Thinking of carrying a Swiss Army Knife?

[Kyajae]

I've carried one of these abroad many times and never been stopped. I make sure it's in my suitcase not hand luggage though. In the past, I've forgotten to take it off my key fob and they've let me through the barrier when I've declared it.

What am I going to do? Threaten to damage someone's cuticle? Unscrew a seat?

I know a bloke who was killed after being hit in the head with a tomato. Unfortunately, the fella who threw it didn't take it out of the tin first!



I'll get my coat.

[realityhack]

I've carried one of these abroad many times and never been stopped. I make sure it's in my suitcase not hand luggage though. In the past, I've forgotten to take it off my key fob and they've let me through the barrier when I've declared it.

What am I going to do? Threaten to damage someone's cuticle? Unscrew a seat?

[threaded]

I'm not saying people should be allowed to carry knives willy nilly but some common sense has to come into play... or not as it seems.

Exactly. It has been all over the news and it says quite clearly at the barriers that one is not allowed anything sharp, or liquids etc. etc. etc.

This silly old duffer was trying it on, retd. brigadier or not, and ought to be jailed for it, and if he is claiming senility his carers ought to be banged up too!

[gingerjedi]

Oh please, so if I carried an egg with the intention to throw it at someone the egg is an offensive weapon, what if I changed my mind, at what point does the egg cease to be offensive?

If I buy a set of kitchen knives from John Lewis how do I get them home... Police escort, Securicor?

I'm not saying people should be allowed to carry knives willy nilly but some common sense has to come into play... or not as it seems.

[Euro-commuter]

It's relatively straightforward to kill someone with a credit card... How would you classify that?

Probably as an offensive weapon if carried for that purpose.

That seems logical, if unexpected, to me. Among the aspects that are less logical, is the fact that a (folding) Swiss Army knife is legal if the cutting edge is less than 3" long, provided that is not carried or used as a weapon or with the intention of doing so: but only if the blade does not lock.

Actually the law is not clear on that but a case was successfully prosecuted on the grounds that the blade was lockable. Unfortunate, since legitimate users of Swiss Army knives would be much safer with locking blades.

[Churchill]

For some reason you seem to be confusing "offensive" and "concealed".

A screwdriver carried with the intention of being able to use it as a weapon, is an offensive weapon, whether it be conceailed or not.
A fixed-blade knife is an offensive weapon regardless of whether you intend to use it as such, unless you have an acceptable good reason for carrying it. The Swiss Card blade is fixed, so it is an offensive weapon.

A blade that is concealed is, reasonably enough, a concealed weapon. The Swiss Card is also treated as a concealed weapon, though some might argue that it is not concealed since it is not disguised as something other than what it really is.

It's relatively straightforward to kill someone with a credit card... How would you classify that?

[Euro-commuter]

So as long as you wave it about so everyone can see it's ok?

Just carry a 10" long screwdriver apparently it’s not an offensive weapon but if you should be mugged it will come in handy as it will go straight through your assailants heart and out the other side.

For some reason you seem to be confusing "offensive" and "concealed".

A screwdriver carried with the intention of being able to use it as a weapon, is an offensive weapon, whether it be conceailed or not.
A fixed-blade knife is an offensive weapon regardless of whether you intend to use it as such, unless you have an acceptable good reason for carrying it. The Swiss Card blade is fixed, so it is an offensive weapon.

A blade that is concealed is, reasonably enough, a concealed weapon. The Swiss Card is also treated as a concealed weapon, though some might argue that it is not concealed since it is not disguised as something other than what it really is.

[gingerjedi]

So as long as you wave it about so everyone can see it's ok?

Just carry a 10" long screwdriver apparently it’s not an offensive weapon but if you should be mugged it will come in handy as it will go straight through your assailants heart and out the other side.

[Churchill]

Why would a (normal)girl carry a swiss-army knife?

[Euro-commuter]

I have a swiss army card in my wallet.

Does that make me a thug?

I'm afraid it does. That's a concealed weapon:

Retired soldier arrested for taking tiny knife on train

A RETIRED brigadier has spoken of his shock at being arrested and having DNA samples taken for carrying a tiny utility tool in his luggage.

Tom Foulkes, of Fitzroy Road, Fleet, was on his way to a business trip in France when he found himself on the wrong side of the law.

Mr Foulkes, 56, was with his wife Sally when he was stopped by security while getting ready to board a Eurostar train at Waterloo.

The former Royal Engineer was putting his bag through an x-ray machine when eagle-eyed security staff spotted a tiny knife combined with tools inside it.

Mr Foulkes said: “When I put the luggage through the scanner they spotted it and asked me to open the bag.

“This thing is the size of a credit card and has a tiny little knife on it with a magnifying glass, tweezers and compass.

“It is the type of handy little thing you take abroad with you and I have taken it all over the world and never been stopped before. They said that I was carrying a prohibited item and said that carrying an item like this in a suitcase was committing an offence of carrying a concealed weapon.”

Mr Foulkes said he was taken aback when an officer was called from the British Transport Police and he was arrested. He then found himself being marched to a waiting police van and taken to a police station.

“Although I realise I needed to be polite I told the officer that it was going a bit too far,” said Mr Foulkes.

He said that while at the station he was quizzed for four hours and had his fingerprints and DNA taken.

A British Transport Police spokesman said: “The law on offensive weapons is a matter of judgement but looking at this it fits the description of a concealed weapon and that was why he was arrested.”

[Clippy]

I have a swiss army card in my wallet.

Does that make me a thug?

Nope, it makes you a geek.

[Jog On]

I have a swiss army card in my wallet.

Does that make me a thug?

[PRC1964]

Become a Sikh and you are allowed to carry a knife for religious reasons.

[threaded]

Yeps, we're all equal in the eyes of the law, that's why Justice wears a blindfold.

[Euro-commuter]

First check inside your pants.

Crown Prosecution Service does:

Offensive Weapons

When assessing whether the public interest requires a prosecution, the following factors should be considered.
The age, sex and character of the offender;