Legal Knives in the UK: An Overview
The United Kingdom has a complex web of knife laws that govern the manufacture, sale, possession, and use of knives, swords, and other bladed weapons. The primary legislation for knife control is found in the Restriction of Offensive Weapons Act 1959, the Offensive Weapons Act 1988, the Knives Act 1997, and the Criminal Justice Act 1988. Under the Restriction of Offensive Weapons Act 1959, it is illegal to manufacture, sell, or hire out "offensive weapons" without special permission from the Secretary of State. The term "offensive weapons" is not defined in the statutes, but court rulings have established that the term includes "any article made or adapted for causing injury to the person." However, it is also important to note that the law refers to the manufacture, sale, or hire of such weapons, so the law does not include any restrictions on the possession of offensive weapons . The Offensive Weapons Act 1988 expanded the definition of an offensive weapon to include a wider range of knives and stabbings instruments. Under this statute, it is an offense to sell firearms, knives, or daggers to anyone under the age of 16, and to sell swords to anyone under the age of 18. The act also bans the sale of "zombie knives," knives with serrated or recurved blades, sheathening systems, and other features, to individuals under 18 years of age. Law as to the possession of knives includes the Offensive Weapons Act 2019, passed in May 2019, which came into force on 14 July 2019. This legislation strengthens the law against knife possession, prohibiting the possession both in a public place and in private, and the private possession of "zombie knives," as well as raising the maximum sentence for the offense of possession of a knife with intent to endanger life from 4 years to 6 years.
The Range of Knives Permitted in the UK
There are several types of knives which are legal to own and carry in the UK. These are largely folding knives, but there are some exceptions for fixed blade knives as well. The following prologue provides useful background to doing ‘everything by the book’ in terms of knives: The best advice from professional knife sellers is to go for a knife with a blade of less than 3 inches to be safest, although some less-than-scrupulous knife dealers may improperly claim that a certain knife meets the requirements when it does not. It is definitely illegal to use a knife in self-defense. Indeed, if self-defense is claimed as the reason for carrying a knife, then that is an admission that the knife is not needed and the knife is therefore deemed illegal! Essentially, any knife that is used, or intended for use, as a weapon is illegal. Self-defense for any weapon is untested under English law. There is no alternative ground known for being found to be in possession of an offensive weapon, and that is a dangerous place to be. Regarding a knife having a locking mechanism, police officers are now coming to the consensus that it is illegal to lock a blade into position, be it an automatic or a spontaneous mechanism. Curiously, an automatic knife or switchblade is legal in Germany, so fellow EU citizens are allowed these knives, but UK nationals are not. Note that demonstration switching with one hand of a folding knife with a blade of less than 3" in length is acceptable. A flick knife or balisong knife (also known as a butterfly knife) is also considered to be a folding knife, provided that it is less than 3" in length. A curved knife is acceptable too, such as a scimitar or kris knife, so long as it is the correct length and otherwise concealable. Likewise, round-ended kitchen knives of an acceptable length are legal, although best practice says that they should not be corkscrews, serrated, or cross-toothed. There appears to be no legal restrictions on the use of kitchen knives, such as butcher’s knives, utility knives, or paring knives. Blades of less than 3 inches which are legal with certain conditions include: -all mushroom knives and gully knives -all smaller bladed garden tools, if carried in the right way. However, greater length and size restrictions apply to the above items. For example, a Bali-Song knife even of less than 3 inches of blade length may be examined with the precise nature of the folding action and to what extent the blade can be free-floated in order to determine whether it is actually a proper folding knife. Many of these legal knives may also be deemed to be weapons.
Knives That Are Restricted or Banned
Section 141 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 outlines a list of knives which are illegal to own or carry in the UK. This section of the CJA states that a person commits an offence if they sell, hire, lend, give or offer to sell a controlled knife, or possess one in public without good reason or lawful authority. A controlled knife is defined by the legislation as any that has a blade which folds, pivots or is capable of being ejected by automatic mechanical means. The legislation states that ‘offensive bladed weapons’, ‘stealth knives’ and ‘shuriken’ (a type of Japanese throwing star) are included in the definition of controlled knives.
Therefore, the type of folding knives that fall within the definition include:
• Flick Knives (that can be opened ‘automatically’ by pressure on a button or by an outward movement of the wrist);
• Butterfly Knives (also known as a ‘balisong’ – a blade encased within two counter-rotating handles which enclose the blade when closed);
• Push Daggers (a dagger with a handle that is shaped like a T, allowing the blade to extend straight out in front of the user’s hand);
• Star Shaped Knives (somewhat difficult to classify, as not all of these knives fall within the definition of controlled knives, but will be caught as ‘offensive bladed weapons’ provided they are designed to cause injury); and
• Shuri Ruki Knives (similar to a small hand-held blade resembling a bell).
This definition and classification of knives is important because under Section 139(1) of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 it is illegal to bring any of the knives into the UK, regardless of whether or not you would be able to own one in your hosting country.
Pen knives are not itself a defined term under the law and some have argued that the law states that it is permitted to own a pen knife which has a blade that folds, pivots or is capable of being ejected by automatic mechanical means – in other words, that a folding knife is not restricted or illegal provided that it does not fall within the definition of controlled knife. However, the reference to a folding knife outside of the controlled knife definition does not relate to a pen knife alone – this encompasses any knife that folds, such as a lock knife, and so it is ambiguous whether or not a pen knife is a controlled knife or not.
Regulations applying to ‘offensive weapons’ set out in Section 141(1) of the Criminal Justice Act provide that "offensive bladed weapon" is a term which includes:
• A belt buckle knife;
• A gravity knife (capable of being opened by the force of gravity or by centrifugal force);
• A disguised knife (for example, a knife concealed in a comb);
• A disguised sword;
• A stealth knife; and
• A sword stick.
Although this is not an exhaustive list, it states that any bladed item that has been disguised to look like something else constitutes an offensive bladed weapon prohibited from carrying in a public place. Numerous similar items of weaponry are therefore illegal to possess in public places.
Section 141 applies only in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, the analogous provision is Section 49 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1988, which is similar to the restriction on false bladed weapons, but does not restrict the import of flick-knives and gravity knives.
Carrying a Knife in Public: The Legal Position
What are the legal considerations to be aware of?
The first point to make is that you can only carry an "exempt" knife or blade. This means that, for example, if you carry a blade with a folding blade less than 3 inches (7.62 cm) long, this is not prohibited. It is important to realise that this only applies if the blade is not locked. Therefore, a lock knife, for example a Rambo-style knife, will not be a folding blade even if the blade itself is less than 3 inches long.
To qualify as "exempt", the knife or another item must meet one of the following criteria:
- Used at work which requires it to be appropriate to use as a tool
- Religious reasons
- National costume or used for theatrical performances and displays
- For reasons of strict data accuracy
- For the purpose of a professional, artistic, cultural, archaeological, historical or religious nature
- For a legitimate in connection with the film-making sector (plus whilst filming, rehearsing or attending after-parties) and meeting the conditions below:
- Any item used in connection with the film or related performance must be returned at end of the day
- Item must be under control and supervision of the producer in all other respects other than being on the production stage
- Make sure it is appropriate and not over the top
- Ensure no item is visible off of the production or rehearsal, sets and locations
- Weapon can only be handled by those who have an appropriate exemption Wherever your knife came from it must be kept "in good order". If it is a rare weapon, often consider whether it is as good as the manufacturers standard. There is a difference between age (and use) of the weapon and its condition. If it is not in good order you are unlikely to be able to show you were carrying it legitimately.
The penalties for carrying a knife are very serious. The court has the jurisdiction to impose a fine of unlimited amount or a maximum prison sentence of four years. To put this in perspective this would be the same sentence as carrying an offensive weapon. A court will if necessary comment that this is appropriate, the seriousness of the issue and the potential concern to the general public. In addition to this, upon conviction or a plea of guilty, a knife or weapon will be confiscated. A further important point is where did you get the weapon from. A Police caution may be imposed if you are found to have the same knife again.
How to Safely and Responsibly Use Knives
Responsible use and storage of legal knives is vital to ensure compliance with UK law, and to promote safe ownership. While the law surrounding legal knives can be complex, understanding the best practices for using them helps to minimise the risk of offence.
When using a legal knife, it is essential to ensure that your use of it is genuine and justifiable. The most common justifiable uses of knives that are permitted under the law are for work purposes, which includes use on construction sites, in kitchens, and day-to-day tasks such as peeling fruit. Similarly, owners of legal knives should ensure that they are carrying them for genuine reasons, be that for a trip to work, on their way home, or otherwise. Carrying a legal knife for unsafe reasons would be a likely cause for suspicion by the police, and could lead to a criminal charge.
It is also important to note that knives which are banned under UK law, even if they are otherwise legal knives , cannot be owned or carried under any circumstances. Knives with curved blades, double edged blades, and knuck duster knives are all banned, and should not be purchased under any circumstance by UK residents.
When it comes to storage of legal knives, US knife owners should look to common sense approaches. Knives should be kept out of reach of children, locked in cupboards or drawers when possible, or otherwise stored safely so that they cannot be easily reached by anyone without due cause. Malicious or accidental attacks and injuries by minors mishandling knives are one of the most common ways that legal knives are linked to illegal activities, so knife owners would be wise to avoid such risk.
Knife owners need not be afraid of using their knives as the law surrounding legal knives is quite permissive in the ways that they are allowed to be used. However, knife owners should consider how and why they need legal knives, and take effective steps to ensure that their use is safe and compliant.
Where to Purchase Legal Knives in the UK
Fortunately, the laws around buying legal knives are substantially clearer than the rules surrounding them. Knives conforming to UK law can be purchased from any reputable online or high street retailer without breaking the law. However, if a retailer has operated in the UK for a long time, they will be more likely to regard the legislation as the norm, and should therefore, they will be able to help you understand whether the knife you intend to purchase is legal.
One thing to bear in mind is this: as an example, if you buy a knife that is completely legal in the UK, but is designed and marketed as a self defence weapon, and it is packaged by the manufacturer as such, then that packaging would be illegal in the UK, and you could be prosecuted if found in possession of it.
If you purchase knives online, be advised that there are very specific delivery regulations surrounding them. Although the law on knives is restrictive, delivery laws can be even stricter. To ensure you stay on the right side of the law, you should contact any retailer concerning their delivery services and whether knives can be delivered to your area.
If the retailer does not have any policy in place, it would be better for you to avoid dealing with them until you’ve clarified whether they can legally deliver to you and if not, how they will get around these regulations. The law is quite clear, so you can hardly be blamed for erring on the side of caution.
The law is also clear on where you can shop for legal knives – if they’ve been legally obtained, you are free to take the knife in question anywhere. However, that is not to say you should! It’s inadvisable to take any legal knives with you when you go to places where you know they’re banned or frowned upon, such as bars, clubs, shooters or football games, to give just a few examples. If you have a perfectly good reason for taking it with you – in the case of a collector wishing to display it, for example – make sure you explain yourself as thoroughly as possible to any authority figure who may stop you on your travels, and obviously, don’t do anything stupid with the knife.
Public Attitudes to Knife Crime
The reputation of an item can have a major impact on the image of the item itself, as well as its supply and demand. With knives being an easily accessible item in terms of legal purchase and ownership, negative press related to a small number of individual item incidents can affect everything surrounding the item. Knife crime has garnered heavy media attention over recent years, primarily because of the high-profile tragedies and political reactions to calls for a ban by lobbyists. Although few would agree that banning knives is the answer to the problem, more measures are coming into play to reduce the occurrence as much as possible . Earlier this year, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan launched a series of initiatives under the knife crime strategy dubbed ‘knife crime is out of knife’ to help drive awareness in schools, to prevent young people from carrying weapons. A lot of this does focus on younger generations, with some headlines discussing Police with stabbings set to teach children about risks of knives and gangs. The truth is that stabbings aren’t the only problem. From kitchens to pockets, whatever form the knife takes, it appears to have caused issues. Perhaps it is simply the negative associations which knife-based media now has, that affects public attitudes towards items which are perfectly fine to be owned.