Government consultation on banning large knives and machetes
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To be honest I've often wondered why some of the high powered, scoped, tactical etc cross bows can be sold in the UK with no restrictions when you need a shotgun licence for something like a single barred .410 or garden gun.
There's also been quite a few crimes where people have used cross bows, including several deaths.
It is all to do with psychology, perception, and what Saussure called signification. Machete conjures up images of Zombies, lawless Latin Americans and Carribeans whereas the good old Bill Hook, is cry God for Harry, England and St George. Bayonets and Fairbairn Sykes knives which are actual deadly weapons designed to kill however are plastered over with Patriatism and Nostalgia for when we beat those pesky Germans in two World Wars. Machetes and Samurai swords are just too foreign, like Ninjas and Zombies, they do not belong in our sacred shopping Malls which ought to be patrolled by Beefeaters with Halberds to keep us safe from the ungodly unwashed hordes from the Council Estates.
Yup.
In the UK urban environment, the very word "machete" seems to conjure up all sorts of impressions of criminality- heck they didn't just have a knife, they had a machete!
There seems to be a well established subconscious assumption amongst the UK urban majority that a machete is fundamentally a thing used for committing (violent) crime, it's not really seen as an agricultural tool. And in fairness, in the city that's probably not an unreasonable assumption to make.
The same people don't generally seem to make that link with the word "billhook" I suspect partly because they mostly have no idea what a billhook is, or see it as something historical used in rural areas for agricultural things. Very different subconscious word association.
So describing the Fiskars XA3 as a "machete" was a really daft thing for the on-line retailer to do IMO. I don't know why they suddenly stopped selling them but I can guess they had complaints made. Whereas if they'd called it a "forest billhook" or even "shrub axe" (both of which are much more accurate terms for the item) they perhaps they would still be on sale there (they do still sell axes and splitting mauls).
Words are very powerful and often have very strong subconscious assumptions associated with them. Once these assumptions are established, reasoning or fact rarely manages to change that response.
So, I am always careful how I refer to my tools. For example, I would describe my Skrama 240 as a (full tang) Finnish take on a Knighton pattern or Rodding pattern billhook (well, that's pretty accurate if you put them side by side and take into account 100 years of materials technology between them).
To be honest, crossbows I suspect have a similar word association. Some sort of illicit firearm substitute rather than sporting equipment (whereas the televised Olympics have helped greatly in establishing target archery as a sport in minds of most people).
Yes, as @Laurentius says above, it's all about psychology and perception.
GC
Hi, first time here, as someone from a Council Estate (or two) - I agree about the psychology. The ban on curved swords came about because the media bigged up supposed "ceremonial swords" and one of the results was that alloy "Samurai" swords designed for traditional sword drawing practice were banned - due to their curved blades - even though their soft metal cannot take an edge, but cheap and gaudy knock-offs with straight blades and sharp edges are still available at the local market! The policy reacted to the "Japaneseness" of the practice blades and not the functionality. It used to be permitted to own such a blunt sword without a licence, but not now. Oddly, one can buy a sharp modern sword - made using traditional methods - more easily than the practice blades. Of course, a martial arts licence helps, but that didn't used to be necessary. FYI I used to practice Kendo and while I am now unable to, due to injuries and disability, I have always wanted to own such a sword. The ban came in just as I was first able to afford to buy one.
Too often, the kitchen knives have been shoplifted as a crime of opportunity, which is why some supermarkets stopped selling single knives and only sell knife sets. Most kids aren't going to have the focus to make something, if they did they might not be involved in the kind of situations where knives are likely to be present or used.
That assumes that no one in the city ever has need for a large knife and people in rural areas always do. I grew up in a house with a single fireplace for heating. Although we burned coal or coke, we used kindling and logs, if we could get them. My first Kukri was as effective as a hand axe (and sharper) and for me as a disabled person, easier to use one-handed on larger logs than a two-handed felling axe or maul. I took my best Kukri when I went camping with a youth camp and used it to gather wood to build the fire and to build our bivvy. Admittedly, I now have central heating, but your response assumes that city people never go into the countryside, never camp, never need a large knife as a working tool. I know it is possible for people coming to the city to rent a bike, will city dwellers going to the wilds be able to rent large tools for their camping needs?
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