Musher
One of the Regulars
- Messages
- 233
- Location
- Middleburgh. New York
The classic flick-knife is a beautiful piece of design; always makes me think of Henry Fonda in Twelve Angry Men.
BowThey've been illegal in the UK for much the same time. The Restriction of Offensive Weapons Act 1959, which took effect 13 June 1959, in part was inspired by the US ban of 1958. Probably get away worth possessing one at home (as long as you inherited it, or were the original owner who bought it pre-ban - the main offence is in selling rather than owning, though if you bought one now you could technically be open to a charge of aiding and abetting the sale), but it would be illegal to buy and get there, and given I could never take it out anywhere and use it, seems a bit of a waste. I can see the point; it's unlikely anyone with a legitimate reason to use the knife will ever need one that opens that quickly, whereas they were often put to criminal use because they could be easily concealed within handy reach, and whipped out to attack very quickly. Once no longer able to easily obtain a switchblade, the Teddy boys took to carrying straight razors...which probably did as much and more harm to those trying to wield them as the intended targets. Gravity knives are included in the same ban, which is why re-enactors in the UK can only buy adapted versions of repro paratrooper knives.
Those are nice.... Case have been around a long time, haven't they? Mark Twain mentions them in Huckleberry Finn - as I recall in quite an unflattering light!
Have one of these I bought in France years ago. Still trying to figure out whether the rotating collar constitutes a 'lock' for UK legal purposes.
No on the Bowie knife... though TBH I can't think of why anyone would want to carry something like that as a 'just in case' as opposed to a weapon, so it's not a restriction that causes any complaint, really. WRT the hatchett, as long as you have a good reason to be carrying it at the time at which you were stopped by the police, it'd be fine. Technically it could be a problem if you had it lying in the car 'just because', though I suspect as long as you were reasonable, most plod would be likely to let you off with a warning and/or confiscation if they thought it was an innocent mistake, which would definitely not be the case with a bowie knife, ever. At least or now, a hatchett is not really perceived as a weapon in the same way as a knife, though that might well change if they become popular with gang kids. In reality in day to day UK life, though, very few people have any need to carry one around, or often even own a hatchett - bearing in mind that fewer and fewer folks here have an open fire at home, and there are neither quite the same wide open spaces as in the US, nor the same hunting culture.
The classic flick-knife is a beautiful piece of design; always makes me think of Henry Fonda in Twelve Angry Men.
They've been illegal in the UK for much the same time. The Restriction of Offensive Weapons Act 1959, which took effect 13 June 1959, in part was inspired by the US ban of 1958. Probably get away worth possessing one at home (as long as you inherited it, or were the original owner who bought it pre-ban - the main offence is in selling rather than owning, though if you bought one now you could technically be open to a charge of aiding and abetting the sale), but it would be illegal to buy and get there, and given I could never take it out anywhere and use it, seems a bit of a waste. I can see the point; it's unlikely anyone with a legitimate reason to use the knife will ever need one that opens that quickly, whereas they were often put to criminal use because they could be easily concealed within handy reach, and whipped out to attack very quickly. Once no longer able to easily obtain a switchblade, the Teddy boys took to carrying straight razors...which probably did as much and more harm to those trying to wield them as the intended targets. Gravity knives are included in the same ban, which is why re-enactors in the UK can only buy adapted versions of repro paratrooper knives.
Those are nice.... Case have been around a long time, haven't they? Mark Twain mentions them in Huckleberry Finn - as I recall in quite an unflattering light!
Have one of these I bought in France years ago. Still trying to figure out whether the rotating collar constitutes a 'lock' for UK legal purposes.
No on the Bowie knife... though TBH I can't think of why anyone would want to carry something like that as a 'just in case' as opposed to a weapon, so it's not a restriction that causes any complaint, really. WRT the hatchett, as long as you have a good reason to be carrying it at the time at which you were stopped by the police, it'd be fine. Technically it could be a problem if you had it lying in the car 'just because', though I suspect as long as you were reasonable, most plod would be likely to let you off with a warning and/or confiscation if they thought it was an innocent mistake, which would definitely not be the case with a bowie knife, ever. At least or now, a hatchett is not really perceived as a weapon in the same way as a knife, though that might well change if they become popular with gang kids. In reality in day to day UK life, though, very few people have any need to carry one around, or often even own a hatchett - bearing in mind that fewer and fewer folks here have an open fire at home, and there are neither quite the same wide open spaces as in the US, nor the same hunting culture.
I have a very nice Buck 124 Frontiersman which is their version of a Bowie that I carry on my belt often. If my sled dogs get tangled in their lines I can slice through a line in 3 strokes. I tested many Bowie knives including German Pumas and the best any other could do was 5 strokes. If you used a pocket knife, the dog would choke to death. I know my hobby may be unusual but there are practical reasons for carrying such a large sharp knife besides protection.