Traveling internationally with a cooking knife.
December 3, 2017 5:30 AM   Subscribe

Is a cooking knife in checked luggage a problem going into or out of China? From Tokyo. With a US citizen.

A friend is going to Japan and China. Wants to buy a cooking knife in Japan, will it be a problem bringing that knife in checked luggage into China? Flying from Tokyo into Hangzhou the layover on the way back to the states is so short he’s not sure he’ll have time to stop at duty free for the Japanese whisk(e)y he wants.

(It’s probably a chef knife. He might also get a paring knife.)
posted by bilabial to Travel & Transportation around China (4 answers total)
 
I have done so without difficulty between countries several times. I know TWA does ask you to sheath or wrap knives so that the security people do not cut themselves if they search your luggage.
posted by frumiousb at 5:55 AM on December 3, 2017 [1 favorite]


The remark about knives being "chinese assault rifles" in a question about whether it's prohibited in baggage has nothing to do with baggage policies. This is easily resolved by checking the baggage guide for your friend's airline.

An example of China Eastern's can be found here. Knives are not prohibited in the checked luggage category, and it explicitly states under "Items prohibited to carry" as "The blunt, edge tools and similar items other than checked knives."

By China Eastern's policies - check the knives, keep them well wrapped, don't bring them onboard the plane.
posted by Karaage at 7:53 AM on December 3, 2017 [2 favorites]


Check with the airline. I haven't been to China but I've traveled internationally many times with hand tools (including knives) in checked luggage and have never had an issue.
posted by photo guy at 8:08 AM on December 3, 2017


I would check with the airline, but it should be fine in checked baggage. If your friend will be traveling by train inside China, though, he may run into difficulty at the train station baggage screening.
posted by bradf at 2:18 PM on December 3, 2017


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