"Skeleton knife" and legality in the UK? (Wikipedia article)

[MatthewVanitas]

I ran across this stub on Wikipedia, does anyone have any info as to whether this is accurate?

A skeleton knife is a knife that has cutouts on the handle such that the other side is visible. They are illegal in England and Scotland.[citation needed

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skeleton_knife

Is this referring to knives like the Gerber paraframe? The article is vaguely interesting, but not too informative in its current format. Adding a citation and a pic could actually make this article useful. Suggestions?

 

[Dogmatic]

Never heard of a "skeleton" knife; only knives with "skeletonized" handles and/or liners.

They're not illegal anywhere where a "regular" knife of the same size/style would be legal.

"England & Wales" are nearly always lumped together in legal matters, not England & Scotland (minus Wales).

 

[MatthewVanitas]

I googled it up, and there are indeed a goodly number of UK shops advertising the "Winchester skeleton knife" and the like. Whether it's a formal term or not, it seems widespread online.

I agree with you that the author probably mistakenly assumed that is was the skeleton feature which made certain knives illegal, rather than the lockback feature.

Any suggestions where else to double-check on this? I'm tempted to mark the article for deletion, since it's more of a dictionary definition than an encyclopedia article, and provides about zero info.

 

[doo rag]

http://www.britishblades.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=39

Sure glad I don't live there!!!

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QUESTION FROM THE FORUM:

" Could you explain to me in simple term the British Law on knives, please?"

"The question is not what if the blade is more than 3", but what if the blade is less than 3", is it illegal? Spyderco Delica or Leatherman Wave have blade less than 3" long, are they illegal to carry without good reason?"

ANSWER:

"Yes, they are illegal without good reason.

In British law, a locking folder is considered to be the same as a fixed blade knife. You cannot carry any fixed blade knife without good reason, therefore you cannot carry any locking folder without good reason, regardless of blade length."

http://www.britishblades.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4420


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[phaserrifle]

in the laws defense, it does make carrying wepons more difficult for local criminals.

 

[Jack Black]

in the laws defense, it does make carrying wepons more difficult for local criminals.

In the part of the UK I live, the local criminals carry guns and machetes, I doubt they're too bothered about the difference between a lock-knife and a slipjoint, over or under 3".