Yeah, but it also effectively transforms your knife into a fixed blade which are apparently fearsome instruments of death.
From British court ruling - Harris (1993)
*When the vehicle stopped he observed that there were two occupants, the defendant who was the driver and a female passenger. He saw the defendant who appeared to be fiddling or concealing something near the handbrake area. PC Earl spoke to the defendant, and advised him that he was going to search him and the car for anything he may unlawfully have hidden. He asked the defendant to empty his pockets, and the defendant produced a silver three inch long pointed lock knife from his inside jacket pocket. This knife was produced to the court as exhibit 1. The officer took the knife, opened it and saw that it had a pointed blade and that it locked in the fully open position. The defendant was cautioned and was asked why he had the knife. The defendant said that he had it for cutting leaves in the garden. The defendant was dressed in a very smart blazer, shirt and trousers, and confirmed that he was going out for the evening. The officer invited him to explain why he had the knife with him,
and said to him “Well I think it’s for your own protection.” The defendant replied “Yeah, if you want.”
The defendant was arrested for possession of an offensive weapon, cautioned, and made no reply. He was then taken to Islington Police Station where he was charged and cautioned.*
http://www.hrcr.org/safrica/arrested_rights/Harris_DirPubPros.htm
It doesn’t sound like Harris was camping or hiking and was therefore not considered to have a good reason for carrying a locking-blade, folding knife.
And “personal protection” is not a good reason for carrying a knife. In England (England and Wales?).
From British court ruling - Deegan (1998)
*The Facts
On 9 September 1996 the appellant was stopped by two police officers outside 64 Pinner Road Harrow at approximately 1.50am. He was found to be in possession of what the prosecution contended was “a bladed article”. The knife was not produced before us but was produced before the judge. It can most accurately be described perhaps as a pocket knife which was capable of being opened and locked into an open position, and equally capable of being folded once the mechanism had been operated to unlock the blade. In the result the appellant was charged with being in possession of a bladed article contrary to Section 139 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988.
…The Divisional Court in Harris v DPP and Fehmi v DPP 96 Cr.App.R. 235 held that to be “a folding pocket-knife” the blade has to be readily and immediately foldable at all times simply by the folding process. It held that a knife which on opening automatically locks and cannot be folded until a button has been pressed is not “a folding pocket-knife” within the meaning of Section 139. It is clear from the judgment of the Divisional Court, given by McCowan LJ, that attention was paid to what the thinking behind the statute might be. Ultimately McCowan LJ accepted the submission on behalf of the prosecution in that case that “when the knife is locked it becomes in effect a fixed blade knife and the intention of the statute is to prevent the carrying of such a knife.”*
http://www.bailii.org/cgi-bin/markup.cgi?doc=/ew/cases/EWCA/Crim/1998/385.html
While a folding blade pocket knife should (?) be considered legal, British law does not consider a locking-blade, folding knife to be a folding blade pocket knife.
Different country, different laws.
About a year ago my state re-legalized switchblades. I could carry one two feet long if I had one.
I live in a very weapon friendly state!
Maybe, but personally I still wouldn’t piss off Steven Tyler. “The Big Ten Inch” may not go to eleven, but I’m pretty sure he’d make due with ten just fine. :eek:
If you just want to carry a badass looking knife and the man says you can’t because it locks, why not just file down the locking mechanism?
In a country with well-stated and fairly consistently-enforced weapon laws, I’d think modifying an illegal weapon so it’s technically legal might not work out too well.
Much better off to just carry a slipjoint. A locking knife with the lock removed is unlikely to be at all safe to use. Non-locking folders will generally be designed with features intended to prevent or minimize unintentional closing.
This whole discussion blows me away. I’ve always carried a knife as a tool. That’s what it is.
A locking blade makes it safer for the user. Sure, it makes it a better ‘weapon’ but first and foremost it makes it safer for the user. This is the ONLY reason that needs to be given.
Unless, I guess you plan to get in a lot of knife fights.
Walking away… Get off my lawn.
According to the British court ruling - Deegan (1998):
The Divisional Court in Harris v DPP and Fehmi v DPP 96 Cr.App.R. 235 held that to be “a folding pocket-knife” the blade has to be readily and immediately foldable at all times simply by the folding process. It held that a knife which on opening automatically locks and cannot be folded until a button has been pressed is not “a folding pocket-knife” within the meaning of Section 139.
I read that to mean that if the Constable, or the suspect, can close the knife without performing any additional action, the knife is considered to be a folding knife. That still doesn’t mean it’s legal to carry, only that it’s a folding knife.
Permanently altering, or disabling, the locking mechanism so the blade can be folded without additional action should make the carrying of that knife legal. Provided the blade is less than 3", and you are dressed properly for someone who would have use of a knife, and you are carrying the knife in an area where the Crown has determined that such a knife would normally be used, and you are NOT carrying the knife for self-defense purposes.
I Still remember Leatherman working hard to make a blade-less Leatherman that was TSA acceptable. The idea seemed sound… no blade. The TSA didn’t see it that way.
These days, I dunno. Knifeless fuse? Victorinox Swiss Army Huntsman II? Will those get you shot?
It’s not safety oriented. It’s weapons oriented. They’re even considering banning kitchen knives with points on them as well as scissors. It’s just an extension of their gun laws.
in my locale I’d tell them I need a sturdy knife to unjam my gun. But the op has a knife that is clearly frowned upon so the options are to get one that isn’t or deal with the consequences if found in the possession of the current one.
If you want a knife with a good excuse then get one designed for car rescue like this but without a liner lock. The hard part is finding one without a liner lock because it’s integral to the design of all the versions I’ve every seen… You can’t just remove the lock. It’s the only think holding the blade open.
