British police calling for knife ban

This knife phobia has gotten so bad that you can get locked up for carrying one of those little swiss army knives around.
It's pathetic.

Here's a real instance of the current stupidity.
My eldest son is a Royal Marine Cadet, every year he goes on summer camp which is usually held in Brecon at an MOD site used for training full time soldiers and Marines.

This year, he isn't allowed to take a 3 inch pen knife because of how dangerous it might be.

This is during a week when he and his mates will be handling and firing sa80a2 rifles, with live rounds.

Think about that, they can be trusted with a semi auto version of the main, British Army assault rifle, but not a small pocket knife.

a reply to: proob4

Silly Brit's, the next thing they will want to ban is sticks and stones.

You cant ban sticks and stones , we need them for world war 4 .

a reply to: sprocketuk

Actually, it's the L98A2 (Which replaced the L98A1 that I was so fond of), it's the cadet variant of the L85A1/2.

They are all part of the same group which is SA80.

Sorry for nitpicking, lol.

a reply to: woogleuk
That's perfectly fine

If he was here, he's have corrected me too lol

originally posted by: stormbringer1701
right. that is why british survivalist sites talk about the restrictions of survival knifes that have already occurred. discussions of is this or that hunting knife legal are common.

Then they're mistaken - here's a site for buying full survival kit, machetes, parangs, swords and loads of different knives - a parang is several knives in one blade, if people can't get the job done with that then they're not going to survive regardless of what knife they have. www.knifewarehouse.co.uk/

a reply to: sprocketuk

I highly doubt any of that is down to a ban, more the DS not wanting paperwork - was in the brecons the other week, a hunting knife, swiss and parang were both mandatory kit and no one could leave the RV without one.

a reply to: bastion

Correct the law is you just have to have a good reason for carrying one.

www.gov.uk...

Out on the town pissed up on a friday night is no reason to have a knife but their are plenty of times when it is valid and legal to do so.

Oh some good advice here about knives.

www.thebushcraftstore.co.uk...

a reply to: sprocketuk

Been a long time since I fired one, about 18 years...the L98A1 was single shot as it had no gas chamber, they did make a .22 conversion kit which gave it semi-auto capability.

It makes me laugh when the yanks claim us Brits are scared of firearms, I, like many others, will have enjoyed our time using these machines responsibly, but also gave us an appreciation of how dangerous they can be.

I remember once on a night exercise and someone got in front of me, couldn't see him, I pulled the trigger and heard a scream....didn't half graze his face, and that was just a blank round.

our local school follows state law on knives, so my son typically carries one to school. Most often its his leatherman tool, whicch he puts to use in his welding class. A couple of times he repaired an instrument in band, or his binder.

The problem is: people who intend to go about their lives in a responsible manner are in the vast majority. There are idiots among us that behave like idiots, and then you see laws passed to try to keep the idiots in a smaller box. But what ends up happening is well reasoned individuals are banned from having the freedom to be responsible.

I keep an assisted open knife on my desk at work. Mostly as a letter opener. Sometimes i open a package of cheese or something for a snack. I don't think i have ever stuck it in anyone...at least not consciously. So why would i have my ability to own such limited?

I understand the OP is abbout a voluntary surrender. But the thread seems to be more about the coming knife seizure that the UK faces (LOL).

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

Anyone in the UK can use knives in exactly the same way you describe.
Its not illegal now, nor will it ever be.

But the thread seems to be more about the coming knife seizure that the UK faces

But there is no imminent 'knife seizure'.....and again, nor will there ever be.

This whole thread is based on a false premise and should be consigned to the Hoax Forum.

a reply to: Freeborn

LOL...yeah. Its pretty specious

I just thought I'd comment on the direction the topic turned. Mostly because I see the term "you just have to have a good reason" used.

I train with and own a variety of karambit knives. One is folding, non lock and has a 3 inch blade but I doubt I'd be able to use it for EDC due to the average person bricking it when they see it and what it can do. I'd imagine the police wouldn't be cool with it either despite it fitting the legal parameters. Shame as it's quite useful.

originally posted by: MagnaCarta2015
I'd imagine the police wouldn't be cool with it either despite it fitting the legal parameters. Shame as it's quite useful.

Why would the police care, unless you are carrying it around with you for no good reason and the blade is more then 3 inches.

(it is illegal to...) carry a knife in public without good reason - unless it’s a knife with a folding blade 3 inches long (7.62 cm) or less, eg a Swiss Army knife

Source

This thread is a perfect example of silliness. I irregularly carry a long and exceptionally sharp fillet knife when I'm off to catch mackerel - that's good reason. If I wonder into a pub with it "because I'm cool and no one messes with me" then I'm a dickhead and deserve the attention of the police, mainly because my fellow drinkers would be a tad wary of me.

I still don't get the worry. I collect knives....I have for YEARS. Even used to go to a knifemakers shop weekly to learn the art. I regularly carry a folding pocket knife on me and it gets used for something every single day, whether it be cutting open a box or trimming a hang nail or poking through the foil cover on whatever drink/pill bottle/food I am opening, etc....

I mean seriously...a knife is a tool. It isn't like I am carrying around a sword or a "Rambo" style survival knife. What is the worry with a knife people?

I think edc means every day carry. I doubt it would be legal in a city as they're a farming/wetkland knife. Although if you were going to or from training or intended to use it for training it would be perfectly legal to do so, though police may want to see some evidence of belonging to a training group to make sure you're not blagging as they do look pretty damn impressive/dangerous. Or just ask you to train somewhere quieter where daily mail readers aren't going to see it and phone 999.

a reply to: Vasa Croe

But that's the point many of us have been making; there is absolutely no problem with carrying a knife and using it in exactly the way you have described......its not illegal to do so and no-one has seriously proposed that it should be.

Yup, all perfectly legal in the UK. I rarely leave home during the day without one as they have so many uses, as you correctly state, and it's far easier to carry one item than a few dozen - better to have stuff you don't need then need stuff you don't have.

a reply to: bastion

Yep every day carry. You're absolutely right but tbh I could do without the hassle of having to explain it and potentially waste time at the police station. I live in a high crime area so stop and search for me is pretty common.

originally posted by: paraphi


Why would the police care, unless you are carrying it around with you for no good reason and the blade is more then 3 inches.

That's the biggest problem I have with the whole idea... the police get to decide what is "no good reason."

I carry a knife because I may have to open a package, or pick out a splinter, or any number of other tasks which some people might deem "no good reason." Just because I'm not a professional butcher or on my way to a fishing lake doesn't mean I don't have valid reasons for carrying a knife.

Laws that can be enforced based on objectivity are a very bad idea and open the door for abuse.

Maybe you trust your police to determine who the bad guys are just by looking at them, but I sure as hell don't.

At the end of the day, I can't be a hypocrite and say that you guys should fight the laws if you're comfortable with them. If that's what you want for your country, by all means... support it. I just see that the slippery slope is in full effect since they banned guns first and now that the criminals switched to knives, they passed laws against those as well. What's next?

originally posted by: Freeborn
a reply to: Vasa Croe

But that's the point many of us have been making; there is absolutely no problem with carrying a knife and using it in exactly the way you have described......its not illegal to do so and no-one has seriously proposed that it should be.

the thinly veiled point here was that in the UK, guns were voluntarily surrendered. (I get that you are allowed some form of gun ownership) This Article suggested that knives were next on the list. All to thwart the evil that exists in this world. Sadly, removing any and all weapons from society will not remove the will for an evil person to do evil things. Rocks, sticks, ninja paper plates, all could be used for nefarious purposes.

It goes along with the knee jerk reaction to any violent crime involving a gun, needs a crowd of idiots screaming for more gun laws.

It sadly devolved into a bash the UK theme, which I highly doubt the OP had in mind.

Can't we all just get along? -Rodney King

Anything can be a weapon.

Watch and learn.