Heads up - Post office not sending sharps after 22nd April

[Falstaff]

There is an increasing yen by muppets old and young, for dangerous sharp objects, the bigger and wilder the better, and an increasing intolerance and tendency to use them. I mean sharp e.g. throwing stars, screwdrivers etc etc not just rambo Zombie knives. A lot of the afro carribean folk like a machete.
Main source of supply, especially for underage muppets, is via the internet and firms failing to adequately do age verification checks, which are so easy to fiddle that it's not working. Therefore the easy fix is to ban or prevent the supply chain, as they do for guns and try to do for drugs. Other countries are doing likewise.

 

[gg012]

There is an increasing yen by muppets old and young, for dangerous sharp objects, the bigger and wilder the better, and an increasing intolerance and tendency to use them. I mean sharp e.g. throwing stars, screwdrivers etc etc not just rambo Zombie knives. A lot of the afro carribean folk like a machete.
Main source of supply, especially for underage muppets, is via the internet and firms failing to adequately do age verification checks, which are so easy to fiddle that it's not working. Therefore the easy fix is to ban or prevent the supply chain, as they do for guns and try to do for drugs. Other countries are doing likewise.

Which countries are also doing this? I also really wouldn't use drug control as an example of how making something illegal restricts it's availability, our country is awash with drugs despite them having been seriously restricted for generations

Sent from underground

 

[Chris]

There is an increasing yen by muppets old and young, for dangerous sharp objects, the bigger and wilder the better, and an increasing intolerance and tendency to use them. I mean sharp e.g. throwing stars, screwdrivers etc etc not just rambo Zombie knives. A lot of the afro carribean folk like a machete.
Main source of supply, especially for underage muppets, is via the internet and firms failing to adequately do age verification checks, which are so easy to fiddle that it's not working. Therefore the easy fix is to ban or prevent the supply chain, as they do for guns and try to do for drugs. Other countries are doing likewise.

So age verified delivery solves entirely this problem (of which I am very dubious)?

Are you sure main source of supply is the internet, or is it from the kitchen? Majority of stabbings are done with kitchen knives.

 

[alphaburner]

Come on! Stopping people shipping pen knives, multitools, bushcraft knives etc. will contribute to a significant reduction in knife crime? How is it that people are always willing to sacrifice their rights to laws and rules that are poorly thought out and implemented.

 

[Falstaff]

Come on! Stopping people shipping pen knives, multitools, bushcraft knives etc. will contribute to a significant reduction in knife crime? How is it that people are always willing to sacrifice their rights to laws and rules that are poorly thought out and implemented.

We have no rights, and never have had any rights, to carry anything that can be used as a weapon (or wild camp in England & Wales). I don't like it any more than you. Nobody has found a way of legally defining a difference, and like drugs, there are those who find a way round or legal loophole.
I'm not aware of any stats on what are used, but in my limited experience kitchen knives have not figured but daggers, "bushcraft" knives, and unpleasant forms of pen and flick/drop knives most certainly have. I've even been threatened with a shank made from a broken metal saw blade. The age rule in shops has certainly helped because they have to be there in person, but is not perfect. The number of knife makers & stalls at the Bushcrafts Gathering outnumbered the other stalls, are we the only ones keeping them in business, I doubt it.
Drugs tend to persist because of the profit margin and addiction. Knives are particularly attractive to the young and insecure, older insecure, and criminals, giving them false confidence & unneccessary aggression. So as the supply tightens I suppose kitchen knives will become more in favour.

 

[William_Montgomery]

We have no rights, and never have had any rights, to carry anything that can be used as a weapon (or wild camp in England & Wales). I don't like it any more than you. Nobody has found a way of legally defining a difference, and like drugs, there are those who find a way round or legal loophole.
I'm not aware of any stats on what are used, but in my limited experience kitchen knives have not figured but daggers, "bushcraft" knives, and unpleasant forms of pen and flick/drop knives most certainly have. I've even been threatened with a shank made from a broken metal saw blade. The age rule in shops has certainly helped because they have to be there in person, but is not perfect. The number of knife makers & stalls at the Bushcrafts Gathering outnumbered the other stalls, are we the only ones keeping them in business, I doubt it.
Drugs tend to persist because of the profit margin and addiction. Knives are particularly attractive to the young and insecure, older insecure, and criminals, giving them false confidence & unneccessary aggression. So as the supply tightens I suppose kitchen knives will become more in favour.

The restrictions are far too extreme. Not only is it highly unlikely that it will produce any meaningful change in crime statistics, but it covers many knives/objects that wouldn't even be seriously considered a weapon.

 

[Moondog55]

Anything can be a weapon. A rolled newspaper can be quite effective as can a wet towel. I may be old but I do not feel "insecure" but I've always felt naked without a knife on me, I think I was 8YO when I was gifted my first real knife and my trade revolved around razor and scalpel sharp blades; I feel less naked with an SMLE or SLR in my hands but try walking around town with one of those and see sparks fly.
The main problems with such restrictions is that when reasonable people think the law is stupid and unenforceable it reduces respect for the law, the people like the police who enforce the law and especially the people who make the laws and politicians of all colours and persuasions are already pretty much on the nose

 

[Chris]

We have no rights, and never have had any rights, to carry anything that can be used as a weapon (or wild camp in England & Wales). I don't like it any more than you. Nobody has found a way of legally defining a difference, and like drugs, there are those who find a way round or legal loophole.
I'm not aware of any stats on what are used, but in my limited experience kitchen knives have not figured but daggers, "bushcraft" knives, and unpleasant forms of pen and flick/drop knives most certainly have. I've even been threatened with a shank made from a broken metal saw blade. The age rule in shops has certainly helped because they have to be there in person, but is not perfect. The number of knife makers & stalls at the Bushcrafts Gathering outnumbered the other stalls, are we the only ones keeping them in business, I doubt it.
Drugs tend to persist because of the profit margin and addiction. Knives are particularly attractive to the young and insecure, older insecure, and criminals, giving them false confidence & unneccessary aggression. So as the supply tightens I suppose kitchen knives will become more in favour.

Kitchen knives already are - and have pretty much always been - the most used in crime by a large margin.

Don’t try and tell me they’re all stabbing each other with Woodlores, come on now.

 

[Falstaff]

Kitchen knives already are - and have pretty much always been - the most used in crime by a large margin.

Don’t try and tell me they’re all stabbing each other with Woodlores, come on now.

I don't know where you are getting that idea from, and maybe you are right, all I can draw from is my own personal experience and knowledge. I can see that in domestic home situations a kitchen knife is the most likely. I've seen youngsters in homes go for the kitchen knife, but never come across it outside.

 

[Chris]

I don't know where you are getting that idea from, and maybe you are right, all I can draw from is my own personal experience and knowledge. I can see that in domestic home situations a kitchen knife is the most likely. I've seen youngsters in homes go for the kitchen knife, but never come across it outside.

Stats are quite hard to find.

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Use-of-kitchen-knives-compared-with-non-kitchen-knife-homicide-separated-by-presence-of_fig1_256425808#:~:text=Of%20the%2055%20homicides%20included,used%20(%20p%20%3C%200.05).

Anecdotally, two friends in the Met say they most often find teens with their mum’s cheap kitchen knife as they are most easily accessible and completely affordable even to children.

 

[Nice65]

Lot of talk of weapons, stabbing, and even a racist sweeping statement regarding Afro Caribbean folk favouring a machete.

Why do these threads just drift off into fantasy when we are presented with an actual fact to comment on or a bit of info we ought to know about?

 

[Falstaff]

Lot of talk of weapons, stabbing, and even a racist sweeping statement regarding Afro Caribbean folk favouring a machete.

Why do these threads just drift off into fantasy when we are presented with an actual fact to comment on or a bit of info we ought to know about?

It's certainly a sweeping statement and yes, maybe wrong, but my maritial family are black and I regret it's experience not fantasy.

 

[Falstaff]

Stats are quite hard to find.

Thanks, that's very interesting despite it's age and size limitations. Clearly kitchen knives are used in deaths, especially in the home, more than other forms. I stand corrected.
It focuses quite fairly on homicides, but there are a lot of non-lethal intentional knife incidents /habitual carry that have been more my experience. The other study on round ended knives also shows that there may be other ways to skin the cat besides draconian laws, although I cannot see how.

 

[Chris]

My understanding is that likelihood of getting caught is more of a deterrent than increased sentences or tightening laws on legitimate tools.

Combination of rehabilitation and treating the causes of youngsters getting into crime as health issue, whilst increasing police numbers and funding, would be the better long term approach. Alas, we don’t seem to plant trees for the generations to come anymore. Just short term posturing.

 

[William_Montgomery]

Had a look at some of the UK couriers. Here's a list of whether they are restricted/prohibited based on what I could glean from their websites. I'm sure there are other couriers out there, these are just the ones I could think of.

Royal Mail - Restricted: Age verification required until 22nd April when it becomes prohibited.

UPS - Restricted: Age verification required.

FedEx - 'Flick knives and gravity knives' are prohibited. Couldn't find mention of other bladed items.

Parcel Force - Prohibited. Possibly able to send if you have a business account, but a bit unclear.

DPD - Prohibited

DHL - Prohibited

Yodel - Prohibited

Evri - Prohibited

ParcelMonkey - Prohibited

 

[Robbi]

Had a look at some of the UK couriers. Here's a list of whether they are restricted/prohibited based on what I could glean from their websites. I'm sure there are other couriers out there, these are just the ones I could think of.

Royal Mail - Restricted: Age verification required until 22nd April when it becomes prohibited.

UPS - Restricted: Age verification required.

FedEx - 'Flick knives and gravity knives' are prohibited. Couldn't find mention of other bladed items.

Parcel Force - Prohibited. Possibly able to send if you have a business account, but a bit unclear.

DPD - Prohibited

DHL - Prohibited

Yodel - Prohibited

Evri - Prohibited

ParcelMonkey - Prohibited

Is that just for Joe Soap public or business accounts as well?

 

[Nice65]

It's certainly a sweeping statement and yes, maybe wrong, but my maritial family are black and I regret it's experience not fantasy.

What, that many of them want to send machetes in the post?

 

[Pattree]

@William_Montgomery

Thank you.

 

[William_Montgomery]

Is that just for Joe Soap public or business accounts as well?

Seems to be across the board, I think. But I couldn't find much specifically on business accounts... so it could be worth delving into a bit deeper.

Maybe worth noting, Heinnie, Moonraker, Varusteleka and one or two others all seem to go for Royal Mail and UPS.

 

[Stew]

Seems to be across the board, I think. But I couldn't find much specifically on business accounts... so it could be worth delving into a bit deeper.

Maybe worth noting, Heinnie, Moonraker, Varusteleka and one or two others all seem to go for Royal Mail and UPS.

It is different for some business accounts. If you duck over to Edgematters forum, there’s more there.