I just received a back issue of March's Knife World in which they feature the Spyderco TV advertisements, showing everyday folk using knives in practical non "menacing" ways. This got me to thinking how much we could use something like that here in England.
The police in particular here have a really extreme attitude towards knives. It seems they can only see them as offensive weapons and not as the fantastic all round utility items they usually are (even so called combat knives). A 3" blade is allowed, but the onus is on the carrier to prove they have a valid reason for carrying it. I have heard of friends having multi-tools confiscated, even though they are obviously utility items and generally have 3 inch blades. Further, the 3" rule does not apply to lock knives, even though this mechanism is more a safety than an offensive feature.
There is even a law called the Knife Law which, when implemented, gives police the power to stop and search any one if they suspect that offensive edged weapons may be present in an area/ crowd. See the knivesUK web site http://members.aol.com/knivesuk/law.htm for more info on the UK's tangled laws.
Also, Paladin Press Europe has just finished a 2 year court battle after being busted and almost put out of business because they stocked knife fighting videos - never mind that they only offered them to LEOs and not the general public.
In short, there seems to be a kind of hysteria and a lot of ignorance here regarding knives. Perhaps you could get a UK importer to invest in a few commercials here? It would be nice to introduce a bit of sanity
Kallisti
The police in particular here have a really extreme attitude towards knives. It seems they can only see them as offensive weapons and not as the fantastic all round utility items they usually are (even so called combat knives). A 3" blade is allowed, but the onus is on the carrier to prove they have a valid reason for carrying it. I have heard of friends having multi-tools confiscated, even though they are obviously utility items and generally have 3 inch blades. Further, the 3" rule does not apply to lock knives, even though this mechanism is more a safety than an offensive feature.
There is even a law called the Knife Law which, when implemented, gives police the power to stop and search any one if they suspect that offensive edged weapons may be present in an area/ crowd. See the knivesUK web site http://members.aol.com/knivesuk/law.htm for more info on the UK's tangled laws.
Also, Paladin Press Europe has just finished a 2 year court battle after being busted and almost put out of business because they stocked knife fighting videos - never mind that they only offered them to LEOs and not the general public.
In short, there seems to be a kind of hysteria and a lot of ignorance here regarding knives. Perhaps you could get a UK importer to invest in a few commercials here? It would be nice to introduce a bit of sanity
Kallisti
