HELP FOR SHIPPING

Bill M · 18th October 2008, 02:10 AM

Other than CITES questions, are there any problems shipping swords INTO the USA?

rand · 18th October 2008, 02:33 AM

Hi Bill,

Not sure about swords, other than if they have any ivory it can be a real pain.. But bought an 18th century matchlock from Canada and shipped into USA. It had to go through a broker and delivered to a firearms dealer in the USA. AM thinking any antique firearm now is a higher cost to bring into the country.

And have checked on taking a collection of swords to Europe, they want you to prepay a tax as if you had sold them all. Needless to say that killed that plan. Do not travel much so maybe someone with more travel experience can chime in here.

rand

kahnjar1 · 18th October 2008, 02:39 AM

After reading the above, I realise just how lucky we are here in New Zealand, regarding importing of swords and knives/daggers. There is (at present) no restriction on importing of old/antique swords or knives provided of course they do not fall into the category of "offensive" weapons eg.flick knives/butterfly/gravity knives etc.or are a "hidden weapon" such as a sword stick We do not have to PROVE age of item either.
Old/antique daggers (double edged knives), and OLD swordsticks etc., can be imported provided the correct permit is obtained AND you are known to Police (who handle the application), as a "bonefide" collector. If you DO fall into this category, the premit application is generally just a matter of course.
Long may this situation remain, and we all hope that the "nanny state" does not try to be silly if it comes to new laws.

russel · 22nd May 2015, 10:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kahnjar1

After reading the above, I realise just how lucky we are here in New Zealand, regarding importing of swords and knives/daggers. There is (at present) no restriction on importing of old/antique swords or knives provided of course they do not fall into the category of "offensive" weapons eg.flick knives/butterfly/gravity knives etc.or are a "hidden weapon" such as a sword stick We do not have to PROVE age of item either.
Old/antique daggers (double edged knives), and OLD swordsticks etc., can be imported provided the correct permit is obtained AND you are known to Police (who handle the application), as a "bonefide" collector. If you DO fall into this category, the premit application is generally just a matter of course.
Long may this situation remain, and we all hope that the "nanny state" does not try to be silly if it comes to new laws.

This is a very similar situation to the regulations in Australia: no permit required for swords or single edged knives. A police issued permit is required to import daggers (double edged). Some items are prohibited (such as flick-knives, balisong and concealed weapons). The only truly unfortunate prohibition we have is "knives with transverse handles" ie.punch-daggers, which means I can only obtain Katars from within Australia (needless to say, I only have two. The are very uncommon items in Australia.

We also have a rather fortunate situation with import fees, items under $1000 attract no import duties!

A. G. Maisey · 23rd May 2015, 12:44 AM

I have collected edged weapons since 1953 and I have been importing swords, daggers and other weapons into Australia since the mid 1950's.

I have imported from UK, Holland, USA, Canada, Brazil, Japan, Malaysia and Indonesia --- and maybe a few other places that I've forgotten.

A long time ago there was no problem at all with imports of anything.

Then we went through a period of idiocy where almost anything shorter than a meter long would be classified as a dagger by the inspecting customs officer and you needed (in NSW) to get police clearance to have it released by customs, unless it actually was a dagger, which in the definition supplied in the relevant legislation comes down to pretty much only a Sykes-Fairburn --- and if you observed the relevant legislation, you could also cope with that little problem.

Import of weapons in Oz is largely dependent upon state laws, but daggers are prohibited imports under federal legislation. The state law overrides the federal law in this matter.

These days we have a very enlightened approach, which necessitates obtaining a B709B form from the police which sets forth for the inspecting customs officer the requirements that must be met by the importer in respect of the imported weapon.

This B709B is generated at a state level, so if you require a licence or permit in the state where the import takes place, you need to produce that before customs will clear the import. If, as in NSW, no licence or permit is required to own a particular weapon, the imported weapon is cleared immediately.

In my opinion this is a very good system, it avoids stand-up knock-downs with ratbag and aggressive customs officers, and the ongoing conflicts that these confrontations generate. Yeah, if you were right you always won, but it took time, effort and money. These days it is easy.

There is no charge for a B709B, you simply apply for it.

In today's world the public attitude seems to be mostly anti all types of weapon. Looked at objectively there are mostly pretty good reasons for this, so if those of us who want own weapons wish to continue to be permitted to own those weapons, we need to have a very good understanding of the relevant legislation.

18th October 2008, 02:10 AM	#1
Bill M Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: USA Georgia Posts: 1,599	Other than CITES questions, are there any problems shipping swords INTO the USA?

18th October 2008, 02:33 AM	#2
rand Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Virginia Posts: 539	Hi Bill, Not sure about swords, other than if they have any ivory it can be a real pain.. But bought an 18th century matchlock from Canada and shipped into USA. It had to go through a broker and delivered to a firearms dealer in the USA. AM thinking any antique firearm now is a higher cost to bring into the country. And have checked on taking a collection of swords to Europe, they want you to prepay a tax as if you had sold them all. Needless to say that killed that plan. Do not travel much so maybe someone with more travel experience can chime in here. rand

18th October 2008, 02:39 AM	#3
kahnjar1 Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: CHRISTCHURCH NEW ZEALAND Posts: 2,786	After reading the above, I realise just how lucky we are here in New Zealand, regarding importing of swords and knives/daggers. There is (at present) no restriction on importing of old/antique swords or knives provided of course they do not fall into the category of "offensive" weapons eg.flick knives/butterfly/gravity knives etc.or are a "hidden weapon" such as a sword stick We do not have to PROVE age of item either. Old/antique daggers (double edged knives), and OLD swordsticks etc., can be imported provided the correct permit is obtained AND you are known to Police (who handle the application), as a "bonefide" collector. If you DO fall into this category, the premit application is generally just a matter of course. Long may this situation remain, and we all hope that the "nanny state" does not try to be silly if it comes to new laws.

23rd May 2015, 12:44 AM	#5
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,992	I have collected edged weapons since 1953 and I have been importing swords, daggers and other weapons into Australia since the mid 1950's. I have imported from UK, Holland, USA, Canada, Brazil, Japan, Malaysia and Indonesia --- and maybe a few other places that I've forgotten. A long time ago there was no problem at all with imports of anything. Then we went through a period of idiocy where almost anything shorter than a meter long would be classified as a dagger by the inspecting customs officer and you needed (in NSW) to get police clearance to have it released by customs, unless it actually was a dagger, which in the definition supplied in the relevant legislation comes down to pretty much only a Sykes-Fairburn --- and if you observed the relevant legislation, you could also cope with that little problem. Import of weapons in Oz is largely dependent upon state laws, but daggers are prohibited imports under federal legislation. The state law overrides the federal law in this matter. These days we have a very enlightened approach, which necessitates obtaining a B709B form from the police which sets forth for the inspecting customs officer the requirements that must be met by the importer in respect of the imported weapon. This B709B is generated at a state level, so if you require a licence or permit in the state where the import takes place, you need to produce that before customs will clear the import. If, as in NSW, no licence or permit is required to own a particular weapon, the imported weapon is cleared immediately. In my opinion this is a very good system, it avoids stand-up knock-downs with ratbag and aggressive customs officers, and the ongoing conflicts that these confrontations generate. Yeah, if you were right you always won, but it took time, effort and money. These days it is easy. There is no charge for a B709B, you simply apply for it. In today's world the public attitude seems to be mostly anti all types of weapon. Looked at objectively there are mostly pretty good reasons for this, so if those of us who want own weapons wish to continue to be permitted to own those weapons, we need to have a very good understanding of the relevant legislation.