Samurai Sword Ban in The UK

Dec 14, 2007 BY admin, LEAVE A COMMENT

This thing is ‘hitting the samurai sword collectors and practitioners for a long time now and it looks like the UK government is really going to execute that plan. Starting april 2008 there will be a ban on the import, sale and hire of samurai swords and once the law is in place, those who violate it could face six months in prison and a £5,000 fine.

We all know politicians are kind of weird with a strange look on things so they came up with a ban that will only affect single-edged, curved blades. So whenever you buy a straight bladed sword (a ninjato for example) or double-edged katana, there’s no problem at all ! It also looks like the ban is only for the cheap look-a-like samurai swords you can buy on ebay for €30. I’m wondering where the line will be drawn and what will be considered as a piece of junk and what not…

This ban is based on input from the police, wholesale/retailers victims’ groups and martial arts practitioners and from april 2008 on, the single edged curved samurai swords will be added to the list of offensive weapons.

Don’t worry if you’re an martial arts because these groups will be exempted from the ban. Just don’t ask me how they will figure that out :D

VN:F [1.9.12_1141]
Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)

  • Bunny boy

    The ban has actually gone through with no consultation what so ever. When this stupid law came out i was working in a sword shop that sells high quality blades as well as the lower end stuff we werent even told about it my boss had to phone the home office. Also the excemption for martial artists is fine (being one myself) but suppliers cant get them in the country so it doesnt matter if you can buy them the fact is you cant!

  • admin

    It’s indeed a very weird (silly) law and i still see some UK shops offering them so perhaps there’s still a small hole in the system ?

    There’s also the rumor that by end of the year, they will try to ban more type of swords..anything you know about that ?

    Dave

  • http://na sensei steve leggett

    Why should the people of the u.k be punished for this ban?this has effected the people who are master historian’s who love the sword and the time peroid of japan,why these dead heads have chosen to attack people with this sword out in the street and in public places is a mystery a gun is more simple a katana sword takes a life time of skill to master.

  • http://www.kylekarate.com Andy Brown

    Many people have been battered to death with bricks, bits of wood or metal pipes. Are the government going to ban these – I think not!

    Any kind of ban only affects the law abinding people of that group. If a thug want’s to slice somebody’s head off it won’t matter to them wether it’s a katana, machette or a kitchen knife.

    Exactly the same thing happened with the change in shotgun regulations. The law abiding people paid to have special cabinets fitted and seperate ones for ammo.

    Have we seen a reduction in shotgun crime – NO! The criminals will always get what they want/need because they don’t give a damn about the law.

    Basically, small specialist groups are easy targets for the politicians as they don’t have the clout to fight back. The politicians can then claim that they’re doing something about the crime rate.

    It’s all a con!

    Anyway, that’s my rant for today…..

    Andy

  • admin

    How many ‘accidents’ are happening with kitchen knives or screw drivers…defenitley more than with a katana..it’s a sad thing and i believe we didn’t saw the end of this story yet..

    Dave

  • steve

    i own around 60 samurai swords,i’ve collected then for around 8 years,it is wrong to said they are dangerous in the wrong hands, why you may ask,because everything is dangerous in the wrong hands,baseball bats,crossbows,golf clubs,cars ( when stolen or drove by a drunk)even everyday items like keys and pens are used as weapons, so if you ban one thing then in time everything will be banned, or will it only get banned when its used on a councilor

  • joe

    ha soon they will be banning your butter knives in the uk.

    damn brits

  • joe

    soon you will have to eat food with your hands and no butter knives, only in the UK…

  • sensei steve leggett

    They have banned the katana sword,and yet we find in the shops still in army stores still buy ninja swords and knifes and guns.

  • Dave

    As of 4th August 2008, the UK government has changed the third exception from the law and removed the “Japan” part. So as long a katana is handmade, it doesn’t matter from which country they come from.

    In other words, all of the functional katana are legal again :o

    Dave

  • warren

    can anyone help me on this one? even though you can buy handmade swords legaly in uk shops,is it legal or ilegal to buy one on the internet and have it shiped over if anyone can advise me on this it would be a great help thanks

  • admin

    Hi Warren,

    Since handmade katanas are legal again, it doesn’t matter if you buy them online or in a brick & mortar store.

    Dave

  • warren

    thanks dave

  • Rhys

    Hey, im a practitioner in Martial Arts, including Jujitsu and Battoujutsu, i want to buy a Samurai sword and with the ban on cheap ‘dull’ blades then i was going to buy a sharp one, but i was just wondering if i can buy any ‘sharp’ one or is there a minimum price that would be classed as the cheap ones?
    In other words can i buy any ‘Sharp’ Samurai Sword?
    Thanks alot

  • admin

    The restrictions are very clear as far as i know..it need to be a handmade sword :o

    This was the amendment back in april:
    http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2008/draft/ukdsi_9780110810324_en_1

    And this amendment were they removed the word “Japan”:
    http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2008/draft/ukdsi_9780110817774_en_1

    Dave

  • Ian

    I am just about to emigrate to go live in China. I am told that the Chinese won’t let me import my Paul Chen Practical Plus Katana, Wakazashi & Tanto. As eBay has decided that although they may be legal to buy & sell they will not allow the auction – does anybody know where I could offload these and still get some money for them – they are quite splendid & I don’t feel that giving them away or cash convertors is right.

  • shiru

    Ian, I’m interested in buying your gear.
    Shiru.

  • Christian Holm

    I have 2 paul Chen swords to sell. I can’t sell them on eBay as they don’t seem to want to change their policy on samurai weapons even though it isn’t illegal! Does any one know where i can sell them? I don’t think my local paper is appropriate. They are both katanas ( Orchid and Kami)

    Any advice would be most welcome.

    Cheers, Christian.

  • K

    I have two samurai swords, both paul chen, one is the momo no saru(peach monkey katana) the other is the bamboo snake katana, is there a forum or anywhere you can list for sale legally, both are forged in the traditional way and hand forged so aren’t illegal to sell.

  • scott

    hello can any 1 help is it possible to import a katana from america? will it get through the brittish customs?

  • ben coombes

    hello i want to import a handmade sharp katana from china. i have ask a company call blades.co.uk and thay said if it is cuvred i will loses it at customs. i have also talked to the guys in china and thay say thay packed all there prodiucts well and i should not lose it bit if look at closely i might be charged a fine. does anyone know any more ???? thanks ben

  • Matt

    hi,

    as far as I know you can buy properly made swords with no problems now, as long as you are over 18 years old and swords are made in a traditional way, doesn’t matter whether they’d be made in China or USA or anywhere else.

    yes, I do recommend blades-uk.com, they’re very helpful and have the knowledge on the topic. Bought a few blades from them myself – great stuff, great service, and all that at competitive prices.

    and yes, the UK has become a laughing stock for the rest of the world with their stupid (health&)safety regulations. but there you go, they insist it is the 21st century and they’re one of the richest countries in the world. well, maybe, and so what? – apparently that means nothing, there’s always enough space for all sort of idiocy in any country, any time, be it a monarch, a president or a pope who runs the business and rules the place.

    best,
    Matt

  • Matt

    and yes, I am very much up for banning all the cheap crap swords, not only in the UK.

    proper swords do have value and do not cost £30 for a set of Daisho + tanto, prices are well above that and I bet most criminals would rather choose a cheaper tool to commit some mischief.

    my only worry was why did the British come to senses and right conclusions so late? what stopped them from being able to think reasonably in the first place? was it not clear from the very beginning that all properly and traditionally made (doesn’t matter where made) blades should be exempt from the ban which should only refer to cheap replicas? – and if it wasn’t clear, then I dare to ask: why not?

    all the pompous announcements and then introducing the ammendments – what’s that? – a waste of time and effort. but, if they have nothing better to do… I envy them: I’d like to have their problems.

    Matt

  • cam

    im so confuzed, are we bris allowed to import/buy/own a curved katana?
    these are such beautifull works of art and it’s gutrenching that the govrment can ban them.
    im into anime and would love to own a tensa zangetzu. mearly to have as a center piece in my room.
    but dont want to risk importing. can anybody help me? i even phoned the police about it and they didnt help one bit
    :(
    cam

  • cam

    p.s whats really bugging me is if some douch wants to go around butchering people with a weapon why would they go through all the trouble of importing?
    homebase sell kitchen knifes that would be deadly in the wrong hands?
    cam

  • Bek

    I would just like to say thank you to dave for the two links you have posted i have been looking for them but didnt know where to start.

    This curved sword ban just seemed pointless, as the shops in the uk that sold these have started selling similar straight edge models, and they are still selling for under £50.

    Thanks again for the links!

    Bek

  • Chaoto

    P.S I typed my message from an iPod and it shows just fine but when I go to the same page on my laptop my message don’t show

  • Chaoto

    My questions been answered thanks Dave

  • paulski

    hi all I was wondering if I was to import a sword (bleach swords) would they allow them past customs or would they be stopped because i dont want to buy them and they find that they never get delivered :)

    thanks every one :)

  • admin

    You can even import ‘sharp’ swords again; We’re shipping about each week to the UK and didn’t had one single case where the sword didn’t arrived :)