Travel advice: France and Belgium

[kirk13]

I'm rather excited at the moment. In a months time,I'm off on a four day WW1 battlefield tour in France and Belgium.

Needless to say,I want to take a EDC selection. However,this being the first time I'm crossing the Channel this century,I'm wondering what are the restrictions on carrying sharp and shineys on cross channel ferries,and on the Eurostar?

[Kampfer]

Bring your SMILE SMLE. 

[hiraethus]

Eurostar:
http://www.eurostar.com/uk-en/conditions-carriage

NOT ALLOWED
All flick knives, gravity knives and daggers.
Folding pocket knives with a blade over 3" (75mm) in length are also banned. (Small folding pocket knives with blades under 75mm are the exception & are permitted)

and

http://www.eurostar.com/uk-en/travel-info/travel-planning/luggage/sports-and-camping-equipment

You can take camping cutlery and tools like pocket or Swiss army knives, as long as any blades are less than 3" (75mm) long. Any folding knife with a blade that locks is strictly prohibited, regardless of size.

Which ferry company?  P&O have no specific restrictions AFAIK, and the last time I travelled there were no checks on luggage.  Might be different if you're on foot, but I doubt it.

I'd stick with sub-3" and non locking to be on the safe side.

[Zed]

Enjoy mate,I lived in Belgium for many years but was 25 years ago so laws changed,have fun 

[Mechanickal]

Belgium: pocketknives are not prohibited as long as it's not to be considered a weapon.
A hunting knife for example can only be carried by a hunter during the hunt (so you need to to have a valid reason to carry it.)
"I need to peel my apples" is not a valid reason.

As a result, an officer might give his own turn to these rules.
Locking/non locking does not matter.
Size: a SAK / Multi and you'll be fine.

I've carried my multi (during work) inside multiple police stations without a hitch.

Carried my multi in public on my belt without a hitch.

Basicaly: Don't be a Rambo and you'll be left alone

EDIT: didn't notice your ferry/eurostar part. Sorry for the useless blabber!

[Grant Lamontagne]

Sounds like a fantastic trip!  Make sure to take lots of pics for us!

Def

[Etherealicer]

When traveling Europe I simply stick to the EU regulation 185/2010
Specifically Attachment 4C-c, you can easily see that any blade, less than 6cm in length is legal (even for flying! So yes, if your flight stays in Europe you are allowed to carry a SAK). I only once had trouble until I quoted that, then all was fine (I simply put a note in my wallet so I remember the regulation Nr).

Of course I have a second personal rule... don't carry something expensive/rare when traveling.

[G-Dizzle]

No advice here.. just wishing you safe travels and a good trip!! 

[Don Pablo]

Have a good trip kirky!

When traveling Europe I simply stick to the EU regulation 185/2010
Specifically Attachment 4C-c, you can easily see that any blade, less than 6cm in length is legal (even for flying! So yes, if your flight stays in Europe you are allowed to carry a SAK). I only once had trouble until I quoted that, then all was fine (I simply put a note in my wallet so I remember the regulation Nr).

Of course I have a second personal rule... don't carry something expensive/rare when traveling.

I would be interested to know if  anyone else has used this. Can individual airport security regs override this? 

Uh oh, Attachment 4C-d, no saws allowed. Do you think it applies to multitool saws? 

[Etherealicer]

Have a good trip kirky!

When traveling Europe I simply stick to the EU regulation 185/2010
Specifically Attachment 4C-c, you can easily see that any blade, less than 6cm in length is legal (even for flying! So yes, if your flight stays in Europe you are allowed to carry a SAK). I only once had trouble until I quoted that, then all was fine (I simply put a note in my wallet so I remember the regulation Nr).

Of course I have a second personal rule... don't carry something expensive/rare when traveling.

I would be interested to know if  anyone else has used this. Can individual airport security regs override this? 

Uh oh, Attachment 4C-d, no saws allowed. Do you think it applies to multitool saws? 

Saw is just a very weirdly serrated blade, so as long as it is less than 6cm you are good. I actually never had any problem, if they accept the blade, they accept the rest. Under normal circumstances you should be good with that throughout Europe.
There are some places that explicitly forbid any knives (e.g. nightclubs, stadiums).
There are also special circumstances. E.g. if you get into a fight in Germany/Switzerland and pull a SAK, it will be considered a weapon independent of blade size/length.

About the override... I don't think so, I doubt they can override that law unless they can bring some special circumstances they have no ground to take the knife away. It is probably the situation where you have to call the supervisor. But don't quote me or expect me to refund you in case I'm wrong here
Personally, I always put my knives in the check-in luggage to avoid the hassle.

[Don Pablo]

Indeed. check in is probably the best idea. Quoting regulations at a stubborn agent until you miss your flight is not the way to go, even if you win. 

I might try with a cheap sak some day though...

[ColoSwiss]

Domein Raversijde near Oostende has a number of preserved WW1 and WW2 fortifications. Very interesting.

Have fun!   

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_Wall_open-air_museum

[kirk13]

Bring your SMILE SMLE. 

Might stick with the of' .455 Webley for this one 

[kirk13]

Eurostar:
http://www.eurostar.com/uk-en/conditions-carriage

NOT ALLOWED
All flick knives, gravity knives and daggers.
Folding pocket knives with a blade over 3" (75mm) in length are also banned. (Small folding pocket knives with blades under 75mm are the exception & are permitted)

and

http://www.eurostar.com/uk-en/travel-info/travel-planning/luggage/sports-and-camping-equipment

You can take camping cutlery and tools like pocket or Swiss army knives, as long as any blades are less than 3" (75mm) long. Any folding knife with a blade that locks is strictly prohibited, regardless of size.

Which ferry company?  P&O have no specific restrictions AFAIK, and the last time I travelled there were no checks on luggage.  Might be different if you're on foot, but I doubt it.

I'd stick with sub-3" and non locking to be on the safe side.

Cheers Chris

[kirk13]

Sounds like a fantastic trip!  Make sure to take lots of pics for us!

Def

 

I'm still sitting on a stack of pix from the Bovington Tank Museum,as well as the first ramble of 2017,thanks to our good friends at photosmurfet

[kirk13]

Belgium: pocketknives are not prohibited as long as it's not to be considered a weapon.
A hunting knife for example can only be carried by a hunter during the hunt (so you need to to have a valid reason to carry it.)
"I need to peel my apples" is not a valid reason.

As a result, an officer might give his own turn to these rules.
Locking/non locking does not matter.
Size: a SAK / Multi and you'll be fine.

I've carried my multi (during work) inside multiple police stations without a hitch.

Carried my multi in public on my belt without a hitch.

Basicaly: Don't be a Rambo and you'll be left alone

EDIT: didn't notice your ferry/eurostar part. Sorry for the useless blabber!

No useless blather there at all,it's all good info

[Grant Lamontagne]

Sounds like a fantastic trip!  Make sure to take lots of pics for us!

Def

 

I'm still sitting on a stack of pix from the Bovington Tank Museum,as well as the first ramble of 2017,thanks to our good friends at photosmurfet

I guess we are looking forward to a lot of photos then, aren't we? 

Def

[Kampfer]

Bring your SMILE SMLE. 

Might stick with the of' .455 Webley for this one 

Good call. Have a safe trip.

[Top-Gear-24]

Kirky's comming to visit us ... 

Now we'll have someone else to blame for all that goes wrong in our country instead of always blaming our politicians  .


Anyway, I have no idea about knife rules on the ferry or the Eurostar, but over here you won't get into trouble as long as you don't act like a knife wielding maniac, like Mechanickal said.  I've been carrying my Surge for the last couple of months and have not had any negative reactions so far, but when my oldest son was showing his Swisschamp at my brothers baby shower, a family member of my brother's girlfriend (who's a police officer, the family member that is, not my brother's girlfriend  ) said it was a forbiden weapon, so I guess it comes down to this, 99% of the time you'll have no problems, but when you come across the wrong guy ...

Oh well, I'm looking forward to seeing pics of your trip my friend, you've probably seen this topic before, but here are pics of my trip to "de westhoek".

This will probably be on the tour, but if not, try to visit the Bayernwald site, and right next to these trenches you'll find a small cemetery named "Croonaert Chapel Cemetery", it's situated in the middle of a field, and really worth a visit (see pics in the topic I linked above).

Hope you'll have a nice trip, and can't wait to see those pics  .

[Mechanickal]

but when my oldest son was showing his Swisschamp at my brothers baby shower, a family member of my brother's girlfriend (who's a police officer, the family member that is, not my brother's girlfriend  ) said it was a forbiden weapon, so I guess it comes down to this, 99% of the time you'll have no problems, but when you come across the wrong guy ...

There's always that one guy who sees everything as a threat...
He'd be on my blacklist from that moment on

Knife laws are pretty clear on a SAK though, it's not an illegal weapon.
If halted by an officer, you need to be able to explain why you carry it with you. For a SAK this is quite self explainatory, because it's a multi-use tool.

I can see where a young boy gets it harder to explain why he's got a SAK on him, but come on!

I think guys like that never had a childhood...

[kirk13]

Thank you,everyone for the good wishes!

I'm excited about this trip. It'll be my first trip out of the British Isles since I came back to the UK. That it's touching on such important history is a major plus

[Mechanickal]

Thank you,everyone for the good wishes!

I'm excited about this trip. It'll be my first trip out of the British Isles since I came back to the UK. That it's touching on such important history is a major plus

Have a good one!
And pay some respect from me to the fallen ones please!

I always try to do so myself whenever I pass a memorial site.

[kirk13]

Thank you,everyone for the good wishes!

I'm excited about this trip. It'll be my first trip out of the British Isles since I came back to the UK. That it's touching on such important history is a major plus

Have a good one!
And pay some respect from me to the fallen ones please!

I always try to do so myself whenever I pass a memorial site.

Always!

My gun club was used as a training centre for musketry,and some of my mates there,they're great grandfathers trained there before going to te Western Front.

I'm from Northern Ireland,so on top of the professional soldiers,there were both the Ulster Volunteers(36th Ulster Div) and the Irish Volunteers(32nd Irish Div)(and that's a whole wodge of history we don't want to get into here ).

The high school I went to in SA lost 200 odd boys at the Somme...

This is something of a pilgrimage for me.