Knife Laws and whatnot

[Paul72]

Folks, I have decided to get myself a proper knife for bushcrafting (probably a Mora) instead of fiddling around with crappy penkifes etc.  Question is do current knife laws make it difficult to buy these by mail order and what is the situation regarding having one on your person when out and about?

Might seem a silly question but i don't want to fall foul of the law

Cheers

[RedLeader]

Top question, suprised it hasn't come up before.

As I understand it as long as the knife is under a certain length and has a folding or fixed blade you will have no probs ordering it online (although eBay banned all knife sales so don't look there - someone has to think of the children!).

However, carrying / using said knife is a totally different kettle of swimmy things. Basically if the rozzers see you with it / turn it up in a search then if you can't give a valid reason for needing it at the that time then you would likely be in hot water. My take is if you're in the remote outdoors then you should be fine, if you're in a nightclub then probably not. I suspect that it would be totally down to the sense of the plod that was doing the asking.

If you're after a recommendation, the Frosts Mora is a top starter bushcraft knife and very reasonably priced around the £10 mark.

[twentyclicks]

Beat me to it RedLeader!  Mail order ok.  Having it on you ok if circumstances reasonable.

3.5" blade is in my head somewhere - think that's about the biggest pocket knife you would get i.e. might reasonably have on you just incase...for whittling or emergencies.  Anything bigger would need to be in context like work or camping use.  A nightclub would prob be inappropriate for either.

Happy knife shopping!

[Paul72]

Thanks guys, I'm thinking of this Mora: http://www.greenmanbushcraft.co.uk/cutting-tools/knives/frosts-mora-bushcraft-training-knife-high-carbon-clipper.htm

A good price I think

[twentyclicks]

I have that one - It's very popular for good reason!  Not that I'm a knife expert, but it fits the sheath well, is comfortable and cuts nicely.  Easy to sharpen too.

[Paul72]

Decided on one from Ray Mears website. Costs a couple of quid more but it has his logo on it, has good reviews and I've bought from there before so I can trust it.

http://www.raymears.com/Bushcraft_Product/399-Mora-Training-Knife-Clipper/

Now, I'll just need to keep it out of sight from SWMBO

[RedLeader]

Thats the one I have. Solid knife for the sort of messing I'm doing.

Decided on one from Ray Mears website. Costs a couple of quid more but it has his logo on it, has good reviews and I've bought from there before so I can trust it.

http://www.raymears.com/Bushcraft_Product/399-Mora-Training-Knife-Clipper/

Now, I'll just need to keep it out of sight from SWMBO

[ChuckMcB]

Ditto (we must have all found the same knife review ) Mine cost about £10 as well.

(to my shame I've let mine Carbon Steel one get corroded, brown marks and bubbles on the blade)

[Celt_Ginger]

You can't go wrong with a Mora. Axminster are selling plastic handled versions for under £6.00 at the minute. As I understand it, it's legal to have any knife on you as long as you have "Good reason" for having it. Travelling to, taking part in and returning home from a Bushcraft type of activity would be deemed as good reason for having a fixed blade or lockable folding knife with you but don't, as I have heard of from somewhere else, strap it to your belt and then stop of at Tesco on your way to the woods and do your shopping for the weekend with your Mora on your belt. You don't need a knife on you to do your shopping and the Police would probably take a dim view of it.
By the way, an "everyday carry" penknife is a sub 3 inch non locking folding knife.

[RedLeader]

Where do machetes/parangs etc fall under knife laws? I see you can still buy them even though they're definitely longer than the legally allowed blade.

[chris]

Knife law seems to be a bit vague, you can carry a sub 3" penknife on you no problem but it seems to be that if you take it outside its instantly deemed an "offensive weapon"! As for the likes of machetes etc they seem to fall under the "what if I want a bigger Knife" category which as far as I could make out says as long as you have just cause to carry it, you can. The example they give is that a chef can large knives around as long as he's travelling to and from work (not really sure why he would need to though!) 

[suspectmonkey]

to my shame I've let mine Carbon Steel one get corroded, brown marks and bubbles on the blade

I went for the stainless steel Mora, as I'd heard that stainless steel needs less care then carbon steel to keep it corrosion free.  I bought mine from Springfields and whilst I'd never purchased from them before they delivered very quickly.

http://www.springfields.co.uk/knives-multitools/helle-knives/?id=4856

[Timbo]

UK/NI knife law can be found if you search for Section 139 I think.
Anyway if your knife has non-locking blade length of 3" or less then you can carry it discretely which means don't pull it out on the bus or in a shop to peel an apple or whatever keep it to yourself as some members of the public freak at the sight of any blade.  Any knife with a locking or fixed blade is illegal to carry in a public place, i.e. a small lock knife with a 2" blade is illegal, multi-tools with locking blades are illegal however a swiss army knife with a 3" slip-joint (non-locking blade) is legal.  No knives should be carried to football grounds or pubs.
You can buy any knife you want on the internet with the exception of automatics and a few others like polymer constructed (Plastic shiv type and weapons that would sneak through metal detectors).
The law on camping/fishing/outdoors knives is hazy, if you are stopped by the law on your way to a bushcraft meet for example and have a fixed blade mora or whatever depending on the officer and maybe your attitude you could end up in bother or maybe they will accept your good reason for having the knife.  Although you need to have it packed inside your rucksack and not dangling from your belt.
My take on it is that if you don't bring yourself to the attention of the police you have nothing to fear for carrying a small pocket knife to carrying a knife in your pack going camping/fishing etc.

[RedLeader]

if you don't bring yourself to the attention of the police you have nothing to fear

There's something about that sort of phrase that's just a shade chilling. It sort of legitimises the concept that liberty in general is a bit hazy. Like there are a shitload of laws stopping you doing all sorts of stuff but no-one really knows much about them. Basically if the law decides to take a pop at you they can always find something you're doing wrong. A good example is no-one is really sure whether you are or are not allowed to take photos in a public place in various circumstances.

[Timbo]

Well you aren't really living in a free society.  And the (hazy) law on knives is a perfect example of giving the police officer/magistrate the power to decide.  Let me clarify my earlier statement.
I carry a Leatherman Wave daily (last 10years) and have never been arrested as I don't cause trouble for people and consider myself a fairly decent person, no-one knows I carry it as I use it discretely for practical purposes as designed.  Now if I was to go and get pished and get in a brawl and get arrested the officer would find the Leatherman and charge me for possession of an offensive weapon.  Now thats because I was being a drunk brawling idiot and shouldn't have a knife on me.  Thats what I mean about bringing yourself to attention of the police.  Hope this clarifies it.