Law clarification on carrying a knife

thepeganator

thepeganator

thepeganator

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So as the law says it is unlawful to carry a knife without "reasonable cause", I was looking for some clarification on carry a knife in a certain situation.

As it's coming to spring/summer soon BBQs will soon start happening, there's a few places we go locally, and also travel to the New Forest and and down to the beach sometimes.

A knife can often be useful when doing a BBQ, cutting meat, sausages, bread etc :)

Is it legal to carry it in this situation?
The times it would be "on possession" I can think of:
In the boot when driving.
In a bag (either rucksack or carrier bag) when walking to BBQ location.
Next to me/someone when sat at the BBQ, and then obviously in hand too :D.

Would be nice for someone to confirm whether it would be ok to take a knife along as said or not, save myself or anyone else getting into trouble!

(and yes, question influenced by watching road wars ;))
 
Ask a lawyer? Laws in this country are so senseless and convoluted that it may be impossible to get a straight answer from looking at the legislation. Seems reasonable to me, but then again I'm a rational logical person, the people making these ridiculous laws clearly aren't.
 
It's illegal to carry a knife with a blade longer than three inches, outright, I believe. As for carrying anything else, provided you've got a good excuse it should be fine.
 
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.
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http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8233
 
[FnG]magnolia;18270566 said:
If you're really bothered call your local station and ask.
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I think my local station have better things to deal with than this, hence asking on here.

There are a few police officers on here and I was hoping one of them might help.
 
Having a kitchen knife at a BBQ would obviously be OK. Having a lock/hunting/butterfly knife would be open to suspicion.

Driving to a verifiable BBQ (i.e. the police could check the address and verify there is a BBQ there) with a boot full of sausages, knives, lettuce and beer would be generally considered OK. Driving around with no verifiable BBQ (i.e. you mysteriously can't remember where the BBQ is at 3am) with a carving knife in the glove box should mean you get some very intensive "attention" from the legal system, lettuce and sausages or not.

Common sense F T W...
 
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Athanor said:
Having a kitchen knife at a BBQ would obviously be OK. Having a lock/hunting/butterfly knife would be open to suspicion.

Driving to a verifiable BBQ (i.e. the police could check the address and verify there is a BBQ there) with a boot full of sausages, knives, lettuce and beer would be generally considered OK. Driving around with no verifiable BBQ (i.e. you mysteriously can't remember where the BBQ is at 3am) with a carving knife in the glove box should mean you get some very intensive "attention" form the legal system, lettuce and sausages or not.

Common sense F T W...
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That's what I was thinking, the BBQ would be an instant one in the boot so it would be pretty obvious to prove there was one going on!

Common sense should prevail really, but this is the law and is open to different interpretations unfortunately!

And lettuce?!??!?!?
To a BBQ?!?!?!?!?
 
Is the knife going to be overclocked?
How much Ram does the knife have?
How many PCI-E slots does the knife have?
Have you considered Xfire or SLIing your knife?


There is one hell of a difference to carrying a knife in a bag with a picnic and BBQ to walking about with it stuffed down the front of your baggy jeans...;)
 
Efour2 said:
Is the knife going to be overclocked?
How much Ram does the knife have?
How many PCI-E slots does the knife have?
Have you considered Xfire or SLIing your knife?

There is one hell of a difference to carrying a knife in a bag with a picnic and BBQ to walking about with it stuffed down the front of your baggy jeans...;)
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SLI knife?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mezzaluna-double-shaped-hardwood-cutting/dp/B003TWRS8I
:D

I think I'll just be sensible with what I carry, and make sure it's not my massive chefs knife!
 
Presuming you are carrying food and a BBQ with you its pretty obvious that your not initially intending to stab someone with it.

Use your brain. Don't leave it hanging around your car or yourself on its own.
 
Energize said:
Ask a lawyer? Laws in this country are so senseless and convoluted that it may be impossible to get a straight answer from looking at the legislation. Seems reasonable to me, but then again I'm a rational logical person, the people making these ridiculous laws clearly aren't.
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The laws that are open to interpretation tend to be done so that it's up to a "reasonable" person to decide what the meaning is under the circumstances.
Something to do with that being a better option that having a 500 page document listing how the law applies under every situation the lawmakers could think of at the time, then having something not covered come up.
For one thing it makes it easier for all involved to have a basic rule (possibly with a few example circumstances), then leaving the rest to common sense than expecting people to know hundreds of different technical and specific clauses.


The knife laws are a perfect example, you can't go round carrying a 9" knife in your back pocket every day.
Hence "reasonable cause" to carry one covers everything from tradesmen with dozens in the van, to the housewife carrying a set home, to someone going camping and carrying a set to the camp site/on the camp site/bbq, whilst an idiot carrying one around in his sock is out of luck, it also allows the Police and CPS to use a lot of discretion.

In the ops case as long as he was able to show he was going to the BBQ (or back from it), it would be fine especially if carried with other BBQ related stuff.
Just remember to take it out of the car when not carrying it to/from the BBQ.
 
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/CrimeJusticeAndTheLaw/Typesofcrime/DG_181675

Basic rules on knives
If you’re planning to buy or carry a knife, it’s important to know the rules. Anyone found breaking these laws can face up to four years in prison.

These include:

•it is illegal for any shop to sell a knife of any kind (including cutlery and kitchen knives) to anyone under the age of 18
•it is a crime to carry a knife in public without good reason – for example, if you work as a chef
•the maximum penalty for an adult carrying a knife is four years in prison and a fine of £5000
•it is illegal to carry, buy or sell any type of knife banned by the government (the list of banned knives is below)
•knives with folding blades, like Swiss Army knives, are not illegal as long as the blade is three inches long (7.62 cms) or less•if any knife is used in a threatening way (even a legal knife, such as a Swiss Army knife), it is regarded as an 'offensive weapon' by the law
•any sharp instrument – even a screwdriver – can be viewed by the police as an illegal offensive weapon if you do not have a good reason for carrying it
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I would perhaps keep it small.

Think camping knife. That way its a bit safer than wandering about with a cleaver.

If you get stopped say you checked direct.gov :p
 
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