Somebody who read the article in full, help me understand something. For about the first 90% of the article, they are talking about getting rid of large knives, for example, machetes, kitchen knives, etc. Then, out of nowhere, they quote research from 10 top chefs saying "such knives" have no use to them, and so they are OK with the initiative.

That's where I'm confused (besides the fact that I don't belive the research). I'm pretty sure almost every knife a chef uses would universally be considered a LARGE knife if you were carrying it on the street. Or are the chefs in the UK actually using small knives (like 3 inches long)?

If I understand correctly the trend is going toward banning all "pointy" knives of some size, primarily large kitchen knives with a sharp tip. The rationale being that such knives have no practical value in the kitchen as confirmed by "10 top chefs from around the UK".

That's already old news, the same idea has been around for a while:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4581871.stm

So if one takes the idea further, a large kitchen knife with a blunt tip (e.g. sheepsfoot) would be considered ok. The same type of knife with a sharp tip would be classified as an "offensive weapon".

However, the recent Lancashire amnesty referred to in the original post clearly extends to all sorts of knives, including machetes. Which IMO implies that all knives and long bladed cutting tools are essentially considered dangerous weapons.

I suppose pretty soon some genius will discover that you don't even need a knife in the kitchen - think Microwave Dinner!

Humans are dangerous with hands and feet too.

What can be done about that?

I wish it was an Onion article......

An interesting aside regarding blunt tips:

Table knives all used to be pointed. Now they have blunt tips. From the Wikipedia article on table knives:

The distinguishing feature of a table knife is a blunt or rounded end. The origin of this, and thus of the table knife itself, is attributed by tradition to Cardinal Richelieu around 1637, reputedly to cure dinner guests of the unsavoury habit of picking their teeth with their knife-points.[1]

Later, in 1669, King Louis XIV of France banned pointed knives in the street and at his table, insisting on blunt tips, in order to reduce violence.[2][3]

Hasn´t anybody heard of slashing with a knife? Stabbing is not the only kind of violence a knife is capable of.

I despair of the state of the UK.

I'm guessing knives that are sharp are next.

The UK is fairly strict on health and safety things, so this would fit in to that trend.

Mind you, the normal UK policemen doesn't even carry any form of firearm.

Now that crime is getting out of hand maybe they will consider arming themselves with pointy kitchen knives?

Maybe they'll have 'call for backup' whistles.