UK legal question

[iceaxe]

Would some of our international members be so kind as to update me about the current knife carry laws in the UK? My parents (American citizens, as am I) will be living about an hour north of London for the next 6 months or so. I'll be there for christmas and was thinking about giving my father a small spydie/money clip, however I just saw something that stated all locking knives are illegal to carry in GB. I suppose he can always store it away until returning to the States, but I thought I should know, and this forum seemed the ideal place to ask. And I'm wondering what/if I can carry -- I may head to Scotland for a bit after the holidays.

Hmm, maybe I'll see if I can dig up a Claymore... :D

Thanks, or perhaps "cheers," or "ta,"
ia

[Senate]

Uk and more generally European countries knife laws are very strict. any locking folders is forbidden and the length of the blade must stay around the 3 inches max.
this is why spyderco developped the C94 UKPK, to be 100% legal in the UK, check it out.

[tomtom]

check this out http://www.britishblades.com/forums/for ... y.php?f=39

Senate has it pretty much spot on, you can carry a non locking sub 3" folder with out a reason in a public place (make sure you swat up on what counts as a public place) you can carry a longer locking folder or fixed blade providing you have a good reson (in the eyes of the autoritys) for having it on your person..

[v34]

As a Scotsman, a Policeman in Scotland and formerly a Policeman in London I can only recommend anything non-locking. The UKPK is the way to go Spyderco wise otherwise a Swiss army knife.
Remember even a black G10 UKPK could attract unecessary attention from largely NKP society.
I carry a UKPK off-duty and can highly recommend it as a knife.
Do a search on this forum for the legalities on UK carry. On the British Blades website forum it goes to pages and pages :D

[ruxton]

The UKPK is the way to go... even then though it's risky. Unless you happen to be a sikh, then you can carry a kirpan like this...

or if your scottish (and you wear a kilt with it) you get to carry a dirk like this...

Presumably if you're a scottish sikh you get to carry both.
Anyone who isn't a sihk or scottish can't be trusted with anything that locks or anything bigger than a swiss army knife.
Don't you just love the UK!

[Zerileous]

I would find it somewhat dificult to combine traditional sikh garb with a scottish kilt, but kudos to anyone who can pull it off. :P

I think the idea behind the kirpan and dirks is that they are not used and more traditional/religious symbols and allowed for that reason. I know someone carried a kirpan at my HS (pre columbine) with the restriction that it couldnt be removed from the scabbard.

[ruxton]

If spyderco made a kirpan (SE) I'd convert and become a sikh. :)

[iceaxe]

Sorry, because I've been tied up and this is long overdue...

But thank you to everyone who responded to this topic. I couldn't have hoped for more than the advice of a former UK police officer, and residents who are knife enthusiasts. And Sikhs wearing kilts. :-)

Again, many thanks.

ia

[Jack142]

I got a question ... Would the opinal knives be considered locking and illegal in England ... or that matter in Europe ?
Good knife hunting
Jack

[Ging]

I got a question ... Would the opinal knives be considered locking and illegal in England ... or that matter in Europe ?
Good knife hunting
Jack

An opinal is classed as an lock knife (in the UK) but is very NKP friendly (it has a wooden handle). This means that while it is illegal to carry it without a good reason (if you get evolved with the law) but will raise less eyebrows with people day to day.

I can't speak for the rest of Europe but as it is friendly looking it should be OK unless their laws are like the UK (some countries are more friendly, Germany and Holland I think)

[peacefuljeffrey]

Don't you just love the UK!

I did... when all I knew of it was Monty Python's Flying Circus... well before I learned how it really is over there. :rolleyes:

Now it just makes me sick to my stomach.


I'm so glad they have strict knife laws in the U.K.! :rolleyes:


-Jeffrey

[Simon G]

... well before I learned how it really is over there. :rolleyes:

Now it just makes me sick to my stomach.

You need to do a lot more learning!

How it really is? :mad:

The way it is? British blood is being spilt in Iraq and Afganistan because your call was answered over here, that's the way it is.

[Peter1960]

... Now it just makes me sick to my stomach.

I'm so glad they have strict knife laws in the U.K.! :rolleyes:

Jeffrey, in my ears that sound arrogant and inadequate and has nothing to do with the theme of the thread. Oh boy, think about an excuse.

What is often to read: Just my 2 cents ...

[UK KEN]

I did... when all I knew of it was Monty Python's Flying Circus... well before I learned how it really is over there. :rolleyes:

Now it just makes me sick to my stomach.


I'm so glad they have strict knife laws in the U.K.! :rolleyes:


-Jeffrey

Jeffrey

Come over for a visit and I'll show you how "it really is" over here! :)

Ken

[Richard IV]

If a nation has rights to dislike England, it's France :D (renember Crecry, Poitiers, Azincourt, Trafalgar, Waterloo... :eek: )

But still, anybody who knows anything about this country LOVES it. Period.

Even if only because of english "sense of humour" :)

And Opinel is NOT a legal knife in UK (except the small ones with no locks)

R.IV

[ruxton]

Don't get me wrong, I love the UK, it's a great place to live, I've been all over the world and the only other place I would want to live is amsterdam. It's just that the knife laws here are stupid and that makes me unhappy because like everyone else here I really like knives :D

[iceaxe]

"How how it really is over there."

What an odd comment. When I'm in the UK over the holidays, it'll be my 7th or 8th visit -- and the key word in that statement is "visit." In all those trips, I have never once stayed in a hotel, living instead in rented flats or with friends. I attended kindergarten in Harpenden, once spent ~3 weeks in Bloomsbury Square doing almost nothing but going to the theatre, and have driven from London to Inverness, Scotland.

And after all that, I am still not qualified to state with any authority "how it really is over there."

I can say this, however. Laws that deal with owning and carrying weapons reflect that people's culture and history. And until fairly recently, many LE officers in England (including metro London) did not carry guns. The act of shooting a LE officer was so culturally stigmatized that it rarely occured (perhaps once a year or so) and was greeted with massive public outrage. Now, imagine laws about carrying knives evolving from within that environment.

I am not suggesting GB has no bad cops, or bad laws, or bad citizens: just no more than here. Governments are not people, and what so often divides us is the narrow-minded assumption that the actions of a few zealots define an entire nation of people.

ia