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- Aug 31, 2004
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- 143
here in the uk, there has been a knife amnesty. you get a couple years in jail for carrying a locking blade over 3 inches I think. I think your just allowed to carry 3 inches or under that folds.
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uk law
- Thread starter platinummatt
- Start date
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- Oct 29, 1999
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- 539
Okay, here's the facts. (Again.)
You can carry ANY edged tool as long as you have a good reason to do so - good being at the discretion of the police officer you find yourself talking to.
You can carry a folding, non-locking knife with an edge of 3" or less without anyone being legally able to stop you unless you use it as a weapon (or if you're entering a private establishment like a pub & they ask that anything like that not be taken into the premesis - but they have to give it back if the look after it while you're there!)
Flick knives & gravity knives are section 5 weapons & therefore illegal regardless of circumstance. So if you have one of those, get rid of it.
Basically it's about context. I'd expect to be investigated if I was walking down a London street with an axe or a bill hook. Back in Dad's village, no-one would probably notice!
You can carry ANY edged tool as long as you have a good reason to do so - good being at the discretion of the police officer you find yourself talking to.
You can carry a folding, non-locking knife with an edge of 3" or less without anyone being legally able to stop you unless you use it as a weapon (or if you're entering a private establishment like a pub & they ask that anything like that not be taken into the premesis - but they have to give it back if the look after it while you're there!)
Flick knives & gravity knives are section 5 weapons & therefore illegal regardless of circumstance. So if you have one of those, get rid of it.
Basically it's about context. I'd expect to be investigated if I was walking down a London street with an axe or a bill hook. Back in Dad's village, no-one would probably notice!
freezergeezer said:Okay, here's the facts. (Again.)
You can carry ANY edged tool as long as you have a good reason to do so - good being at the discretion of the police officer you find yourself talking to.
You can carry a folding, non-locking knife with an edge of 3" or less without anyone being legally able to stop you unless you use it as a weapon (or if you're entering a private establishment like a pub & they ask that anything like that not be taken into the premesis - but they have to give it back if the look after it while you're there!)
Flick knives & gravity knives are section 5 weapons & therefore illegal regardless of circumstance. So if you have one of those, get rid of it.
Basically it's about context. I'd expect to be investigated if I was walking down a London street with an axe or a bill hook. Back in Dad's village, no-one would probably notice!
Sorry, but this clarification needs some clarification!
You can carry any LEGAL edged tool as long as you have a reason that is accepted by the LEO who question you about your carry item. I make the clarification as there are several types of edged tool specifically banned by differnt acts;
Offensive Weapons Act 1959 - which banned flick knives (as soon as an AO come to court it will be included in the legistlation)
Criminal Justice Act 1988 (offensive weapons order) - banned the following items from being; manufactured, sold or hired or offered for sale or hire, exposed or held in possession for the purpose of sale or hire, or loaned or given to any other person (basically you HAVE to keep it yourself, cant even bequeath it in a will etc). Banned items are;
Balisong or butterfly knife
Knuckleduster
Spring activated telescopic truncheon (manuals were added to the list in 2005)
Push dagger
Shuriken, shaken, or death star
Handclaw
Footclaw
Manrikgusari or kusari (rope, cord, wire or chain fastened at each end to a hard weight or hand grip)
Swordstick
Hollow kubotan (cylindrical container containing a number of sharp spikes)
Blowpipe or blowgun
Kusari gama (rope, cord, wire or chain fastened at one end to a sickle)
Kyoketsu shoge (rope, cord, wire or chain fastened at one end to a hooked knife)
Belt buckle knife
Disguised knife (added to the list by the 2002 amendment)
Stealth knife (added to the list by the 2004 amendment)
BUT, if you owned one of these items BEFORE they were made illegal by these acts, then you can continue to own it. You do NOT have to get rid of it, in fact getting rid of it unless done through the Police will possibly get you arrested as an offence under the 1988 act.
This of course changes if the item is an antique, being that it is more than 100 years old (based on date of manufacture). In that case it is outside of the legistlation and can be bought/sold/loaned etc hence why antique sword canes can be legally traded on ebay.co.uk
Rgds
There is just one other weapon that needs to be added the list is the "straight, side handled or friction lock truncheons sometimes known as batons." as per the 2004 amendment.Mr_Yarrow said:
Please correct me if I am wrong, but if you carry a flick knife or any other edged/pointed weapons on the above list then any subsequent charges will be under Section 1 of the Prevention of Crime Act.
You can legally carry a weapon per se in public (not firearms)as long as you have lawful authority OR a reasonable excuse, the onus being on you to show on balance of probabilities that you had LA or RE.
As for knives, if you honestly have a need to carry/use a particular knife then do so, because you are free to carry on about your daily business without being held to account every five minutes. If you merely have what you think is an excuse then please think twice and dont give the Police any reason to stop and search you.
Even a SAK could land you in Court if your motives for carrying it are less than lawful/reasonable.
And dont forget that Parliament never intended to include lock knives in the legislation anyway-just to complicate things a little
freezergeezer said:Okay, here's the facts. (Again.)
You can carry ANY edged tool as long as you have a good reason to do so - good being at the discretion of the police officer you find yourself talking to.
You can carry a folding, non-locking knife with an edge of 3" or less without anyone being legally able to stop you unless you use it as a weapon (or if you're entering a private establishment like a pub & they ask that anything like that not be taken into the premesis - but they have to give it back if the look after it while you're there!)
Flick knives & gravity knives are section 5 weapons & therefore illegal regardless of circumstance. So if you have one of those, get rid of it.
Basically it's about context. I'd expect to be investigated if I was walking down a London street with an axe or a bill hook. Back in Dad's village, no-one would probably notice!
Section 5 weapons only applies to firearms because it is 'Section 5' of the firearms act.
matt w said:
Hi Matt,
Sorry for the confusion, thats what I meant when I said 'manuals added' next to the springloaded truncheon.
Prevention of Crime Act - sorry but youve got me here as I cant remember that one. I would have thought its definitely covered by the Offensive Weapons Act 1959 though.
In regards to carrying 'weapons', then I dont think you can use RE, only LA. Basically unless its an antique and as such excempt, I dont think you can even transport a banned item to a.n.other place as that may be percieved as loaning it. As such I believe general carry of it will get you nicked instantly as its a banned item. Your own home is private property, its having a banned item in public thats the problem (with obvious exception to a museum).
I think ill pose this Q on BB actually as I dont remember it being covered fully, other than what Im saying above (which might be wrong).
Rgds
I've recently purchased a William Henry Legacy for EDC use when I'm out and about (obviously not for going to weddings or in public establishments etc !). It's a far cry from my Strider SNG, and when using it feels about as unsafe as circular saw with no handle.
However, even with such legal blades - if you happen to be a bouncer carrying even the Spyderco UK Pen Knife, and get into a scuffle, you could land yourself in trouble. Not least because most people in the UK don't even understand what it is that they are holding, including some Police (believing it locks or semi-locks because it "clicks" into place when open).
It's a shame that one of the oldest tools is outlawed, and the ones we are allowed to carry are too unsafe for use without good practise (certain work environments over here in the UK ban non-locking bladed tools, since they are too dangerous and risk closing in on the hand).
A question for those more in the know, since this is a thread about UK Law.
Are HideAway Knives classified as knuckle knives, fixed blades, concealable weapons, a combination, or none of the above ? I love my hideaways for practicality, but I risk being in very deep trouble if I come across the wrong member of our local Police force who believes they are the devil in knuckle form.
However, even with such legal blades - if you happen to be a bouncer carrying even the Spyderco UK Pen Knife, and get into a scuffle, you could land yourself in trouble. Not least because most people in the UK don't even understand what it is that they are holding, including some Police (believing it locks or semi-locks because it "clicks" into place when open).
It's a shame that one of the oldest tools is outlawed, and the ones we are allowed to carry are too unsafe for use without good practise (certain work environments over here in the UK ban non-locking bladed tools, since they are too dangerous and risk closing in on the hand).
A question for those more in the know, since this is a thread about UK Law.
Are HideAway Knives classified as knuckle knives, fixed blades, concealable weapons, a combination, or none of the above ? I love my hideaways for practicality, but I risk being in very deep trouble if I come across the wrong member of our local Police force who believes they are the devil in knuckle form.
Mr_Yarrow said:
Hi Mr Yarrow, I will have to double check the Offensive Weapons Act 1959 as I am not 100% sure about the exact wording.
I think that the above act only concerns itself with the ownership for the purposes of sale etc and not the private ownership for 'personal use'. The Offensive Weapons Act 1996 talks about arrest without warrant for offences under a couple of different acts but no mention of the 1959 act so I am guessing that there is no specific offence of possession in public under that act.
I would say that a defendant carrying a flick knife in public would be charged under Sec1 Prevention of Crime Act 1953 (as it is a weapon per se), he would then have to show on balance of probabilities that he had LA or a RE.
Being a weapon per se the police would arrest on sight and let the CPS and/or the Courts sort it out afterwards. Just has they would with any other type of weapon per se such as a sword or a spear regardless of the 1959 Act. Although I will ask around and see what comes up.
infyrana said:
Are HideAway knives classified as knuckle knives?
The Criminal Justice Act 1988 restricts the ownership for sale and the importation of 'knuckledusters or any weapon that incorporates a knuckleduster'
If there has not been any previous case law regarding this particular brand of knife the proscecution would have to establish that the HideAway incorporates a knuckleduster as an part of its design.
The first question the CPS would consider would be 'do the manufacturer advertise the ability to strike with the area of the handle that covers the fingers?.
A quick look at the HideAway website suggests to me that the handle is not designed or indeed suitable for use as a knuckleduster-so at first glance they do not appear to be a 'a weapon incorporating a knuckleduster'.
In fact I own a CS 1917 Cutlass. Its handguard is suitable for use as a knuckleduster and historical evidence might support the suggestion that it is designed to be used as such. So I would worry more about that than a HideAway in all honesty. Having said that I did not import it and do not plan on selling it so am perfectly legal in that respect in any case.
As for having your HideAway in public you need either LA or a reasonable excuse if they claim it to be a weapon per se or a good reason if they accept that it is simply a tool as it is a fixed knife.
Whether they would consider it a weapon or a tool depends on how they interpret the manufacturers marketing efforts. Who knows which way they would jump? It would all depend on the cirmcustances of you arrest.