Would you (American knife collectors) still collect if you lived in the UK?

Yes, even in the U.K. I would carry a knife and probably collect whatever was legal. A Leatherman Squirt or small Victoriox SAK would be on me. I believe that a sharp cutting tool is a necessary thing anywhere in any society. Just once, in January of 1991, having a knife on me saved a life. An auto accident right in front of my car had a lady hanging from a seat belt in an upside down old Datsun that was starting to burn. The seat belts would just not release. I had to use my pocket knife to cu the belt. I refuse to be without a sharp bade.

If I had to live in the U.K. I would investigate the old lobster pen knives the Shefield used to specialize in. Or a Victorinox classic or executive would be on my keychain.

Our Brit cousins need to storm parliament and take back your country. If you need help, we yanks can give you advise on how to do it, as we did it to King George a couple centuries ago. Its time to remind the PM's of the basic rights of the English yeoman as spelled out in the Magna Carta and Blackstones Law.
 
jaseman said:
So my answer depends.

If teleported to the UK, as an American, I’d still acquire knives I could legally use as tools (can you have a fixed blade while hunting or farming there?).
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Yes, but you would literally need to be hunting or farming with the blade on your possession. No carrying it about afterwards. Without discussing the law, as apparently that can get the thread locked. But....

Would you acquire as many knives as you do in the states if you lived in the UK knowing there is a time and a place for them over here?
Would you limit your collection if your use of said knives was limited? Or still collect for the joy of collecting.
 
JParanee said:
Yes.... I’d collect my stuff and leave :)
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LOLZ! :D


NeverBeenTimid said:
Or any other country with stringent knife laws?

I know the laws vary state by state. But from what I can gather, Americans are trusted to carry knives about their person daily.

Living in Scotland, I've always had a thing for victorinox and multitools like leatherman. Living in the UK though we are severely limited in what we can and can't carry everyday. I'm not looking to discuss whether or not the laws here are correct or not. It is what it is.

However, I am curious. If by some strange twist of fate, Americans were suddenly teleported to the UK. Would you still bother procuring knifes? To me a knife is a tool. I don't see the point in spending mega money on a knife I'm not allowed to leave the house with so I avoid locking knives generally. I don't really understand the UK contingent who buy knives as ornaments.

I know some UK people might argue that locking knives aren't illegal and you can carry them with good reason. But generally, the good reason needs to be working with them. I can't imagine many people paying hundreds for a beautiful knife to use on a farm cutting hay bales for example. Americans can justify the expenditure on a big fancy locking knife which they can use everyday. But if you lived in the UK would you still buy knives for indoor use only?
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Collect? I'd have an hidden, underground sword smithy in operation immediately, and make black market swords for trusted, select clientele. o_O
 
I would still accumulate users as I do now.

I'm a traditional knife guy , so I would just carry whatever traditional pocket knife I wanted regardless of law and simply not get myself into trouble.
I'd make sure to use it discretely.
 
Hickory n steel said:
I'm a traditional knife guy , so I would just carry whatever traditional pocket knife I wanted regardless of law and simply not get myself into trouble.
I'd make sure to use it discretely.
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Would you really though? If you suddenly get teleported to the UK. As the OP states. Knowing the law. You would risk a prison sentence to carry your favourite knife? Or would you conform?
 
My ancestor was sent to Tasmania , so I'd likely collect both knives and guns.:)
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UDIVER said:
I would.

We have laws in the US, a lot of the states prohibit the use of "automatic" knives

But everyone still carries them.....;)

knife laws are a joke.
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Automatic knives are legal in my state, but I have no interest in carrying one for any reason. In restricted locales, you might very well carry your illegal knife until something happens and you get tossed in jail and end up spending your life's savings on attorneys.... and you still loose.
 
I don't consider myself a collector but I would stop buying knives if I went to the UK. I'd keep them in the house and carry a non-locking knife with a sub 3" blade which, to my understanding, is legal.

I would also do my best to change the current knife laws in the UK.
 
This is in part why I left my country. I come from a country with stupidly stringent weapon laws where criminals do whatever tf they want and the state only applies its full force on law abiding citizens and not criminals. It is so to the point there is a single store in the entire country to legally buy guns and none can be weapons that "any army would use". If you do have a weapon and somebody breaks into your house and you hurt them, you'll end up in jail until you can prove self defense.

As far as knives they are frowned upon by society in general. If you do carry one and you're stopped by police for any reason and they spot your knife, even if it is a little swiss army knife, it will most likely be "confiscated" not to say STOLEN by the police themselves. If you resist you could end up in jail. ****ed up place.

That being said, I did have a collection and I did carry a very small pocket knife with me sometimes, not always. I only had my collection because no. 1 I was lucky and no. 2 I was unaware that for my particular state within the country where I lived in it is illegal to "accumulate" "weapons". ****ed up place.

So anyways **** that sh**, **** that place where criminals have more rights than law abiding citizens & God bless the US of A and its Second Amendment! May they last forever.
 
That being said. I think the UK is pretty reasonable. As far as I know you can carry a sub 3'' non-locking folding knife for whatever reason and with the right permits you can even own rifles, pistols and swords and such like Matt Easton from scholagladiatoria does.

In Spain for example you can pretty much own anything you want but you could get in trouble for carrying a swiss army knife and could get a 500 Euro fine because it depends on the criteria of the officer who is inspecting or stopping you to determine if you had a justified reason for carrying a knife. lame.
 
NeverBeenTimid said:
Would you really though? If you suddenly get teleported to the UK. As the OP states. Knowing the law. You would risk a prison sentence to carry your favourite knife? Or would you conform?
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Yes I absolutely would, because as long as I'm cautious about how and where I use it nobody is going to know the difference between a small slipjoint and small lockback of the same size.
They don't have X-ray vision and can't see what's in my pocket when not in use so I can't imagine my knife carry would ever come into question.
 
Legendary_Jarl said:
This is in part why I left my country. I come from a country with stupidly stringent weapon laws where criminals do whatever tf they want and the state only applies its full force on law abiding citizens and not criminals. It is so to the point there is a single store in the entire country to legally buy guns and none can be weapons that "any army would use". If you do have a weapon and somebody breaks into your house and you hurt them, you'll end up in jail until you can prove self defense.

As far as knives they are frowned upon by society in general. If you do carry one and you're stopped by police for any reason and they spot your knife, even if it is a little swiss army knife, it will most likely be "confiscated" not to say STOLEN by the police themselves. If you resist you could end up in jail. ****ed up place.

That being said, I did have a collection and I did carry a very small pocket knife with me sometimes, not always. I only had my collection because no. 1 I was lucky and no. 2 I was unaware that for my particular state within the country where I lived in it is illegal to "accumulate" "weapons". ****ed up place.

So anyways **** that sh**, **** that place where criminals have more rights than law abiding citizens & God bless the US of A and its Second Amendment! May they last forever.
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Sweden?
 
NeverBeenTimid said:
So would you still collect knives if you lived in the UK with the restrictive laws or not?
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....yes absolutely.

NeverBeenTimid said:
Would you acquire as many knives as you do in the states if you lived in the UK knowing there is a time and a place for them over here? Would you limit your collection if your use of said knives was limited? Or still collect for the joy of collecting.
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.... yes i would not change.

The laws here in relation to knives (carrying them) are about at the 1/2 way point between the US and UK. Not hard to navigate with a modicum of common sense and applying the first rule of moving around in public "armed" (for want of a better word) - don't act like a dick. While the laws are the same the application of them once you are out of the urban areas here differ greatly. Most of the knives I own generally fixed blades but also around 30 +/- folders, these would still be legal to own in the UK and use as I do here.
 
If I found myself a subject of the crown by some odd circumstance collecting anything would be the last thing on my mind. Extricating myself from the situation would be my 1st priority.

If I were born there I would already be a subject and subject to all the draconian laws so probably would just die a slow meaningless death whilst trying to numb my mind at the local pub :)
 
NeverBeenTimid said:
@RedFury Not sure if there is any Irish in the family. Although McCabe is both an Irish and Scottish surname. Mothers maiden name is Calder which is a Highland Scottish clan apparently. Not really done much digging.

Ireland laws are strict, I don't even think you can carry a pen knife there, although Northern Ireland apparently allows you to own a handgun for self protection (probably because of the troubles) but UK knife laws still apply
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The UK has a lot more fatal stabbings than the USA on average. If firearms were banned in the USA, knife and baton fatalities would certainly increase.

When you blame the tool, not the person using the tool, you get laws like the UK on knives and Chicago (USA) on firearms.

Regarding the original question, I would be a lot more into slip joints in general, PUMA and similar fixed blades and AXES! I especially like the German origin pocket knives of pseudo-military origins (SAK style) and the various bayonets and military fixed blades (even knowing I won't ever mount a bayonet or need a 'trench' knife). I can find a lot of generally German origin hobo and military pocket knives that are cost-prohibitive to ship to the USA (i.e. a ~$100 knife with a ~$60 shipping charge) if the vendor will even ship out of the EU, assuming it is legal to do so. If I could 'land' them in the USA for ~$50~$80, I'd start collecting them now but, sadly the Euro and transport makes them cost-prohibitive (even without VAT) compared to similar items from other countries and sources.

Strangely enough, my Victorinox collectors knives generally came out of Russia or South Africa most of the time for some odd reason. My Moraknives, which I really don't consider to be 'collectible' are generally purchased out of Finland via Lanmia.

Scandinavian, Italian and, central European (i.e. German and Austrian mainly) axes are super sweet! It would be a whole lot easier to 'collect' them in Europe versus the USA where most places only have cheap imported Chinese or South American junk. We do have Council Tool as the only 'factory' produced quality axe sold broadly which is of similar, or in some cases, better quality than similar European options but, you are also talking about axes which are generally over $100USD. For similar money, I'm finding OCHSENKOPF work better as there is more to a good axe than blade steel 'quality'. Axe head design matters and the Europeans know how to make one that will cut or split with less effort! o_O
 
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