4 ms·

I have a leatherman in London with a locking blade. It was a Christmas present from my dad and I emailed the local police about the legality of it. Ultimately,

I have a leatherman in London with a locking blade. It was a Christmas present from my dad and I emailed the local police about the legality of it. Ultimately, if you're walking round with it in the bottom of your bag and you have a use for it, you'll be fine. They're looking to stop people from having it in their pocket as they're walking round town. Same with the kitchen knives, got it down the back of your trousers 11pm loitering around, they're gonna get you. They're legal to have at home as well, and can be bought on Amazon.

darkpuma 8y ago
That doesn't sound very reasonable to me. Is my pocket not a perfectly reasonable place to put my leatherman? It takes many seconds to unfold it and then unfold the blade, it's not exactly a switchblade. I'm not doing dance battles in the streets against the Sharks and Jets with it (is that really what London is like?) Carrying around a bag when I'm out and about town is a bad habit I broke myself from a few years ago, but supposing it were in my backpack instead of my pocket, what's the difference? Probably three or four seconds to retrieve it, on top of probably about 10 or so to unfold it and then unfold the blade as well. For this to even be a shade of gray is ridiculous.
- Symbiote 8y ago
  > I'm not doing dance battles in the streets against the Sharks and Jets with it (is that really what London is like?) I had to look that up, but the rate of incidents suggests that for some teenagers in London, it could be like that. > supposing it were in my backpack instead of my pocket, what's the difference? You are not "armed", it's not available for use to make an opportunistic attack or defence. "Don't run off, I need to get my knife out of my bag!" (Do note that the knife violence is almost entirely within [youth] gangs, and shouldn't be a worry for anyone considering visiting London.) https://www.theguardian.com/uk/knifecrime https://www.theguardian.com/uk/knifecrime
  - darkpuma 8y ago
    This article from that link (https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/mar/14/knife-and-weapon-offences-reach-highest-level-since-2009 https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/mar/14/knife-and-we...) suggests 21 thousand knife incidents in 2018 across all of England and Wales, the combined population of which is nearly 60 million people. The whole thing seems like an overblown hysteria to me. 21 thousand sounds like a lot until you put it into perspective. How low does that number have to get before knife regulations are walked back and people are given their rights back?

darkpuma 8y ago

That doesn't sound very reasonable to me. Is my pocket not a perfectly reasonable place to put my leatherman? It takes many seconds to unfold it and then unfold the blade, it's not exactly a switchblade. I'm not doing dance battles in the streets against the Sharks and Jets with it (is that really what London is like?) Carrying around a bag when I'm out and about town is a bad habit I broke myself from a few years ago, but supposing it were in my backpack instead of my pocket, what's the difference? Probably three or four seconds to retrieve it, on top of probably about 10 or so to unfold it and then unfold the blade as well. For this to even be a shade of gray is ridiculous.

Symbiote 8y ago
> I'm not doing dance battles in the streets against the Sharks and Jets with it (is that really what London is like?) I had to look that up, but the rate of incidents suggests that for some teenagers in London, it could be like that. > supposing it were in my backpack instead of my pocket, what's the difference? You are not "armed", it's not available for use to make an opportunistic attack or defence. "Don't run off, I need to get my knife out of my bag!" (Do note that the knife violence is almost entirely within [youth] gangs, and shouldn't be a worry for anyone considering visiting London.) https://www.theguardian.com/uk/knifecrime https://www.theguardian.com/uk/knifecrime
- darkpuma 8y ago
  This article from that link (https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/mar/14/knife-and-weapon-offences-reach-highest-level-since-2009 https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/mar/14/knife-and-we...) suggests 21 thousand knife incidents in 2018 across all of England and Wales, the combined population of which is nearly 60 million people. The whole thing seems like an overblown hysteria to me. 21 thousand sounds like a lot until you put it into perspective. How low does that number have to get before knife regulations are walked back and people are given their rights back?