament strategy that unfortunately seems to work....

You should contact your foreign office or so to gather more informations about the situation in the other european countries.

Godspeed!

 

[polar_bear]

yeah has to be a sub 3" non locking folder or you have to have a specific reason for having it. for example if you had booked into wilderness camping sites and had proof with you an axe probably wouldnt be a problem unless in a restricted area. Nothing at all allowed for defense your basically expected to run or die in our countries laws. This is all for england btw.

 

[GENT]

yeah has to be a sub 3" non locking folder or you have to have a specific reason for having it. for example if you had booked into wilderness camping sites and had proof with you an axe probably wouldnt be a problem unless in a restricted area. Nothing at all allowed for defense your basically expected to run or die in our countries laws. This is all for england btw.

Where are you planning to move to? i personally am trying to find a way into the states...

 

[tnrick55]

walk on in everybody else does

 

[polar_bear]

Where are you planning to move to? i personally am trying to find a way into the states...

America aswell. I figure it will be at least 8 years till I can look seriously, by then I will be finished university, have some money saved up and have some experience in my field. Luckily the certification I'm getting is in serious need, predicted 1 million shortage, so my job should help me.

 

[polar_bear]

walk on in everybody else does

No way, when I move somewhere I'm gonna be damn sure I'm able to support myself and by a valuable member of the community.

 

[Wolfe]

I live in the Netherlands so I can tell you about the law there. It's pretty strict.

In the Netherlands you are not allowed to defend yourself with a knife unless you are threated with a knife or a gun (something just as dangerous). If somebody attacks you with bare fists, and you defend yourself with a knife it's considered as defense out of proportions, which is a felony offence. Also just drawing a knife when you're not attacked, just threatened or not threatend at all is illegal.

You are not allowed to carry a knife for self defence. It is allowed to carry it as a tool and not as a weapon. It's considered a weapon if you carry it in a situation where it can be used for nothing but as a weapon. (So if you carry a knife at work, its allowed because it can be used as a tool. But you can't carry it in a pub, because there it can be used as a weapon only.)

Now there is a diffirence between carrying and possession. Above I used the word carry all the time. You carry a knife when you have it on your body ready to be used. If you have it in your rucksack or backpack, not ready to draw and use it's not considered 'carry' but 'possession'. So if you have a knife in your backpack and not ready for use immediately, it's legal. So when you go to a pub it's better to put in away in your rucksack, instead of having it on your body.

There are many laws about what is illegal. I think it's the best if I say what you can have (instead of what you can't have, that's a lot more ) You are allowed to have a folding knife that has only one sharp side and when folded, doesn't exceed a length of 28cm (that's when folded, not extended). For fixed blades there is no size limit. For folding knifes that have a spring in it, or something that opens automatically, there are other stricter laws.

This is basicly the law about knifes in the Netherlands. In the other countries you mentioned it might be diffirent. If you have any more questions, just ask.

 

[concernedenglish]

Where are you planning to move to? i personally am trying to find a way into the states...

i dont think moving is the answer, but yes british laws are total ****e
if enough people cared in the UK perhaps we could change some of the "protection laws"

anyway as some guy said...atm its run or die and that seems to be fine for our officials

:thumb:

 

[arrexian]

In France knives are under the arme blanche category and theoretically there needs to be legitimate reason (being in the outdoors) accompanied by a hunters or fishing permit. Urban carry or carry for defence isn't allowed expressly. Yet the law here makes reference to bayonets, butterflies, extendable rods and other military/police weapons specifically. However smaller knives without a blocking mechanism are actively ignored. Equally, lock penknives are nothing, people have them on keyrings. The laws on the 6th catagory are not clear and the police, gendarmerie and customs all interpret them differently as legal cases have shown. Normally it boils down to whether the knife only has a lethal use and if the carrier is a scoundrel. Basically a small discreet knife without a lock is alright in France, if you want down to earth advise, but just don't cross a border with it, take it out in a city hotel or on a train. How any clean person is caught with a knife I couldn't understand. I met lots of knife carrying people in hostels and I'm sure there were more but just didn't know about they carried. In france you aren't going to be stop searched for nothing in the street, there's no need for those sorts of policies as people aren't getting knived to the same extent as countries with strict knife policy.