Knife blade length on High speed train, Spain

[Bedspring]

I had a penknife confiscated at the scanner as I boarded the train from Santiago to Ferrol. Length of blade was the issue. I cannot recall what blade length was mentioned. They did measure the blade.

I have read this https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/pocket-knives-on-trains.61790/
and the info is not there, though blade length is mentioned.

Can anybody say the actual blade length that is permitted by security on a high speed train in Spain, Por favor.

 

[Kirkie]

Please, my initial reaction was this: xxxx, xxxx and xxxxxx, a knife is viewed as a weapon. Buy a new one. Por favor.

 

[markie6]

Bring your special luggage on the train | Renfe

If you have to take special luggage, like your ski equipment, golf clubs, etc. on the train ▷ Find out how it works here.

www.renfe.com

as Kirkie says, leave your weapons at home. Buy a new one if really needed but it can be confiscated anywhere IIRC

 

[Anhalter]

Source: https://www.renfe.com/es/en/regulations

"Knives with blades measuring more than 6 cm in length." --> like with airplanes in Europe.

 

[markie6]

Source: https://www.renfe.com/es/en/regulations

"Knives with blades measuring more than 6 cm in length." --> like with airplanes in Europe.

thanks Not sure why he couldn't find it himself . I read it , linked it quicker than usual

 

[Bedspring]

Source: https://www.renfe.com/es/en/regulations

"Knives with blades measuring more than 6 cm in length." --> like with airplanes in Europe.

​

​

Sharp objects or blades​

• Sword canes.
• Daggers.
• Switch knives.
• Knives with blades measuring more than 6 cm in length.
• Sabres, swords, machetes.
• Scissors whose blades measure more than 6 cm in length, etc.

Thats great, thank you.

 

[Anhalter]

thanks Not sure why he couldn't find it himself . I read it , linked it quicker than usual

If we start asking "why couldn't you find it yourself" i guess a lot of topics on this whole forum will take turn south... sometimes it's just the use of the correct use of a phrase on google one did not think of, but yeah, i guess sometimes it's not.

 

[markie6]

If we start asking "why couldn't you find it yourself" i guess a lot of topics on this whole forum will take turn south... sometimes it's just the use of the correct use of a phrase on google one did not think of, but yeah, i guess sometimes it's not.

Given the posting history, and the hostility... nah

 

[Bedspring]

thanks Not sure why he couldn't find it himself . I read it , linked it quicker than usual

Because your needless words of criticism made my knee jerk, and caused me read the exact same link in a different way.

Interesting that, how exactly the same message can be perceived differently, purely due to delivery.
Something to ponder.

 

[Flog]

Thank you for the link, but I cannot see anything about bade length on there.
As I said, the security officer was very specific about the length, or did you not see that due to your knee jerking so quickly?

You that's a prolific traveller, will know that security staff everywhere will often have a mind of their own and won't go always go strictly by the regulations, but use their discretion, not always in your favour. Going up against them and quoting them their regulations is not something I would normally do.

But I agree with other posters.. leave your weapons at home.

 

[Bedspring]

You that's a prolific traveller, will know that security staff everywhere will often have a mind of their own and won't go always go strictly by the regulations, but use their discretion, not always in your favour. Going up against them and quoting them their regulations is not something I would normally do.

But I agree with other posters.. leave your weapons at home.

I agree, arguing with security staff is a fruitless exercise, and could result in an internal examination. I was just trying to find out what the Renfe rules are, it is 6cm, and my Swiss army is longer.

It is amusing when you say leave your weapons at home, when one walks past a Spanish knife shop, and sees a display of the most lethal looking knives in the window. I always wonder who buys them and do many Spanish carry knives, the same in France.

 

[Peterexpatkiwi]

Goodness me folks, why so much negativity? The initial question was very reasonable, and as the OP pointed out has come up before. In the thread the OP linked the penknife/pocket knife did not instantly become a 'weapon', why so now?
It's a tool, just like the oft touted corkscrew, or the seldom mentioned (toileting) trowel.
A huge number of us carry some kind of knife to help make lunches etc. I have a 40 year old Swiss Army knife that has literally traveled the world with me multiple times. Yes, the blade is just six centimeters long and for some years (following (9/11) I was (understandably) unable to carry it in my cabin luggage.
Personally I prefer to reuse rather than buy new and discard.

 

[PiesIrlandeses]

I carried one of those spoon, fork and knife spork things on my Camino.

I didn't need it once.

 

[Barbara]

I carry a knife when staying in a tent or an albergue/youth hostel/gîte. It has a corkscrew and the blade is a good bit longer than 6cm and is very sharp. It's not a weapon, unless you consider food as your enemy. If it's confiscated on a train journey then I buy another one. It's an Opinel, and they aren't very expensive. When I'm not travelling it lives in my bike saddlebag as a useful tool. I like to have a sharp knife when I'm cooking, thank you. On average I buy one about every five years. I leave it at home if I'm going to fly, I can buy another on arrival unless I have hold baggage. No point in getting worked up about such things.

 

[David]

Some very odd negative responses to this post ... bit sad, not helpful.

A knife isn't a weapon unless it is designed as a weapon, it is a tool - crikey! a table lamp can be seen as a weapon!

Carrying a folding or pocket knife in Spain, France, Italy, is normal behaviour. Especially for those who work on the land .. it isn't a weird or odd thing, a knife is a tool and is used as such.
When I lived in south-west rural France and had guests for lunch it was normal for the men to take their long folding knives out of their pockets and put them on the table to use.

I no longer carry a French folding working knife - too big, too long for modern times - but I do carry a Swiss army knife and couldn't do without it.

Safety scanners on boarding trains is a fairly new thing .. small pocket knifes will pass (should pass) but long bladed knives won't, but then, who needs a long bladed knife? - unless one will be fighting bears or skinning deer?

I think the rules are those over 7.5cms blade or can be opened with one hand but I may be wrong, it could be 6 cms (I often am). But - what happens if one buys a kitchen knife set and wants to take it home on a train?

 

[TravellingMan22]

I carry a knife when staying in a tent or an albergue/youth hostel/gîte. It has a corkscrew and the blade is a good bit longer than 6cm and is very sharp. It's not a weapon, unless you consider food as your enemy. If it's confiscated on a train journey then I buy another one. It's an Opinel, and they aren't very expensive. When I'm not travelling it lives in my bike saddlebag as a useful tool. I like to have a sharp knife when I'm cooking, thank you. On average I buy one about every five years. I leave it at home if I'm going to fly, I can buy another on arrival unless I have hold baggage. No point in getting worked up about such things.

Possibly some cultural differences at play here, maybe, but not exclusively, between rural folks and urban people. I am an urban person and knifes to me are synonymous with violence (I have only ever seen two outside of TV and shop windows), and both were used in violence against me. The London media are full of ‘knife crime’ stories and basically the idea that they only have one use. But to many, they are just normal everyday items and I get that and I certainly wouldn’t see someone with a fairly innocuous knife as a threat in an albergue, but they can be triggering for some people. Probably worth being discrete with it though especially on trains and planes, and cities!!!

Like most things cultural sensitivity and common sense go a long way.

 

[David Tallan]

We had a knife confiscated, too. One that my teenage son had purchased as a souvenir in Toledo after our Camino. Folks may or may not know that Toledo has been famous for its blades for centuries. I talked him down from the sword. It was the only souvenir he had purchased, with a reasonable amount of his own money, on the entire trip to Spain. There had been no problem with it departing from Toledo. It was only on the last ride, back to Madrid from Valencia to catch our plane, that it was an issue. It's a shame that if there are things you can't carry on a train, you can't check them, like on a plane. Or that trains have such different rules than buses, which is what I think we had taken out of Toledo and to Valencia. If we had known earlier, we could have mailed the knife home. But to find a post office at that time would have meant missing the train, which would have meant missing the plane.

 

[Barbara]

Possibly some cultural differences at play here, maybe, but not exclusively, between rural folks and urban people. I am an urban person and knifes to me are synonymous with violence (I have only ever seen two outside of TV and shop windows), and both were used in violence against me. The London media are full of ‘knife crime’ stories and basically the idea that they only have one use. But to many, they are just normal everyday items and I get that and I certainly wouldn’t see someone with a fairly innocuous knife as a threat, but they can be triggering for some people. Probably worth being discrete with it though especially on trains and planes, and cities!!!

Like most things cultural sensitivity and common sense go a long way.

Don't you use a knife when you are eating?

 

[Barbara]

I think the rules are those over 7.5cms blade or can be opened with one hand but I may be wrong, it could be 6 cms (I often am). But - what happens if one buys a kitchen knife set and wants to take it home on a train?

I think if they are in a box and all wrapped up it's probably OK. Unless the person checking is completely paranoid......

 

[henrythedog]

We had a knife confiscated, too. One that my teenage son had purchased as a souvenir in Toledo after our Camino. Folks may or may not know that Toledo has been famous for its blades for centuries. I talked him down from the sword. It was the only souvenir he had purchased, with a reasonable amount of his own money, on the entire trip to Spain. There had been no problem with it departing from Toledo. It was only on the last ride, back to Madrid from Valencia to catch our plane, that it was an issue. It's a shame that if there are things you can't carry on a train, you can't check them, like on a plane. Or that trains have such different rules than buses, which is what I think we had taken out of Toledo and to Valencia. If we had known earlier, we could have mailed the knife home. But to find a post office at that time would have meant missing the train, which would have meant missing the plane.

You found the exception to the knife rule in Spain: you can carry a knife, sword or whatever of any length providing you have the receipt proving it was bought that day. I expect that the station staff in Toledo are very used to bladed souvenirs.

If you were intent on committing a train-based- knife-crime (which, clearly, one shouldn’t be) I suppose Rule 1 is ‘buy the weapon on the day of the crime’.

 

[David]

Don't you use a knife when you are eating?

No, he uses a weapon

 

[David Tallan]

You found the exception to the knife rule in Spain: you can carry a knife, sword or whatever of any length providing you have the receipt proving it was bought that day. I expect that the station staff in Toledo are very used to bladed souvenirs.

If you were intent on committing a train-based- knife-crime (which, clearly, one shouldn’t be) I suppose Rule 1 is ‘buy the weapon on the day of the crime’.

True. But it was in Valencia we were asked for the receipt and we had no foreknowledge that it would be needed. Needless to say, we hadn't kept it for a week in case we might be asked for it by RENFE. Had we known it might be an issue, we would have mailed it home from Toledo. When we were sold it in the shop, they offered to ship it home (if I recall correctly) but didn't warn us it would be an issue to take it on the train.

 

[henrythedog]

True. But it was in Valencia we were asked for the receipt and we had no foreknowledge that it would be needed. Needless to say, we hadn't kept it for a week in case we might be asked for it by RENFE. Had we known it might be an issue, we would have mailed it home from Toledo. When we were sold it in the shop, they offered to ship it home (if I recall correctly) but didn't warn us it would be an issue to take it on the train.

The exception is only good for the day of purchase.

I know that’s totally illogical.

 

[John Sikora]

The rail secruity crew is very stringent. I had some scissors confiscated on one Camino (small cuticle type) and another time, I explained that I was walking a Camino and they let me go through. Now, I just avoid the issue and don't take any scissors and buy them en route if I'm taking a train.

 

[Camino Jim]

I had a penknife confiscated at the scanner as I boarded the train from Santiago to Ferrol. Length of blade was the issue. I cannot recall what blade length was mentioned. They did measure the blade.

I have read this https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/pocket-knives-on-trains.61790/
and the info is not there, though blade length is mentioned.

Can anybody say the actual blade length that is permitted by security on a high speed train in Spain, Por favor.

They confiscated a pair of scissors from me. To me it is just a sign of the times

 

[Michael-FL]

You that's a prolific traveller, will know that security staff everywhere will often have a mind of their own and won't go always go strictly by the regulations, but use their discretion, not always in your favour. Going up against them and quoting them their regulations is not something I would normally do.

But I agree with other posters.. leave your weapons at home.

A small pocketknife is hardly a weapon and arguably something most men should carry in their pocket.

 

[dick bird]

This is developing into a version of the ‘can I carry hiking poles as hand luggage?’ debate. If you are carrying a blade of more than 6cm onto an AVE train, they might let you keep it. If you are carrying a blade of less than 6 cm, they might confiscate it. All I can say is that, from personal experience, they will X-ray your luggage, but not check what is in your pocket or shoulder bag.

Anyway, can we discuss this issue without expressing our reactions to what other members have said? It gets nasty when people do that.

 

[Bradypus]

If you are carrying a blade of more than 60 cm onto an AVE train, they might let you keep it.

6cm. Pretty sure that anyone trying to board with a knife upwards of half a metre long is going to be disappointed.

 

[Dov of the Galilee]

Please, my initial reaction was this: xxxx, xxxx and xxxxxx, a knife is viewed as a weapon. Buy a new one. Por favor.

Please, my initial reaction was this: xxxx, xxxx and xxxxxx, a knife is viewed as a weapon. Buy a new one. Por favor.

Stop with the silliness, men carry knives they're a tool until you demonize them.

 

[dick bird]

6cm. Pretty sure that anyone trying to board with a knife upwards of half a metre long is going to be disappointed.

Thanks. Always had problems with zeros.

 

[henrythedog]

All I can say is that, from personal experience, they will X-ray your luggage, but not check what is in your pocket or shoulder bag.

I agree entirely. I don’t recall any train stations with walk-through metal detectors - although I have been asked to put my shoulder bag through the scanner occasionally.

Whilst this is not a recommendation, my Swiss Army knife (with indispensable corkscrew and bottle opener) goes in my ‘electronics’ pouch with a power bank and cables at the bottom of my sack when I’m taking a train. Also, contrary to others’ experience I’ve generally considered the security check at Spanish train stations to be considerably less thorough than at airports.

 

[El Cascayal]

But - what happens if one buys a kitchen knife set and wants to take it home on a train?

It will get taken away. Several years ago, I bought 4 very nice dining knives in Santiago, without knowing the RENFE rules, and they were immediately confiscated. Lots of animated discussion from fellow travelers, they were securely taped and bubble wrapped inside a small duffel. Nope. They kept them. Drats and double drats.

 

[C clearly]

What a thread! It has reached the point of absurdity, good for entertainment if people don't get too hostile.

Please, my initial reaction was this: xxxx, xxxx and xxxxxx, a knife is viewed as a weapon. Buy a new one. Por favor.

This started the hostilities.

leave your weapons at home. Buy a new one if really needed

This continued, but I am puzzled about the suggestion to buy a new weapon on arrival in Spain.

Some very odd negative responses to this post

Truest post on the thread.

They confiscated a pair of scissors from me. To me it is just a sign of the times

"They" confiscated a pair of manicure scissors from me on a flight in South America in 1969. Which, unbelievably, was 55 years ago!

A small pocketknife is hardly a weapon and arguably something most men should carry in their pocket.

True, but are women exempt from this? I like to carry one sometimes, too.

 

[dick bird]

Stop with the silliness, men carry knives they're a tool until you demonize them.

Men? All men? Women never carry knives? And let’s not be naive, knives can be, and often are, used as weapons. There have been instances of knife attacks on trains in Europe so you can understand why the authorities are a bit twitchy about potential weapons

 

[Nelle]

I just returned from the Frances with a Swiss Army knife (9 cm folded), small folding bandage scissors (5cm folded) and a small cuticle scissors wirh 2.5 cm blades buried deep in my pack. Renfe scanned my pack in three different stations with no issue. I carried the same gear last year, and again no issue. Hope that helps.

PS. I used all three items several times.

 

[TravellingMan22]

Men? All men? Women never carry knives? And let’s not be naive, knives can be, and often are, used as weapons. There have been instances of knife attacks on trains in Europe so you can understand why the authorities are a bit twitchy about potential weapons

I assumed the two sexist posts would have been deleted by mods by now! It s like a different century on here. Or maybe too busy liking cheap jokes. Yea we all walk around with knives in our pockets. Especially the men. Maybe we can catch some food and take home for the women cook!

 

[Bedspring]

We had a knife confiscated, too. One that my teenage son had purchased as a souvenir in Toledo after our Camino. Folks may or may not know that Toledo has been famous for its blades for centuries. I talked him down from the sword. It was the only souvenir he had purchased, with a reasonable amount of his own money, on the entire trip to Spain. There had been no problem with it departing from Toledo. It was only on the last ride, back to Madrid from Valencia to catch our plane, that it was an issue. It's a shame that if there are things you can't carry on a train, you can't check them, like on a plane. Or that trains have such different rules than buses, which is what I think we had taken out of Toledo and to Valencia. If we had known earlier, we could have mailed the knife home. But to find a post office at that time would have meant missing the train, which would have meant missing the plane.

Sorry, sorry, but I am chuckling to myself, you related that story, perhaps word for word on the thread I linked to from 2019, let it go. But I do feel your pain

 

[TravellingMan22]

What a thread! It has reached the point of absurdity, good for entertainment if people don't get too hostile.


This started the hostilities.


This continued, but I am puzzled about the suggestion to buy a new weapon on arrival in Spain.


Truest post on the thread.


"They" confiscated a pair of manicure scissors from me on a flight in South America in 1969. Which, unbelievably, was 55 years ago!


True, but are women exempt from this? I like to carry one sometimes, too.

Yea very entertaining and a reminder that we all see things differently. I have not got a knife on me, but am on a train in Canada at moment. Don’t know if knives are permitted but alcohol isn’t! I just took a couple of cans out of my bag ( not to drink, but to change bags) and the looks I got!! Think a knife would have been better received.

 

[Flog]

It is amusing when you say leave your weapons at home, when one walks past a Spanish knife shop, and sees a display of the most lethal looking knives in the window. I always wonder who buys them and do many Spanish carry knives, the same in France.

I wonder about that too. For hunting and such, I guess I've never looked close. Not something pilgrims have much call for anyway. But truth be told, I'm a knife fiend myself. I always buy one of those cheap little €2 steak knives in a china shop at my first opportunity, and it does me for the length of a camino.. it usually ends up in the cutlery drawer of my last albergue with the million others or disposed of before I board a plane or whatever.

This thread has gotten silly, but has certainly stirred up quite the mix of emotive responses.

Calm down everyone.. step away from the knives!

 

[Paladina]

You that's a prolific traveller, will know that security staff everywhere will often have a mind of their own and won't go always go strictly by the regulations, but use their discretion, not always in your favour. Going up against them and quoting them their regulations is not something I would normally do.

Some years ago I had a pair of children’s safety scissors (6cm rounded blades) confiscated by a particularly officious woman working on the security scanner at Dublin airport. Annoying, but not worth a pointless argument about pointless scissors. On returning from my trip, I stopped for a coffee on the campus where I was employed, and was confronted by the same woman working the till. No, she didn’t confiscate my coffee; she tried to charge me tourist rate instead. This time, I did protest, loudly.

 

[Bedspring]

Some years ago I had a pair of children’s safety scissors (6cm rounded blades) confiscated by a particularly officious woman working on the security scanner at Dublin airport. Annoying, but not worth a pointless argument about pointless scissors. On returning from my trip, I stopped for a coffee on the campus where I was employed, and was confronted by the same woman working the till. No, she didn’t confiscate my coffee; she tried to charge me tourist rate instead. This time, I did protest, loudly.

Did you not ask her if she had your scissors?

 

[dbier]

I would suggest researching the semi-recent history of terrorist attacks using knives in Europe ( to say nothing of the multiple bombings and shootings, and I'm so sorry for those of our members/readers who suffered through them).

And remember, as I painfully do, that the 9/11 attackers in the US used *box cutters.* Probably less than 6cm long. Wasn't considered a weapon before then.

I've lost knives less than 6cm long, multitools less than 4cm, etc., etc. But it's not generally in my best interests to argue.

 

[C clearly]

I don't think we need to go further into this discussion. The OP question was relevant to pilgrims on the Camino, and that question has been clearly answered.