What to put on customs form?

[rickacp]

What is the best thing to put on the customs form with a knife coming from Canada to the USA to avoid any problems?

[supermatch38sa]

Camping tool works perfectly.
Greetings from Spain!!!
Regards:
Jose :)

[FLYBYU44]

Camping tool works perfectly.
Greetings from Spain!!!
Regards:
Jose :)

Amen to that! Has worked for me several times.

[vampyrewolf]

hand tool
electrician tool
IT equipment
IT tool
camping equipment
camping tool

and my last two were "handmade tuning fork" and "beltrame collectable"... I'll leave it up to you to figure out what those two were Customs never stopped either of those 2.

Oddly enough, my last 2 fixed blades were opened, probably because they were both marked as fixed blade knives :rolleyes: (SFO and custom)

I'm an electronics tech doing IT on the side, so I can call em electrician or IT tools :p

[Fred Sanford]

I put Keychain or Kitchen Utensils.

[The Deacon]

If this is something coming INTO the US from Canada, there is virtually no chance US Customs will inspect it, even if the item is declared as a "pocket knife" or "fixed blade knife", as appropriate. They might get curious if the sender declared it as a "switchblade" or "gravity knife" but that's assuming someone even bothered to look at it. I've had a number of knives come in, declared as knives, from other countries and have never had one opened for inspection by US Customs.

[FLYBYU44]

Any time they come labelled as knife they get opened by customs. At least that has been my experiance.

[PolishSumgai]

metal cutter
plastic cutter

( avoid blade, tool, etc )

If the item was made in the USA make sure that is designated on the Customs form - US goods being returned to the USA are FREE of any duty / tax, unless they were improved in any way. Example a knife was made in US and sent to Canada, in Canada a set of custom slabs or handles was put on to replace the originals - then the cost of the slabs would be subject to duty. US residents can receive gifts worth up to $100 and may be sent, free of duty and tax, to friends and relatives in the United States, as long as the same person does not receive more than $100 worth of gifts in a single day.

[ozspyder]

Dunno about CAN to USA. But from anywhere to Oz I have had:
Camping Tool
Collectable Cutlery
Garden pruning tool
Camping tool
Bush camping gear

Funny how I've had Persians come through unopened, uninspected etc... even my large order of about 10-12 FG Large Manixes came through unmolested... whilst a measley Kopa and Ladybug package came opened, molested and repackaged like Magilla Gorilla had done it :p

I've heard similar stories of slack US Customs checking things from o/s to the US.

[The Deacon]

It might be of interest, but unless I'm reading it wrong, there is NO duty on "pen knives, pocket knives and other knives which have folding blades" being imported into the USA and, even the types of knives which may be dutiable if shipped from most countries are exempt if shipped from, among other places, Canada. I also vaguely recall reading somewhere that there is no duty on almost anything imported by an individual for personal use. Obvious exceptions would be high ticket items like cars and boats, and items considered "luxury" goods, like jewelry and furs.

[cyberspyder]

It might be of interest, but unless I'm reading it wrong, there is NO duty on "pen knives, pocket knives and other knives which have folding blades" being imported into the USA and, even the types of knives which may be dutiable if shipped from most countries are exempt if shipped from, among other places, Canada. I also vaguely recall reading somewhere that there is no duty on almost anything imported by an individual for personal use. Obvious exceptions would be high ticket items like cars and boats, and items considered "luxury" goods, like jewelry and furs.

From another post:

Just to clarify a couple of points here.

If the seller is in the USA then there are NO Duties because of the North American Free Trade agreement.

If you value the exported knife at say $500 then Customs will calculate the GST and PST payable after converted to Canadian funds. Basically 10% on top of approx C$550 or another $55. This is not duties but taxes.

Sometimes things happen and Customs can be slow. I have shipped knives south via Express Mail and it has stayed in US Customs for two weeks also. **** happens.

AJ got it right again. $30 via Express Mail and $19 via International Priority.

Personally, I put cutting tool, camping tool, tool, or something similar.

[stonefrog]

What is the best thing to put on the customs form with a knife coming from Canada to the USA to avoid any problems?

The truth.

[65535]

Yep, when I shipped a knife to Canadia I put folding knife on the label. Not a single problem.

[Toad310]

I travel for business out of the country all the time, and all they ask is the value of whatever you are bringing back.

However, I am a US citizen, do they ask non-citizens questions on knives, or are you talking about a search of your luggage with a "What are you doing with this" kind of question?

I Can't see why they would ask, since any knife will be in your checked baggage.

Disclaimer: Nothing involving air travel will surprise me, and I do not trust the TSA, FAA or the airlines on anything. I hate to travel these days!

If you bought a knife in Canada, just declare it and the price. I have brought back quite a bit of valuable things over the years, and never had and problems.

Canada has some good knifemakers!

Best,

Toad

[The Deacon]

The truth.

I agree. It may, or may not mean anything but the latest version of the USPS 2976-A Customs Declaration and Dispatch form specifically advises against vague, non specific, descriptions. While that form is only seen by foreign Customs, it may be a two way street.

[rickacp]

I appreciate the replies and insights and feel the question was answered, thank you. But, as stated in the original post I was asking about knives shipped to the US coming through US customs from Canada.