Carrying a swiss army knife in the car

[mat777]

What with all the hysteria of knife crime, and stories of over-reacting officers exercising tasers instead of common sense, I thought I'd best ask before I add a swiss army multi-knife to my in-car toolkit.
Its about 4" long and although the blade doesnt lock with a catch, it is more than stiff enough to stay in position by itself.

So, is it legal to carry in the car?

[SlimJim16v]

How long is the blade, cutting edge?

[Dibble]

mat777 said:

What with all the hysteria of knife crime, and stories of over-reacting officers exercising tasers instead of common sense, I thought I'd best ask before I add a swiss army multi-knife to my in-car toolkit.
Its about 4" long and although the blade doesnt lock with a catch, it is more than stiff enough to stay in position by itself.

So, is it legal to carry in the car?

Yes, and no.

If its not an offensive weapon, then it could still come under bladed/pointed article.

You need to have a lawful reason for having it with you. Each case is judged on its merits.

FWIW, I have a cheapo multi tool in with the tool kit in my car (in the boot, with the other tools, inside the spare wheel well). Having it in the glove box/centre console/door bin could (potentially) cause problems.

[SlimJim16v]

More misinformation, I hope Dibble isn't one.

A folding pocket knife, with a blade (cutting edge) of less than 3" is pefectly legal to carry with NO reason. A locking knife, become a fixed blade, so needs good reason. Obvioulsy a pub, football match etc is not a good idea. See legislation below.

S. 139 Offence of having article with blade or point in public place. England+Wales

(1) Subject to subsections (4) and (5) below, any person who has an article to which this section applies with him in a public place shall be guilty of an offence.
(2) Subject to subsection (3) below, this section applies to any article which has a blade or is sharply pointed except a folding pocketknife.
(3) This section applies to a folding pocketknife if the cutting edge of its blade exceeds 3 inches.
(4) It shall be a defence for a person charged with an offence under this section to prove that he had good reason or lawful authority for having the article with him in a public place.
(5) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (4) above, it shall be a defence for a person charged with an offence under this section to prove that he had the article with him—
(a) for use at work;
(b) for religious reasons; or
(c) as part of any national costume.
(6) A person guilty of an offence under subsection (1) above shall be liable-[F1
(a) on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or both;
(b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding [F2four] years, or a fine, or both.]
(7) In this section “public place” includes any place to which at the material time the public have or are permitted access, whether on payment or otherwise.
(8) This section shall not have effect in relation to anything done before it comes into force.

[7db]

Is inside a car a public place in this Act?

[SlimJim16v]

Crazy as it is, in law the inside of your car is a public place

[Dibble]

What's the misinformation?

The law wrt bladed/pointed articles clearly outlines that you need a reason (work, religion, costume) to have a bladed article with you, you can't have it "just in case". Notwithstanding that, I'd like to think that most officers would be fairly pragmatic about the reasons someone had such an item with them, and where it might be in the car.

And yes, for the avoidance of doubt, I am BiB.

[Old Fart]

I've carried a Swiss army knife in my pocket for over 40 years. Where I go it goes.

[marcosgt]

Old Fart said:

I've carried a Swiss army knife in my pocket for over 40 years. Where I go it goes.

Guess you don't go on planes too often...

I bought one of their mini knives especially to carry on my keyring and then those dumb fks crashed into the World Trade Centre and I can't carry it onto planes in case I decide to have the cabin crews' eye out in an attempt to crash the plane into Downing Street or something...

The world is an insane place... If I REALLY wanted to do that I could just conceal a piece of rigid plastic inside my belt, you don't need to be a Bond villain, Jack Bauer or Osama Bin Laden to think of ways to confound the 'security measures', they just make life hard for the law abiding in an attempt to justify the billions wasted on 'defence'...

M.

[Old Fart]

Last time I was on a plane was in 1980.

[mel]

SlimJim16v said:

Crazy as it is, in law the inside of your car is a public place

Depends where the car is, if it's parked on your drive it's a private place.

[Essel]

I usually have a swiss army knife in my pocket, and the cubby of my defender has a multi tool and a camping knife in it. The first time thats been out in ages was this weekend, when we had an urgent need to cut a lemon drizzle cake at an event. Took me ages to dig out though, through the usual rubbish that lives in the cubby, so I'm hoping that would be sufficient excuse!

[Zoobeef]

I've had a Leatheman core in my car for the last few months. Lockable blade on it, is that illegal. I can carry it in regards to my job but would it still be confiscated if I'm not 'at work'?

[MatthewO]

I've got a craft knife in my spare wheel well with a big wedge of cloth roll stuff, so when I'm (inevitably) doing repairs roadside I can clean down tools etc after cutting a small portion off.

May as well use a tomato though, just as sharp...

[The Wookie]

Essel said:

I usually have a swiss army knife in my pocket, and the cubby of my defender has a multi tool and a camping knife in it. The first time thats been out in ages was this weekend, when we had an urgent need to cut a lemon drizzle cake at an event. Took me ages to dig out though, through the usual rubbish that lives in the cubby, so I'm hoping that would be sufficient excuse!

That's the beauty of the Defender cubby box, always brimmed with what seems like pointless crap, until you wade elbow deep into it and find exactly what you need

[Cyder]

marcosgt said:

Old Fart said:

I've carried a Swiss army knife in my pocket for over 40 years. Where I go it goes.

Guess you don't go on planes too often...

I bought one of their mini knives especially to carry on my keyring and then those dumb fks crashed into the World Trade Centre and I can't carry it onto planes in case I decide to have the cabin crews' eye out in an attempt to crash the plane into Downing Street or something...

The world is an insane place... If I REALLY wanted to do that I could just conceal a piece of rigid plastic inside my belt, you don't need to be a Bond villain, Jack Bauer or Osama Bin Laden to think of ways to confound the 'security measures', they just make life hard for the law abiding in an attempt to justify the billions wasted on 'defence'...

M.

That's just set GCHQ's alarm bells ringing. Hello from me!

Oh look a helicopter outside the window and why are those people in black sneaking through the undergrowth...

[smartphone hater]

Those Swiss army knives are dangerous. It's not the blade it's the magnifying glass, with the sun in the right direction you could give someone a nasty freckle if you weren't careful.

Ban magnifying glasses I say.

[jith]

I think we all need to pray to whatever god you fancy to protect and save us from the worst excesses of the law.

J

[Nimby]

marcosgt said:

Old Fart said:

I've carried a Swiss army knife in my pocket for over 40 years. Where I go it goes.

Guess you don't go on planes too often...

SWMBO was once very relieved to find that Airport security allow keyring-style Swiss Army knives on planes as the blade is less than 6cm.

(They didn't actually say in an Ozzy accent "That's not a knife...")

[Aretnap]

SlimJim16v said:

Crazy as it is, in law the inside of your car is a public place

Your car isn't a place, it's an object. Depending on where your car is, you and the knife may or may not be in a public place - same as if it was in your pocket or your bag.