Word of warning - weapons

[Dave & Sandra]

Just thought I would let everyone know about a slight problem with our shipment which the shippers (Crown) didn't warn us about and didn't even mention when they e-mailed to confirm it had cleared customs.

Dave bought a dagger in Saudi years ago, purely for ornamental purposes, but it is a bit wicked. I've just had a letter delivered by courier to say that the dagger has been confiscated by Customs as we didn't have a 'Police consent to import' for it ops: . Apparently we have a month to apply to the police and get a consent. Had to contact the Arms Officer at local police station. Feilding put me through to a guy in Palmerston North who said 'yes, this happens all the time'. Dave has to write a letter explaining his circumstances here, work, work permit etc. with a description of the dagger and the circumstances under which it was bought and that we would like to keep it. Then he has to make an appointment to see this guy and arrange the formalitites.

So for anybody else out there with any kind of weapon, even ornamental - get advice from your shippers first on how to apply for police consent. To be fair it wasn't mentioned when they came to do the quote and it would have been too late when they came to pack up. Although you would think they would know to check on anything you are sending that may need permits

[Diny]

Good bit of info this Sandra.

Did you have to list every item ... such as ornaments - or did they just come under a heading of 'general stuff'.

Reason I ask .... we have a rapier which belonged to some distant relly of mine and is from the Crimean War.

Do you think this needs to be listed or just packed away in the hopes that nobody will find it?

Diny

[Milliemoo]

errrrrrr don't know if this counts, but will we have have problems with Frodo's sgian dubh ?

Milliemoo

[Diny]

Millie

If only I understood your posting :? :? :? :?

Diny

[Milliemoo]

Sorry love, should have made it a bit clearer.

Duncan has a kilt with all the trimmings, including a rather nice sgian dubh (the knife which gets stuck down his sock) which we wouldn't want to leave behind. I'm sure customs must have come across this before.

Milliemoo

[Dave & Sandra]

Hi Milliemoo

I think you might have a problem - check it out with your shippers. It's still a knife and is classed as a weapon. Is that the Celtic spelling for it, I think I've come across it before as a skian dhu.

Hi Diny - I think your rapier might also be a problem. Our dagger was listed on the inventory by the packers, which I presume customs see a copy of, so I declared it on the MAF form. If it's not specified on the inventory then maybe you don't need to worry. But the MAF form that you have to complete for customs clearance does ask you to specify if there is anything of that nature in the shipment. I wouldn't like to hazard a guess at what would happen if you didn't declare something and MAF did a spot check of the shipment :? All of our ornaments were just listed as 'ornaments', there were too many to list separately and the MAF form asks you what type of ornaments you have and what they are made of :eek I just put various - glass, wood, china, silver etc.

Sounds like we're a blood-thirsty lot doesn't it - importing all these WMD's

Sandra

[Diny]

Sandra

I think I shall declare it ... better safe than sorry. Might as well turn over a new leaf and start abiding by the rules ..... new country ... new me ...yeah right.

Millie

I'm with Sandra on the spelling of Skean Dhu, no wonder I didn't have a clue what you were on about

Diny

[Milliemoo]

boo hiss ........ oh well so long as they know about it, if it means filling out more forms then sobeit.

BTW, there are lots of spelling variations of 'Sgian Dubh' but in Gaelic it translates as 'sgian' = dagger & 'dubh' = black ie: black dagger. It doesn't matter how you spell it though, it's always pronounced as "skeen doo". I guess people spelt it differently because they didn't know how to pronounce it in Gaelic.

McMilliemoo

[Brit Guy]

Just like to add my two-pence worth… I can’t understand why a dagger should be confiscated, and certainly they shouldn’t confiscate a Sgian Dubh (Scottish dress knife). What’s the difference between these and any of the knives in the kitchen draw? In fact, some of the ‘butchers’ type kitchen knives would be far more ‘formidable’ if used as a weapon… the only real difference is in the name! Well, that and the fact that the Sgian Dubh would be a little more ornamental, and costly! I know flick knives are prohibited, but even that is a far outdated law. The mere mention of a “flick knife” conjures up images of Marlon Brando in “The Wild One” and other such 50’s era films, however, statistics show that most ‘knife’ related incidents are carried out using a kitchen knife, and most football hooligan ‘slash’ type injuries are done with a workman’s ‘Stanley’ knife.
A knife is just a tool that we use to do a job, whether it is peeling spuds or cutting meat. Society seems to put too much emphasis on inanimate objects becoming potential weapons, knives are just knives no matter what ‘name’ we give them. Whilst the powers that be still allow us to cut our own bread, fillet our own fish and carve our own meat, there will be a few amongst us who will use these ‘tools’ to intentionally harm themselves or others… that’s life! :?
Sorry if I sound like I’m on a soap-box but it is a subject close to my heart. I have an interest in knife making as a hobby. There are a few custom knife makers in NZ, and their work is fantastic, with pieces being commissioned by customers all over the world. On a personal note… I hope the customs folk are not over zealous when they inspect my ‘lot’, as I intend to take lots of knives (I will call them kitchen knives if it makes them happy)! Oh… and then there’s my firearm collection!!

[Brit Guy]

Diny

The Rapier you mention shouldnt be an issue (check anyway just to be sure), but swords and stuff are not prohibited in NZ, so I dont see why they should bother. but if they do, you should insist that it is of special sentimental value as I believe it makes a difference. Get this... you can take sporting firearms (rifles and shotguns) in the container no problem, as long as you declare them to customs (they then give you the required paperwork), so whats a little ol' sword?