A Guide to Knife Laws in the UK
Posted by HH on 28th Jan 2022
Here at Heinnie Haynes, we want you to be able to get the best use out of your knives. We want to give you as much information as possible, so we've put together this Guide to Knife Laws in the UK to make it easier for you.
One of the most common questions that we get asked is 'which knives are legal?', and these are some of the banned knife types:
- Flick Knives
- Butterfly Knives
- Disguised Knives
- Certain Samurai Swords
So, which knives can you carry?
If the knife is included in the above list, you shouldn't even own it. However, some people assume that owning a locking knife or fixed blade is illegal, which isn't the case, these knives are just illegal to carry in a public place without good reason.
However, if you are carrying one in a public area then good reasons include taking knives you use at work to and from work, taking knives to a gallery or museum to be exhibited or that your knife is going to be used for theatre, film, television, re-enactment or religious purposes. This essentially means that you can own a locking knife or fixed blade knife, and use it at home or in the countryside, therefore you should be able to use your fixed blade for camping with no issues at all.
What are UK Friendly Carry 'Legal' Knives?
A UK Friendly knife must be a folding knife that is both non-locking and has a cutting edge of less than 7.6cm (3 inches). These are knives that you can carry around with you in a public space. However, if you are carrying a knife, no matter the size or reason you should always check if the place you're going has separate rules on knife carrying. But it is important to use common sense, don't go taking your knife into places that you wouldn't like other people to have them.
Are you sure my knife is legal to carry?
The answer to this question is yes, if it falls into the above descriptions of a UK Friendly Knife then yes, it is legal for you to carry it. For example, the Boker Plus Tech-Tool 1 and the Spyderco Bug are both UK friendly knives, but both are designed and look completely different. Luckily. both fall into the 'legal' framework. However, if you look at the Rough Ryder Reserve Heavy Trapper Denim Micarta isn't UK Friendly Carry, because its cutting edge is longer than 7.6cm, and the Kershaw Shuffle II Blackwash, is not UK Friendly Carry because it has a locking blade.
On our website we mark every UK Friendly Knife we can, which most websites do not. Make sure that if you do want a knife you can carry legally, you don't just look at the size of the knife, you also look at whether it locks or not.
To stay up to date with all of the UK Knife Laws here is a useful link:
https://www.gov.uk/buying-carrying-knives
Update - April 2022 - the laws on knife delivery in the UK have changed - you can read more about that here.
We hope that our Guide to Knife Laws in the UK has helped you to get the best out of your knives. Looking for some more information on our knives? Speak to our team of experts on 033 0300 0400.