Mayor of London Tweets Carrying a Knife is Unlawful?

a reply to: hopenotfeariswhatweneed

Good thing he was drunk enough to numb the pain.

originally posted by: seagull


What are the laws in Great Britain regarding carrying something like this?

That is also on the naughty list. The Prevention of Crime Act 1953 specifically states that it is an offence to carry any article which is designed as a weapon or is intended to be used as such. Batons fall into this category. Self defence is generally not regarded as reasonable excuse for the public unless you are specifically identified by virtue of specific professions such as police etc.

There are certain people who can carry a weapon, for example some ex members of the security forces in N Ireland can carry pistols due to onging threats. These are becoming quite rare now however. There are also a very few PPW licenses on the mainland, but again extremely rare (less than150 I believe).

a reply to: knows_but_doesnt

We can all see how wrong the treatment of this problem is. One of my personal concerns is the not-so-subtle reclassification of agricultural tools, such as machetes, as weapons. A machete can be carried as a weapon and used as a weapon, but it is designed for agricultural use or path clearing.

. . . there is never a reason to carry a knife.

twitter.com... Flondon-may
In your fairytale office life maybe.

I cut baler twine today with my Sheffield-made folding knife. You can pull the string off a hay bale sideways but it's difficult with a tightly packed bale. I know a farmer who picks up a piece of flat stone and saws through any baler twine he has to cut. I've just finished a fortnight looking after goats. Most of them wear collars. There's always the chance of a sudden dire emergency when a collar would need to be cut through.

a reply to: Kester

I think you're missing context here. The tasks you describe would likely be considered reasonable justification and therefore legal. The mayor of London is talking about London strangely enough. There aren't many instances I can think of when the routine carrying of a machete would be consideted reasonable in his city.

Can you name any common reasons for carrying a knife in the city which could not be carried out with a 3" folder?

I'm not condoning the law here - I think it's stupid. But I can see the point he makes.

a reply to: PaddyInf

At odds is the American notion of its better to have and not want than need and not have.

Even the most ardent city slickers are usually only 1 generation removed from the country

Smith and Wesson are wal-mart throw away knives. But any knife will do if you can’t get a gun because some armed bodyguard protected Leftist says you life isn’t as important. Bet the mayor or London has plenty of armed security.a reply to: Allaroundyou

originally posted by: theantediluvian
The takes in here are amazing. It takes about 5 seconds and a search engine to find out that in the UK, it's illegal to carry a knife in public "without good reason" unless it's a folding knife with a blade 3 inches or less in length and the blade is non-locking.

100% correct. I don't understand either - outrage about reminding people of existing laws? How very dare he? This isn't new laws either........

a reply to: PaddyInf

Under current legislation I need no justification for carrying a non-locking folding blade three inches or shorter. The exact wording of the tweet is.

No excuses: there is never a reason to carry a knife. Anyone who does will be caught, and they will feel the full force of the law.

It sounds like he's taken on the mindset in which every knife is a weapon. I agree with local restrictions in courtrooms, sporting events etc. But as some of us will have come across, in a rescue situation when a knife is needed people start screeching for a sharp knife.

I occasionally take a machete to my local nuclear power station to clear a public footpath. The first time I did it I expected to be confronted by armed nuclear police. All that happened was decommissioning staff made monkey noises at me through the hedge. I'd inadvertently exposed their skiving spot to public view. I wasn't left with the feeling that we are getting value for money in nuclear decommissioning.

London is a large and varied environment. The concrete parts are one story. There will be other parts where locking or fixed blade knives will sometimes have practical uses. I used to carry an illegal, large locking knife on my bicycle commute. Twice I was ready to use it, both times against Dobermans with badly trained owners.

I think the mayor should specify exactly what he means. Knives carried as weapons intended for use against other humans.

Need to ban politicians.

a reply to: knows_but_doesnt

They are only banning "assault knives".

You Can carry a Knife!
you can if you have a religious beliefs!
Like seek or even a Pagan!

you can carry a bow or air rifle in a bag!

oh! and what if you use a knife in your Work?
can you not have one in a tool box?
I some times have some tools in my pocket!
screwdrivers very small knife to trim cables...

No excuse for carrying literally the most common and versatile tool in human history he says.

I weep.

originally posted by: seagull

Big blade, as opposed to a small blade. Have you ever seen the damage a "small" blade can do? There's a reason I don't carry a big blade--you don't need to.

Think of shanks where they are extremely well hidden in prison and very lethal.

That's nuts... his statement and the law that's already on the books.

I have carried either a knife or a multi-tool for at least 35 years, when I was young and hunting and fishing all the time always have my old timer buck knife on me. As I started working on Airplanes for a living I always carried a multi-tool on me because you never knew when you would need something and it just grew to be habit.

Was a very hard habit to break living in Germany, but while living there I tried my best to follow their laws.

originally posted by: SlowNail
Carrying large knives has been banned for years. And rightly so. There's no need to wander the streets with a blade.

Many of us work with knives. I couldn't do my job without knives and we're always on the move, but if I took them for a walk in public, I'd expect trouble.

Would you? How would anyone even know you had a blade in your pocket? Are there X-Men walking around with X-Ray vision who can see your concealed weapon and want to "cause trouble" with you because you're armed?

Seriously, I'm seeing some major logical fallacies with this impending prison society we're supposed to accept...

Define knife. I have a Swiss Army "knife" but it's really a tool.



I use the thing damn near daily.

originally posted by: theantediluvian
The takes in here are amazing. It takes about 5 seconds and a search engine to find out that in the UK, it's illegal to carry a knife in public "without good reason" unless it's a folding knife with a blade 3 inches or less in length and the blade is non-locking.

Perfectly legal if you're Sikh as well as riding a motorcycle without a helmet. I love Sikhs but the the laws here vary depending on the colour of your skin and the religion you follow...

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

I feel that is a very correct statement when you say he is doing more for our 2nd amendment than anything we are doing

a reply to: Wide-Eyes

Yea, not exactly equal is it?

They are required (not allowed) to carry a knife (kirpan) as part of the 5 fundamental articles of faith to be carried by all confirmed Sikhs as laid out by Guru Gobing Singh in 1699. In the UK it is very rare for them to carry the full size one, instead typically carrying one with a 3" blade. It has caused some controversy for the reasons already covered in thos thread.

However I suppose we can take some comfort in the low levels of Sikh related knife crime.