I have just bought a ‘tactical’ lock knife. I plan to do a lot of hiking this year and such a knife initially seemed to be a handy thing to carry. It is also illegal for me to carry it unless I have a ‘good reason’. I only have vague notions of what I could need it. Fire-making or cutting myself free from plastic netting perhaps.
Although it would be unlikely for me to be searched by the police, it remains a remote possibility. What specific uses do tactical knives have? (apart from stabbing fellow walkers in a frenzy of blood lust)
Incidentally, I have learned how to open it with one hand. I am quite proud of this.
I guess my question is what exactly do you mean by a ‘tactical’ knife and what is the blade length. I’ve not looked into it for a very, very long time as the attractiveness of a long-bladed knife went away after puberty but I do recall there being laws regarding how big of a blade a knife can have for carrying in public.
I think Snarky Kong gave some common examples for why someone would want to carry a folding “pocket” knife. Hell, every single male member of my wife’s family carries a pocket knife and they are endlessly useful. Not a single one has a blade bigger than 4 inches or so.
It’s a bit late to point this out, but if you were looking to buy a blade for its utility, Gerber makes a few other things which would be much easier to explain.
Thanks Steve918, I was wondering where you were located and if there were stricter regulations regarding blade length. Your post makes far more sense now and I apologize for assuming you were a size-obsessed American teenager.
That Gerber is fairly similar to what most of my in-laws carry in terms of style and size.
What’s there to explain about that particular knife? To me it looks like an ordinary pocket knife with some black tactical greebles and a funky handle design. The only functional feature that differentiates it from Grandpa’s 3" folding knife is the stud for opening one-handed – I’ve seen some locales frown on those, particularly if there’s a spring-loaded assist.
You’re gonna need to look up the weapon-related laws in your nation/state/province/etc. since they do tend to vary and there may be some exceptions that apply to your circumstances.
Back when I was in high school, the municipal laws around me prohibited carrying a knife longer than 6" from the end of the handle to the point. On the other hand, school district policy prohibited a knives longer than 5" from the end of the handle to the point. Meanwhile, state laws prohibited sale or carry of any drop knife, spring-loaded knife, switch-activated knife, switch-released knife…and yet I carried a Phillipino combat knife (Bali sung) that was casually known as a “butterfly knife” all the time and it was perfectly legal because I worked in a warehouse and used it to cut open shipping boxes.
Context is pretty important, as well (though IANAL).If you’re out on a hike and a Park Ranger stops you and goes through your pockets for some reason, you obviously have a valid reason to have a knife with you during your excursion and whether it’s in your pocket, in your backpack/knapsack/belt pouch is probably immaterial. If you’re down at the pub and the constables respond to a commotion and pat you down (with all the other patrons) they’re gonna get fussy about the 3" Katar in your boot.
I have a nice 9" Marine Corps -issued combat knife/bayonet that I attached to my hiking/camping belt. The sheath looks real nice with the ugly green of my belt and its pouches and its weight is a nice balance against the canteen that came with the belt. But while that’s perfectly acceptable to wear when I’m out hiking, it’s not the kind of thing people want to see when I’m visiting the downtown bars at night.
–G!
I can do a lot of things with a blade – I can even cook!
A cursory search of British law, suggests that the locking feature of a locking-blade folding knife makes it illegal to carry.
*Basic laws on knives (England)
It is illegal to:
-sell a knife of any kind to anyone under 18 years old (16 to 18 year olds in Scotland can buy cutlery and kitchen knives)
-carry a knife in public without good reason - unless it’s a knife with a folding blade 3 inches long (7.62 cm) or less, eg a Swiss Army knife
-carry, buy or sell any type of banned knife
-use any knife in a threatening way (even a legal knife, such as a Swiss Army knife)
Lock knives (knives with blades that can be locked when unfolded) are not folding knives, and are illegal to carry in public without good reason.
The maximum penalty for an adult carrying a knife is 4 years in prison and a fine of £5,000*.
*It is the Criminal Justice Act 1988 that most significantly affects the carrying of knives in the UK.
Simply put it is an offence under section 139 of the Act to carry an article with a blade or sharp point in a public place. A folding pocket knife is not included, so long as the cutting edge is under three inches. In practical terms it is best to take ‘cutting edge’ as meaning the whole blade, sharp or not. Until the court cases of Harris (1993) and Deegan (1998), a three inch blade locking folding knife was considered legal to carry.
Unfortunately in these two cases it was held that a knife that could not be closed without releasing a lock was in law a fixed blade knife and hence illegal to carry. Those of you who visit www.britishblades.com will know that it is this question of lock knives that we are just a little obsessive about. There isn’t really any way around this restriction however*.
The type of knife you have would be good for cutting a seat-belt in the event that you roll over and are upsidedown and your weight is causing too much pressure for the belt’s release to work. It might sound far out, but I recently read where someone and their family were in such a predicament and even had gasoline pouring out all over the place but, fortunately, someone walking along had a knife (like yours) and cut the seat-belt, thus no one was burned alive!
I happened to have found a beautiful $300 push-button knife that someone lost and so I ran it on craigslist and in the local lost and found but was surprised that no one called to claim it. But then, after doing more research, I learned that the knife is illegal here due to the blade snapping out at the push of a button, and THAT clued me into why no one called about it. So, now I’m keeping it basically as a paper weight because it has a cool factor to it and I just can’t see tossing it into the trash over some lame law.
This is not directed at anyone in particular. Just a friendly note to remind everyone that while it’s perfectly fine to discuss what is and isn’t illegal, you can’t actually advocate doing anything that is illegal (per the registration agreement). If the thread drifts in that direction, we’ll have to close it, so please post carefully. Thanks.
I suggest that you learn how to open the blade with either hand. That skill may come in handy if your strong hand is injured, or trapped.
British law is somewhat different than U.S. law. The SDMB lawyers can better explain to us what the differences may be. As I understand it, you need a “good reason”, something the police will find acceptable, in order to legally carry a knife with a locking blade. I also assume that you are not currently a hiker. Or a camper, or hunter, or fisherman. You’re asking for reasons that a hiker, camper, hunter, or fisherman might offer police as a reason to carry a locking blade knife.
Cutting rope, cutting fishing line (you may need fishing line, as proof), whittling kindling, marking trails, skinning game, gutting fish, starting a fire (you’ll need flint), clearing brush, digging worms or grubs for bait, digging a trench, clearing a drain, stirring food in a pot (clean the blade first ), opening tins of food or supplies, using the blade as a fork or spoon, and shaving (if your good at sharpening the blade and have a steady hand).
I’ll suggest that you research the court cases of Harris (1993) and Deegan (1998) if only to find out WHY locked-bladed knives were no longer considered legal. Whatever reason the defense used in those cases didn’t seem to be acceptable.
In a nutshell, what’s the problem with locked blades? Isn’t that the feature which prevents a knife from inadvertently closing on your fingers as you’re using it?
Considering how safety obsessed the British are nowadays, I’m bemused by their paranoia over locking blades. Pocket knives without safety locks are dangerous and I’ve got the scar to prove it. (It turns out that if you’re holding a swiss army knive and turn suddenly, you can whack the blade against a tree and close it like a scissors on your finger.)
Pretty much every small pocket knife I carry would be illegal in Britain
), opening tins of food or supplies, using the blade as a fork or spoon, and shaving (if your good at sharpening the blade and have a steady hand).