about knife laws and their actual
enforcement for a particular country
usually elicits good information from
natives and frequent visitors. You
should also search the internet for any
formal documentation of the country’s
knife and weapon laws that describe
what you can and can’t carry.02
If Possible,
Carry What
the Locals Do
If you’re traveling to a country known
for a signature style of pocketknife,
invest in one of those. Even though as
a foreigner you’ll still stand out from
the locals, if you carry the same style of
knife they do, you’re likely to have fewer
problems if you’re questioned about it.
While you can certainly wait until you’re
in-country to buy a knife, that also leaves
you unarmed for a while and prevents
you from practicing your skills with that
knife before you travel. Sooner is better.03
Lean
Traditional,
Not Tactical
Germany prohibits the carry of one-
hand-opening, lock-blade knives.
Paradoxically, they allow the carry of
fi xed-blade knives with blades lessGive Them What They Want
During a recent trip to Paris to teach a Martial Blade Concepts
(MBC) seminar, my host, renowned French custom knifemaker
Fred Perrin, one of my certifi ed instructors, Marc Galli and I decided
to visit the Paris Police Museum. Although carrying an innocuous
non-locking folding knife is generally accepted in France, in the
wake of recent terrorist attacks and public protests, the carry of
any knife is now a calculated risk. As such, we all agreed to leave
our usual Paris-friendly carry knives at the hotel.When we arrived at the museum, which happens to be located
inside an active police station, we were stopped by two officers
(armed with submachine guns) and asked one at a time, to
empty our pockets. Fred went first and although the officers
examined his pen and flashlight closely, they handed them
back to him. I went next and once again, my pen (a Tuff Writer
Precision Press Pen) and flashlight drew their attention. When
Marc produced a Tuff Writer clickie and flashlight, the officers
decided that there was too much coincidence and called us
all back to the security checkpoint. They told us that we had
to leave our pens and lights with them while we visited the
museum, but that we could retrieve them on the way out.
We politely agreed and proceeded to enjoy the museum’s
impressive displays of vintage brass knuckles, pocket pistols,
and other weapons.On the way out, we noticed the officers had changed shift.
Curiously, one of the new officers had trained with Fred and
immediately recognized him. As we collected our pens and
lights, he wryly commented that he’d be surprised if that’s all
he was carrying.A few minutes later as we sat down to lunch, I asked Fred if
he had “forgotten” to show the officers anything else he was
carrying. He smiled and proceeded to produce a coin purse
palm sap, a sharpened money clip, a key knife, a coin knife,
and several titanium blades. Surveying his pile of undetected
treasures, he commented, “When you give them what they
want, they usually stop looking.” Gotta love Fred Perrin...than 12 centimeters (about 4.7 inches),
provided they are not purposely
designed as weapons or specifi cally
carried for self-defense. With this type
of law in mind, the best way to stay
armed would be to carry a traditional-
looking knife with a wood handle and
a leather sheath, not a black-bladed
tanto in a quick-draw Kydex rig.In general, the more utilitarian a knife
looks, the better o you are. Tradition-
al ethnic knives also tend to be less
expensive than tactical blades, so if
your knife ends up being confi scated,
you’ll limit your losses.04
Respect
Authority
If you are questioned about your knife,
be respectful to the o cer and explain
that you are carrying it as a tool, not
a weapon. If he insists that it is illegal,
apologize and tell him that you’ll “un-
derstand” if he needs to confi scate it.
Compared to checking out the décor of
a foreign jail cell, it’s the smarter move.05
Life Without
a Defensive
Knife
Truth be told, the knife laws in somecountries are simply too severe to make
it worth the risk of carrying one. In that
case, be prepared to carry a fl ashlight,
tactical pen, or a similar improvised
weapon instead of a knife. However,
as with your knife skills, make sure
that you have the training to use them
e ectively. In fact, in the weeks before
you travel, focus your training on the
tools you’ll actually have, to make
sure you can change gears when the
situation demands it. KIAbove: MBC Certified
Instructor Marc Galli
is being searched
on the way into the
Paris Police Museum.
Like most other life
experiences, being
polite goes a long way.knivesillustrated.com JULY/AUGUST 2019 • KNIVES ILLUSTRATED 23