BajaNomad

Are knives illegal in Mexico??

kodiak - 11-19-2007 at 05:26 PM

Not steak knives or butcher knives. I am speaking of pocket knives. I always carry one but, would hate for somebody to consider it a 'concealed weapon' and have in confiscated.

DENNIS - 11-19-2007 at 05:32 PM

Only very small ones, like a two inch blade. What's up? Are you planning on being searched?

kodiak - 11-19-2007 at 05:37 PM

My father in law, is coming with us to Baja...and is worried about all the "crazy laws" down south of the border. I carry a Benchmade pocket knife, and he is telling me that it could be considered a weapon and will land us all in prison.

He also heard the dramatic events on CNN.....:rolleyes:

BajaWarrior - 11-19-2007 at 05:46 PM

I always carry my Schrade "old timer". Even showed it to the army guys, they thought it was cute.

I have never been in a position to be searched by the police so I'm not worried. And I don't plan on it.

Legal or not in Baja? We may never know.

Would my 3" Schrade be considered a concealed weapon in the States?

kodiak - 11-19-2007 at 06:00 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by BajaWarrior


Would my 3" Schrade be considered a concealed weapon in the States?


In Arkansas, that 3" Schrade would be considered a 'finger nail' cleaner.:spingrin:

edm1 - 11-19-2007 at 06:02 PM

I brought a machete in my last trip, along with a hunting knife set. I know the inspection officer saw my knife set (he asked do you hunt?) but not sure he saw the machete.

Actually I wondered if I could bring my 28-inch katana for protection but settled on the machete (more Mexican).

Hook - 11-19-2007 at 06:12 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by kodiak
Not steak knives or butcher knives. I am speaking of pocket knives. I always carry one but, would hate for somebody to consider it a 'concealed weapon' and have in confiscated.


It depends on how much the officer wants it.

I had a buddy relieved of his locking blade Buck knife by an Ensenada cop in the early 90s. He grabbed him by the sheath as he was walking by and said it was illegal. The standard 4-5 inch blade model.

We gave it up rather than have him quote book and verse in Spanish.

Osprey - 11-19-2007 at 06:21 PM

It's a location thing.
In Tijuana: up to 3.8 inches blade is legal
In Santa Rosalia: 4.8 inches
In San Lucas: 5.8 inches
In the mountains: sword lengths to 5 feet
In the Colonias: not even box cutters
In reality: all knives are tools (including machetes)
When I traveled in Mexico I only carried machetes because I thought, perhaps, the local authorities might not know the local laws or the laws of the regions wherein I had traveled or the federal laws that apply to extranjeros or that, from time to time they might be/get confused about the legality of such trivial weapons.

bajajudy - 11-19-2007 at 06:21 PM

This is a joke, right.....a license to carry a machete?

Size does matter

Lee - 11-19-2007 at 06:33 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by kodiak
Not steak knives or butcher knives. I am speaking of pocket knives. I always carry one but, would hate for somebody to consider it a 'concealed weapon' and have in confiscated.


This is what I carry.

http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/602-2112389-9091810?ASI...

Also have a SOG or Spyderco in my backpack, car or truck, and suitcase. Carrying a machete into a bar in La Paz after dark isn't cool.

Unless knives are outlawed like guns are, it doesn't matter to me. I"ll always have a knife on me.

Tomas Tierra - 11-19-2007 at 10:16 PM

"That's not a naaaaaaaaaaaiwf"

This is zip tied under my seat in its sheath...never been found. Anybody think I'd be in trouble if it was??? I honestly don't know..

DSCN1069.JPG - 50kB

Halboo - 11-20-2007 at 09:30 AM

I always carry a benchmade pocket knife and keep the woodman's pal

tucked out of sight next to the truck seat when driving and under the mattress in the camper when camped.
No Moleste :cool:

DENNIS - 11-20-2007 at 01:44 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Tomas Tierra

This is zip tied under my seat in its sheath...never been found. Anybody think I'd be in trouble if it was??? I honestly don't know..

I don't know how much trouble that thing would cause for you but, if a cop in Mexico found it, you would at least say goodby to it.

Mango - 11-20-2007 at 07:42 PM

It depends on a lot of things in reality. If the knife is mixed in with other gear and/or in a private vehicle; it's not going to be a problem.

On your person, in and around town, it may be. Tucked away in your backpack around town, I'd think much less.

I had a pocket knife in my day pack to cut limes (for tequila) on a bus once. The bus was stopped and they searched my carry on bag. The PDJ officer found my knife and asked me how much I wanted to sell it for, hassled me for having it, and asked me if I was drunk, etc.. (Only one shot was taken out of the bottle the night before)

They didn't take my knife; but, now I make sure any machete/knife, etc.. is tucked away in my main luggage under the bus nowadays. Nowadays it is clearly displayed on signs that no guns or knifes are allowed on buses in most major bus stops now, and they often search you or use a metal detector to screen passengers.

In the boonies I still carry my machete strapped to the outside of my backpack around town and carry it on the local bus without even a second glance or thought. About 2/3 of the people on the bus or around town in some areas have machetes strapped to their hips. Often it is the norm in some areas, and a machete is considered a tool and not a weapon. I would never try to carry a machete onto a first class bus, on an inter-city route, or on my bag/hip in a big city.

So it all depends. Just remember this bit of wisdom an old friend from Mexico departed onto me during my first trip south of the border... "Short of killing somebody, the law in Mexico is very negotiable."

DENNIS - 11-20-2007 at 07:53 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Mango
"Short of killing somebody, the law in Mexico is very negotiable."

He must have been a poor man. Even murder is negotiable for the wealthy.

pappy - 11-20-2007 at 08:18 PM

my experience with this is at a checkpoint they saw my buddies spyderco hangin' from his belt loop. they took it, opened it then put blade across an open palm of hand. said if blade extends beyond the palm, it is too long and therefore illegal.he handed knife back to buddy, and we were off....

vandenberg - 11-20-2007 at 08:24 PM

Quote:
He must have been a poor man. Even murder is negotiable for the wealthy.


As it is in the good old USA.
O.J and Blake come to mind, followed by that ugly dumb sh*t who just got off.:biggrin:

DENNIS - 11-20-2007 at 08:32 PM

Ya mean, Specktor or whatever? I'm not sure he's done yet.