British Knife Laws

[Mortblanc]

I have a question, not a comment.

I make custom knives after a fashion.

I have a friend on your side of the water and I would like to contribute a bushcraft knife to her kit.

Rather than make and ship something that she will never be allowed to take out of the house I am asking for the real limitations placed on you for such tools.

Or does the interpretation vary from one law enforcement officer to another?

We get mostly gossip, rumor and sensationalism over here and I am not certain what to use as guidlines.

This will be a straight blade knife.

[David075]

well im not sure what the law is I think being caught at the pub on Friday night with a blade would be not so good but say having a blade while heading into the woods with camping gear would be a lot more explainable as you could show good reason for having it

[Skean Dhude]

The cutting edge of its blade must not exceed 7.62 centimetres (3 inches).
The knife must be foldable and not capable of locking.

Basically a small folding penknife.

Blade length is always argued about so make sure it is not right on tolerance as they are shit hot on good citizens having lethal weapons.

[Skvez]

I'd like to add that you may have a locking or fixed blade longer than three inches "if you have a good reason for carrying the knife". This is the grey area where the lawyers make their money.

If you are a butcher and you have your butchers knives in a box in the boot [trunk] of the car on your way to your butchers shop you have a good reason to carry them (by the way under UK law your car is a 'public place'!). If you have them slung from you belt while you call into the shops, you don't have a good excuse to be carrying them.

[Mortblanc]

I see you fellows are uncertain also.

I should clearify.

This particular person often travels by public transport to and from camping destinations.

Would a fixed blade knife of no more then 3" (I will probably keep it 2.5"), kept in her backpack, be permitted for use at the camp and transported too and from the campsite?

[Highlander]

As Skvez has said above, she would have to give good reason for carrying the knife.

It would depend on what type of camping site she is going to, if it is a registered camping and caravan site,..then the answer would be no,.. they would be no real reason for her to have it

If she was off into a forest with a load of school children to learn about camping,,..then the chances are that she would have reason to carry it.

The blade kept in her back pack would help matters, she would not be allowed to have it on her waist for instance, so the chances are that no-one would ever know she had it,... a slight point on that, is that it is an offense to carry a concealed weapon, much of what happens is often up to the lawman on the spot

We do have a very poor law system where it comes to knifes

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I would also guess that there would be a problem is sending the knife over,...I don't know for sure,... but I am betting that if it was scanned and found,..it might well be confiscated,.... would it go through your customs ok?

[Geordie_Rob]

I have a mate at work who is a chef. He takes his knives home each day in his backpack on his motorbike. He has been stopped a few times & always declares right away he is a chef on the way to or from work & he is carrying multiple knives. Normally after a quick check he is on his way.

Like people said, if they aren't actually on your person (strapped to a belt/leg/other body part) then you should be fine.

Now, I am a part time gardener & carry a 16inch machete in the boot of my car. I've had it taken off me before (they done whatever they do & let me pick it up 3 days later). They said although I'm a gardener I didn't have reason to be carrying it & was very lucky to get it back. I think due to the fact I had numerous business cards & showed him the email address on my phone tallied with the one on the cards, thus backing up my claim, was the only reason i wasnt arrested on the spot. I was also able to verify my identity with the driving licence photo card so they knew I was who I was claiming to be.

[NorthernRaider]

Hmmmm I think I am going to get some business cards printed to say I'm a expedition leader and venture travel instructor , which is why I carry so much " interesting " kit in my EDC bag.

[Geordie_Rob]

Go for it. Can't harm your chances. Like I say, I had website & email address direct to my phone as well though.

[Carnebwen]

(5 March 2013, 22:16)NorthernRaider Wrote: Hmmmm I think I am going to get some business cards printed to say I'm a expedition leader and venture travel instructor , which is why I carry so much " interesting " kit in my EDC bag.

Mine looks more like a breaking and entering bag with all the stuff in it. Especially the two types of gloves and assorted tweezers, zipties etc.

I keep a non locking folder less than 3" in there too. Despite it being legal I think its better to carry that in the bag rather than on myself for reasons outlined above.