Scouts and Knives
Knives have been in the news with increasing regularity over recent years and not for the right reasons. The media like to sensationalise everything, so the actual information is often lost amongst the scaremongery. This leads to the general public being unsure of the facts. Scouts often have the need for a good knife, in fact the national psyche instantly puts a knife on the belt of every Scout in ‘the old days’. Sadly, now of course there is confusion as to when a scout should or is allowed to carry a knife. Here I hope to explain how things are seen in the eyes of the law and to help clear the waters a little.
The law in a nutshell:
· Anybody over the age of 18 can legally buy any knife that hasn’t been banned in the UK.
· Children of any age can legally buy a non-locking sub-3” folding knife (swiss army knife, etc).
· Anybody, irrespective of age, may ONLY carry a non-locking sub-3” folding knife in a public place (except around airports, where you will be stopped as a terrorist) without lawful excuse.
· Under 18’s may not carry a knife of any sort on school premises.
Knives and Scouts
When not engaged as Scouts, by law any child or adult may only carry a non-locking sub-3” folding knife, but the Scout Association has its own house rules that must be followed. There is very little information concerning knives provided by the Association, here is the gist of it:
· Knives should be carried to and from meets by an adult
· Knives should be stowed in the middle of a bag/rucksack when transporting
· Knives are tools and should be treated as such: use the appropriate tool for the job (don’t use a large fixed blade for carving or a penknife for clearing brush)
· Knives should be stored away until there is a need for them to be used.
· Campsites are considered public places (when used for a camp) and so knives are not to be carried.
· Horse play will not be tolerated.
· Except for reasons of religion, knives may not be worn with uniform
There is no differentiation and some confusion between the street-legal folding knife and a fixed blade; this is often where people get confused about the rules. It is probably safest to assume that knives of any sort should not be carried by anybody to a Scout meeting or camp, unless there is likely to be a specific need for one; in which case they are kept by the Scout leaders and handed out as required. If the law and common sense are applied, then I personally would say that a scout carrying a street-legal folding knife at a meeting or camp is fine, but fixed (or locking) blades should be dished out to the scouts when they are about to use them. It is sad to say that where once the Scout was required to wear a sheath knife as part of the uniform, now many adults wouldn’t let them use a knife at all. I have always firmly believed that the scouts are just the kids that we shouldn’t worry about their conduct when carrying or using knives! I would also suggest that proper training in the use and care of knives (and other tools) be taken, not only by the Scout but also by the leaders who are in charge.
