There is always a juggling act between the two directions. I know cops who have basically told me that unless I use or brandish a pocket knife as a weapon it would likely be considered a tool first and LEOS wouldn't have a problem with it in the first place. Once the user crosses that line, however, the gloves come off. There are enough knife laws out there to allow our LEOS to make the call in the field. The problems come when politicians wanting to make a name for themselves or simply (and honestly) just fed up with knife based crimes try to get MORE laws passed. As if making a knife 2x or 3x illegal will get more of them out of the hands of criminals! [I never did understand their logic]. The other type of law would be to narrow the definition of what is a permitted knife in the first place. This is a far reaching type of change that would make some legal tools into illegal weapons.

Knife usage in crimes is on the increase (at least in the media visibility but perhaps not so much in reality). Each jurisdiction has to make a balance depending on the general mood of the public. I don't know about your area but where I live the lion's share of actual violence is a direct result of a "house party" where the occupants (almost always - natives) get drunk, an argument breaks out and a kitchen knife is used.

The other side is the native gangs who grab or make anything cheap and sharp and menacing to use. "Dime store" machetes are the recent trend. They will use the weapon to threaten, force and provoke issues including territorial fights. This is the biggest thing that the politicians are after when they talk of more laws and greater prosecution of the existing laws. The problems begin where the law abiding citizens get sideswiped in the process.