I'm tempted by one of these. If it's good enough for the Swiss Army it's good enough for me. http://www.victorinox.com/product/1/100/1004/0.8461.MWCH Just to pre-empt any Leatherman vs. Victorinox malarkey. I've had and have both and they're both excellent, I just use the one that has the tools and design that is most suitable for what I'm likely to use it for at the time. Aside: I'm always slightly worried about carrying (in a bag) a locking knife when not on the hill. Does anyone know what the official rules are?
I've got one, used it as a general multitool for everything in my dorm/apartment. use it on everything. It's very well built, very useful tools on it, cannot fault it. one of the best gifts i've ever gotten. I actually used mine to make a bunch of models for my architecture studios, it'd sand things, cut thick things.
"It is an offence for any person, without lawful authority or good reason, to have with him in a public place, any article which has a blade or is sharply pointed except for a folding pocket-knife which has a cutting edge to its blade not exceeding 3 inches."
You could still kill someone twice with a blade that size, in fact several people have in English schools over the years. Stupid really, they should either allow them or ban them.
The law in schools is no blades, but they have no way of enforcing it which is practically or economically viable.
Damn, that's seriously overpriced. Good thing the Wave has a 2.9 inch blade then. The size limit is similiar in Hungary, however it only applies to wearing it on your person. Transporting (i.e. in a backpack or bag) any size blade is legal.
How securely packaged (layers, ease of access etc.) would a katana have to be before it were legal to carry? I often wonder about that (not because I'm certifiably insane, but because I just really like katanas from an aesthetic standpoint).
You want to carry a Katana around town with you? Aesthetically, once legally possible, it would look absolutely crap.
No, f00, I'd just want to carry it to friends' houses occasionally to show them immediately after purchase and go "isn't it cool?!", as I used to with airsoft and computer bits and most other cool things I do remember my cadet instructor carrying a bunch of L98s home in the boot of his car, secured no better than being...well, in the boot of his car, so I imagine getting a car would solve a lot of my problems. (He wasn't a slacker either, he had legal restrictions up the arse.)
They are cool... My cadet instructor wouldnt do that! Maybe its because I'm around... But he keeps them at the shooting club in a massive steel box unless he needs to move them in something akin too what they move new banknotes in.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knife_legislation#United_Kingdom It seems that there is a fair degree of common sense within the legislation (the term "good reason" is common), which is heartening. However, the Wikipedia article does state that the term "folding pocket knife" has been shown to mean a non-locking blade, and includes the line: It cites a former Policeman who had accidentally tried to take one in his carry-on luggage and a Caravanner who had one on his glove box. My gut feeling it that this particular line is slightly overzealous, but the citations re-enforce my worries about using a locking blade anywhere other than in the wilds when camping where I could justifiable say I have good reason. I guess I will use a non-locking blade for general use Although it seems to me that in most cases even a locking folding pocket knife (assuming it is carried closed and packed away) would accepted by most officers as being covered under "good reason" (as a chefs knife would be).
You know, i never thought about that. I'll try to look it up but my educated guess would be something similiar to a lockable rifle case. I mean, if you're allowed to carry rifles in those, then surely they're good enough for a sword.
Here there aren't restrictions on locking blades, afaik, but I don't see how the fact that it locks could make a single bit of difference. Using a locking blade just means that it won't snap closed on your fingers. Much safer. When I was a kid I had non-locking pocket knives (boy scouts required it) and you'd be cutting a rope or a piece of wood or something and end up twisting the knife a certain way so that the blade started to fold closed onto your fingers. In my experience, locking blades are much safer, because they can't be closed by accident while you're holding it. My Leatherman Wave is locking. I have another big folding pocket-knife that I used to use at work that's also locking. I don't think I'd ever buy a non-locking knife for any serious use, aside from maybe a keychain pocket knife for opening envelopes and cutting tape and stuff.
Locking blades are much safer, I agree. Unfortunately some overzealous lawyer here convinced a judge that a locking blade was equivalent to a fixed point blade. Basically he had the judge thinking "locking knife = combat knife = bayonet". Someone can try and challenge that if they ever get done for having a locking knife, but I wouldn't want to be the one to try and create a new precedent - if you don't manage it you go to jail for several years. I use a locking knife when I'm out in the wilds in the UK. Its blade is more than the 3 inches and it's locking, so it's a "good reason" knife. Knife laws in this country are utterly retarded though. It's insane, sending adults to prison for carrying knives.
Well, guns are mostly banned in the Uk so they had to find the next best thing to put stupid laws on.
I don't get the multitool appreciation. How can a small thing like that with many purposes be better than a well stocked toolbox? I understand that if you are mobile, it could come in handy, but for home use, I would rather have a decent set of real tools. Also, what's the odds of using a multitool in every day life? I can't imagine a situation outside of my home or work, where I would need a multitool. I have tools at home, in the car, and also at work. So is it merely gadget love, or do they really come in that handy?
