UK knife laws are a minefield of conjecture and hearsay. It seems everyone has an idea of what they can and can’t carry, but in reality, the situation here is both very simple and extremely nuanced depending on the application of the law as per what law enforcement “feels” the law should be.
This is an article that is targeted very much at my fellow Brits. That being said, those of you overseas might get a kick out of learning about some of the nonsense we have to deal with.
British law as it pertains to knives is the perfect example of laws being written by humans out of populist knee jerk reaction to events. We have specific laws that “ban” knives with the word “combat” written on the blade, as well as knives that have zombie themes. This is not a joke, our government really did pass these laws, and yes, I believe them to be as ridiculous as you reading likely do.
In practical, day to day terms, I find that my knife purchasing habits after having moved from Canada back to the UK have not actually changed significantly. My EDC habits of course have, but more on this later.
The Law: Restrictions & Prohibitions
You can read the whole shebang over here; but the gist of it is that much of the law is based on intent and perception rather than clear technical terms. A Chef can carry a fixed blade knife to work, but an office worker can’t. A construction worker can EDC a Stanley knife to work, but the same can’t be said for a teacher. You get the gist of it.
Generally speaking you cannot carry any knife in public unless you have a good reason, and therein lies the conundrum. Back in Canada, I EDC’d my much loved Cold Steel Voyager for general EDC tasks, but in the UK, whilst I think my uses hold a damn valid reason to carry this knife – the police would not. This “perception” clause is why our knife laws are a mess.
A lot of sheeple see something in the news about a teen stabbing someone to death and think – “Why can’t they ban knives?” The reality is that you cannot ban something based on how scary it looks. The anti-gun folk are very similar in that regard as they don’t want AR-15’s because they are perceived as “offensive” weapons, but a bolt action .223 rifle has equal or superior ballistics performance, so banning things based on how scary they look makes absolutely zero practical sense.
UK Legal Knife Clause: Knives You Can Carry Without a Valid Reason
Interestingly, the UK has a clause that allows you to carry a folding knife as long as it meets the following prerequisites. You can carry a knife that meets these prerequisites without any valid reason;
- Must fold
- Sub 3″ blade
- No lock
- Manual deployment
Every other kind of knife will be scrutinized through the eyes of law enforcement on the basis that you have to have a good reason to be carrying it. And of course, law enforcement is unlikely to share our views on knives as tools.
Note: If you’d like to see a list of UK-legal knives we’d recommend, you can do so by clicking here. You can also take a look at all the reviews we’ve published on UK-friendly folders here.
Prohibited Knives Under UK Law
Knives that are utterly prohibited include the following;
- Automatics
- Gravity knives (Never understood that one, all gravity knives that I have handled have been utter shit).
- Balisongs
- Knives that are designed to look like something else- hairbrush knife etc.
- So called “stealth knives” like the Cold Steel FGX which are not made of steel.
- Zombie knives which is a knife that has words or imagery that suggests violence (I feel deep shame in my country after typing this out, bureaucracy gone mad).
- Walking sticks that feature a sword within them.
- Push Daggers
I know, ridiculous. Thankfully, due to how broad the definitions are, the loopholes are numerous and in my experience I can buy any knife here that I was able to buy in Canada.
Everyday Carry (EDC) in the UK: British Knife Laws in Practice
Now, I have been hooked on knives for a very, very long time, and in my youth, I quite happily EDC’d locking Spydercos amongst other awesome tools here in the UK with absolutely no issues. I am not suggesting you do this, but I am merely sharing my experiences.
If you are wondering why I haven’t been locked up by the cops, it’s because I am a generally nice guy, who doesn’t pick fights with strangers, act drunk and disorderly, and quite frankly, I have always treated the police with the respect I expect them to give me. Like much in life, how you act matters a great deal. If you enter a conversation in an abrasive fashion or act in a way that would be considered threatening, don’t be surprised when people respond to you as though you are a threat.
In Canada, which bans carrying knives for self-defence, I already mentioned – I carried ridiculous knives like the Cold Steel Rajah II. I had zero problems. Obviously, this is my experience on the matter and whilst I now EDC “legal” knives, it’s not because I expect something to happen to me, but because as an adult with a family, I have a lot more to lose should I run into a cop who happens to be in a bad mood and wants to be pedantic for whatever reason.
The old adage of not seen, not taken really does ring true, especially when it comes to the UK where one rarely has to interact with the police.
In an interesting quirk, because the law allows for knives (regardless of blade length) to be carried as long as you have a “proper” reason with no real list of what constitutes a proper reason, there is a case to be made that most knives are technically legal to EDC as long as you can rationalize it. I strongly suggest you do not try to make this case, however, as your fate will be decided by the Crown Prosecution Service who may not be as amused as you. But let’s take Ray Mears, for instance. He is a renowned bushcrafter who quite happily carries a fixed blade knife around in the woods (notably, still in public), because its his job, and thus what he does is legal and perfectly justified.
But what about someone with Parkinson’s who could argue that a locking knife is the only safe option for EDC due to tremors making a slip joint inherently dangerous? It’s an interesting question to consider, though sadly, I shan’t be the one pressing anyone to test this out, as I value my freedom and expect others value theirs as well.
TL;DR
So yes, UK knife laws, like most laws created by bureaucrats, are pretty stupid. You can’t buy a folding knife on eBay, but you can buy a 9 inch chefs knife. The lack of foresight is horrifying, but frankly, expected in this day and age.
The UK outright “bans” some knives, sure; automatics, push daggers, gravity knives, and balisongs are banned, but that’s much like Canada with its ban of autos and balis. What makes a knife UK-legal, however, has to do with that knives-you-can-carry-without-a-valid-reason clause we were talking about above.
The pragmatic reality is that collecting knives as a hobby isn’t substantially impaired here. I can buy pretty much anything I want and freely use it on private property. The only real limits one faces in the UK with regards to knives are related to EDC, and even then, as I’ve mentioned – only in public space. I can’t say I am particularly happy about the direction my country has taken with regards to public safety and its knee jerk legislation, but in day to day life, I find myself being impacted far less than I previously would have thought.
As always, life is what you make of it. I could whine endlessly about not being able to EDC an oversized Cold Steel folder, but I instead just focus on what I can EDC, and make the best of it.
UK Legal Knife Recommendations
I’ve already got a list up of what, in my opinion, are currently the best UK-friendly folders, so check that out if you’re at all interested.
You can also check out all our reviews of UK-friendly folders on this site if you’ve already seen that article and would like more options to go through. We’ll be adding a lot more to this section of the blog in the years to come since we’re now officially on British soil and are here to stay. Obviously, we’ll also be adding non-UK legal knives as well (they can’t stop us from carrying what we want on private property!), but definitely will be buffing up the UK-legal section.
What Do You Think About UK Knife Laws?
Live in the UK – how do you feel about the UK knife laws? Do you find they impact you on a day-to-day basis more than they’ve proven to impact me?
Do you buy non-UK friendly folders and just use them on private property or do you steer clear of them completely?
And if you’re not in the UK – do you have weird (impractical) knife laws in your country/state?
Let me know in the comments!
skaizun says
They’ve barred the entire Swiss Army in my hometown. ;)
Thomas Xavier says
Where is your hometown? I don’t see how they could ban a sub 3″ blade non-locking knife in a whole town in the UK.
Gabriel says
Absolutely wild, my state (TN, USA) has no knife restrictions whatsoever. You can carry any knife/blade (auto, ballisong, machete, Bowie, ballistic, 2″, 12″, etc) open or concealed.
Thomas Xavier says
Show off! ;)
Brian says
The U.S. State of Maine passed a law a few years ago permitting people with only one functioning hand/arm to carry a switchblade (automatic).
Michael says
As a resident of the US State of Maine and someone who recently acquired a Benchmade Infidel, our state also legalized the carry of automatic knives for any citizen a couple of years back. It was the same law which also legalized constitutional carry (the legalization of carrying of a concealed handgun for anyone who can legally own a handgun without requiring a permit). I can happily say that I exercise both of those rights on a daily basis.
Thomas Xavier says
Didn’t know that, very interesting and it makes sense (practically speaking).
Brian says
I just read that London is having more murders with knives than New York City is having murders total. (Which is how I ended up here.) It seems that an outright prohibition on firearms, and knife laws to rival U.S. big city gun laws hasn’t made a lot of difference. Looks like hoods with illegal knives walking around in a city full of unarmed targets take as much liberty add hoods with illegal guns in a city full of unarmed targets. I’m not knocking Brits, by any means. It’s just an interesting point of comparison.
Thomas Xavier says
Yeah, but how do you “ban” knives? They are in every kitchen. The new laws and restriction are nothing more than political pandering for votes and will have zero impact on crime.
Ron says
I know I’m 2 years late to the party here (I’ve just found this site today) but I would treat your source with a pinch of salt.
The stats I’ve seen say that N.Y. and London have roughly the same rates of knife homicide, but N.Y. has an overall murder rate 4 or 5 times higher.
John D says
I understand and agree with the banning of push daggers, disguised blades or others that would be of value to criminals. I usually carry a very small non-locking penknife but I’d like to be able to carry a small lock knife, particularly as I don’t think that slip joints at particularly safe. As with others on this forum, I don’t go around doing things to attract police attention. But if I was stopped, I wouldn’t want to have debate whether or not I had good reason to be carrying a particular kind of knife.
Thomas Xavier says
Push daggers offer very little advantage tactically to the average idiot. The reality is that the current crop of knife laws exist to make us “feel” safer, but in reality, criminals don’t use expensive tactical blades but rather large kitchen knives, screwdrivers and stanley knives. Legislation only offers the appearance of security.
Thanks for dropping by John, I agree with you about slipjoints- check out Spyderco’s with a Choil (I reviewed the UKPK)- much safer than most slipjoints.
Preston says
I wonder if there is any substantive case law on the question of what constitutes a “valid” reason. While this is a very nuanced bit of law doing some research may prove enlightening! Now I just need to find the British version of Westlaw…
Thomas Xavier says
The risk is that its the police officer who makes that judgement call. I won’t be the first in line to test the legal limits (family responsibilities & I am allergic to courtrooms…its all the lawyers- makes me nauseous).
DrStrangelove95 says
In Germany it’s also kind of a jungle, some knives and melee weapons are completely forbidden/banned like balisongs (except balisong trainers that have no cutting edge and the “blade” is perforated or things like balisong combs/bottle openers), knuckledusters and push knives (except for hunters and furriers).
Switchblades are mostly banned but some types like rescue knives allowed if they meet some criteria like maximum blade length, only one-sided blade.
To buy knives with fixed blades longer than 12cm (little less than 5 inches) you need to be 18 (but it mustn’t apply to kitchen knives), of course possession is allowed, also transport (it’s already ok to have it in a closed bag/backpack/suitcase) but carrying isn’t really, so not with the holster/scabbard on your belt or in your pocket, same goes for folding knives you can open single-handedly like Spyderco or most Leathermans, you can buy these without problems and possess them and transport but carrying without reason isn’t allowed.
And these reasons are: You need it for your work, sports, folklore stuff or another valid reason like you have some cake/pie for picknicking and carry a knife long enough; self-defense is clearly not a valid reason.
However one-hand knives are okay, if they’re additionaly locked in closed mode, like the Opinel N°08 Outdoor, you can open it with one hand because of the shackle opener, but you’re able to lock it.
And another expectation are weapon free zones, the Reeperbahn in Hamburg is one such area (AFAIK there’s also a ban of glass bottles) and they increased the number of these in the last years, like around Cologne’s main station, IMHO that’s just a try to decrease/fix the symptoms (and rather locally) than the reasons behind knife attacks – a large number of those offenders (if mentioned) are immigrants, asylum seekers, refugees (for example in Cologne a opposition party asked for a list with the first names of people who got stopped by police in that weapon free zone and had a forbidden weapon and more than 75% of these names were not German/Middle-European but Middle-Eastern/Arabic).
Funfact: Carrying of folding Knives with a blade length above 12cm is a loophole and not forbidden, Jörg Sprave for example develops and sells such weapons that circumvent existing laws.
ALEX says
Because the majority of the world is NOT the USA and some Americans do visit or work over here? Or maybe because the writer lives in the UK now?
Thomas Xavier says
All of the above! Thanks for dropping by Alex!
Bob says
Why should we here in America care what’s legal or not legal in other countries?
Thomas Xavier says
Howdy Bob, plenty of people on this site are not from the states (even if most are) and I try to write interesting articles for general consumption.
I think its important to have an understanding of our world (broadly speaking) so as to know the direction our own country is heading in. I know about Japanese knife laws too, even if I have no interest in living there but its useful to see how legislative issues (especially when it pertains to my hobby) are progressing around us and what we can do to fight against it and what (if any) the options are.
Knowledge is power and all that. ;)
STUART PHILLIPS says
As someone born and brought up in England but living elsewhere for forty years, I believe the nanny state has taken over and spoiled what was a fantastic place. It is now over-regulated and sorely lacks for a constitution. The law is effectively what politicians feel like having when they are first awake in the morning. And I have to say that with these conditions, it is much less fun to visit than was Soviet Russia, though I still have to visit occasionally out of obligation.
Thomas Xavier says
In my opinion, it still is a fantastic place but I hear you on the legislative issues. I always say to Elise that the best thing about America is the U.S Constitution. Say what you want but a system thats designed to resist consolidation of power is always going to be superior compared to the mish mash of common law we have here.
Snoopers Charter is a perfect example of obscene legislative overreach and I don’t think it would have passed in the States. One can always hope people one day wake up and start standing up for their rights.
Thanks for dropping by mate.
ElGreggo DeAlmighty says
Where do you think our (U.S.A.) idiotic officials get their regulatory inspiration? You think they are bright enough to come up with those on their own? They look to other countries. If they are doing it in Britain, you can bet they are going to try to do the same thing here if they get a chance.
Eric Rasbold says
Because I am leaving for London tomorrow and had my KaBar packed!!
ALEX says
Oh and if they do arrest you for a “legal” knife* you were carrying wrongful arrest runs to about £1000 per hour in custody! Just quote s139 to the custody officer and make your one phone call!
*and you were not being a dick
Thomas Xavier says
I did not know that, would they actually pay out in practice or would they find a way of walking away from the responsibility?
ALEX says
Great article! The Police officer is the one who makes the call on the grounds of a “reasonable excuse” if they find a knife over 3″ or with a lock / fixed blade. The Crown Prosecution Service will evaluate it and probably prosecute unless there is a good reason not to. They love stats and being able to “lock up a knife offender” always looks good. In my extensive experience I have never been stopped by any Police as being a middle class respectable guy is not on their radar. Perhaps I need to go out in a hoodie and kick-off outside a nightclub or race my knackered car round the ringroad? ;)
TBH a sub 3″ slipjoint or friction folder is a great EDC for 99% of tasks. I have an Opinel No8 for picnics with the family, a Spyderco Delica for camping / bivvie trips and a Paramillitary2 for, err, work trips to non-permissive enviroments (because even there we don’t get guns!)
A Leatherman Squirt PS4 or SAK is the EDC and a Michael Morris friction folder for when I need a bigger blade with one hand open/close.
At the end of the day I take the law as guidance for the wise (no matter how daft it is!)
Thomas Xavier says
I 100% agree with all you said, I found that I didn’t really “miss” my oversized folders from a practical standpoint. I would just rather have the option!
Thanks for dropping by Alex!