It is important to remember that any item you claim to have for defensive reasons can then be interpreted as an offensive weapon in UK law.

How are knife crime, machete knife crime, still happening? Don’t the criminals know these are illegal?

Buying a £150 knife to open parcels...I'm in the wrong job.

Every schoolboy in the 1950s had a penknife in his pocket along with a bit of string, a broken pencil and various "stuff". The stuff varied with the season and could include marbles and conkers. Penknives with additional functions such as a point to get stones out of horses hooves were prized possessions despite the extra functions never being required.

Self defense is illegal. You might hurt your attacker.

Don't bring a pocket knife to an umbrella fight

I've worked in the security industry for many years. In those years, I've dealt with two knife incidents, the first was a stanley knife, the guy was threatening me and my colleague with it as he was trying to steal and we caught him, thankfully we managed to take it from him and hold him until police came, fast forward to court and despite the charges against him, he did no jail time and was released, his fine was peanuts.. the 2nd was 2 guys who were removed from premises because they were harrasing women who were on a birthday night out, they left without incident but came back "tooled up" again we handled the situation quite well, once we detained the one and got his kitchen knife the other chap ran away, police caught him later, fadt forward again and the case is dropped by police, all they got was drunk and disorderly to which they paid a small fine and were free to go. So if you wonder why knife crime is so high please not its because the law is lying to us, same as flytipping they say 10k fine, but in reality, it never is! The Uk justice system is nothing to fear. For whatever reason the justice system is easily beaten every time by solicitors who seem to be able to get around things.

A screwdriver is more dangerous than a 3 inch lock knife.

I know this is about Knives, but I do recall when hand guns were banned as a result of the terrible tragedy in Dunblane Scotland Many former legal hand gun owners said” when hand guns are outlawed , only the outlaws will have hand guns”

WTF am I supposed to sharpen my quill with?

Only a lawyer would have a £150 knife for opening parcels. The rest of us using our keys or an open pair of scissors 😂

If I'm in my work clothes I'll more than likely have a knife in a pocket. Never crossed my mind to use it on another person.

I have had a police officer hum and arr about arresting me for having a fish filleting knife in my tackle box when sea fishing a couple of years ago. I used it for cutting up my bait and also cleaning and prepping fresh caught fish to put in the cooler to take home. I can tell you my back end tightened when having that conversation.

I carried a locking folder for the 10 years i lived in London. Never had an issue. I cut more cake and sausage rolls with it than anything else.

Isn't it lovely that one city being a crime-ridden hole means the rest of the UK gets pummelled with these stupid laws.

Laws take away your freedom but if you break the law you go to jail, and loose your freedom, you loose freedom either way. Most of us don't need laws to control our behaviour and those that do don't care about laws.

£146 for a knife to open parcels? Wow you're better paid than me! I got a Stanley knife for £3.

I know that you have touched on this subject before but I thank you for refreshing it for us.

The Spyderco knife you show on a website is a 'Para3' which is a locking knife. The one you hold is the Spyderco 'Urban' which is a slip joint -non locking.

Remember, even if a cop asks you ‘do you agree this knife could be used as an offensive weapon’ say ‘no.’ If he asks you what reason you are carrying it, say ‘because I’m legally entitled to.’

in other words: don't you even think about defending yourself, as anything brought for defense will be quallified as 'offensive weapon'

Living in Poland is a lot more relaxed. I carry around a 4 inch locking blade with gravity assisted opening, without a care in the world. The length, lock, and opening mechanism would all be illegal back in the UK 😂

I carry and use my Leatherman multi tool every day.. even used it at my mates wedding to fix one of the speakers, he didn't want me wearing it because it didn't go with the kilt🤷‍♂️

Maybe I'm suspicious minded...but if someone breaks into the BBB's home he's going to claim he was "opening parcels" at the time

I keep a multi-use Swiss Army knife in its leather case, in the toolkit section of my car. It is adapted by the manufacturer for one-handed use. (My left hand/arm is compromised due to injury). I also have an automatic knife with a glass-breaker at one end of the handle; this lives in the driver's door pocket and is in a leather case. The latter has a 5" blade and I had to prove necessity in order to have it in my car. The knife is of historic interest yet, I encounter no problem having, on occasion, a bootful of historic weapons, including firearms! (I am a collector in a small way) I think you'd have loved the reaction from a lone copper when he saw a 4·5 foot long, ancient Executioner's sword on the rear seat...... Priceless!

As a kid I worked in a service station, under the counter was a hollow metal bar, i was told that the police had told them that having a handgrip on it would fall into an offensive weapon, a simple tool etc picked up to deter a criminal would be less problematic. Hence they had taken some grip tape off it.

You've got the Spyderco UK Penknife which is a non-locking knife with

The govt want you defenceless and reliant on the police. Criminals will not wait for the police to turn up to protect/defend you. The govt have made you an easy target and easy victim.

Not allowing locking knives is a public safety risk. An absolute joke

its so bizarre that you aren't allowed to defend yourself and if you do you have to justify your own defence

I don’t carry a knife but I do carry a wicked spoon and a pair of chopsticks …

I carry a UK legal blade daily. Not for work or any particular reason. Just because I have the legal right to. I might find a use for having it at any random time. Sometimes I like to buy and peel apples as a snack for instance. I've sat at bus stops happily peeling and eating my apples for years. When I come back from work I sometimes go into the pub for a few pints and head off home. Never once had anyone been attacked or assaulted with my knife. Why is this I hear you ask? Well it's because I'm not a criminal and knives are not weapons.

They really do like to keep increasing the reasons for you needing weapons of self defense UP, while also ramping up the laws against them.

The law-abiding citizen is persecuted for carrying something as a means to defend themselves while the police and the criminals go around carrying whatever they like. Make it make sense.

Can you comment on the Opinel folding knife. when opening the blade, it does not automatically lock open however it is able to be locked when open for safe use?

My every day carry knife is Swiss Army Knife which meets the exemptions you mentioned. I have declared it going into the Scottish Parliament building it was taken off my and returned when I left. No problem with Eurostar check in although once it was removed and checked the blade was not locking and replaced. I've carried it for so long the scales are worn smooth and the logo worn away.

There are also venue-specific, like football stadiums or knives in hand luggage on an plane, where security will confiscate the item, knife, scissors, metal nail file, often with no route to getting the item back.

For safety when using that Spyderco knife make sure your fingers follow the grip shape of the knife with your forefinger over the hinge portion. Rather than having a locking mechanism this puts your finger as a blocker to it folding back on your fingers. As with all folding knives, don't try to use if too forcefully since the blade is on a pivot.

I was recently pulled over in my motorhome. This was because of an issue with stolen motorhome in the area. But whilst he did his checks ( enjoyed a coffee along with the officer)he went inside the rear and we sat around the table in comfort. He had noticed there were kitchen knives in the sink And a knife rack on the side attached to the wall however he pointed out these should be in a drawer and not within reach whilst driving which I could at that time. Although it was within the area of what it was safe he pointed out it could be considered unsafe and should be in drawers not within easy reach whilst driving. He didn’t do anything to take further but was making me aware.

My EDC is a G19 with a red dot, extra mag, HFB knife, flashlight, and TQ

I have had the Dewalt knife in my pocket for as long as I can remember. I’m a tradesman, I cut cables, I run it around the edge of cable sheaths such as wf100, cat5e, cat6 etc… it’s such a handy tool, it’s never crossed my mind to do anything other than trim back cables! Sometimes I finish work and go to Tesco and it’s in my pocket. I never even thought about it! I only commented as I saw it in the thumbnail! Great video.

What about the Stanley fatmax knife it folds but after realising it but the blade is always away folded or not and only is up on apon you using a slider like the dewalt knife you showed in the video?

I have a knife over 3 inches that attaches round my ankle in a sheath for diving/snorkelling purposes swimming in the sea If I put it on and take it off directly before and after I enter the water and then place it out of public view is that acceptable? I've not dared use it as I don't want to be going for a dive and people see I'm attaching a blade to myself and cause alarm. then if I come back from a dive/snorkel and I've put the blade in my bag to avoid any alarm, does that mean I have a concealed weapon? I would really appreciate your help on this as with all the fishlines/rope and old nets out there I would like to be able to carry it just in case I got tangled up in something.

Frustrating when cops lack the common sense for the "work" exemption or just looking to get their arrest numbers up? I know a chef who was arrested for carrying his knives from his car to work while dressed in his chef whites 🤦‍♂️ One of the questions in the interview was "Why don't you leave them at work?" A "Because these cost me over £1000" NFA but what a huge waste of time.

Thirty odd years ago, my father was coming home and got mixed up with a crowd of football fans (mid-week match) who were herded to one side after some trouble. They were all searched and my father was found to be carrying an 'open (cutthroat) razor'. He told the officer he was a barber, and proved it by partially shaving him in the back of a police van. No charges were bought. He was taking it home to give it its weekly oilstone sharpening.

Great video and very informative Daniel. I'd only add that many believe that it's only the sharpened blade that counts towards the length (erroneously) whereas it's the full length exposed from the grip. The Spyderco you have is a good example; the thumb choil would be included in overall blade length.

Thanks Daniel, this is extremely useful information. One thing I'm seeing debate about is the so-called "flipper tab" which has been argued to be necessary for some people to open safely as they can't open through other means - especially those who are disabled or who have nearly no viable fingernail to use on a nick-opening knife. The poster claimed that this was feedback from a regulator (not sure who that was, the implication was someone in law enforcement or with legislative involvement) and that it was a natural part of the blade's shape the same way the opening hole is on your Spyderco for one-handed opening. Has there been any ruling or precedent on that specific issue of which you're aware?

Sikh here - the religious reason is for us. We're the only faith in the world religiously and legally allowed(in majority of countries) to carry swords/blades in public

A man near where I live was killed by a single punch to the head just the other day. I'm now expecting laws to be created to ban the carrying of hands in public. Everyone must at all time keep their hands securely encased in boxing gloves whilst out in public, for safety of course. I hate the idea that the object is the problem. It's always the person.

Back in the 90s, when I was in my teens, I went on holiday to France. I bought my three best friends an Opinel pen folding knife, with a rotating locking collar, and one for myself of course. One of my friends had a dad who was a policeman, and he explained to me why it was illegal in the UK, but he let us roll with it, since we were just using it for camping.

I have two tools that have blades, one is a Letherman multi tool and the other is a cycling mini multi tool. The Letherman has two locking bladed around three inches one serrated with a hook at the point the one not which is stored in a lether case complete with tool accessories (screwdriver bits and the like), I don’t as a rule carry this. The cycling multi tool also has a carry case, has a locking blade around one inch and very sharp for trimming tubeless tyre puncture plugs, this I carried when ever I’m on my bike. So are these illegal/legal to carry? Both these tools could do a lot of damage in the wrong hands.

Short answer: Nothing is legal in the UK. Your right to be prepared for an emergency has been taken from you in the name of public safety; yet the public is far less safe than before.

I love Opinels....but i can't leave home with it. You can buy them commonly on the continent but France has also tightened its laws recently.

I live in Scotland. I went to college years ago with a friend of mine. I did sport, but he was learning woodworking. The police stopped us one day, he had a screwdriver in his pocket, and he was charged for carrying a dangerous weapon. I never kept in contact with him after the college but I have always wondered if that charged negatively affected the rest of his life. Every time you have a job interview that would come up would it not?

I have a question about 2 specific bladed articles. The first is my Opinel scout knife which goes everywhere with me and lives in a case at the bottom of my day bag. Whenever I go out for the day, I carry a picnic kit which comprises all the things you'd expect ... and my Opinel. The Opinel has a locking sleeve which may or may not be engaged. The sleeve locks it closed and also locks it open. The second is my Leatherman which I no longernormally carry due to uncertainty of the law. But if I was going hiking, I'd certainly want to carry it.

Why are the police allowed to carry multitools ie leatherman its a locking blade and had mine confiscated i was going camping

A friction folding knife doesn't have a locking mechanism, yet the blade can locked in place by your hand holding it. These are far safer than spring folding knives which have the potential to close over your fingers.

So... if I have a Stanley knife in the toolbox in my van and I'm not going to work but on the way to visit a friend, is that regarded as an offence?

I have an Opinel. I use it to cut apples and fruit to eat, as I can't bite into certain fruit due to teeth issues. Opinel's have a collar, that, when turned, locks the knife open. Is this ok to carry in a bag?

How are multi-tools like the Leatherman classified? It has a blade that folds out and locks in place, as do all the other tools it contains except the pair of pliers. It's a two handed exercise to open or close them. By the time you've removed it from it's snap lock leather case, unfolded just the blade you want and refolded the body to make a handle, your prospective antagonist has either already killed you or is in the next county.

I am 51. My dad carried a knife, so I carry a knife.

What about stanley knife blades when in a dispencer that they sometimes come in, this can be hidden very easily and when the blade is 3/4 way out it isn't locked as such but isn't foldable though with care you can push the blade back in, I ask because I have had these in my old manbag and forgotten about them a few times, is this classed as legal / illegal / within the law unless used to 'defend' and the laws that apply to that?

When choosing an edc folding knife, it is best to choose a design such as the spyderco shown, which incorporates a finger choil that helps prevent the knife closing on your fingers. Another good design for use in the UK is the twisted assisted Junzi.

“Under no pretext should arms and ammunition be surrendered; any attempt to disarm the workers must be frustrated, by force if necessary” -karl marx

As member of The Church of the Holy Singularity that requires you to always be prepared my locking folding knife and fixed blade knife are religious knives and should always be carried.

I am in construction and always have a utility knife in my work trousers along with a few other devices/tools I use regularly. Would you say that would be a good enough reason if I was stopped by the police on my way home?

I carry a knife for foraging, no idea if that counts as a good reason. Knives under 3 inches dull too fast in my experience.

I'VE CARRIED A PEN KNIFE SINCE I WAS 5 AND I. NEARLY 60 I'VE GOT A SWISS ARMY KNIFE THAT GOES EVERY WHERE WITH ME VERY USEFUL TOOL

Richard Vobes who has been featured on BBB has just been banned from YT for 3 whole months due to one of is guests mentioned ‘something about something’ which of cause I had better not say. Apparently there is no appeal for this ban. YT censorship is still marching forwards. So do be careful BBB as to your guests.

How about a Opinel pocket knife ? It has a locking mechanism, but doesn’t lock unless the locking ring is turned. Is it legal to carry or not ?

would I am a fishing lake bailiff and potentially have to untangle the ducks from fishing line wrapping around them a valid reason? basically protecting the wildlife?

This law is illogical. A locking blade is a safety feature. I can buy a fixed blade which is much bigger, and I have some REALLY dangerous garden tools with motorised blades. And when I was at school EVERY boy had a pocket knife which they took to school. There we played games with them, made swanee whistles and all sorts. NOBODY got stabbed. NOBODY in my schools, NOBODY on the buses, NOBODY in the Boy Scouts, NOBODY in the towns I lived in. And from the age of 14 I went shooting every other weekend, and most of my friends had air-guns that had been in their families since the days when pubs had rifle ranges (yes, they did). NOBODY died! Now we have these prohibitions, powers and punishments - and massive knife and gun crime problems. If correlation is not causation, it is a sign of policy failure.

I know the law and have chosen to ignore it. I have a 5cm folding lock knife on my keys. I use it a dozen times a day and am not prepared to use a non locker. It’s the smallest one I’ve ever carried, but have had a locking pocket knife on me for 40years now.

Thank you, excellent summary.

What size filleting knife is legal for fishing?

A £150 knife for opening parcels!! Really?

just carry a bit of 2x4 around. surprising light and easy to swing, good reach and sturdy. If the police ask: On my way to a building site.

It's also great when you cover stuff like that. Could you do a video to clarify the carrying of tools, such as screwdrivers or a hammer?

Good simple (or as simple as anything to do with the law can be) explanation - thank you

You have no right to defend yourself from being a victim of crime. Hence why crime is out of control.

Many things you can carry ,don't say its for protection. Would rather be judged by 12 than carried by 6.

Amazing timing having this in my recommended, went to a camping/outdoors store today to look for some shoes (they didnt have the ones i want) and stopped at the knives being sold looking at the victorinox. I was surprised at some of the knives they had for sale, i suppose they werent big but bigger than i thought they would sell.

What about an Opinel? The blade does not auto-lock on opening, but the twist-ring can lock it open. I regularly carry/use one on my allotment, it is always in my pocket.

The UK citizen has about as much rights as the North Korean citizen when it comes to self defense... Any government that requires its citizens to render themselves defense less is criminal by definition.

I have a leather multitool, which I take on walkies with my dogs along the beach. I use it to remove rope or nets they inevitably roll around in and get caught up in.

Against the law to use a locking knife that is legal to carry to the fishing lake and legal to use but is illegal to use for self defense. Does that include when fishing? My God, the insanity of being forbid the right to the most effective self defense available at the time and place. Forced victim hood.

I use a knife all day at work, I came home and took my dog for a walk. The police were around the corner from my house and when I walked past them they saw it in my leg pocket and asked me if I was carrying a knife. I immediately said I am, I use it at work and completely forgot to take it out my pocket as I immediately left from work to take my dog out. Its a straight knife, around 7 inches long kept in a hard sheath - like a fishing knife I use for cutting lagging and plastic at work. I told him I will turn around and take it home straight away. He was happy with that. I did and all was well.

Very interesting video . I use a range of knives for dressing game when im hunting and carry a leatherman Just to be safe as soon as im back at my vehicle i lock them in a metal box and put them in the boot because im pretty sure there are laws about being able to access them ?

The Right To Bear Arms was taken away (illegally?) from British citizens as it was deemed that the police would defend crimes against the person and property with the Government protecting our borders and shores. Both parties have failed spectacularly, so they have reneged on their contract with the peoples of these isles.

Narwhal tusk? 🙄

Thank you for all the common sense. I live in London, have done for much of my life. Knife crime is a huge political issue in London. Teenagers getting into fights, often gang related, which then escalate into someone getting killed because one or both of the participants is carrying a knife. The law being so restrictive on what you can legally carry is really helpful to the police in trying to reduce the likelihood of knife crime. I go fishing and bought the Spyderco UK Penknife in the video so I could take a decent knife with me for cutting up bait etc and not have to worry about carrying something that is arguably illegal. Great knife.

that's the spyderco uk penknife. i got mine in 2015 for £44. they're about £99 these days. i love mine, it's been useful for more than just opening letters and packages. often a friend or family needs it and i've also used it in the garden.

Pepper spray is non lethal and I can't understand why it isn't legal to carry. Being able to defend yourself should be a god given right.

In Finland it is simpler: It is illegal to carry anything that can be used to harm others without a good reason and carrying just in case is not enough. You must know you need it. I carry a small Victorinox knife with a 4 cm blade and that would also be illegal. I carry it so that I can open various packages and also because it has a pen.

I believe there is a difference between a single-sided knife and a double-sided knife, the later being illegal?

I'm Stage Manager at my local theatre and always have a torch, 2 multitools (The cast will often borrow one) and knife with me as there are so many things that they are needed for. Add that I am completely dressed in black, and a scouse accent, if I got stopped there would be a long conversation.

The fun part is if you or your house get searched theres a very very good chance theyll confiscate it anyway.

After the knife rules you would think at least non lethal tools would be allowed. But pepper sprays, stun guns, tazers, no. Just rape alarms.

It's gets even more fun with bladed articles that have an assisted opening feature such as a stud or hole that permit one handed operation.

An Opinel knife has a collar you can turn to lock the blade, but it doesn't lock automatically. Would that be counted as a locking blade or a non-locking blade?