Knife Bans in Europe

I saw a post in one of the Facebook motorcycle groups I frequent:

"Knife advice - travelling around Europe. What’s the deal with carrying a knife in Europe… is it legal to do so?"

Some excerpts from the comment section:

Use common sense and it should be okay. Put it in the same bag as your cooking gear or something like that.

There's a blanket ban in both Rotterdam and Amsterdam so there it will be in my bag in a sheath, but once you've a valid reeaon (self defense obviously isn't a valid reason, but fixing stuff on the bike/using it as an aid when camping is.)

You're freely allowed to walk into a shop and buy one but they're "somewhat" illegal to carry, it's all about context though.

If your understanding of carrying implies wearing it on your belt or clipped to your pocket, I've got bad news for you.

It's okay to carry a fixed blade in a waist bag or a backpack as long as you have legitimate purpose such as cooking while camping.

Get yourself a Leatherman - easily justified as a camp tool.

It's normaly forbidden to carry one except if you have a good reason (job for example).

Just don’t carry it on your person . have it packed away obviously and until you need it.

My Comment:

🤯 ‼️ I have carried various folding and fixed blade knives almost everywhere since I was a teen, and have never even had a thought to use one against an innocent person. Not even my scary automatic knives (switchblades - EEEK!) have turned me into a murderous monster. I need to remind myself that millions of people really are ok walking around daily life with no means of defending themselves or others. I don't care to justify my reasoning for carrying a knife on my person, and don't expect much understanding or appreciation here. I'm a direct descendant from some heroes who helped liberate Europe a few decades ago, and who also served as a US Marine with that mentality feeding my motivations, happy to get along with anyone who loves motorcycling and camping, too.

And then I couldn't help but share a little video of my current EDC knife: