Knife law in the UK

H

hawkinsa21

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Jan 5, 2007
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Can anyone clarify this for me??

I've read somewhere that only a folding knife with no locking mechanism can be carried even if under 3" blade, but the knife law I've read on various websites, including government sites, state no more than a 3" blade on a knife that is capable of being folded...

It doesn't specifically state that a lock knife cannot be used, as Im interpreting that a knife capable of folding includes a lock knife, as it can be folded...


Anyone clarifiy this?? Am I reading into this correctly or have I been reading old and out of date info??


Thanks guys,


Alex

ps - I used the advanced find and searched for 'uk law' in the knife law threads, but didn't return anything obviously for the UK...
 
If I've understood correctly there has been a case (Harris and Deegan) where it was succesfully argued that a locked blade is, for all intents and purposes, fixed. Therefore although the law alows folding knives, it is not currently considered that a locking knife is folding (yes it's daft but...).
It is possible that the descision could be overturned by a higher level court, but at the moment it is the applicable precedent.


You'll find a lot of discussion of the case and it's applications over on "British blades"

I'm sure you know already, but this law applies to carrying the knife with no "good reason" not ownership of it.
 
ah, so even if I have a folding knife (not locking) under 3", I have to have a good reason for having it?
 
That's right - which means be a good boy scout and be prepared with a good reason for carrying your pocket knife!

Surprisingly, the practical applications of knife-carrying in the UK often come down to common sense and not the letter of the law: one example being that if you're carrying a 'perfectly legal, non-locking, 2 inch blade', but are running around poking ppl with it, you're gonna get done just as if you were slashing ppl with a katana. So in some ways, as long as what you're doing with the knife doesn't break the law, the knife isn't breaking the law - assuming there's not another written down reason for the blade being illegal to carry (a lot of kinds are specifically cited as illegal in various acts). What i've heard policemen say is that the main question about knife carry is what are you carrying it for... and what you were doing with it to attract attention?

Personally, my main point of contention with the Uk knife carry laws are the stuff about locking blades, because apparently (altho i'm not expert), that 'law' is actually just what a judge let a lawyer argue back in 1988 or something - that locking=fixed=illegal to carry.

... ditto to british blades forum - there's a lot of stuff there, some good advice from coppers - do some searching and reading before you post a question, because there's tons of repeated 'what if' questions on there ('what if I'm carrying a knife of this length from A to B and I go into a shop and I forgot I had it on me...' etc)
 
No; that's the exception, a non-locking ("slip-joint") folder (such as a SAK/most multitools or similar) is able to be carried without excuse(as I understand it, I'm not a lawyer). There are a good few perfectly practical knives in that category still, it just takes a bit more looking unfortunately(and deprives us of a useful safety feature).

The interesting bit is, as I read it, technically that law actually means that pens and pencils are also illegal without reasons (not that any bobby is going to pull someone for that:>).
 
ArchieCS said:
That's right - which means be a good boy scout and be prepared with a good reason for carrying your pocket knife!

Surprisingly, the practical applications of knife-carrying in the UK often come down to common sense and not the letter of the law: one example being that if you're carrying a 'perfectly legal, non-locking, 2 inch blade', but are running around poking ppl with it, you're gonna get done just as if you were slashing ppl with a katana. So in some ways, as long as what you're doing with the knife doesn't break the law, the knife isn't breaking the law - assuming there's not another written down reason for the blade being illegal to carry (a lot of kinds are specifically cited as illegal in various acts). What i've heard policemen say is that the main question about knife carry is what are you carrying it for... and what you were doing with it to attract attention?

Personally, my main point of contention with the Uk knife carry laws are the stuff about locking blades, because apparently (altho i'm not expert), that 'law' is actually just what a judge let a lawyer argue back in 1988 or something - that locking=fixed=illegal to carry.

... ditto to british blades forum - there's a lot of stuff there, some good advice from coppers - do some searching and reading before you post a question, because there's tons of repeated 'what if' questions on there ('what if I'm carrying a knife of this length from A to B and I go into a shop and I forgot I had it on me...' etc)
Click to expand...

It all went to the Court of Appeal in 1998 and they decided that the previous cases stood but went on to say;

"point of general public importance certified as follows:
'That the article 'a folding pocket knife' as mentioned in section 139(2) Criminal Justice Act 1988 as being an exemption subject to subsection (3) to the offence made by section 139(1) means a knife that has a blade that folds, whether or not it (the blade) is capable of being opened and locked into an open position and equally capable of being folded once the mechanism had been operated to unlock the blade."

Talk about convoluted.
 
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