knife legislation

 

International Trends

Carrying knives in public is forbidden by law in many countries. Exceptions may be made for hunting knives, and for knives used for work-related purposes (e.g. chef's knives).

Automatic knives (switchblades) are often banned from civilian carry or possession. Butterfly knives (Balisongs) are also frequently restricted due to an impression of connection with gang activity. A notable exception is Austria, where civilian possession of automatic knives including double-edged automatic OTF ("out The front") daggers are allowed.

New, assisted opening knives where the blade is partially opened manually but the opening is finished by another mechanism (such as a torsion bar) are currently a "grey area" in many countries as the courts and legislature have yet to catch up with development.

Most Western European nations are very unfriendly toward all knives other than small pocket knives and similar small tools.

Carrying knives on commercial airplanes is subject to many prohibitions which vary too frequently to be listed here. Knives can normally be transported by air travelers if securely packed in hold luggage, where they will be inaccessible during the flight.

Federal Republic of Germany

German law explicitly forbids a few types of knives and regards other types of knives as weapons. All other knives can be owned and carried without infringing on the law.

The law defines a weapon to be any item that is intended to reduce or eliminate the ability of a person to attack another person or to defend themselves. Example: A bayonet is intended to injure or kill people, hence it is regarded as a weapon by the law, while a machete is regarded as a tool to clear dense vegetation. A knife with a two-sided blade and a switchblade which is not illegal as described below is always regarded as a weapon. A Sabre and similar items are regarded as weapons.

The law explicitly lists the following knives as being illegal to manufacture, import, sell or possess:

• butterfly knives
• gravity knives
• push daggers
• switchblade knives are the only knives where the law makes restrictions to the length of the knife:
  • all OTF switchblade knives are regarded as illegal to possess, and
  • all side-opening switchblade knives are illegal, except when the blade
    • is no longer than 8.5 cm and
    • is at least 20% as thick in its middle,
    • has a continuous back.

The law makes an exception for push daggers: These knives may be owned and used by owners of a hunting permit, or by members of the fur industry.

All weapons are subject to restrictions, including a minimum age of the owner, they have to be stored properly and may not be carried on certain public events. All knives that are not illegal or regarded as weapons can be purchased, owned and carried by anyone.

Japan

With the exception of any type of switchblade, any knife with an overall length of 15 cm (about 5.9 in), with a blade length of no more than 6 cm, is legal to carry. Knives must be concealed and should not be easily available. The Japanese Guns and Knives Control Law forbids knives being used as defensive weapons, but is relatively tolerant toward knives which can be opened using a single hand. For example, any type of butterfly knife is legal.

With the exception of Japanese Katana, any other swords are regarded as offensive weapons. However, if they have artistic value, possession is legal as long as the sword is registered.

Violations of the law come with a sentence of up to one year in prison and a fine of ¥300,000 or about U.S. $2,600 or about U.K. £1,300.

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Please note that Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own legislative powers and consequently not all UK legislation applies in these countries.

In the UK, the main knife legislation is found in the Criminal Justice Act (CJA) 1988 however certain types of knife are banned under the Restriction of Offensive Weapons Act (ROWA) 1959, the relevant section of the latter being Section 1.

It is an offence for a person to manufacture, sell, hire or offer for sale or hire or expose or have in his possession for the purpose of sale or hire, or lend or give to any person:

• A) any knife which has a blade which opens automatically by hand pressure applied to a button, spring or other device in or attached to the handle of the knife, sometimes know as a "flick knife" or "flick gun"; or

• B) any knife which has a blade which is released from the handle or sheath thereof by the force of gravity or the application of centrifugal force and which, when released, is locked in place by means of a button, spring, lever, or other device, sometimes known as a "gravity knife".

[ROWA 1959 S 1(1)]

Section 1(2) also makes it illegal to import knives of this type, as a result it is (almost) impossible to obtain possession of such a knife without either committing or abetting an offence. Note that the above legislation does not refer to possession of such knives other than possession for the purpose of sale or hire, it is therefore not illegal per se to merely possess such a knife.

The CJA 1988 mainly relates to carrying knives in public places, Section 139 being the most important.

It is an offence for any person, without lawful authority or good reason, to have with him in a public place, any article which has a blade or is sharply pointed except for a folding pocket-knife which has a cutting edge to its blade not exceeding 3 inches. [CJA 1988 section 139(1)]

The phrase "good reason" is intended to allow for "common sense" possession of knives, so that it is legal to carry a knife if there is a bona fide reason to do so. Examples of bona fide reasons which have been accepted include: a knife required for ones trade (e.g. a chefs knife), as part of a national costume (e.g. a sgian dubh), or for religious reasons (e.g. a Sikh Kirpan).

The special exception which exists in the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (s139) for folding knives (pocket knives) is another "common sense" measure accepting that some small knives are carried for general utility however even a folding pocket knife of less than 3" (76mm) may still be considered an offensive weapon if carried or used for that purpose. It is a common belief that a folding knife must be non-locking for this provision to apply however the wording of the Criminal Justice Act does not mention locking and the matter becomes a question as to the definition of "folding pocket knife" and has not been definitively settled within English Jurisprudence.

The same act also covers the possession of knives within school premises:

It is an offence for any person, without lawful authority or good reason, to have with him on school premises any article to which s.139 applies. [CJA 1988 section 139A(1)]

This would appear to imply that all legislation on knives in public applies similarly to school premises, and therefore a folding pocket knife under 3" in length would be considered legal.

British law also covers age restriction on the sale of knives in the Criminal Justice Act 1998:

It is an offence for any person to sell to a person under the age of 16 any knife, knife blade, razor blade, axe or any other article which has a blade or is sharply pointed and which is made or adapted for causing injury to the person. [CJA 1988 section 141A]

British courts have in the past taken the marketing of a particular brand of knife into account when considering whether an otherwise legal folding knife was carried as an offensive weapon. A knife which is marketed as "tactical", "military", "special ops", etc could therefore carry an extra liability. The Knives Act 1997 now restricts the marketing of knives as offensive weapons and thus it is much more unlikely that such marketing could be used as evidence against a defendant.

Although English law insists that it is the responsibility of the prosecution to provide evidence proving a crime has been committed an individual must provide evidence to prove that they had a bona fide reason for carrying a knife (if this is the case). Whilst this may appear to be a reversal of the usual burden of proof, technically the prosecution has already proven the case (prima facie) by establishing that a knife was being carried in a public place.

United States of America

Knife laws vary tremendously from state to state, and even from city to city inside a state. In Texas, for example, individuals may carry knives openly or concealed so long as they are single-edged, and are not daggers, switchblades, or gravity knives. In Detroit, a pocket knife of over 2" in blade length is illegal. The term "gravity knife" (where the blade can open via gravity) is sometimes used interchangeably with the term "inertia knife" (where the blade can be flicked open with a snap of the wrist). This presents another ambiguity, since many modern folding knives can be opened by gripping the blade and vigorously flicking away the handle to open the knife. In some areas of the country, the term "switchblade" has been stretched to include an "inertia knife", thus outlawing a broad category of otherwise unremarkable knives. Butterfly knife legality is also questionable in areas — there have been convictions ^{[citation needed]}. In some other states, fixed-blade knives are banned, open carry is banned, and sometimes concealed carry of anything except pocket knives is banned. Cities have ordinances further restricting these laws; in San Antonio, TX, it is a violation to carry a folding knife having a locking blade. California allows switchblades with blades less than two inches long. In some metro areas such as Washington, D.C., going into office buildings or museums, or simply loitering while carrying even small 3" folding knives can be problematic. In New York City a visible knife is illegal, even if it's merely the clip that holds it in the pocket. Other restricted areas in the U.S. include court buildings, federal property (which technically limits blades to 2.5-inches), and public school grounds.

New designs such as Assisted Open knives make the question of what is legal to carry even more complicated. The Federal Switch Blade law prohibits possession of any knife designed to open with the use of a mechanical release. The Assisted Open design used, for example, by Kershaw employs a system by which the user starts the blade open by pressing a nub on the knife tang which extends out the back of the handle liners. The torsion bar then takes over and completes the opening of the knife. This system has been determined not to be a mechanical release since the user actually starts the blade with a push of their finger not a release or button being pressed.

See also

• Hunting license

Donate to Wikimedia