Flying into Canada

[Takuan]

I’ll be flying into Canada in a few months to attend a conference in Montréal. I understand that the CBSA routinely confiscates knives that can be opened by “centrifugal force,” including blades that can be flicked open with a snap of the wrist after pressure is applied to a thumb stud or blade hole ( https://forum.spyderco.com/viewtopic.p ... l#p1239393). I was hoping to take a Spyderco Dragonfly with me along with my SwissTool Spirit. Do you think something like a Dragonfly that is not “flickable” due to the strong back lock would be legal? It would be coming into the country in my checked baggage and I’d rather not run afoul of customs at the airport. What knives have you had success with when crossing the border (and which ones, if any, have you had confiscated)?

Many thanks,
Takuan

[JRinFL]

I cannot answer for sure, but to be safe I would bring a proper sized torx driver so you can tighten and loosen as needed. I'd really tighten it down before flying into Canada.

[jwbnyc]

The Dragonfly is completely flickable.

[TkoK83Spy]

I'd probably play it safe and go with some kind of budget folder, that wouldn't hurt if you had to give it up.

[ladybug93]

roadie! it's not flickable. it's a slipjoint. it has a rounded tip, so it's less scary. it's got a smaller footprint than the dragonfly. you only sacrifice 4mm of edge length compared to the dragonfly. it's quite a bit cheaper than the dragonfly. it's basically the perfect spyderco knife to travel to places that aren't blade friendly. if you really need a longer blade than the roadie, the df2 is probably not long enough either and something like the ukpk would be a better choice.

[zuludelta]

Just bring a fixed blade LOL. Nobody bats an eye when tourist backpackers come through the area where I live in BC openly carrying their Mora bushcraft/survival knives.

Seriously, though... I would echo two of the suggestions posted above me: tighten the pivot on your folder, and if it's possible, bring a folder you won't miss or can easily replace on the off-chance it gets confiscated. The ironic thing is that there are quite a number of authorized Spyderco dealers (& trusted third-party retailers) in Canada, so you can replace your DF2 if it somehow doesn't make it past the border.

[huyfishin]

Just bring a fixed blade LOL. Nobody bats an eye when tourist backpackers come through the area where I live in BC openly carrying their Mora bushcraft/survival knives.

Seriously, though... I would echo two of the suggestions posted above me: tighten the pivot on your folder, and if it's possible, bring a folder you won't miss or can easily replace on the off-chance it gets confiscated. The ironic thing is that there are quite a number of authorized Spyderco dealers (& trusted third-party retailers) in Canada, so you can replace your DF2 if it somehow doesn't make it past the border.

AHHHH WE GOT another fellow canadian spyderco enthusiast here!! CHEERS!! i'm also in western canada

Legal to fly in canada with the dragonfly which is the messed up part. We are allowed to fly with a knife domestically but we can't bring a water bottle on board. LOL

[Takuan]

Thanks, everyone. I own two Dragonflies—a serrated Salt and the green G-10 model with VG-10—so I might just tighten down the pivot of one of those and hope for the best. Thanks for the tip about tightening the pivot to make the knife un-flickable! I might just stick with a multitool or SAK, though it sounds like a fixed blade might actually be a viable option. It’s funny to think that I’d get in less trouble for a Enuff or an ARK than I would for a Dragonfly. I suppose I finally have an excuse to buy a Roadie (or three, since my wife and son will each need one of their own).

[sal]

Hi Takuan,

Talkin' Story:

When we had an audience with the Canadian Crown some time ago, we had 4 knives in court, Rescues. We were trying to nail down a definitive number to be able to build to in order to meet Canadian knife laws. (how many lbs of force needed to be legal).

#1 was stock Rescue and they could flick it open. #2 was tighter (Pivot tightened), but they could still flick it open. #3 was too tight for the officer to flick open, so they went through the court bldg until them found someone, a female police officer, that was very good at inertia opening, and she was able to flick it open. #4 was very tight and couldn't be inertia opened by anyone at Spyderco, and we're pretty good at it. They opened the knife about 60% of the way open, using the opening hole, and then flicked the remainder open and declared it illegal.

Our attorney explained to us that they did not want a definitive number of lbs law because they used this knife test to hold a potential criminal for further investigation. I would suggest a non locker.

sal

[cabfrank]

Wow, that's crazy.

[ladybug93]

Thanks, everyone. I own two Dragonflies—a serrated Salt and the green G-10 model with VG-10—so I might just tighten down the pivot of one of those and hope for the best. Thanks for the tip about tightening the pivot to make the knife un-flickable! I might just stick with a multitool or SAK, though it sounds like a fixed blade might actually be a viable option. It’s funny to think that I’d get in less trouble for a Enuff or an ARK than I would for a Dragonfly. I suppose I finally have an excuse to buy a Roadie (or three, since my wife and son will each need one of their own).

the roadie is really a great little knife. i was surprised by how much i like it. i need to put it to the test more before i gush too much, but for cutting packages and stuff, it's been great. i even broke down a stack of boxes with it the other day.

as far as the sak and fixed blade goes, sometimes i do travel with a standard, cheap sak and a mora. those knives are so capable and i expensive that i know i can do whatever i need to do with them and it won't hurt if they're confiscated.

[ladybug93]

...because they used this knife test to hold a potential criminal for further investigation...

ugh. that's awful. i seriously hate laws that make people criminals for doing nothing.

it's illegal to stab someone and it's illegal to threaten someone with a knife, so we might as well make it illegal to have a knife at all so that people don't break the laws.

what an asinine thing to do, yet lawmakers really think this way and people just go along with it because they can't stand to think for themselves.

[James Y]

Hi Takuan,

Talkin' Story:

When we had an audience with the Canadian Crown some time ago, we had 4 knives in court, Rescues. We were trying to nail down a definitive number to be able to build to in order to meet Canadian knife laws. (how many lbs of force needed to be legal).

#1 was stock Rescue and they could flick it open. #2 was tighter (Pivot tightened), but they could still flick it open. #3 was too tight for the officer to flick open, so they went through the court bldg until them found someone, a female police officer, that was very good at inertia opening, and she was able to flick it open. #4 was very tight and couldn't be inertia opened by anyone at Spyderco, and we're pretty good at it. They opened the knife about 60% of the way open, using the opening hole, and then flicked the remainder open and declared it illegal.

Our attorney explained to us that they did not want a definitive number of lbs law because they used this knife test to hold a potential criminal for further investigation. I would suggest a non locker.

sal

Wow. My comment is going to be unhelpful here, but that law is sheer dingbattery.

If I were to ever visit Canada, I'd only take a SAK or two. I don't think I'd even take my UKPK Salt, because it's SE and would probably be considered scary-looking. Plus, if I open it to the half-stop and flick my wrist, I can flick it the rest of the way open (which seems to be included in their criteria of 'flickability').

Jim

[huyfishin]

Canada is not as bad as what you guys make it to be regarding knife laws!

[ladybug93]

Canada is not as bad as what you guys make it to be regarding knife laws!

if what sal said is true, it's worse than anywhere i'd want to live.

[zuludelta]

Canada is not as bad as what you guys make it to be regarding knife laws!

This is true. I mean yeah, the knife importation laws are bad & inconsistently applied, but within the country itself, it's fairly reasonable. There are knives that are outright illegal to own (balisongs & automatics being illegal in particular rankle me so much), but there are actually no federal limits on blade lengths here, so long as one has a legitimate reason for carrying a knife (though self-defence is not a recognized as a legit reason). But if you need a knife for work & you're not a jackass about it, you can carry a Military or a Yojumbo or a Jumpmaster & not really stress over getting in trouble. I've carried everything from a UKPK to a PM2 to a Karahawk to a Li'l Temperance to a Yojimbo 2 and even a Police 4 for work & haven't butted up against the law.

It's the border/importation laws that drive me nuts, though. I've never had an international knife order subjected to "gravity knife" testing by customs (that said, I almost always buy from local authorized dealers), but have heard of people getting knives seized at the border because of weak detents or loose pivots.

As they're currently enforced, I think the knife laws here are really more about pushing people into buying knives from Canadian dealers/retailers, as opposed to buying them from overseas sellers (who can very often outcompete Canadian businesses in terms of pricing).

[Woodpuppy]

Good grief. The very definition of tyranny. Screw with it until they get it to fail, so they can “getcha”.

[sal]

Hi Zuludelta,

Interesting point of view.

sal

[tangent]

My brother is a Canadian citizen and of late is extremely worried about the totalitarianism that is taking hold up there.

Take a swiss army knife...that's probably your best bet. If they can find a way to confiscate it, they will.

[Bloke]

flying into Canada