Knife Length Question

E

elsin

Joined
Jun 1, 2022
Messages
8
Hi All
I just wanna say beforehand that i'm new here and to knives in general so please cut me some slack if i say anything wrong
I recently bought an opinel no.8, now I live in the UK so knife laws being what they are i tried my best to get a knife to fit the laws
I bought the knife in question and all seemed fine, it had a locking ring which i was going to remove regardless, then i measured it and it didn't add up, the blade was 8.5 inches, as opposed to the 7.5 stated by the website, i did some more research (which i should've done beforehand) and found out what the numbers mean on opinels.
Now i've got a problem, even if i remove the locking ring, it's still not techincally legal to carry around, so i've turned to you guys, who are infinetley more experienced than I, to ask a question
Should i go about shortening the blade, just buy a new knife, or not worry about the .3 inch problem.
 
I would buy another knife it it was me. I would get either another Opinel or an SAK. I will admit that I don't know the knife laws in the UK. Research, ask questions, and keep us informed.
 
I'm in the UK so have the same issue. I've got a no10 in stainless which I use for food prep when going camping etc... As long as you have a suitable reason for using/carrying you should be fine. Although this probably doesn't cover the fact I'm guessing you want to carry as an every day knife.

They are so cheap I'd just get a smaller knife and keep that one unless you want to spend a little time grinding/taking down. If so just mark the shape you want and use a decent hack saw, you're only going to be removing a small amount
 
1911bphil said:
I would buy another knife it it was me. I would get either another Opinel or an SAK. I will admit that I don't know the knife laws in the UK. Research, ask questions, and keep us informed.
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to be fair, i have seen some people saying not to worry about such such a small length overstep, and my friend even carries a locking knife with him but yeah, buying a new knife is probably the safest bet
 
Dav1 said:
I'm in the UK so have the same issue. I've got a no10 in stainless which I use for food prep when going camping etc... As long as you have a suitable reason for using/carrying you should be fine. Although this probably doesn't cover the fact I'm guessing you want to carry as an every day knife.

They are so cheap I'd just get a smaller knife and keep that one unless you want to spend a little time grinding/taking down. If so just mark the shape you want and use a decent hack saw, you're only going to be removing a small amount
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ah, i probably should've stated, i want to carry it often, since me and my friends plan on going out hiking every weekend or so but thats the only time i'd use it so not everyday, my fault for not specifying
 
The #8 has a blade 8.5 centimeters long, not inches, and is entirely legal in the UK and Europe in general.
 
Put it at the bottom of your pack and you'll be fine. Hiking, camping, "bushcraft" etc... are all reasonable for carrying a smaller knife etc...
 
Alberta Ed said:
The #8 has a blade 8.5 centimeters long, not inches, and is entirely legal in the UK and Europe in general.
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Yes, but 8.5 centimeters translates to 3.3 inches give or take, .3 inches over the legal uk limit to carry, (without a good reason)
 
Legendary_Jarl said:
I'd say leave the Opinel intact for in-house use and just get a new legal to carry blade for outside.
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Yeah, seems like the most popular anwser people have given me, so i'll probably go with that once i rack up enough money to actually buy another knife lol
 
Are there Police in the woods while you are hiking??
I would leave the knife in your pack and when you arrive at your hiking destination put it in your pocket.
Glad I live in the USA where I can carry what I want!!!! šŸ‡ŗšŸ‡ø
John šŸ‡ŗšŸ‡ø
 
jmh33 said:
Are there Police in the woods while you are hiking??
I would leave the knife in your pack and when you arrive at your hiking destination put it in your pocket.
Glad I live in the USA where I can carry what I want!!!! šŸ‡ŗšŸ‡ø
John šŸ‡ŗšŸ‡ø
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Well i mean you never know, they could be hiding anywhere
 
Iā€™d buy a smaller knife. No way Iā€™m catching a weapons charge over 3/10ths of an inch.
 
It's an Opinel, so if there's ever a concern, just file it down to drop point, spear point or semi-wharncliff!
Modification of Opi's is half the fun of ownership.

Lee D said:
Iā€™d buy a smaller knife. No way Iā€™m catching a weapons charge over 3/10ths of an inch.
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But also, get a No. 6 while you're at it.^^^
 
elsin said:
wow, do they have that much of a hard on for knife length that they'll give you a weapons charge for that little? jesus
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I know a guy who was charged with an ā€œoffensive weaponā€ for carrying a folder with a 5ā€ blade. It was a flea market piece of crap, so I donā€™t know all the details, but what I am sure of is that he had to bond out of jail and go to court over the deal, and none of that was cheap. So imo, itā€™s best not to press your luck.
 
Lee D said:
I know a guy who was charged with an ā€œoffensive weaponā€ for carrying a folder with a 5ā€ blade. It was a flea market piece of crap, so I donā€™t know all the details, but what I am sure of is that he had to bond out of jail and go to court over the deal, and none of that was cheap. So imo, itā€™s best not to press your luck.
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Definitely this- unless you're following the letter of the law, you end up with subjectivity.
I personally don't want to be the subject of the discretion of the authorities.
 
Lee D said:
I know a guy who was charged with an ā€œoffensive weaponā€ for carrying a folder with a 5ā€ blade. It was a flea market piece of crap, so I donā€™t know all the details, but what I am sure of is that he had to bond out of jail and go to court over the deal, and none of that was cheap. So imo, itā€™s best not to press your luck.
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yeah definitely dont want that shit to happen jesus, thanks for the heads up
 
elsin said:
Hi All
I just wanna say beforehand that i'm new here and to knives in general so please cut me some slack if i say anything wrong gb whatsapp
I recently bought an opinel no.8, now I live in the UK so knife laws being what they are i tried my best to get a knife to fit the laws
I bought the knife in question and all seemed fine, it had a locking ring which i was going to remove regardless, then i measured it and it didn't add up, the blade was 8.5 inches, as opposed to the 7.5 stated by the website, i did some more research (which i should've done beforehand) and found out what the numbers mean on opinels.
Now i've got a problem, even if i remove the locking ring, it's still not techincally legal to carry around, so i've turned to you guys, who are infinetley more experienced than I, to ask a question
Should i go about shortening the blade, just buy a new knife, or not worry about the .3 inch problem.
Click to expand...
If the locking ring removes its size equal, which you can keep easily.

So I think may be there is no problem with it, but still I suggest you can search more about it and if possible then buy a new one if you can do it.
 
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