UK Knife Law?

I've always carried a knife, the one I have now has only two inch blade, so I guess I'm OK?
Its a Sandvick grafting knife, not that I use it for grafting much, but use it all the time at work, or in the garden, so it just stays in my back pocket.

I would hate to be without it.

 

Just a thought, I've looked through the Wiki link at knife laws and the UK seems to have the most lengthy and complicated ones in the world.
We would have I suppose.:D

But if the limit is 3ins, what is the reason, (I was going to say point:D), as you can carve someone up quite nicely with a Stanley Knife if that is your intention.

Its like all things, a sock with a stone in it is a deadly weapon, in the wrong hands.

Its not about the tool, its the individual using it that matters.

Marley's screwdriver being a good example.

 

was ivory and was an opium pipe .... (very small pot) ... still have it somewhere in a box in the loft, as never bothered to try resell it .... the detail is incredible

(I have an ivory chess set that was made in the 1960's in Zambia (my dad bought it in the 60's) ... I also have as a cutlery set that has handles of genuine ivory and the metal parts are sterling silver),

 

I carry a small folding knife all the time too, used it 3 or 4 times today, couple of times yesterday, they won't argue with me again.

 

Does this help?Knife law (UK) - Guides

 

That does help Dai.

 

some nifty victorian walking sticks around .... nice carved handles in all forms .... pull the handle up and you have a sharp sword ... you would never know, as it looks like a normal wooden walking stick

these fetch high money at auctions, especially if the handle is in sterling silver and can be dated

wonder how many people have these without even knowing that they are swords, as the fit is normally pretty tight

 

As far as I understand it (and corroborated by the link that Dai found), unless the knife is specifically made as a weapon, it is legal to carry it in the UK.

I own an old fashioned bill hook. Sort of like a machete. It is legal for me to carry that.

HOWEVER, I need to be able to justify why I'm carrying it if Mr Plod decides to ask.

If I walk into a pub on in the town centre on a saturday night, carrying my bill hook, I'm not going to be able to convince anyone that I have a good reason for doing so. Unless the landlord of said pub has phoned me and said he'd losing business because a blackthorn thicket has mysteriously grown in his doorway overnight and could I come and clear a route through.

A Stanley knife, such as carpet fitters, joiners and any number of other types of tradesmen might have, only has about a 1 inch blade. Get caught in a pub with that Stanley knife and again you'd have a hard time justifying it, and it could be argued that you've committed an offence.

The knife laws are about trying to stop knives being used as weapons. The law allows plenty of scope for common sense to prevail but without restricting legitimate activities.

If it was illegal to carry a knife that had a blade over a certain length, how would you buy a new kitchen knife? Coppers wanting promotion would just need to line up outside the homewares shops and they'd clock up some impressive arrest tallies.

Samuri swords are the one exception to the common sense rule. Most 'Samuri swords' (Katanas to the purists) are just chrome plated brass replicas. Dangerous, but far less so than many common gardening and domestic implements. Yet a few years ago there was an attempt to ban them completely. It struck me as bizarre at the time, that I could still order a scythe with a 24 inch curved blade, made of hardened steel, yet a weak brass ornamental katana would be seen as an outrage.

 

How do you justify carrying a knife that you have had for the last 20yrs or so.
I use it to cut tape, cut string, dig out splinters, dead head plants, and all kinds of things, quite often I let someone borrow it, as I'm the only one with something capable of cutting.

So if I turned up in a pub with it in my pocket, I could not justify why I was carrying it.

I just DO.

 

I always carry a gardening knife in my work jeans. Never in my civvies.

 

I have a 4inch shut knife always open tucked in the bulk head of my van which I use to peel my daily apple...however I did have to flash it to a road rage numpty who thought he was hard as he walked toward me with a crow bar...smuck!