Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Europe Hunting or pocket knife in Europe

Heading to Spain next week to hunt ibex. I understand I'll be with an outfitter, but I still prefer to have my own hunting knife handy. I'm also a daily pocket knife carrier. Any issues bringing a Puma Skinner for the hunt? Or any issues carrying a Benchmade mini-barrage? Or, I'll just bring the mini-barrage as my do-both knife, but it's an assisted opening, although the blade is shorter than 3".

Any issues? How about a Puma Stockman knife? Still a no-no?

Good, luck! Have fun11
I've been to Europe many times, and have had zero issues with knives.

Might I suggest buying one there? I have a few european (German) knives that are very functional

I did a google search and it seems like assisted knives are a big no-no. I'm more familiar with the UK, and a lockblade over 3in is illegal to carry. They have some weird laws (to me) over there. I bought a Spyderco slip joint knife for carry there.

don't know, but am interested in what others say. England has some restrictive laws when it comes to self protection. Restrictive gun laws, hell, they out lawed bag pipes once and that Black Thorn tree root that was used as a walking stick, made a right handy club with the big knob on the end.

Buy an Opinel or a Puuka

Just remember you ain't in Kansas(or Texas or the US) anymore.
There are a lot of folks that don't like Americans.
I really would not go to a foreign country and flout "weapon" laws.
Having Texas on your ID may only enhance the image they have of you. In a bad way.

What you and I DGAF about, some get real tight over.

Have a cousin that almost got in big trouble in London carrying an everyday pocket knife. He had a demascus William Henry folding knife, I’m guessing with a 3” blade. Very expensive but a nice pocket knife is “his thing”, if you get my point. Anyway, he was in line going into a restaurant and a policeman stopped him asking what that thing was clipped to his pants pocket. He innocently pulled it and to showed off his prized knife. The policeman quickly took it, called another officer over, and interrogated him for a hour. He was completely honest (had not read the laws) and was told he should be taken to jail immediately as it was as serious as having a gun on him. Long story short, they confiscated his knife and would not give it back. Point is, be aware of the laws and act accordingly. Outside of the USA, it’s a different set of rules, even if we take basics for granted like a simple pocket knife.

The "officer" stole it and kept it for himself.

You make my earlier point.
I'd bet you are wrong.

Different strokes, different folks. Strange man/strange world.

Those cops look at a knife like a Manhattan cop looks at a guy with an UZI.

I have carried a Victorinox Spartan since 1986 to 25 different European countries and have never had a problem.

This.

I used to work with an Aussie who had lived in London for many years. Our company transferred him to Seattle to work with us, and he was horrified when I pulled out a Benchmade 940 to open a box one day. I told him that knives were common in the US. Our youngest employee, a young woman right out of college, pulled out her Swiss Army Knife to show him. A few days later, I gave him a single-blade locking folder with jigged bone scales as a welcome gift.

He acted like I had just given him a freshly severed human head. Knife possession is a BIG deal in the UK.


Okie John

In the EU don't carry a lockblade or a knife with a pocket clip on your person if you are going to or thru an airport or public transport. Many European cops take a look at a pocket clip or a "flipper" opening lever or button and become suspicious that you are carrying an "automatic knife"--what we used to call a switchblade. You can miss your train or ride trying to explain what it really is, and if the cop decides he needs to consult a superior, you may well never see that knife again. I had Belgian cops confiscate a regular old Spyderco pocketknife because the hole in the blade made it a "one-hand opener"....

I don't want to do Ph.D-level research on European knife taboos. So I go by what my cop friends tell me about guns in the US: if you suspect that something will make a cop think he has probable cause to question/detain/search you or your vehicle, don't do it. And assume you are under camera surveillance in any public place--don't haul out your perfectly legal firearm from the trunk of your car just to show it off to somebody in a public place that isn't a range or adjacent to a legal hunting area. You may get to talk to the nice patrolman (and he may find other "questionable items" in the process of checking you out). All this goes double in Europe.

My strategy for years, since I lost my Spyderco in Brussels, is to buy a small pocket knife well before going over to Europe say, a Chinese Buck (or Bear and Sons if you are allergic to Chinese), get a little padded envelope at the PO or Staples, and mail it care "of yourself" to your first place of lodging. Take an identical envelope with you and mail the knife home before you go to the airport to return home. I've used this same strategy with a hunting knife--actually I've SENT one several times but each time decided to give the knife as a tip or gift to my host or somebody I hunted with. Europeans who are outdoorsmen like knives just as much as we do.

Or you can buy a great European blade when you get there and bring it home as a "working souvenir"! I am especially fond of Finnish knives and other Scandinavian hunting blades, just either ship them home ahead of your departure or put them in your checked luggage and declare them at US customs when you get home. I couldn't resist getting an Italian-made "Fox" folder in the especially nasty Sardinian style when I went there before COVID (not a knife to carry in the urban US, by the way.).

Have a great time--I especially love Croatia and Slovenia, but you will find hunters and shooters all over Europe if you look for them--it's a hard addiction to kill!

Put your Puma Skinner in the checked luggage, most likely your Ibex will be dragged off the mountain whole and weighed and processed . You can buy high quality pocket knives there and bring them home in your checked luggage.

England is a whole different story where anything except a butter knife is frowned upon.

Be careful with any serrated blades also.
Some places don't like tgem.

I would take the Puma skinner. Having lived in Europe, traveled and hunted lots of it, I have never had issues with a conservative fixed blade knife in my checked luggage with the rest of my hunting gear. My main knife is an Ingrams H325. 3.25” fixed blade. Never been stopped or questioned. Maybe I was lucky but when I lived in Sweden my local friends informed me that a small fixed blade would draw less attention than a folder as the thought was it was a tool and was not a defensive weapon. Take it with a grain of salt but that was my experience.

I would just buy one once you get there. It avoids any possible problems that may arise during travel. You could always ship it home after the hunt. You would have a memento of your hunt. Or you could give it to your guide along with his tip.

Don't bring one

Posted in a small sporting good store in Ireland. Hard to believe but that's the way it is there.

EDIT, just noticed the date on your hunt. Hope you were successful. ----In Spain, with a folding, non-assist, blade under 3 inches, you will be fine. Put it in your check bag, carry it when you are hunting and leave it in your room when you go to town. I traveled and hunted a lot in Europe when I was stationed there. The more urban you get, the less "knife friendly" the area is, particularly in England. Hunters regularly carry knives where I hunted in Germany and carried them on their belts in town in Slovenia and Czech. Much of Spain is still "in the country". Remember, the EU is a federation of independent countries each with their own laws and traditions. Things that go in Spain won't go in England and things that go in rural Spain may not fly in Madrid.

This. I have an Opinel from France, complete with a corkscrew. Nice blade that sharpens fine enough to shave the hair off your arm real effecent like.

DON'T try to transport it in your carry on. Bury it deep in your suitcase and hope they don't want to search. DON'T go into the UK with it or ride on the Eurostar train with it. In France, nobody will bat an eye at a pocket knife. Nor will they in Spain, but don't have the Rambo blade strapped to your side. Officials in Europe have God complex and your rights are zero if they want to make an issue out of it. I've had an encouter when they considered I had something they didn't approve of!

I wouldn't take anything you'd miss if confiscated.

I lived in the UK for a while 10 years ago. It was OK to own a locking folder knife, but they are considered "fixed blade" knives and you may not carry one. I bought a Swiss Army non-locking folder to carry. I once took a tour of the Houses of Parliament and forgot it was in my pocket. At the security station they were very nice about holding it and returning it after I was done, but the guard examined every single blade to make sure none of them locked. I could have been arrested if any of them had.

Used to be here in the city and county buildings
you put all your stuff in the tray, and if you had a
knife you let them put it behind the counter and they
gave you a little claim check, like a paper carnival
ticket and you'd reclaim your pocket knife on
your way out. One trip I had a Mini Buck folder
and laid it in the tray, and the blk woman rent a cop
came unglued and several came out and were patting
me down as if I'd done something wrong. She already
had her spray out ready to douse me.
What are they, maybe a little over an inch of blade ?

I guess it all depends on who and where as far as
the reception you'll get regarding " weapons "
( yeah I know- knives are tools- I can use most anything
as a "weapon " )

I have been told that as a general rule, law enforcement officers in England don't carry firearms. Maybe not their SWAT equivalent kind of officers, but their normal street cops, rural or city.

Any truth to that?

Don't get cute and try to carry any kind of weapon into Europe. I get that everybody likes to have "their knife", but in today's environment it's not worth it. Pretty much everybody over there is full retard on the political correctness scale. It's not worth it.

I'm over there all the time for work. You could drop a 12 gauge shotgun shell out of your pocket and they'd probably gun you down on the spot. They've lost all touch with reality.

Television has become reality for millions.

I have given up explaining to my workmates at my volunteer job that a locking blade knife locks for the safety of the user, not to make it a more effective weapon. And I have taken the useless "pocket clips" off the two knives that have them. Tired of explaining that they aren't "push buttons"....

And yet somebody always needs a knife. Mine.

Yes, it's true. A normal beat cop does not carry a firearm. They have "Armed Response Units" AKA SWAT that do.

Nothing like having lived in the UK (which in most ways was delightful) to make one appreciate our constitution.

same cautions, plus, apply in asia. anything weaponish, including most fixed blades, are forbidden even in checked bags that only transit hongkong and japan. i had a nice filipino country-side made, fixed 3-4” blade pulled from my checked bag upon entering manila airport before checkin. i was going via hongkong to usa. the security guys demanded that i abandon it, and clearly were jonesing over who would pocket it. i pulled my bags back, went outside and gave it to a friendly porter. those security guys were sure sad my second time through.

living or traveling throughout asia, the mideast, carribbean, africa and europe for 3 decades+ i deep pocket carry a swiss army knife that includes a few tools, especially a cork screw. never have a problem, probably because the euros and japanese appreciate wine, and it’s a neutral country knife.

FOR THE NON POMGOLIANS: an expandable baton is quite effective...!!!

When I travel overseas, I have a Swiss Army knife (Camper) in my checked bag. Carried in UK, Germany, Austria without issue.

A SAK seems to be the most innocent looking pocket knife and is universally recognized as more of a tool than a knife IME.

YMMV.

this was a while ago....Traveling and camping in a VW bus with Dutch plates crossing from Germany into France with several weeks of "American" provisions a friend in the army had purchased at the PX for us. French customs guys were pretty impressed with the food items but were more concerned with the price of hashish in Amsterdam and the Buck 118 fixed blade in the camp kitchen box with the Bluet stove and some pans. Beaucoup discussion while measuring the blade length with finger widths. After figuring out we weren't Dutch and weren't intending to sell PX food or hashish to French kids they gave the knife back.

I know my response is pointless since the OP has already done his trip, but the little Opinel's are ubiquitous in Europe. Everyone there knows they're picnic knives for cutting bread, cheese, fruit,etc. However, they will take apart any animal that Europe has to offer in fine style, and unlike most Swiss Army knives, they have a blade lock which I find much safer for field dressing. The no.6 or no.8 would be ideal.

When I went backpacking in Europe the first time for several months I took my locking serrated Spyderco knife. This was in 1993 and the only issue I had back then was flying into Ireland. They kept looking at it like they expected it was going to suddenly change or take a different form. Obviously this was pre 9-11-2001 and the world wasn’t as scared of its shadow like it is today. I got impatient and told them what I thought a couple of different times. I was NOT polite and I was not patient. I finally snatched my knife back as soon as they chopped my passport entry and left them with a parting thought….. I would NOT react that same way today but it was a totally different world back then.

I almost had to use that Spyderco in Athens to save my life but my guardian angel appeared out of nowhere and saved my ass….

Aces;
Good afternoon, nearing evening truly, I trust you and your fine family are well.

Someday if you're so inclined, I'd love to hear the story of the guardian angel - either by PM, text or even better in person on the back deck sometime, but please put it on the list of "to do" items.

The one and only time we went through Europe was late 1975 and when you mentioned how different the world was in '93 I thought about our trip.

While I don't remember switchblades being for sale in Germany or not - but I want to say yes - I almost convinced my parents to let my buy one in Italy. They had this display which started with about a 1½" tiny little stiletto then going up in increments to one with about a 6" blade. These were the black handled side opening ones like they had in the Godfather movie.

It was a bit weird though in that it was only three years after the mess at the Munich Olympics so the airport guards in Frankfurt had MP5s which was something for a country kid from Saskatchewan to see. A different world for sure.

Anyways I mostly wanted to say hello and wish you all a good 2023.

Dwayne

Dwayne, As always a reply from you makes my day. 😀 I’d love nothing more than to share a beverage and some conversation with you….it’s high on my list of things to do but that list seems to keeps growing if you know what I mean.

I’ll make it a point to be in touch with you about that story. It’s as clear to me almost 30 years later as it was on that cold November night in Athens. I’ve never questioned whether God exists but after that night I knew he had a plan for me.

My 3 month backpacking trip with my girlfriend (at the time) was supposed to be a chance to explore foreign cultures and while I did certainly explore foreign cultures it morphed into more of a personal pilgrimage and a transition into manhood than I ever expected it to be.

Knives being weird to folks show where this world is headed. Likely some of the folks like your Aussie would fall over knowing what the wife and I can pull out of our pockets on a normal day as long as we are clothed...Its rare to not have more than one handgun.....

Yep. I've carried one in and out of maybe 25 countries over the years and never a 2nd glance.

Bottle opener, small and large screwdrivers, serrated blade takes care of a lot of stuff.

Benchmade makes a pocket knife with travel in mind. Short squared blade. My son bought it for when he was going to Europe to compete.

Wouldn't be super useful for hunting purposes though.

Kind of. Things are changing.

Bobbys used to carry a wooden truncheon and that was it. I can't swear to that as being the current standard.

I worked with British transplants who were policemen. Some were "armed response officers". They were cruising the city and if a violent incident was called in, they would get to the scene as fast possible. Not only did they have sidearms, but they may also have been carrying shotguns, submachineguns, carbines.

They have SWAT type teams. Some special units are armed with sidearms.

The time of unarmed police across the board, is past.

When I was stationed in Germany and had a dumbass Soldier that went to Bamberg and for some reason he was carrying a straight razor. He got into some sort if issue with the Polizei, pulled the straight razor and the Polizei squared him away. After the unit got him out of jail he was crying to me and the battalion commander that "his rights were violated", he had a few lumps and bruises on his head from the Polizei, LOL