HELP FOR SHIPPING

BBJW · 18th October 2008, 06:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eftihis

Dear friends,

The law in Greece for edged weapons is that they are permited, as long as they are antique and not new. (must be made before 1922)
The same rule exist when importing them from outside EU. The problem is that you have to prove to the customs people the age of an item, and this takes a lot of time and effort.
So for me the way ffor any items i bought from the States was passing through England. A good friend there was receiving my swords (there was no problem to import a sword in UK) and latter he was sending to Greece, or i would go in London once a year and pick them up. (Greece and UK are in EU, so no customs in between)
But now, with the new "ban of new sword" law in the UK, any sword stops at UK customs, who they also ask for a proof of age to let the swords in.
This again takes time and effort, and my friend that was receiving them u to now as a favor to me, is not willing to do that any more!
Is there anybody in another civilised European country that would be willing to help me by occasionaly receiving a sword from the US?
Thanks!

Just curious ---are you allowed to own firearms in Greece? Maybe a hammer?

Cheers
bbjw

eftihis · 18th October 2008, 11:58 AM

Hi BBJW,
Owning a firearm (other than shotgun, which is easy) is very difficult in Greece. You must have either a "carrying weapon for self degence" licence, which is almost impossible to obtain, unless you are a banker or a politician, and the "athletic licence" which allows you to have, but not carry a hundgun. (you need a lot of effort like going to contests etc to keep it)
Regarding antiques, only flintlock are permited (anything before 1870, that cannot tace a cartidge).

Just to understand the situation, i know have to pass a trial at the 11th of November, because 3 years ago, when i bought a new damascus dagger from WARD, he sent it by mistake to my Greek ebay address instead of the London one i provided. They cought it on customs, and intead of sending it back (which they usually do), they confiscate it, and started an investigation, called me for an apology, and now the paper came for a court trial!!!
If i ger convicted is a 6 months minimum...

Anyway, i am from Crete which has a special weapon loving tradition, and i am afraid of these idiot bureaucrats!
As most Cretans i love weapons and i am not going to give up, legal or illegal!

I attach one of my favorite family photos, is my uncle and his friends after a wedding in Crete in the 50s...

Rumpel · 22nd May 2015, 05:25 PM

Sorry for reviving this thread, but I was wondering if any of the Greek members in particular might know what the current laws are there for importing antique/ethnographic edged weapons, and whether it would be best to:

a) send overland, with furniture
b) by air, in the hold
c) by Fedex or similar.

Many thanks in advance for advice.

kronckew · 22nd May 2015, 06:00 PM

in the UK straight swords of any length are no problem. no age or mfg. requirements.

curved swords pre 1950ish are OK as long as you can document the age. new or old ones) ones that are 'traditionally hand forged' are OK, as are ones with blades under 50m cm. you can also import new ones not 'traditionally hand forged' if you belong to a recognised martial arts school or re-enactment society with insurance.

they were actually trying to ban cheap samurai swords and ran into trouble from martial artists & collectors.

i almost had a new filipino made chinese style dandao (25.8in./72.4cm. blade) confiscated by the UK border agency last summer because it was not described as 'traditionally hand forged' on the customs docs. it took me & the vendor many emails, paper document mailings, and photos of one being 'hand forged' in the phillipines, about three months to convince them to release the item.

p.s. - if you have more than one item in the shipment they confiscate the whole shipment (and destroy it) even if only one item doesn't meet the requirements. which are nonsense anyway.

Rumpel · 22nd May 2015, 06:03 PM

Thanks Kronckew. To clarify, I intend to export them from the UK to Greece: I just spoke to UK Customs who said there was no problem at this end, but couldn't provide any paperwork to smooth the path at the Greek end (which is what one shipping company asked for).

Blacksmith · 23rd May 2015, 10:31 PM

I attach one of my favorite family photos, is my uncle and his friends after a wedding in Crete in the 50s...[/QUOTE]

Hi, my parents live near Platanias during winters and when i was visiting them a couple of weeks ago i saw this photo on the wall of the village tavern in Stavros. Is the photo published at some point or maybe it was your relatives tavern? I think I could help you with the sword problem. Here in Finland we don`t have any problems with the swords and daggers, antique or not.
And Im coming to Chania on september again.
Regards, Tapani

BANDOOK · 24th May 2015, 10:50 AM

THIS THREAD IS VERY INFORMATIVE AND ALL COMMENTS,AM WANTING TO BUY WEAPONS FROM UNITED KINGDOM BUT FACE THE PROBLEM OF AIRLINES AND MOST COURIERS NOT ACCCEPTING THEM,SO COULD SOMEONE ADVISE A GOOD COURIER AND SHIPPING COMPANY WHO CAN HANDLE SHIPPING AND CLEARING FOR EXPORT,KIND REGARDS RAJESH

18th October 2008, 11:58 AM	#2
eftihis Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Chania Crete Greece Posts: 511	Hi BBJW, Owning a firearm (other than shotgun, which is easy) is very difficult in Greece. You must have either a "carrying weapon for self degence" licence, which is almost impossible to obtain, unless you are a banker or a politician, and the "athletic licence" which allows you to have, but not carry a hundgun. (you need a lot of effort like going to contests etc to keep it) Regarding antiques, only flintlock are permited (anything before 1870, that cannot tace a cartidge). Just to understand the situation, i know have to pass a trial at the 11th of November, because 3 years ago, when i bought a new damascus dagger from WARD, he sent it by mistake to my Greek ebay address instead of the London one i provided. They cought it on customs, and intead of sending it back (which they usually do), they confiscate it, and started an investigation, called me for an apology, and now the paper came for a court trial!!! If i ger convicted is a 6 months minimum... Anyway, i am from Crete which has a special weapon loving tradition, and i am afraid of these idiot bureaucrats! As most Cretans i love weapons and i am not going to give up, legal or illegal! I attach one of my favorite family photos, is my uncle and his friends after a wedding in Crete in the 50s... Attached Images

22nd May 2015, 05:25 PM	#3
Rumpel Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 63	Sorry for reviving this thread, but I was wondering if any of the Greek members in particular might know what the current laws are there for importing antique/ethnographic edged weapons, and whether it would be best to: a) send overland, with furniture b) by air, in the hold c) by Fedex or similar. Many thanks in advance for advice.

22nd May 2015, 06:00 PM	#4
kronckew Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Room 101, Glos. UK Posts: 4,215	in the UK straight swords of any length are no problem. no age or mfg. requirements. curved swords pre 1950ish are OK as long as you can document the age. new or old ones) ones that are 'traditionally hand forged' are OK, as are ones with blades under 50m cm. you can also import new ones not 'traditionally hand forged' if you belong to a recognised martial arts school or re-enactment society with insurance. they were actually trying to ban cheap samurai swords and ran into trouble from martial artists & collectors. i almost had a new filipino made chinese style dandao (25.8in./72.4cm. blade) confiscated by the UK border agency last summer because it was not described as 'traditionally hand forged' on the customs docs. it took me & the vendor many emails, paper document mailings, and photos of one being 'hand forged' in the phillipines, about three months to convince them to release the item. p.s. - if you have more than one item in the shipment they confiscate the whole shipment (and destroy it) even if only one item doesn't meet the requirements. which are nonsense anyway.

22nd May 2015, 06:03 PM	#5
Rumpel Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 63	Thanks Kronckew. To clarify, I intend to export them from the UK to Greece: I just spoke to UK Customs who said there was no problem at this end, but couldn't provide any paperwork to smooth the path at the Greek end (which is what one shipping company asked for).

23rd May 2015, 10:31 PM	#6
Blacksmith Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Finland Posts: 98	I attach one of my favorite family photos, is my uncle and his friends after a wedding in Crete in the 50s...[/QUOTE] Hi, my parents live near Platanias during winters and when i was visiting them a couple of weeks ago i saw this photo on the wall of the village tavern in Stavros. Is the photo published at some point or maybe it was your relatives tavern? I think I could help you with the sword problem. Here in Finland we don`t have any problems with the swords and daggers, antique or not. And Im coming to Chania on september again. Regards, Tapani

24th May 2015, 10:50 AM	#7
BANDOOK Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: AUCKLAND,NEW ZEALAND Posts: 624	THIS THREAD IS VERY INFORMATIVE AND ALL COMMENTS,AM WANTING TO BUY WEAPONS FROM UNITED KINGDOM BUT FACE THE PROBLEM OF AIRLINES AND MOST COURIERS NOT ACCCEPTING THEM,SO COULD SOMEONE ADVISE A GOOD COURIER AND SHIPPING COMPANY WHO CAN HANDLE SHIPPING AND CLEARING FOR EXPORT,KIND REGARDS RAJESH