Bushcraft Basics Ep10: UK Knife Law

Description

In this episode we have a look at UK Knife Law and how it effects the carrying and use of Bushcraft Knives in the field.

Become a Patron:

https://www.patreon.com/MCQBushcraft

Bushcraft Basics Blog - http://www.mcqbushcraft.co.uk/bushcraft-basics/

Amazon Store:

UK Store - http://astore.amazon.co.uk/mcqbushcraft-21

US Store - http://astore.amazon.com/mcq-20

Merchandise:

T-Shirts - http://mcqbushcraft.spreadshirt.co.uk/

Connect On My Website - http://www.MCQBushcraft.co.uk

Connect On Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/MCQBushcraft

Connect On Instagram - http://www.instagram.com/mcqbushcraft1

Connect On Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/MCQBushcraft

UK Knife Law - https://www.gov.uk/buying-carrying-knives

Banned knives

A list of some of the Banned Knives.

flick knives (also called ‘switchblades’ or ‘automatic knives’) - where the blade is hidden inside the handle and shoots out when a button is pressed.

butterfly knives - where the blade is hidden inside a handle that splits in two around it, like wings; the handles swing around the blade to open or close it.

disguised knives, eg where the blade is hidden inside a belt buckle or fake mobile phone.

gravity knives.

sword-sticks.

samurai swords (with some exceptions, including antiques and swords made to traditional methods before 1954).

hand or foot-claws.

push daggers.

hollow kubotan (cylinder-shaped keychain) holding spikes.

shuriken (also known as ‘death stars’ or ‘throwing stars’).

kusari-gama (sickle attached to a rope, cord or wire).

kyoketsu-shoge (hook-knife attached to a rope, cord or wire).

kusari (weight attached to a rope, cord or wire).

Tags: woodland,forest,mountains,river,lake,tinder,Survival,Bushcraft,survivor,knife,knives,valley,axe,camping,tent,footwear,hunting,fishing,backpack,clothing,boots,primitive,nature,shelter,shooting,shotgun,rifle,rucksack,flashlight,torch,craft,plants,trees,education,wilderness,wood,family,hobbies,fun,animals,game

Video Transcription

hi there guys Mike from mcq bushcraft here and welcome to episode 10 of bushcraft basics in last or in the last few episodes I should say we've been having a look at water and hopefully with those last three episodes you've got a very good idea on how you can handle water out in the field no matter what part of the world you're in we've had a look at some containers some pathogens and contaminants that are in the water and how they get there and the kind of technologies that are readily available off of the shelf that can actually treat water through filtration and disinfection and hopefully you should be armed with the knowledge now to be able to look at products objectively if you do choose to take the route of using filtration systems out in the field and also basic methods on actually treating water in a more simple form through filtration through things like Milbank banks rags and boiling which can really deal with most things out there but in this week's episode episode 10 we're really going to get into the realms of choosing carrying and using a knife in the field and in this episode I'm really just going to be looking at the laws in the UK because that's where I live and they're the laws I know best but if you are watching from abroad it is a good idea just to have a look at the laws that govern knife carry and ownership in your part of the world unfortunately laws are there mainly because things have gone wrong over a period of time and then they've been introduced in my part of the world knives don't really have the most roseus outlook by the general public they rarely feature in the media because somebody's used one to carve a beautiful carving with or done something really fantastic or creative with or used it as a proper tool like it is they mainly feature in the media because somebody's been stabbed by one and that's a great shame then that's the reason why the laws are the way they are in this country now and it's because of these kind of people who use them as weapons you know for stabbings and such you know this dreadful knife crime that goes on in some of the cities in this country and because of that that's why we have to keep them concealed until we're off the beaten track or use them in areas where actually legally allowed to do bushcraft because we have permission to do it that but let's get into the nitty-gritty of the law and we'll come back to all that later so what are the knife laws in the UK what can you legally carry on you day to day and you don't need an excuse to carry it well the parameters for a knife like that it must be a folder it must fold with a slip joint for example something like a Swiss Army knife has a slip joint and it will fold freely it doesn't have a locking mechanism and it isn't a fixed blade so it must fold freely not lock will be of a knife of a fixed blade it can have a blade length of a maximum of 3 inches less is obviously fine and that is the legal parameters for an everyday carry knife in the UK so effectively something like a Swiss Army knife one of the smaller uppy nails a Lansky world legal or even one of the Spyderco knives that are a folder with a slip joint with a blade length of up to or less than three inches would be absolutely fine as an everyday carry knife that you could carry on you there are certain parameters though where a knife like that can't be carried it's not advised that you carry a knife like that in places like pubs nightclubs or bars football matches or even schools and shopping centers simply because the argument is that a knife like that isn't really required in those places and there's a concern that they can be taken from you or used as weapons if people get drunk and things get out of hand so there can be a few parameters and where a legal carrying knife like that won't be allowed to be carried even in certain cities as well they can have zero tolerance policies on knife carry certain parts of London and also parts of Manchester and life crime is very very high even carrying a legal carry everyday knife like that which you may be entitled to carry might be questioned if you're unlucky enough to get stopped by policeman or policewoman who wanted to know why you have that on you and it might be confiscated simply because the sections of those people in that environment compared to the people out in this environment are completely different but to be able to buy any kind of knife you have to be 18 years old there are certain parts of Scotland or Scotland in general has a slightly different law where between ages 16 to 18 you can buy things like cutlery and kitchenware

although I'm pretty sure that depends on the retailer but in actually the legality of carrying a knife there is no age limit on knife carry legal knife carry was still in we're still in the realms of legal life carry in this first part of the conversation so to be able to carry a small pan knife for example that falls into the specifications of a legal carry knife if you're 14 years old then technically you can legally carry it obviously I'll speak to your parents first let them know you're carrying it let them know that you want to buy it because they're going to have to buy it for you and obviously you can practice skills in the garden folders can be a bit dangerous for the user unless you're used to using them there's a certain art to using small slip-joint knives they can fall back in on you if you don't use them correctly and slice your knuckles or fingers especially when doing some bushcraft jobs or jobs out in the field while you're working the wood and such you can have accidents with them so I wouldn't advise them as an actual knife for using out in the field and there are better knives around that you can carry but a stronger more reliable for certain jobs but recently I met Ben alpha and I went to the UK knife shown that quite a lot of people there - everybody out though I did meet it was really great to meet and yeah thanks for coming and saying hello but I did meet been offered and been offered had some interesting knives he had a really nice UK legal knife it was called the Nomad and it had a three-inch blade or just under Scandi grind I think it was a one tool steel very nice my Carter handles and had an extended spine in terms of a friction folder and they're perfectly legal to carry so if you are going to get a blade that's a UK legal everyday carry blade I would recommend something along those lines because they're far more useful in the field they're a lot stronger because of that extended spine and they're just more cut

right for heavier jobs and they also look less threatening as well they look more traditional and I think that plays a big role in the perception of that policeman and woman or that member of the public who sees that knife and it's very rare in an environment like this to encounter any problems when carrying knives I mean I have my axe and knife right here beside me there's nobody around for miles I have nothing to worry about but obviously I if I lived in a town or a city and there was an issue there with knife crime and I had a knife that looked more traditional and not so tactical and military like then the perception or my story of saying I'm a bush crafter I'm traveling somewhere to practice some carving skills some friends obviously going to be more well received and if I carried some kind of tactical knife and was trying to spin the same story so the way the knife look can play can play a big part of it as well a bit like wearing camouflage and wearing plain clothes it's the it's the whole gray man theory but that's the law on UK knife carry legal carry in this country so based upon what the legal carriers in the UK a lot of the bushcraft knives that are sold out there aren't legal carry this is a four-inch fixed blade knife completely illegal in some respects to carry out in the field with you day to day this is not a legal carry knife and even this was a folding knife with a locking mechanism still completely illegal remember that locking knives are illegal as well as the same as fixed blade knives and when I say illegal they're not legal carry for everyday use but there is a method in which you can alway in which you can carry them in the field perfectly legally and it's just by having a genuine reason for requiring the knife for whatever you're doing maybe it's for work maybe you're a woodworker and you need a knife like that to do your job with maybe you're a fisherman maybe you're a hunter and you're going out you need a knife to prepare game with maybe you're doing some hiking and backpacking across the Lake District or over in Scotland for example or in the brac and beacons and need a knife with you to process wood when you get to camp and also to process food you're practicing bushcraft and you're going out into the woodlands I need a knife to process certain materials on you to be able to practice those skills obviously not all knives can be carried and in the description of this video you'll find a list of banned lives in the UK which I suggest you have a look at but machete swords different types of swords axes you can carry all these things if you you have a genuine reason for carrying them and I'm it really is all about your intent over here in the UK intent is it is a word used a lot in the law and you're intent on what you intend to do is some is a big part of it for example if I'm carrying this axe and I'm walking through the woods and a police officer says to me even though that's a totally unrealistic scenario but a police officer says to me what have you got axe for and I say oh it's just in case somebody jumps out and tries to attack me I can protect myself immediately while I'm saying to that police officer is that I'm attending intending to use the axe as a weapon to defend myself with and he'd have me down the station straight away because this suddenly now becomes an offensive weapon the thing about the law really over here is anything can be an offensive weapon you know a garden rake a shovel a golf ball in a sock anything can be an offensive weapon it's just what you intend to use it for that determines whether it's an offensive weapon or not so this is why having a genuine reason behind why you're carrying these tools is really important if you are out practicing bushcraft if you are you know it's part of your occupation if you're a landscape gardener or a tree surgeon or you're a wood carver a green woodworker you're going out and doing bushcraft skills or whatever reason you have behind you hunting and fishing these are all genuine reasons for carrying tools like this but if you've got a large combat knife under the seat of your truck and it has a knuckleduster protector on it and the handle and you get stopped for speeding and they have a look in the car and they find it nice else's for carving spoons it's just not going to wash and the reason you're carrying that is because it's a weapon and you want you're intending to use it as one for self-defense or whatever reason you're using it for so your intent is a big reason behind the legal carry of these tools and the reason behind them and my advice to you would be as simple as this as if you're going out and you're going for a walk you're walking the dog just carry a friction folder have it on a neck knife under your jacket really easy way of carrying a knife and not raising any eyebrows at all and it's a good solid knife that you can use to practice skills when you're out just on a walk for example if you're at an open-access land or open access woodland or a forest where other people can roam freely because you have a right to do so keep your tools stowed away in your pack until you're off the beaten track and you're at a camps you know you're at campsite view where you framed a camp area and then you can get your tools out put them on your belt and use them if you're on private land you have permission to be there to do some hunting to do some fishing to do some bushcraft skills to camp out then obviously you have very few concerns and you can wear these kind of tools on your belt quite freely because you have permission to be there and do this kind of things but I hope this videos helped out I hope is provided you with some guidance about carrying these tools in the field in the different kinds of environments you'll be in and join me next week episode 11 we'll start actually having a look at some of the products out there some of the knives there are available to you and some of the ones you really want to get if you're just starting bushcraft and you're looking for a knife off the shelf to start using in the field to practice those skills so thanks again for watching guys I'll see you next week and take care and see you very soon