Wasp Knifes in Miami

[AnjaMo]

Hello everybody,
I have a few questions regarding the Wasp Knife. I am from Europe and I will be traveling to Miami soon. i would like to buy a Wasp Knife for a friend of mine who is an experienced diver. I tried looking online for stores that would sell them, but could not found any. That if why I would need some help.
I am not sure if there are any regulations regarding the sell and carrying for Wasp knifes in Florida?
If not, could someone recommend a store where I could buy one?
Also, does anybody has any experience with carrying wasp knife from US to Europe?

 

[Zef]

The Wasp Knife is not illegal to manufacture or posses according to Florida knife laws. The only type of knife that is banned/illegal in Florida are ballistic knives which are defined as having a blade that can separate and be propelled from the handle.

I think you will find that for brick and mortar type stores this would typically be a special order type item as the retail price starts around $499 US. That is a lot of capital to invest in low demand, slow moving stock. I imagine most dive shops would not carry this for that reason coupled with the fact that most divers are not interested in carrying a BFK anymore.

Perhaps dive shops that specialize in and cater to the spear fishing market segment may be more inclined to carry this as spear fishermen are more likely to come in contact with marine predators (sharks) than most other recreational scuba divers.

You will have to research whether a knife like that can be imported into the European country you will fly into or send it to. I would strongly recommend against trying to "sneak" it through customs if it is something that you are otherwise required to declare or cannot import.

-Z

 

[jgttrey]

So, I had to look up what sort of dive knife could command $500. I get that knife people just like knives, and that's cool, but this thing is bizarre if we're actually talking about practical use. Again, if you're a knife guy, fine. I have lots of stuff that is cool-to-me but not actually something that is useful.

I gotta ask, does anyone actually use this thing? I'm not talking about for self-defense from sharks or any of that foolishness, but you spearfisher types. I mean, really? Does anyone use this to shoot their catch to the surface? It just sounds all kind of crazy to me.

 

[Rred]

IIRC the Wasp is the dive knife that has a CO2 cartridge in the handle, so you can stab a shark, inflate it, and watch it go away. An alternative to a bang stick. And since there's only one source of them (are they still being made??) the price is whatever the maker wants.

As for carrying it back to Germany or other places by commercial air travel? That will vary somewhat by the carrier and regulator, but for US carriers and a TSA baggage inspection, the knife is just a knife and that can go in checked baggage, although you should expect it will turn up on the xray and your bag will be opened and checked. Or pilfered.

The GAS CARTRIDGE itself may be totally banned from air transport. In theory our TSA allows the, sometimes. In practice, any sealed gas cannister arguably should be banned for real security. But that probably is easily replaced. That's left to the carrier, and the ultimate discretion of the TSA personnel.

 

[RyanT]

I mean, really? Does anyone use this to shoot their catch to the surface? It just sounds all kind of crazy to me.

A nicer way to put it than what I was thinking.

 

[Seaweed Doc]

Check to make sure the CO2 cannister is available in Europe and N. America. A friend of mine had minor issues when a loaned dart gun (for use until his new custom-built Swiss-made gun was ready) came with exactly one gas cartridge with European-sized threads. Once that one was expended, he realized he couldn't replace it locally. Some creative machining solved it for him, and his custom gun specified the locally-sized cartridge.

This would be an unpleasant surprise for you on vacation ..

(Wildlife management scientists get cool toys like Swiss-made dart guns. They also get access to some seriously potent narcotics....)