Allan Gould bashed at the keyboard and came up with:
Quoted message said:I seem to remember a few threads about walkers risking arrest for
carrying penknives after a recent change in the law. I came across a
letter in the Autumn 2005 edition of 'Walk' (the RA magazine) written
by:
Stephen Parish, Barrister, Weybridge, Surrey
"Your correspondent who was concerned that he risked prosecution for
carrying a penknife need not worry. Section 139 of the Criminal Justice
Act 1988 (as amended by the Offensive Weapons Act 1996) specifically
excludes a folding penknife with a blade not exceeding three inches in
length"
So let's keep those knives under 3 inches!
Allan
Heres a good write up, taken from bushcraft.co.uk
UK Knife Law (edged tools)
There are many myths and misunderstandings surrounding the ownership and
carrying of knives and other tools with a blade. This article hopes to
clarify the position and answer those questions that arise within the
Bushcraft community. Hopefully those with any worries will be reassured in
that the law does not seek to criminalise the legitimate user of knives and
edged tools.
The questions of what the law regards as a weapon and what as a tool is
perhaps a good starting point. Most people are familiar with the phrase
'offensive weapon' but do not know that English law does not contain long
lists of illegal offensive weapons. The relevant law is found in the
Prevention of Crime Act 1953. Section 1 (1) provides;
'Any person who without lawful authority or reasonable excuse, the proof
whereof shall lie on him, has with him in any public place any offensive
weapon shall be guilty of an offence.'
So, if you carry a weapon in public without a good reason you can be
found guilty of an offence. Currently the penalty could be a two year
prison sentence. But what does the Act define as a weapon?
Well, Section 1 (4) provides some help;
'In this section 'offensive weapon' means any article made or adapted for
use for causing injury to the person, or intended by the person having it
with him for such use by him or by some other person.'
So an offensive weapon can be anything made as a weapon (e.g. a gun or
sword), anything adapted for use as a weapon (e.g. a walking stick weighted
with lead shot) or anything carried for use as a weapon (e.g. a can of
hairspray, a rolled newspaper, a length of chain etc. This covers all those
situations where something was carried to cause harm.).
What then about the items carried by Bushcrafters? Is your Gransfors axe
a weapon? Your Woodlore knife or your Opinel? Your Swiss Army knife?
Billhook? Spade?
Firstly don't forget Section 1(1). If you can provide a good excuse you
may in fact carry a weapon, let alone an article that might be considered a
weapon. This is perhaps a provision that allows a military style parade or
a battle re-enactment group to operate without fear of arbitrary arrest and
prosecution but it does provide some common sense to the wider community.
In the context of bushcraft many things that would normally be considered a
weapon would be acceptable as a necessary piece of equipment for a lawful
bushcraft activity. A machete, kukri, parang or golok carried down the pub
will almost certainly be a weapon; the law will see only a type of sword in
a completely inappropriate place. Carried for a camping trip it is simply a
tool required for bush clearing, wood splitting etc and unless you were to
behave in a stupid and irresponsible way the law will recognise it as a
tool being used in an appropriate situation.
The case of Southwell v Chadwick (1986) illustrates this well. The Court
of Appeal accepted that it was reasonable to be in possession of a machete
and a catapult in a public place for the purpose of killing grey squirrels
as food for licensed wild birds. Without this justification either item
could have been classed as an offensive weapon, particularly the machete.
Let us start with knives as they are the most important but also most
'misunderstood' piece of edged kit that all bushcrafters carry; sorry axe
fans, I am from the knife forum!
Firstly there are very few completely illegal knives. The Restriction of
Offensive Weapons Act 1959 banned the carrying, manufacture, sale,
purchase, hire or lending of 'flick-knives' (knives operated by a button or
spring on the handle, also called switchblades or automatic knives) and
'gravity knives' (knives which drop open through gravity when a mechanism
releases it. If you have one I will dispose of this rare and unusual item
for you for a reasonable fee!). A succession of cases has also decided that
an automatic knife is an offensive weapon full stop. You may keep one you
already have in your home but that's it. Obviously an automatic knife has
few bushcraft applications but it is worth recognising the seriousness with
which the law treats them. Carry one and if caught you will go to prison.
The Criminal Justice Act 1988 also contains a list of prohibited martial
arts style weapons. Most are of little interest in a bushcraft context but
you need to know that ?balisongs? or butterfly knives (where two split
handles swing like wings around the knife to close or open it.) are as
illegal as automatic knives; a shame as they provide perhaps the most
secure of all folding knives.
Before we get on to knives in general it is probably worth mentioning
the 'combat knife'. Many people believe that there is a particular type of
knife, called a combat knife that is illegal. I know from my own experience
that people worry about ex-military kit or military knives bought from
overseas. In fact all that is illegal is the selling or marketing of any
knife as a combat or fighting knife. There is no law against ownership or
possession of such knives other than the range of laws discussed here in
this article. Should you have any sort of combat or military knife it is as
legal (or not) as any other. The majority of such knives are now marketed
and sold as 'survival' knives; the ones with the compass and fishing line
in the handle that you can get on ebay for £15.00. There are also some
genuine military Aircrew variants, and the knives made by Jimmy Lile that
were used in the 'Rambo' films. Authentic Liles sell for over £1000 so if
you have one leave it at home for financial reasons! If you use any of
these and they work for you then you are quite legal, as long as you have
that all important 'good reason' for carrying it. However there are
undoubtedly much better knives for bushcraft, particularly the Scandinavian
style, such as a puukko but that is beyond the remit of this article.
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 position that we start from then is that all fixed blade (sheath
knife style) knives, all locking folders and all folders with a blade over
three inches long are illegal to carry on a daily basis. This means that a
regular Swiss Army Knife, penknife, smokers knife etc are perfectly OK to
have on you at all times.
However the law is there to punish the bad guys, not to criminalise the
rest of us, and this is why the bushcraft community, who use their knives
and other tools in a specific context of lawful outdoor pursuits have
little to fear from the law. Two specific defences are provided by the Act
and these are very important as they can provide the excuse you need
towards a Police officer or in the very unlikely event of ending up in
court on a charge under s139.
Under section139 (4) it is a defence for the accused to show they have
good reason or lawful authority to carry the knife in a public place.
Secondly under section139 (5) it is a defence to prove the knife is
carried for work, for religious reasons or as part of national costume.
So anyone who legitimately requires a knife for work has an defence under
s139 (5). That covers literally anybody who can say they require a knife to
do their job. However unless you are a Sikh or wear a kilt it is likely to
be s139 (4) that provides you with an excuse should a knife you are
carrying be challenged by a Police officer. As long as you can provide a
'good reason' you are allowed to carry what you want. It is the question of
what amounts to a good reason that causes problems for the average person
on a normal day; however this is not the case for someone involved in
bushcraft. Involvement in almost any lawful bushcraft activity would be a
'good reason' in the eyes of the law. It is impractical if not impossible
to do most bushcraft without a knife or blade of some sort. As the Act
includes 'any article which has a blade or is sharply pointed' it extends
to the other edged tools used in bushcraft; axes, machetes, billhooks,
scythes etc. As long as you have a good reason you are allowed to carry and
use these articles.
So, to reiterate:. No knives, other than non-locking folders with a blade
under three inches should be carried by anybody on a daily basis unless you
need it for work, for your religion, for your national costume or you can
supply some other good legitimate good reason. If you have such a good
reason, for example heading to the wooded hills for a weekend away from the
modern world then you are quite within the law to carry almost anything
with a blade or a point
Clearly the exercise of common sense is important here. Keep all fixed
blade knives and axes in a bag until you get to your outdoor destination.
Don't have sheath knives, machetes or axes on your belt or pack in
inhabited areas, or keep them as discreet as possible in the case of small
villages if passing through. Even when you are outdoors, refrain from
waving knives and axes around and don't mix blades and alcohol. Even the
most bushcraft friendly Police officer will have a problem with someone
chucking an axe at a tree after half a bottle of Scotch, however far from
civilisation you might be. Believe me. Although if you are in the hills
between Bwlchgwyn and Llangollen the Constable may just join in!
Lastly there is the important question of what the law considers as a
'public place'. The Prevention of Crime Act 1953 section 1(4) provides
that;
'a public place includes any highway and any other premises to which the
public have or are permitted to have access, whether on payment or
otherwise'
This definition has been discussed in numerous court cases and an exact
definition has proven evasive. The current position is contained in,
amongst others, Knox v Anderton (1982). Here the court held that a 'public
place' included premises to which the public could gain access without
hindrance, barriers or notices restricting access
To bushcrafters this may mean that unfenced private land might count as a
public place for purposes of the restrictions discussed in this article.
However as long as you are involved in a lawful bushcraft activity then the
precise status of the land may be unimportant. If you are staging an axe
throwing contest then ensure the land is private and put up a notice to
that effect!
It is important to note that whereas you may regard your vehicle as an
extension of your home, the law does not. Your vehicle is a public place in
the eyes of the law. This means that it is inadvisable to leave knives,
axes etc in your vehicle unattended. It is not impossible that an over
enthusiastic officer might decide to make life difficult for you. So keep
them out of sight.
Conclusion
Every day the courts convict hundreds of people for offences involving
knives and other edged articles under the two acts discussed here. Almost
every single one of these are youths with kitchen knives or cheap 'Rambo'
style knives bought to look tough. There is no case law I can find which
involves convictions arising from legitimate outdoor pursuits; if you know
of any, let me know too. It is really just a question of that pre-requisite
for most bushcraft; common sense. As long as you are responsible in the
transportation, carrying and use of your knives and tools you should not be
approached by a Police officer in a lifetime of outdoor activity. If this
should happen then a cheerful, calm and above all polite response to
questions should have both you and the Officer going on your mutual ways in
minutes. Remember the law is there to protect the good people and punish
the bad.
I hope this proves useful. Please contact me for any information. I have
not included. I have not mentioned bows and arrows as I imagine the
interest is minimal as bow hunting is illegal in the UK but if you do want
any info then Tony knows where I am!
Dan Sharpe aka Danzo
Super-Moderator British Blades
Law Lecturer and writer
