UK knife law

[Jamougha]

139 Offence of having article with blade or point in public place

(1) Subject to subsections (4) and (5) below, any person who has an article to which this section applies with him in a public place shall be guilty of an offence.
(2) Subject to subsection (3) below, this section applies to any article which has a blade or is sharply pointed except a folding pocketknife.
(3) This section applies to a folding pocketknife if the cutting edge of its blade exceeds 3 inches.
(4) It shall be a defence for a person charged with an offence under this section to prove that he had good reason or lawful authority for having the article with him in a public place.
(5) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (4) above, it shall be a defence for a person charged with an offence under this section to prove that he had the article with him—
(a) for use at work;
(b) for religious reasons; or
(c) as part of any national costume.

OK I have just seen lots of people here saying that locking knives are illegal to carry under UK law, even if the blade is under 3". My own research indicates that this isn't true - as you see above the Act refers to a 'folding pocketknive'. Nowhere does the act refer to a knife with a locking blade. The only way it could be illegal is if there had been a test case where the judge decided that a knife with a locking blade was not a folding pocket knife. As far as I can tell such a test case has never happened, so while it may be a grey area, it also appears that no-one has ever been prosecuted for possessing one either.

Interested if anyone has any more in-depth knowledge on this?

 

[Hodsta]

Harris vs. Director of Public Prosecutions

Here it was ruled that a folding pocket knife could be closed by the simple act of folding, a lock-knife having a release mechinism was seen to be outside of this definition.

http://www.hrcr.org/safrica/arrested_rights/Harris_DirPubPros.htm

 

[Jamougha]

Oh well, thank you.

 

[phaserrifle]

any folding knife that has a locking blade (including multi-tools) is illegal for general carry in the uk. however if you have a valid reason to be carrying it at the time, it is fine.
the same aplies for any non-locking knife with a blade over 3 inches long.
a valid reason would usualy be either as part of a job (eg buliders could carry locking leatherman type knives) hobby (eg a sheath knife carried by a scout going on camp) or more unsusualy for religious reasons, or as part of a national dress (most commanly a scotsmans dirk/skean duhg)

switchblades, butterfly knives, push daggers, belt-buckle knives, sword canes, any plastic knife desined as a wepon, and any knife desined to look like annother item (eg hidden wihin a pen, or inside a lip-stick) are all illegal no matter what situation you are in (although there are some verry specialist exemptions, these can be discounted for almost everyone)

 

[Dr_Lumen]

Hello all,
Knife laws always seem to be so misunderstood... that's a general comment - not aimed at anyone here.. the following is my two-bob's worth, not saying it's right...

My understanding of the UK knife carrying laws is that you need a legitimate reason to carry a knife (which is not strictly enforced - i.e. they don't mind people carrying non-offensive knives), but even if you DO have a legitimate reason, the knife must not lock or have a blade longer than 3" (this may well be relaxed for tradesmen with their Leatherman's). When travelling around the UK (and I find authorities are usually fairly lenient on tourists about these things), I was told by a security guard (who I was very lucky to get it back from) and a police officer (who I asked) that my 2 1/2" liner lock was definitely illegal and only my Australian accent allowed me to keep it (my full sized Swiss army knife was fine).
Also, the existence (and popularity) of the Spyderco UK Model also suggests this is the case - I would think Spyderco would have done their research before going down this track.

Not saying anyone is right or wrong, just more food for thought...

Rod.. :shrug:

 

[Hodsta]

My post did not indicate that a locking knife was illegal just clarify the definition of a folding pocker knife.

It is perfectly legal to own an OTF automatic in the UK, but, there are few excuses for carrying one other than travelling to a knife collectors get together, that would keep you out of court if you were found carrying one.

The question is one of use and justification. A folder less than 3 inches("which can be closed by the simple act of folding" as opposed to a lock knife) is legal without justification to carry (except for locations listed by the "Act" pubs, clubs etc). Anything else you need a reasonable justification and the burden of proof resides with you.

 

[bagman]

It is perfectly legal to own an OTF automatic in the UK, but, there are few excuses for carrying one other than travelling to a knife collectors get together, that would keep you out of court if you were fpund carrying one.

Not quite true as there is also the offence of buying, importing, maufacturing etc. an automatic knife, you might find it hard to explain how you legally came by such an item!!!

 

[Hodsta]

Not quite true as there is also the offence of buying, importing, maufacturing etc. an automatic knife, you might find it hard to explain how you legally came by such an item!!!

You could have come to legally buy one before they became illegal. The laws are out there for all to see and not all are so obtuse they need to be qualified by precident.

 

[monkeyboy]

What about fixed blade or kitchen knives? How do you define a public place?

 

[sskyy]

A good FAQ here