Do you carry a knife?

[fireball]

Why Carry a knife

On the water - you never know when you might need it - say you tripped up and fell overboard, but not before getting your ankle wrapped in the genoa sheet - it is just short enough for you to be dangling upside down with your head under the water .... "now where is that knife - I know - in the companion way .... I'll just nip back aboard so I can cut myself free before I drown"
I don't think so - in your pocket/on your belt - where ever is the easiest to get too..

Or:
Your up on the foredeck sorting out the anchor rode - pulling a little in by hand - some g*t zooms past in his oversized powerdriven vessel causing loads of wash and your hand gets trapped in the cleat - silly accident - but possible ....

Why would you carry a knife ashore?
1) you forgot you left it in your sailing jacket whilst going into the pub.
2) you were not aboard your own vessel - having helped a friend back - so you are mearly carrying around your stuff
3) it has a bottle opener in it - very handy for opening bottles.....
4) any number of emergencies where you need to cut some material to make a bandage or something

A more offensive weapon is the car you drive home in.

As just about anything can be made into an implement capable of causing harm (anyone for a knitting needle?) I cannot see the justification - where would it end?

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[Wiggo]

well put. Gerber sheath on the belt, and knife in it when aboard, but easy enough to leave it behind when you go ashore...

<hr width=100% size=1>Hung like Einstein, and smart as a horse.

 

[ShipsWoofy]

I always carry my swiss army knife. Use it all the time, whether it be the screwdrivers, bottle opener, blade or the one no one actually knows what it is for.

As for going ashore, what about going ashore in the dinghy, plenty of uses there, have once had to remove the plastic cowling off my outboard using only the philips screwdriver on the swiss army. No good if 'ALL' my tools were on board the boat which was at anchor.

I will take my chances I think, although the story about a pen knife in a briefcase does frighten me a bit, though maybe there is more to that story than meets the eye. The fact the rozzers stopped him on a stop and search and then 'found' a reason to hold him, I wonder what they were 'actually' looking for.



<hr width=100% size=1><font color=red>Woof</font color=red>
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.topcatsail.co.uk/P.html>Posting pictures tutor</A>

 

[Wiggo]

Suspect you get away with it under the 3" rule...

<hr width=100% size=1>Hung like Einstein, and smart as a horse.

 

[Trevethan]

If the proposals go through it will mean next year when I go for a picnic on the beach, if I carry a blade long enough to slice a loaf of bread I risk 5 years -- utterly insane.. as others have said it will depend on the officer, whether you get nicked or not which makes the proposal all the more useless.

When I go campin I have a large bowie type knife on the side of my rucksack -0- I use for cutting splitting wood etc. -=-- saves the weight on an axe and is more versatile..

This would land me in jail if I get picked up with it despite my sole intent is to use it as a tool --

Of course I I were to wander round the strrets of London at night with the same knife I feel that a prosecution attempt might be more justifiable.

There needs to be more common sense in the law and less sound bite and reactions.

At the end of teh day people who want to carry a knife for illeagal purposes will still do so -- so I am just as likely to get stabbed for my mobile phone by some punk kid...
The risk posed by your typical knofe carrying yachtie is that he will bore you to death showibng you how to do a particularly complicated splice....

Nick

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[jfm]

I completely agree woofy there could be two sides to the arrest story. I dunno the facts first hand. It did read pretty convincingly worrying though. He was stopped at one of those roadside things where the cops pull in every 20th car or whatever to see if it has tax disc and bald tyres. Those stops do happen, I have been "caught" by one once and the cops just checked around the car for 5 mins then let me go. I dunno what happens if you (say) happen to have a Musto bag in the boot with a knife on view in the side mesh pocket, or something......?

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[Evadne]

I can think of two real occasions, one when I was there and one I read about. Neither was actually life-threatening, just that a knife was the tool for the job, and carrying one is the seamanlike thing to do.
The first was when someone wrapped a bin liner around the outboard prop of their tender, going from the pontoon to the shore in Cherbourg. Between three of us on the water, none had a knife to cut him free, untying it was not proving to be a simple job and he had no oars, so I towed him. I was rowing. I've always carried a sharp knife since then.
The second was a YM "Confessional" a few years back. Someone was working on the foredeck to secure the genoa (I forget the details). The forehatch slams shut, and locks, on the toggle and string hanging down from the hem of the oilskins, which is too strong to break by hand. It's wet and horrible, and the knife is back in the cockpit.

I'm sure there are many, many others.

<hr width=100% size=1> <P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by Dave_White on 14/12/2004 14:11 (server time).</FONT></P>

 

[Shanty]

I was brought up to believe you should always carry a knife and a handkerchief - and have done so for as long as I can remember. So far, the only person I have stabbed is myself.

Went to visit the new parliament building recently. On the way in, was asked to hand in my knife (lock knife with 3" blade). On the way out was met by a copper who informed me I was breaking the law, advised me to keep the knife in my car, rather than on my person, and handed it back to me. Apparently, the two things that he was looking for were: blade over 3" (mine was just OK), and lock knives, which apparently aren't classed as "folding pocketknives".

When I got home, I checked the relevent legislation, which seems to be the Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995 Part VI Section 49.

To paraphrase: "any person who has ... any article which has a blade or is sharply pointed....with him in a public place shall be guilty of an offence".

The letouts for this section are:
(3) This section does not apply to a folding pocketknife if the cutting edge of its blade does not exceed three inches (7.62 centimetres).

(4) It shall be a defence for a person charged with an offence under subsection (1) above to prove that he had good reason or lawful authority for having the article with him in the public place.

I now carry a non-locking (i.e. less safe) knife with a blade 7cm long, and avoid strange overpriced buildings.



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[gjeffery]

That would include most edged tools, including screwdrivers. So entirely dependent on interpretation of "good reason".

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[Wiggo]

indeed. You would struiggle to find a good reason to have a large screwdriver in your pocket going to a footy match, but if you were an electrician coming home from work...

<hr width=100% size=1>Hung like Einstein, and smart as a horse.

 

[snowleopard]

i was kitting out a new boat a few years ago and went out one dark evening after work to pick up a couple of items. on the way back i wondered how i would convince a nosey copper that the bolt cutters and large torch were innocent!

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[robind]

"People Kill not weapons" what does it matter what you have on your person? A ball point pen in the right hands would dispach most attackers, used correctly ( Kubotan key chain technology). Has the hand gun legislation reduced gun crime? no it hasnt it is actually on the increase. The whole situation is political, its a good hook on which to hang their hat, and raise their personal profile, and better /justify their careers.

Take the hunting situation and the fishing legislation. How many MPs do you know who own fishing boats? none, how may do you know that own big estates, quite a few I bet. the fishing legislation went through on the nod. the hunt lobby is still dragging on and can only ever be compromise.

Sorry for mini Rant
Rob

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[LadyInBed]

I’ve always carried a pocket knife, right back from when I was a Boy Scout. It’s mainly used for opening cardboard boxes, but I would feel lost without it. It is a problem these days, I have to remember to put it into my luggage when flying but on any other occasion it will stay in my pocket and run the risk. With luck I am out of the age group for stop and search!

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[ccscott49]

I am well aware of the fact that appearances aren't everything! How many times to I have to say it!!
But what I'm saying is the perception of the police MAY look at it that way!
I dont carry a knife off the boat in the UK, been there done that! Dont wish to repeat the experience!
If folks feel its neccessary to have a multitool with them in the dinghy for screwdriver etc, take the blade off it! Then what can anybody say??

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[trouville]

When the legislation came in i was shocked, but then look at our immigrants. I wish the law would allow for discresion but it dosent. I always carry a French "opinel" with a 4inch lockable blade. a very long time ago when i forgot to lock the blade i cut myself badly being a mild steel blade it keeps its edge unlike stainless and will cut through an 18 mm mooring line with ease ( when im making up new lines) i also do have a s/s one i found for half price and that will only cut half way through an18mm line before loosing its edge

<hr width=100% size=1>liveaboard

 

[Col]

I carry a very sharp divers knife (and a hacksaw) onboard in a locker where everyone knows where it is.

AFrogley makes the point of getting tangled up on the way over the side, but you could easily counter that- If you knocked yourself out whilst falling and you have the only available sharp knife on your person, how are the crew going to cut you free??

There are too many people stabbed to death in this country. Today, the radio said one schoolkid gets stabbed every two weeks. If the Dibble are able to use these laws to take the lowlifes off the streets, the type that uses a weapon as a first resort, then that's fine by me. I just hope plod is sensible enough to take full account of the bit that says "without good reason to carry one"

That said, it really isn't the end of the world to leave your knife aboard when ashore.

<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.arweb.co.uk/argallery/colspics> Cols Picture Album</A>

 

[Solitaire]

I have a feeling of deja vu here. If I recall, they put gunlaws in place to crack down on gun crime. The powers that be even went so far as to call in all handuns and have them destroyed. Now we hear that gun crime is at it's higest level ever! Those that have a desire to use what ever weapons will continue to do so.

I've just been watching the news and seen that a lad has been given a community sentence after having already been convicted for driving while banned. Those that show a complete disreagrd for the law will continue to do so.

I can be slightly right of Attila the Hun on some issues so I'll not say what I think should happen to some of these thugs.

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[milltech]

The crazy thing is that the pub itself is wall to wall lethal weapons, the pint pot for starters, smash and you've a very handy weapon, (I've seen an expert use one of those), the ash tray can be useful, and a beer bottle has a very handy handle, (good for throwing with too), and chairs held by the legs and swung can really slow you down.

At the end of the day it's about the people and the places. I know of no evidence that gun crime has gone down because the hand guns all got handed in, the people who had licenced hand guns weren't going to use them and the others didn't care.

It's the way of the UK at the moment, we need a change of government. I was fined last year for having a vehicle off the road without a sorn certificate, f*** me if I haven't been fined again, didn't know you had to tell 'em each year, I mean off the road is off the road. Now all the people driving without being the registered owner, without insurance, without road tax, they don't give a shit and the police aren't looking for them because they're too busy sitting in offices fining people via speed cameras and with the cash to pay. Call it a tax.

Mr Angry, I'd better stop.

<hr width=100% size=1>John
http://www.on-line-marine.com

 

[Peppermint]

Re: I\'ve carried a knife for about

43 of my 50 years. It's a Swiss Army job these days and I use it every day for something. I have a big sailing knife attached to my lifejacket. I've stood in a pub with it on, the met Police SC all around me, and not a word said. That'll likely change.

When I was a kid, every boy at school out in the sticks had a knife. We didn't stab anybody though. While on the subject of school. The only deliberate stabbing I saw there, was with a fork in the dinning room. Oh! and the kid I did with a very sharp pencil.

Banning knives will be a pain for us sailors. It'll be a comfort to the victims families. Of course the yobs will just go on stabbing each other.

Anybody who thinks a knife & a gun are the same hasn't faced anybody with either.




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[philmarks]

I despair sometimes! How much time and energy do we use on this website discussing legislation? Thousands of man-hours.

The country has gone legislation mad! Poor Milltech getting fined twice for no SORN and loads of other similar stories. MCA incident reports! the list is endless.

Quick legislation is bad legislation.

There is something seriously wrong with this country. Is there a parallel with ancient Greece?

Oh to be back at sea.

How on earth can anyone expect to get through life without getting into trouble. There are so many laws and controls, I can't keep track of them. Time for a glass of wine.

Change the Country!




<hr width=100% size=1>Rgds
Phil