You don't have to go that far back. My grandma carried a knife to church. She was from rural Croatia.
My father still carries a knife, and he still uses it for eating fruit.
My father still carries a knife, and he still uses it for eating fruit.
> Lock knives are not classed as folding knives and are illegal to carry in public without good reason. Lock knives: * have blades that can be locked and refolded only by pressing a button * can include multi-tool knives - tools that also contain other devices such as a screwdriver or can opener
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/33/contents
The knife stuff starts here: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/33/part/XI/crosshe...
That talks about the blade folding and being under 3 inches (you don't need a good reason to carry it in public), or the blade folding and being over 3 inches or not folding. It doesn't mention the mechanism of locking.
Knives that are illegal would be covered by section 141 - "offensive weapons".
The Knives Act 1997 covers marketing of knives: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1997/21/contents
The schedule to the Criminal Justice Act lists what weapons are currently illegal: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1988/2019/schedule/parag...
You'll see item 1 is a knuckleduster. If you're a child and you 3d print a knuckle duster a police officer is likely to tell you to stop fucking about and they'll confiscate and destroy the item. If you're a drug dealer with a history of violent offences they're likely to prosecute. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-45275791
This is a cultural difference in law enforcement, and it's something that derails conversations all the time on HN. Discretion in charging and prosecuting offences are seen as a good thing in the UK. But it's really important to remember this element of discretion when talking about how the written law is applied.
And indeed, about discretion. So much of how things work is outside the written law, and of varying quality.
UK is extremely restrictive with their knife laws according to their own page. I don't know why you're trying to depict it otherwise. I'm not even taking a side here.
The link posted says you can't carry some knives in public unless you have a good reason.
That's different from "Locking knives are illegal in public".
The acceptable reasons for carrying a knife listed on that government article are:
Examples of good reasons to carry a knife or weapon in public can include:
- taking knives you use at work to and from work
- taking it to a gallery or museum to be exhibited
- if it’ll be used for theatre, film, television, historical reenactment or religious purposes, for example the kirpan some Sikhs carry
- if it’ll be used in a demonstration or to teach someone how to use it
None of those mention carrying an Opinel to cut up an apple, and are so obscure.
In addition, you have the Mayor of London saying there is never any reason to carry a knife [1]. I suspect if you're on a hike in the Yorkshire moors, you could be ok. On the tube in London, probably not. Either way, you are gambling on a policeman's discretion.
[1] https://mobile.twitter.com/mayoroflondon/status/982906526334...
Yeah it is lame, but unfortunately you can't challenge politicians to a duel anymore.
stealth knives - a knife or spike not made from metal (except when used at home, for food or a toy)
No they're not.
This law is not aimed at the few people who carry opinels, but the many football hooligans who were carrying eg stanley knives.
There are knives that are illegal in the UK. One example would be flick knives.
'I want to' should suffice. It's a general-purpose tool, and one oughtn't be required to have a specific reason to carry a general-purpose tool.
This applies in the software context, e.g. to cryptography.