Viet Nam and Japan Carries

Chipped Karambit

Chipped Karambit

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I am going to Viet Nam(north of saigon/ho chi mihn) and Japan(tokyo) later. I was wondering for both countries;

A. What is the knife legality in
B. How easy is it to buy a knife
C. Is there a traditional folder and where would I find one? (higonokami for japan of course but where to get and is there one for Viet Nam)
D. How much would they run for quality (over or under priced?)
E. What is societies reaction to an edc/knife/traditional knife
F. Any specific maker or brand?

I will be in both countries for a while and I hate going anywhere without an EDC. I need the blades to be under 3.75 inches (any bigger is to long for my liking)

Since my M390 PM2 or Nakamura (definitely not my fox karambit) won't be able to go through planes I want to pick up while I am off the plane
 
Also pics or the words written in the native language (vietnamese, kanji, hirigana, katakana) would help so i can either spot their name or them from a distance
 
Experience of worktravels to Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh city in 2007

A. Depends on policeman, depends on bribe.
B. Very easy
C. Vietnam gets to sell the fakes and knock offs that won't sell in china or are an overproduction of china :D
D. Vintage US and JP knife models are easily spotted and about the only "quality" you may find but highly overpriced with a big chance of getting a fake
E. Society is very easy going concerning knives. But may try to steal your knife or send a policeman your direction and sharing the bribe money
F. None
 
japan is not a knife friendly place. don't get caught with a clip showing. If you're going to bring, deep pocket carry. And don't pop it out when wanting to cut food in public and the such.

I've visited multiple times and brought a folder. Never had issue with customs like i've experienced elsewhere. But if you have something over 3-3.5in blade length, they might pull you to the side and question why you have it and one of two outcomes.

As far as buying. I've been from hokkaido to Koyasan, and never saw a knife shop(granted i wasn't actively looking). I don't think you'll find much in the way of folders unless you go snooping around shibuya, shinjuku, or the foreigner part of tokyo(can't remember where it was since i never wanted to see a bunch of foreigners, but it's possibly around yokousuka, or yokohama). I don't think you can buy a knife/sword without a permit either.

good luck in finding sometihng, if you have the time, try to get to osaka, it's my favorite city
 
McGrain said:
Experience of worktravels to Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh city in 2007

A. Depends on policeman, depends on bribe.
B. Very easy
C. Vietnam gets to sell the fakes and knock offs that won't sell in china or are an overproduction of china :D
D. Vintage US and JP knife models are easily spotted and about the only "quality" you may find but highly overpriced with a big chance of getting a fake
E. Society is very easy going concerning knives. But may try to steal your knife or send a policeman your direction and sharing the bribe money
F. None
Click to expand...

interesting. I am actually very experienced in spotting knock offs. Is it possible to haggle when a knock off is discovered? (I once haggled a fake sebenza from 250$(in pesos) to around 5 bucks) and around how many dongs/us dollars would the bribe be?

김원진;10527287 said:
japan is not a knife friendly place. don't get caught with a clip showing. If you're going to bring, deep pocket carry. And don't pop it out when wanting to cut food in public and the such.

I've visited multiple times and brought a folder. Never had issue with customs like i've experienced elsewhere. But if you have something over 3-3.5in blade length, they might pull you to the side and question why you have it and one of two outcomes.

As far as buying. I've been from hokkaido to Koyasan, and never saw a knife shop(granted i wasn't actively looking). I don't think you'll find much in the way of folders unless you go snooping around shibuya, shinjuku, or the foreigner part of tokyo(can't remember where it was since i never wanted to see a bunch of foreigners, but it's possibly around yokousuka, or yokohama). I don't think you can buy a knife/sword without a permit either.

good luck in finding sometihng, if you have the time, try to get to osaka, it's my favorite city
Click to expand...

Damn so not even a higonokami? Well I honestly don't want a sword (i want a tanto secretly but I don't intend to buy/get one) And I will be attending the college in Tokyo. So If I have time I will drop around osaka. I know for a Fact that I am hitting seki just to see where all this san mai and vg come from. I know that I can probably find a knife shop there and ship it back to my relatives as a gift. If worse comes to worse, I will shipp myself a piece of metal from the steel company im working at in viet nam and craft it into a knife in japan lol. ghetto but it may work.
 
In Tokyo you MUST go to Tokyu Hands. A multi-story gadget store by Shinjuku Train Station (easiest one to find). They have a huge knife department, both outdoors and kitchen.

In Vietnam, you can buy knives, but they will all be China knock-offs, but you can buy locally manufactured blades. These shops are located along the edge of Saigon and in more rural villages. Used to be cooler when they carried Soviet Russian goods. If you ever stumble onto a Vietnam War American knife for sale, don't believe it.
 
CWL said:
In Tokyo you MUST go to Tokyu Hands. A multi-story gadget store by Shinjuku Train Station (easiest one to find). They have a huge knife department, both outdoors and kitchen.

In Vietnam, you can buy knives, but they will all be China knock-offs, but you can buy locally manufactured blades. These shops are located along the edge of Saigon and in more rural villages. Used to be cooler when they carried Soviet Russian goods. If you ever stumble onto a Vietnam War American knife for sale, don't believe it.
Click to expand...

lol this is a vietnam war knife! it was in viet nam! Was it in during the vietnamese war? No, doesn't matter its in viet nam now!

I will definitely check it out but I will have to be weary of what i buy since apparently japan doesnt like knives.

The viet nam part makes me happy though! lol I can try to haggle for a lower price. In viet nam I just need a knife for work to abuse not so much use. In japan I will just need an edc. So i will check out tokyu hands! is it written in kanji or just ときゅ
 
I'm honestly not sure about the higonokami. My friend in hokkaido likes knives as well, and said it was somewhat hard to get them. You need a reason to have them, and something about the permit. Being that you're a foreigner, there should be some kind of stipulation that you can buy one without difficulty. Just gotta try.

Buying the metal there and crafting one sounds fun. Isn't vg-10 only produced in japan? That would be a fun project. What school will you be going to?
 
김원진;10527789 said:
I'm honestly not sure about the higonokami. My friend in hokkaido likes knives as well, and said it was somewhat hard to get them. You need a reason to have them, and something about the permit. Being that you're a foreigner, there should be some kind of stipulation that you can buy one without difficulty. Just gotta try.

Buying the metal there and crafting one sounds fun. Isn't vg-10 only produced in japan? That would be a fun project. What school will you be going to?
Click to expand...

im working at a steel company in viet nam so i figured i could mail myself some billets lol. They have to have some tool steel laying around somewhere. As for japan, ya they do vg-10 but if I make one in japan I am either going to use ats-34 (more of my style) or try to learn how to san mai. What ever I make has to be under 3.5 in length because of my own personal standards and I will be living at a university. I need to know more about this knife permit for japan.
 
What i found

Any fixed knife containing a blade length of 5.9 inches or more requires permission from the prefectural public safety commission in order to possess. Permission requirements also apply to any type of pocket knife over 2.2 inches (including Automatic Knives), spears over 5.9 inches in blade length, and Japanese halberds

But getting to your question, Japanese law requires that a knife you carry be no more than 15 cm (5.9 inches) long overall when it is open, and the blade itself be no more than 6 cm (2.36 inches) long. Switchblades (which are powered by springs) are illegal, but knives that can be opened one-handed are legal, including butterfly knives provided they are small enough to fall within the rules above.

It is prohibited to use any knife as a weapon, even in self-defense. The knife must also be carried concealed.


In Japan, knife laws getting worse. After Akihabara muder case, police department decide to change knife laws. Almost daggers are forbidden and they said,they bring it to sucrapp yard. even some of art knife as well.(Police Department said that in Japanese law only samurai swords are art. other artknives are not art.) So,we try to stop the change of knife laws. (Japan Knife Guild did not show any action about this change. and they only say, please keep laws.) but, our try still dose not work. So, I think to ask help in overseas. if you have any effectable connection, please use that connection to stop the change of knife laws in Japan.

http://www.dannychoo.com/post/en/24999/Japan+Illegal+Knife.html (God this site makes me sick just looking at it but the Xmen wolverine knife propaganda is hilarious)

And this one........ kills me inside http://mises.org/Community/blogs/to...inly-don-t-ask-the-police-for-directions.aspx. I guess i am going to have to use an impact weapon........

and the law is translated to

Knives: Possession of a knife with a locking blade, or a folding blade that is longer than 5.5 cm (a little more than two inches), is illegal in Japan. U.S. citizens have been arrested and detained for more than 10 days for carrying pocket knives that are legal in the United States but illegal in Japan.

apparently some asshole in akihabara had to ruin the edc /= I guess i am going to have to carry a Titanium key mod (prybar with a hidden edge) its not much but it cant be detected [i accidently brought it into court once and realized when i was heading home lol]
 
yeah, it's shit for foreigners. but that's what you are, a foreigner. In korea, if a foreigner gets into a fight with a native, the foreigner will almost 90% of the time be at fault unless you can get cctv footage. A knife will always be the wielders fault. One reason i really enjoy living in america. None of this idiocy. Cultures are different, and places like japan and korea have such an extremely low crime rate, but damn, let me carry my knife :p

Even though they have those laws of length, it's still a gamble. In the years that i've traveled abroad, i've only had one encounter with customs, and they held my knives, while i was in the country, and picked them back up when i left(the officer that returned them to me and walked them to the plane was confused as to why they were confiscated. I had told him i was confused as well because i've checked the customs forms saying i was bringing knives, and i never had any problem. So who is working at the time, plays a BIG role.

Hopefully you'll have no problems, but because of those certain idiots out there, it's really ruined it for the rest of us travelling around who always carry a knife
 
김원진;10527894 said:
yeah, it's shit for foreigners. but that's what you are, a foreigner. In korea, if a foreigner gets into a fight with a native, the foreigner will almost 90% of the time be at fault unless you can get cctv footage. A knife will always be the wielders fault. One reason i really enjoy living in america. None of this idiocy. Cultures are different, and places like japan and korea have such an extremely low crime rate, but damn, let me carry my knife :p

Even though they have those laws of length, it's still a gamble. In the years that i've traveled abroad, i've only had one encounter with customs, and they held my knives, while i was in the country, and picked them back up when i left(the officer that returned them to me and walked them to the plane was confused as to why they were confiscated. I had told him i was confused as well because i've checked the customs forms saying i was bringing knives, and i never had any problem. So who is working at the time, plays a BIG role.

Hopefully you'll have no problems, but because of those certain idiots out there, it's really ruined it for the rest of us travelling around who always carry a knife
Click to expand...

I will keep that in mind, i may hit Seoul korea to visit a friend teaching english there. But DAMNIT I use my knife for everything BUT self defense (sometimes i use a karambit but thats only when shit hits the fan) I am trained for 10 years in silat and on my 3rd of aikido I have never had a problem with a fight hand to hand. but DAMNIT! I use my knife for mail rope tape boxes hell i even sharpen my pencils with them. Now the only places i dont have to worry is viet nam and thai land (viet nam and thai land you can bribe your way out even if it is legal) But come on japan! I wanted to at least carry a higonokami. even if I carry a legal one, its illegal because im not japan born despite the fact that im living/studying there for almost a year. lol I guarantee that i will go godzilla if i order some food and the knives arent sharp enough to cut it.
 
i think you'd flip if you come to korea. chopsticks are like your fork and knife(bought some ti chopsticks with blasted ends so much better). If you come to korea you can hit me up if you need help with anything. I'll be back there again next month to finish up my studies.

the time customs detained my knives they kept saying it was a weapon which got really annoying because i showed them the matches, and fishing line i had in the hilt of my CRK OPK, and some of my other gear for camping and hiking, and that the length was below the limit. Bu they kept saying it was a weapon. Didn't want to get angry or else, i might not have gotten my knives back :p
 
김원진;10527953 said:
i think you'd flip if you come to korea. chopsticks are like your fork and knife(bought some ti chopsticks with blasted ends so much better). If you come to korea you can hit me up if you need help with anything. I'll be back there again next month to finish up my studies.

the time customs detained my knives they kept saying it was a weapon which got really annoying because i showed them the matches, and fishing line i had in the hilt of my CRK OPK, and some of my other gear for camping and hiking, and that the length was below the limit. Bu they kept saying it was a weapon. Didn't want to get angry or else, i might not have gotten my knives back :p
Click to expand...

I will keep that in mind, I will be in japan from like august till december if my visa holds i will be till february. During that time I may hold a boat to visit a friend of mine in korea. As for chopsticks, I can use them as a fork but not a knife. Again I refer to godzilla, Flipping a table a roaring at customers and stomping around [its actually hilarious, i did it once when someone would'nt give me me a knife for my steak and wouldn't let me use mine, they excepted me to use a metal spork] Half of the people will be scared half of the people will laugh but either way i enjoy doing it if a reason permits
 
Chipped Karambit said:
Also pics or the words written in the native language (vietnamese, kanji, hirigana, katakana) would help so i can either spot their name or them from a distance
Click to expand...

肥後守　： Higonokami
包丁　： Kitchen Knife
刃物　：　Cutlery
刃物店　：　Cutlery Shop
ナイフ　：　Knife
刀剣： Katana, Sword
金物屋　：　Hardware Store


Let me kow if you need any other words

As per CWL has suggested Tokyu Hands will be a place to go if you are not familiar with the area.
I will try UENO area for hardware shop etc.
I suggest avoid carrying knife in Japan as their law requires "Valid Reason" to carry/conceal the knife.
 
Last edited:
Sunby said:
肥後守　： Higonokami
包丁　： Kitchen Knife
刃物　：　Cutlery
刃物店　：　Cutlery Shop
ナイフ　：　Knife
金物屋　：　Hardware Store


Let me kow if you need any other words

As per CWL has suggested Tokyu Hands will be a place to go if you are not familiar with the area.
I will try UENO area for hardware shop etc.
I suggest avoid carrying knife in Japan as their law requires "Valid Reason" to carry/conceal the knife.
Click to expand...

K I can read half of those. I sadly won't carry a knife, probably just a sharpened titanium prybar key.
 
gotta remember though, those sites are japaneses sites for the japanese, so they won't have as much issue as a foreigner will.

I say if you want to carry, go for it. I always do when i visit in the summer. Just don't be an idiot and bust it out at a restaurant or some other public place, or clip carry it.
 
Chipped Karambit said:
im working at a steel company in viet nam so i figured i could mail myself some billets lol.
Click to expand...
You could rather make your own fakes or customs instead of buying fakes and going through the trouble of haggling :D
Seriously, no idea about haggling. Never tried and never felt compelled to tell a store owner he's got a fake. Asian fuggers are quick with their hands and wouldn't want to end bleeding somewhere just for insulting an overpriced fake shelf warmer.

Have fun in Vietnam or viet nam as you call it
 
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