Knives on our streets.

You are not allowed to carry knives here though I always wonder how chefs cope if they want to go on a train. That argument saying knives are not dangerous, people are, also applies to guns of course, and machetes and more or less any weapon so by that argument, go for your life, don’t ban anything . But I wouldn’t come on a tourist visit !

I do not go out carrying my kitchen knives with me on my person or my Stanley knife or 2cm blade for pencil sharpening and see no reason to do so. They are for use at home.
Why is it whenever there is a call for the banning of a dangerous article for fear of misuse the ubiquitous 'some people' immediately leap to its defence?
No reason why the sgian-dubh and the Sikh ceremonial knives cannot be replicas.

Lots of sharp implements are banned on planes now.
Just in answer to some of the posts.

Yup- I used to knit on long haul flights but not allowed to now. They won’t even tolerate crochet hooks or embroidery needles or scissors . All because of some stupid Richard Craniums in the past.

I alwaya thought anything that could be used against someone else was illegal?
Hence; pepper spray.
I hope people with feel free to carry it on them, now then.

I am of the generation that always had a penknife about their person. I also have a Swiss Army knife - an essential part of my fishing equipment in the past, it now has only enormous sentimental value. I wouldn’t dream of carrying it outside now. But, should a horse with a stone in its hoof wander into my living room requiring assistance, I know where to lay my hands on it immediately😁!

It does seem a bit bonkers to ban crochet hooks on flights to me, I’ve been trying to think what somebody could do with a crochet hook that they couldn’t also do with a pen, and I’ve failed.

Charity shops cannot even have knitting needles on display and that has been the case for easily 20 years when I was a volunteer.

To clear up an earlier point that several of you picked up on, when I said knife crime has become to the UK what gun crime is to the US, am not comparing crime rates here with the US, that would be bonkers, am pointing out that knife crime has become a scourge in our society as gun crime is in the US. Statistics are hugely different but knife crime is a worrying a problem for many in the UK and though figures may have fallen, here in London it is still fairly common practice for some children to take knives into school, not to attack others but for protection.
We may luckily never see a knife crime committed but for the younger generation I imagine chances are much higher.

When I worked in airport security in the early 90s chefs had to declare their, often very expensive, cooking knives before clearing security or risk immediate confiscation. In 2001, it was made illegal to carry any knife in hand luggage and all had to go in the hold.

Similarly IMO, all knives found carried openly on the streets today should be seized whether tools of the trade which could be weaponised or ceremonial.

nanna8
We bought a set of Japanese knives in Meyers in Miranda for our DD’s new house. Took them back into Sydney on the train.

Macaydia

Could a man's strong muscular hands be banned too? What about an automobile <-- that is a lethal weapon too. What about an umbrella? Is that a weapon?

My aged mother-in-law once amused herself in a crowded beach bar in the South of France by "accidentally" tripping up the overly loud Hooray Henrys with her white stick.
"After all," she said innocently, "who's going to suspect the little old blind lady?"

My husband was horrified when he realised what she'd been doing 😂

What a scamp.

Thanks Fallingstar for that clarification.

grumppa

Let me keep my Swiss Army Knife!

In your home or garden/shed, sure. I can think of no valid reason for anyone to carry one in public.

Many men wear a kilt for informal purposes eg football, rugby, highland games but no sgian dubh. The sgian dubh is generally reserved nowadays for very formal occasions eg weddings,parades, formal presentations and the item is not hidden, it is clearly on display low down on the body. The males in my family have the traditional item but did not even wear them at their own weddings. I was amazed at a passenger being allowed to take crochet hooks onto flight. I'd consider those could inflict a serious injury too.

Basgetti one example of someone needing to carry a Swiss Army knife (or the like) would be DH going to help our disabled son with something. Our son doesn't own tools or implements as he would be unable to use them - therefore DH has to go 'equipped'.

If anybody's religion opposes our laws, they should obey our laws and not their religion. If they don't like it then they can choose to live somewhere where they are permitted to follow their strict religious dogma.

SueDonim

^Anyone wearing traditional Highland dress can also carry a knife, a sgian-dubh

I understand in Scotland or for national dress and weddings they are actually made of a light wood or plastic, not metal.

No one should carry a knife of any sort certainly not relating to faith or ceremony.

It's just wrong, wrong ,wrong!

Remember the BA aircrew who was barred from wearing a small silver crucifix on a necklace for fear it would offend passengers and more recently all the Jewish ladies who are frightened to wear Star of Davids in the same way for fear of being attacked.

Ilovecheese

Knife crime is actually falling, although still too high of course. I don't think it should be compared to gun crime in the US
"Killings involving a knife or sharp instrument fell by 21% last year, according to figures from police forces in England and Wales.

It comes after official data previously showed that homicides had fallen to their lowest level in nearly 50 years.

"Crime statistics published on Thursday by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed 172 homicides involving a knife or sharp instrument were recorded by police forces in 2025, compared with 217 in 2024.

Last year's number of knife-related killings is also the lowest since comparable data was first collected in 2010-11."

Those statistics only relate to homicides involving knives. Overall knife crime reported to the police is up by 50% over the last 10 years to March 2026.

Primrose53

Charity shops cannot even have knitting needles on display and that has been the case for easily 20 years when I was a volunteer.

We still accept and sell needles where I volunteer.

In the Sikh religion you can only carry the knife if you have been baptised.
Judging by the amount of lethal weapons the scum had in their house I very much doubt they have a religious bone in their bodies.

Basgetti, my Swiss Army knife came into its own at a Holiday Inn in the Midlands, when the waiting staff could not lay their hands on a corkscrew.

SueDonim

Fair enough to keep a mix of ‘tools’ in a car, many of us have a kit in the car, but on the High Street?

The reason we keep tools in the car, is so that we can use them when we're outside the home.