Are Fixed Blade Knives Legal in the UK?

There's a rule almost every knife law guide leads with. 7.62cm, folding blade, no lock. It's well known, but it has nothing to do with fixed blade knives. If a fixed blade knife is on your list, whether for bushcraft, fieldwork, the workshop or everyday tasks, this guide sets out exactly where you stand under UK law and how to carry one properly. We've built our fixed blade knives range around the same idea: real specs and honest descriptions, nothing dressed up to look tougher than it is.

Folding knives vs fixed blades at a glance

Folding pocket knives get a specific exemption, and it's a narrow one. A blade not exceeding 7.62cm, that doesn't lock open, can be carried in public without needing a reason. Fixed blade knives in the UK sit outside that exemption completely. There's no length that makes one automatically legal to carry. What decides the outcome is your reason, not the blade's size.

Yes, provided you've got good reason. Section 139 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 makes it an offence to carry a bladed article in public without good reason or lawful authority. A fixed blade knife falls under this law regardless of how short or long the blade happens to be.

Good reason isn't a loophole to squeeze through, it has to fit the moment you're actually in. GOV.UK sets out a short list of officially recognised reasons. Work is the most common one, alongside religious reasons such as carrying a kirpan. Wearing a knife as part of traditional national dress, like a sgian-dubh with Highland dress, counts too.

Courts have also accepted reasons beyond that list, though nothing's guaranteed until a judge actually looks at the facts. Anglers heading to the water with a knife packed in their tackle bag have succeeded with this defence, and so have people simply walking a new purchase home from the shop. Bushcrafters and stalkers carrying a fixed blade to and from a specific trip tend to fall into the same bracket. The pattern holds regardless: every accepted reason ties the knife to a specific activity, not a general habit of keeping one around ‘just in case’.

Certain designs are banned outright, whatever your reason for carrying them. Zombie-style knives and machetes, generally identified by a blade at least 20.3cm long with features like a serrated edge, extra holes or spikes, became illegal to own in England and Wales from 24 September 2024, under an amendment to the Criminal Justice Act 1988. As a retailer, we can't lawfully sell anything matching that description, so it's not something you'll come across while browsing our range.  

Good reason isn't fixed in stone, courts look at context every time. Picture carrying a hunting knife on your belt on the way home from the pub, compared with carrying that same knife in your kit bag on the way to a stalking trip. The context is what separates a caution from a clean explanation. The law asks whether your reason fits the moment, not what the knife looks like or how sharp it is.  

Staying on the right side of the law comes down to habit more than memory. Build these into how you carry, and you won't need to think twice:

• Keep it sheathed and stored in a bag or case, never loose in a pocket
• Carry it only when that day's activity actually calls for it
• Travel straight to and from the job or trip it's for
• Leave it at home if you can't clearly explain why it's with you

Good reason has to match the moment, not your general lifestyle.

‘Sheath knife’ is just another name for a fixed blade. If you've been searching under that name, every rule above applies just the same. Carrying it in public is where the reason matters.  

Ready to add one to your kit? Browse our fixed blade knives for sale, including sheath knives for sale in the UK from names bushcrafters and outdoor professionals already trust. Not sure which one suits your reason for carrying? Book a free Heinnie Kit Assist call and talk it through with someone who uses this gear day to day.