Wearing a Sgian Dubh in SPAIN

**ELY** · 29th January 18, 02:01 AM

As the date for my Scottish wedding draws near, I am working on making my guests' visit as comfortable and seamless as possible.
One of the potencial problems that came up was the sgian dubn and the law. So I went straight to the authorities, and asked them directly.

It is illegal to carry any knife, of any kind or length, with you in public, in Spain. That said,

If it is part of a ceremony or ceremonial dress, it can be worn during said ceremony, but not to and from the venue.

Transport of knives should be in their sheath, and in the trunk/boot or luggage carrier of the vehicle. It must not be readily available to any passenger.

**tpa** · 29th January 18, 04:06 AM

Originally Posted by ELY

As the date for my Scottish wedding draws near, I am working on making my guests' visit as comfortable and seamless as possible.
One of the potencial problems that came up was the sgian dubn and the law. So I went straight to the authorities, and asked them directly.

It is illegal to carry any knife, of any kind or length, with you in public, in Spain. That said,

If it is part of a ceremony or ceremonial dress, it can be worn during said ceremony, but not to and from the venue.

Transport of knives should be in their sheath, and in the trunk/boot or luggage carrier of the vehicle. It must not be readily available to any passenger.

Sort of begs the question: "What happens if you are walking there?" with, say a ceremonial sword? Not that that is likely to be an issue in your case.

**Tarheel** · 29th January 18, 04:45 AM

Thank you for going the extra length and having officers explain the law. Any XMarks members that may be visiting, Spain or any other destination, need to know the limitations on the complete kilt outfit. The sgian I made for my mother in 1974 (that I wear more often than not) would be sorely missed if confiscated by authorities because I didn't know the law.

**ELY** · 29th January 18, 06:02 AM

Originally Posted by Tarheel

Thank you for going the extra length and having officers explain the law. Any XMarks members that may be visiting, Spain or any other destination, need to know the limitations on the complete kilt outfit. The sgian I made for my mother in 1974 (that I wear more often than not) would be sorely missed if confiscated by authorities because I didn't know the law.

My pleasure.

Confiscated sgians and bailing out guests kind of doesn't fit our budget!!!

**tpa** · 29th January 18, 06:32 PM

Whilst I would not normally consider taking any sort of sgian dubh abroad, for the cruise formal nights we went on recently, i took a dummy one. Real ones were allowed but had to be handed in on arrival and retrieved solely for the event and returned afterwards. Seemed like too much hassle to me, hence the dummy.

**ThistleDown** · 29th January 18, 09:54 PM

Adhere to the laws, wherever you are, ELY. THCD is not a uniform and the sgian dubh we often wear is not required by tradition. Personal experience: in the three places I call 'home', Scotland, Switzerland and Canada, I wear it within the laws which permit it. In recent years in Egypt, Spain, Italy, Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands, Mexico and Costa Rica, I left it either in my hotel room or didn't bother to even take it from 'home'.

**LKM** · 30th January 18, 05:59 AM

It all comes down to local laws. While people can travel through the EU the laws still change from place to place and much of Europe has weapon restrictions that shock Americans. I would not expect a problem in Spain, yet I would still look up the laws before going. When in doubt about the local laws, it's best to not carry a real weapon.

One of my sisters had a music tour of Europe years ago and many of the members of her former band (she plays over 20 instruments) purchased knives and swords in Spain just to have them confiscated after they left Spain. From what they found Spain was not as restrictive on weapons as other parts of Europe. This might have changed and she has not said anything to me about weapons on more recent tours, yet she has mentioned needing to leave her reed knives (for adjusting cane reeds on wind instruments) in the US when she goes to some countries.

**ELY** · 30th January 18, 09:59 AM

Originally Posted by ThistleDown

Adhere to the laws, wherever you are, ELY. THCD is not a uniform and the sgian dubh we often wear is not required by tradition. Personal experience: in the three places I call 'home', Scotland, Switzerland and Canada, I wear it within the laws which permit it. In recent years in Egypt, Spain, Italy, Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands, Mexico and Costa Rica, I left it either in my hotel room or didn't bother to even take it from 'home'.

I absolutely agree with you TD, hence my going straight to the authorities. I specifically asked about wearing a knife with the "Scottish traditional attire" (A kilt in Spanish is a Scottish skirt

).
If it is part of the traditional outfit of a country, it may be worn as I stated above.

My guests may, if they so wish, bring their sgians. They cannot, however, carry them outside of the venue.

**ibrew4u** · 30th January 18, 01:32 PM

Originally Posted by ELY

It is illegal to carry any knife, of any kind or length, with you in public, in Spain.

Is that a loose interpretation of what you were told, or specific? If specific, then you could not carry a swiss army knife in your pocket, and all the shops with swiss army knife displays in their front window would be encouraging lawlessness.

**ELY** · 30th January 18, 02:55 PM

Originally Posted by ibrew4u

Is that a loose interpretation of what you were told, or specific? If specific, then you could not carry a swiss army knife in your pocket, and all the shops with swiss army knife displays in their front window would be encouraging lawlessness.

Specific. I know of a car mechanic that was fined for carrying a screwdriver in the glovebox.