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A4 checklist with all illustrated steps. Tick the boxes on paper as you go.

FeatherSticks · Tools

Knife Laws for Bushcraft and Camping: UK, Germany and Travel

It’s a tool, so it’s legal everywhere? Not quite – here is the real rule.

Quick facts

UK everyday carry
Folding, non-locking, cutting edge max. 3 in (7.62 cm)
Germany § 42a
One-hand locking knives and fixed blades over 12 cm restricted
Germany since 2024
All knives banned at events, on long-distance transport, in zones
Safest habit
Knife packed deep in the rucksack until you are in the woods

What you need

  • Fixed-blade knife with a 9–11 cm blade and a secure sheath
  • Small non-locking two-hand pocket knife, cutting edge 3 in (7.62 cm) or less
  • Lockable transport case or pouch with a small padlock
  • Stuff sack that keeps case, saw and hatchet together at the bottom of the pack
  • Edge guards for axe and saw
  • Ruler or tape to measure the blade

Step by step

  1. Check the rules where you go

    1 Check the rules where you go

    Look up the country, the city and the route before you leave. Stations, events and knife-free zones often ban every knife, whatever the blade length.

  2. Pick a compliant knife

    2 Pick a compliant knife

    In Germany a fixed blade up to 12 cm or a two-hand pocket knife is outside § 42a. In the UK only a small non-locking folder is exempt; anything else needs a good reason.

  3. Pack it away

    3 Pack it away

    Sheath the knife, put it in a case or box, ideally locked, and stow it deep in the pack. It should take more than three hand movements to reach.

  4. Train, event, zone: keep it packed

    4 Train, event, zone: keep it packed

    On trains, in stations, at markets and in knife-free zones the knife stays packed. Never wear it on your belt in town.

  5. Use it as a tool in the woods

    5 Use it as a tool in the woods

    On site the knife is a working tool for carving, cooking and firewood. Follow the landowner’s rules and pack it away again before you head back.

  6. If checked, stay calm and explain

    6 If checked, stay calm and explain

    Be friendly, say where the knife is and do not reach for it yourself. Explain the purpose of your trip in one sentence.

Common mistakes

  • Believing the "palm width" rule – no such rule exists in UK or German law.
  • Assuming "under 12 cm is always fine" in Germany: the line only applies to fixed blades, and not at events, on long-distance trains or in zones.
  • Thinking a short one-hand locking folder is harmless – in Germany length is irrelevant for these knives, and in the UK a lock knife is never exempt.
  • Saying "it is a tool, so it is legal everywhere" – the UK offence covers any blade, and the German bans since 2024 cover any knife.
  • Leaving the knife on your belt after the trip and walking into a shop, a pub or a train with it.
  • Treating a zipped rucksack as a "locked container".
  • Reaching for the knife yourself during a police check, or giving "self-defence" as the reason.