Pocket Knives In Italy- What's OK?

Michael-
My husband and i had this problem in Rome at the Vatican. I can't tell you how big his knife was, but I think it was his "Leatherman" pocket knife. We had to go all the way back to the hotel to drop it off and all of the way back to go back in. It was a huge inconvenience, and as we were NOT picniking, I was so ticked off he brought it to begin with! I'm not sure what to do for a resolution.

Kristi

Michael,

A 4 cm knife blade is VERY short (under 2"), so I'm wondering how useful that would even be for a "Rick Steves picknicker". Given the current security climate, you may find that having a Pocket Knife is more of a nuisance. Many of the locations you'll likely be visiting (Vatican, Museums, Colosseum, etc.) require visitors to go through airport-style security which includes X-Ray. If there's no provision to check bags, you may find yourself heading back to the Hotel to drop-off the Knife as mentioned in the previous post.

I usually pack a small Swiss Army Knife in checked luggage, but very rarely take it along when I'm going to be visiting typical tourist sites (it's for picknicking at more "rural" locations). I tend to just order a Panini's or whatever and that way don't need a Knife. One solution might be to get the Deli to do all the "slicing" so that you don't have to pack a Knife.

Good luck and happy travels!

Thanks to both of you for your replies. Yeah, I'm one of those guys who has always carried a pocket knife around and everyone ends up asking me to borrow it because it's so useful, and often safer than a pair of scissors.

Guess I'll just have to carry my nail clippers around in Italy! Bread I can rip, and prefer to, but how does one "cut the cheese"? Do like your let-the-deli-do-it idea. Have to look up "Slice it please." in Italian.

Or maybe I can find a 4cm blade - yes that is about 1.6 inches! - and kind of shred things! Grins.

Oh, well, if I get to go to Italy I've nothing to gripe about anyway, right?

I generally travel with a knife, the longest blade of which is maybe two and a small fraction. This works just fine. Sometimes I've forgotten and left it in my pocket and all they do is take it and give me a receipt to redeem the thing on the way out. Sometimes there's probably a blade that's pushing three inches and nobody has said squat.

What I do, however, is not carry a good one, just a piece of junk that I've sharpened that Herself has picked up at a yard sale since I'm forever loosing the darn things. Got caught once with it at an airport in the bottome of the carry-on and didn't feel bad about walking away from it.

What about a Lexan knife? Very sturdy but not metal. I usually take one with me on my travels but rarely carry it around if I don't need it.

I ALWAYS carry a pocket knife. I don't remember having any problem with my two inch knife in the Vatican.....I just check it in with my wife's packpak when we go into a Museum.

Had to do that several times in France last summer, but is no big deal.

At one museum, my wife did not have to check her back pak, but I checked my knife because of their knife policy. They were very polite, tagged my knife, and gave me corosponding tag that I used when I picked it up.

A knife really is handy for the occasional picnic. I wouldn't leave home without it!

Michael,
"Bread I can rip, and prefer to, but how does one "cut the cheese"
Dental floss!

If you can get a picnic lunch prepared at a restaurant, a lot of times they will give you a basket with everything that you need. We had a picnic lunch in front of the Villa Borghese in Rome last May. We got a picnic lunch basket from GINA's, and all the utensils we needed were inside. GINA's is located on the street just to the left and running parallel to the Spanish Steps. Our lunch was complete with entertainment. There was a guy in a business suit with his "mistress?" pinned against a tree playing tonsil hockey. It was quite a show. We thought they were going to disrobe and "go at it".

http://www.ginaroma.com/index_eng.shtml

Michael,

You could also have a look at Rick's Picnic Utensils set in the Travel Store. They're all plastic and comply with carry-on regulations. They'd be easy to throw in a Daypack on those days when you might be visiting Museums or whatever (and leave the Pocket Knife back in the Hotel room).

Just a thought......

Some great ideas. Yes, backpacking and camping stores have some great lexan utensils that work fine. I'll be doing some hiking in Southern Italy and don't think it will be a big deal. I do like the cheap-knife-you-can-lose suggestion too.

When I was in Italy before and ignorant of this law I did fine! I think the big deal is keep it in the backpack. The law is probably about concealing a blade on your person and such. Most laws like this only seem to show up when you are stopped for something else (other than entering a museum, airport, etc.) and then this gets thrown at you too.