Legalise the Locking Penknife

[Ren]

- totally and utterly agree.........and, compulsory to have archery practice twice a month

And if you kill someone during archery practice, that's ok

[Manofkent]

does your other half believe you?

that's not what Mrs G tells me

Dont worry, that's before it's fully extended!

[firedragoneater]

I don't see any reason for the four inches, however, this is the only petition that I found on there supporting the legality of a locking knife. This as I say isn't my own petition but I felt that the locking section needed to be extended to at least multi tools.

[firedragoneater]

And further on that, the only reason I find the locking law a problem is because most multi tools only come in locking blades. If they didn't seem to nearly all be locking, I wouldn't have anything to complain about.

[Saint-Just]

tbh, all this talk of what length blade we should be able to carry is missing the real point imo. i would like to be able to choose whatever blade length and type of knife i want, to suit whatever job i have to do, without having to trot through pages of legislature to find out if it is ok.

In these specific circumstances I think you are the one missing the point: If you have a job to do that requires a knife, you have good reason to carry a locking folder of a fixed blade of the length you need.
And trotting through pages of legislature will not tell you if the judge will agree with your good reason to carry that knife

[Chastiser]

In these specific circumstances I think you are the one missing the point: If you have a job to do that requires a knife, you have good reason to carry a locking folder of a fixed blade of the length you need.
And trotting through pages of legislature will not tell you if the judge will agree with your good reason to carry that knife

i am not missing the point at all. i am simply saying it would be better not to have the restrictive laws at all, knife wise.

[Saint-Just]

But we do have them, don't we?
As do most countries. And in effect, they are not that bad. The only real problem is the fact that we cannot carry a locking pen-knife without good reason. And this removes from the list a lot of tools that would be convenient to carry 'just in case'.
I would edc a wave for instance, or a small sebenza. or even an opinel.
But if I worked in an environment where I could justify carrying a small -or even a large- fixed blade, I could do just that.
And you may not like to have to remove it from your belt when you go to the pub, but seeing how some behave after a couple of hours in said pub I must say I am rather happy they did not come "equipped".

We moan a lot about UK knife laws but they are not too bad.

[ANDYLASER]

I don't see any reason for the four inches, however, this is the only petition that I found on there supporting the legality of a locking knife. This as I say isn't my own petition but I felt that the locking section needed to be extended to at least multi tools.

And further on that, the only reason I find the locking law a problem is because most multi tools only come in locking blades. If they didn't seem to nearly all be locking, I wouldn't have anything to complain about.

Excellent and well reasoned responses.

[earthman]

But we do have them, don't we?
As do most countries. And in effect, they are not that bad. The only real problem is the fact that we cannot carry a locking pen-knife without good reason. And this removes from the list a lot of tools that would be convenient to carry 'just in case'.
I would edc a wave for instance, or a small sebenza. or even an opinel.
But if I worked in an environment where I could justify carrying a small -or even a large- fixed blade, I could do just that.
And you may not like to have to remove it from your belt when you go to the pub, but seeing how some behave after a couple of hours in said pub I must say I am rather happy they did not come "equipped".

We moan a lot about UK knife laws but they are not too bad.

But do the bad members of society actually remove such tools before going down the pub?
Somehow I doubt it??

[Danzo]

But do the bad members of society actually remove such tools before going down the pub?
Somehow I doubt it??

And that's precisely why we have laws to deter them from doing so and to punish them if they behave wrongly.

Danzo

[Stew]

But do the bad members of society actually remove such tools before going down the pub?
Somehow I doubt it??

Maybe true but what it means with the current law is if they're discovered carrying a knife in the pub is that they can be arrested. If it was legal to carry any type of blade anywhere, the 'bad members of society' could carry a knife down the pub, get drunk and only get arrested if they actually used it on someone. I know which way I prefer it to be. How about you?

[ldealberdi]

Am I missing something here? I thought lockers weren't allowed because case law shows them to be 'fixed blade knives' so wouldn't a better petition be to allow the carry of a fixed blade?

[Danzo]

Am I missing something here? I thought lockers weren't allowed because case law shows them to be 'fixed blade knives' so wouldn't a better petition be to allow the carry of a fixed blade?

We can carry a fixed blade. Everyone in the UK is allowed to carry a fixed blade knife if they need it at work or if they can show any other good reason for carrying it.

What we can't do is carry a fixed blade just because we like the idea of carrying one, and I guarantee that 99.99% of people in the UK do not want to allow people to carry fixed blades on a whim.

Danzo

[earthman]

And that's precisely why we have laws to deter them from doing so and to punish them if they behave wrongly.

Danzo

That doesn't seem to deter those sort of people though.

[ChrisR]

Am I missing something here? I thought lockers weren't allowed because case law shows them to be 'fixed blade knives' so wouldn't a better petition be to allow the carry of a fixed blade?

You are right that case law (Harris vs. DPP, 1993?) said that, as locking knives weren't explicitly allowed under s139 and they lock when open, they should be treated the same as fixed-blades. But the very reason that we want the ability to carry locking folders is that they are not equivalent in use to fixed blades and we don't need the right to carry a fixed blade, or for that matter a blade over 3-inches in length, for EDC purposes. A lock on a penknife is a safety device, as was agreed in Parliament before the 1988 Act was brought in, and confirmed by Regina vs. Deegan, 1998. As long as the knife was of a length that would deter its use as a weapon (perhaps under 2 inches) then I think it would make a very useful addition to EDC. All the usual s139 and RoOW restrictions and caveats would remain in force so the police would still have the powers to arrest if they felt that any knife was being carried as a weapon.