In the U.K you have to have a rock solid excuse for having a fixed blade or lock knife in a public place. Which you have to explain to a Magistrate or Judge. If they don't like your reason, you are looking at a 2 year jail sentence. Which they are about to increase to a mandatory 5 year sentence. If you come up against a Magistrate or Judge who takes the line that no excuse is a lawful excuse then you are screwed. From our point of view that's a major problem. However, Spyderco have just brought out a knife calked the Uk Pen Knife C94 Clipit. CPMS30V steel. It doesn't lock open but the spring exerts 20lb of force on the blade so that it's relatively difficult to close the blade on your fingers. Outdoor Code sell them. Have a look at their website. I have just purchased one. I'll post a report when I have had a play with it. Anyone else got simular problems in their jurisdiction? (Not you JIM, in the Neatherland's every thing is forbidden - We Know!)

No offense meant, Leigh, but can't you folks do ANYthing to curb your legislators???

Troy

Are you saying that UK law says you can have a folding pocket knife, but not if it locks open? To me, that sounds equivalent to letting you have cars, but not cars with seatbelts in them. A lock is a safety feature.

I'd be interested in hearing the reasoning behind law like that. Not to say we don't have our share of wonder-laws here in the US. I remember reading about one law, some state in the south IIRC, where it was illegal to have a goldfish in a bowl on a public bus if the goldfish was swimming upside down. The poor little guys don't do that unless they're already 99% dead, so why punish their owners further!
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I make a point of checking the news via BBC every other day, just to get the perspective of our cousins. I remember during the debate that led to the ban on fox hunting (even I think chasing a fox with dogs and horses so that it can be stomped or ripped apart is barbaric), there was a very nice MP who spelled it out. "It's not about the blood foxes, it's about the class struggle!" That quote is one of those that even if I can't remember who said it, I'll remember it.

To our British cousins, you have my condolences. But at least we are catching up to you!

They were also trying to ban large kitchen knives as well. They surveyed 10 (what a spread!) "expert" chefs who claim they don't need them, so you don't either.

I thought that large knives would be allowed, as they were needed for cooking, just not ones over something asinine like 2" that had points.

In the Netherlands, knives with locks are allowed but....
Not in some city centres (every knife is forbidden there, also simple friction folders or slipjoints).

In Belgium, a new law has been issued and now it's forbidden, unless you have got a good reason (hunting e.g.)

In The Netherlands you can carry locking knife, with up to a 9cm longs blade. But if the officer suspect your carring it as weapn, you can be arrested. Like carring a knife in a bar in the middle of a city.

Also to prevent issues about wheather a knife is a weapon or not, they added a article in the local law (APV) to some risk zones. A total ban of knife are applied there on the streets.

If you use common sence, you wouldn't have a problem here.

Yep, they are in a PHRASECENSOREDPOSTERSHOULDKNOWBETTER., big-brother police state in all but name. We are swiftly approaching the same and some would argue that we already are the same, and just don't realize it yet.

I'd carry a Swiss Army.