Just how does it affect you?

[Lithril]

Before this thread gets political (which will result in it being locked) it might be worth noting that part of the reason for this amnesty is to raise public awareness and hopefully to pave the way for increased sentences to offenders of knive crimes. Personally I do feel that the only way to get around this in a long term is through education.

 

[elma]

I think its all a PR scam to make it look like someone has control,
just like airguns and firearms the law is already in place to deal with this sort of crime, I do not wish to say anymore as it would offend those that are politically correct, I would say to those who have strong views on the subject dont drag it into a slanging match.

 

[British Red]

I'm sure it will be as effective as the amnesties and subsequent banning of handguns. It will criminalise and further marginalise the very people that the state should be keeping on-side, whilst doing nothing for crime and in many ways making it safer for criminals to operate.

Well said!

To paraphrase an old metaphor

"They came for the target shooters and I said nothing for I wasn't a target shooter
They came for the fox hunters but I said nothing for I wasn't a fox hunter
Then they came for the bushcrafters...no-one said anything for there was no-one left"

:sadwavey:

 

[Toddy]

From a personal point of view it's a pain in the neck, and quite offensive at my age, to be looked at as though I'm a mass murderer because I use knives. The *amnesty* may raise the issue in the collective public consciousness, but I really don't think it does much apart from burying the underlying problems in a slick political feel good propaganda exercise. Knives aren't the problem; people and their actions are the problem. Someone looking for a weapon will have no problems finding one.
That said, youngsters running around freely carrying knives is a big issue, especially in areas where drink and recreational substances are available. It's an unholy mix that seems to inevitably lead to violence. I doubt the amnesty will have any effect on this problem, as I said, they'll just find something else to use.


Cheers,
Toddy

 

[ArkAngel]

yup Toddy i find it a royale pain in the rear end as well.

I hold a Firearms and Shotgun license. I enjoy ALL aspects of shooting, target , clay pidgeon and pest control as i live on a farm.

The amount of stick and very nearly physical violence i have recieved from members of the public as i am going about my lawful duty and right is incredible. While these campaigns raise awareness of VERY important issues i do believe that the coverage given by the media can be a little biased towards those who would seek to ban everything that could described as cruel or unnecessary (such as our sort of knives and firearms etc). I used to work with someone who thought i was "mentally deficient" because i enjoyed bushcraft and other outdoor activities. He thought that in this day and age NO-ONE needed anything sharper than a butter knife and all firearms should be banned.

While i enjoy what i do, indeed it is such a part of my life i would not know what to do if these things were made illegal i do worry about such knee jerk reactions happening. After dealing with the insults hurled at me from the public i will be doing some serious soul searching as to whether or not i will renew my licenses in 3 years time. I wonder if the hassle is worth the enjoyment i get from it.

Having wandered slightly off topic :sad6: (sorry) when i am out in the country carrying bushcraft gear i am usually alone and now actively avoid contact with other people because of my experiences. This is why forums like this are so important to allow us to share our opinions and problems. Indeed by even looking at this forum at work in my luch hour i am classed as a 'weirdo'

I am relatively new to this forum so i hope i am not speaking out of turn. But i hope to be a regular contributer and if time and work allows would love to come to some of the meets so i don't feel like a 'mentally deficiant loner'

 

[Hunter Gatherer]

It's a shame that the powers that be feel a voluntary amnesty is necessary to turn in knives. All the points mentioned above are valid. Unfortunately amnesties like these are all about control. There was a gun amnesty here in Ontario a few years ago, and yes some guns were returned, mostly the one's were 'grampa's guns from the war'... Still the criminal element in our larger cities had plenty of guns to use, and as a statistic gun related crimes continued to climb, although the police played this down. Go figure.
If someone is going to do a serious crime, there will always be ways to find weapons to do them. Sad but true.
Hopefully the amnesty will not affect any of the UK bushcrafters other than turning in your rusty old knives, as an excuse to buy a spanking brand new one!
Cheers
Alex

 

[Alchemist]

IMHO. A knee jerk reaction.
There already is a very responsible law on knives. The current government are trying to cover up their inability to enforce it by introducing yet another initiative.
But I could be wrong. In which case ban anything that has ever been used in an offensive manner ever. Rope more than 12" long, scissors. Come to think of it- Ban cars or anything that has an unacceptable momentum. Ban all choking hazards in case they are administered when I am asleep (cotton wool, clothing, bum fluff). Secure anything that is heavier than 10kg because it could be used as an offensive weapon.
It annoys me when good friends of mine ask me if I will be handing in any knives during the amnesty. I normally reply by telling them that I have finally seen the error of my ways and that the amnesty has finally allowed me to come to terms with my psycopathic tendancies.

 

[Porcupine]

somewhat unrelated but i remember that in the town where i lived someone turned in a WW2 Bazooka and some grenades for it.....


had been a gift from one of his liberators,wish id been there to see the faces of those cops when he did that


Porc.

 

[Toddy]

Nearly 40 years ago my six year old brother handed a handgrenade to the police sergeant at the desk. The sergeant said, "Whoa, sonny! If no one claims that in six seconds it's yours!" (Six months unclaimed and lost property was deemed to belong to the finder back then) You have no idea how disappointed Toddy2 was that he never got his handgrenade back They blew it up on one of the bings though so he got to hear the explosion.

Cheers,
Toddy

 

[stovie]

Nearly 40 years ago my six year old brother handed a handgrenade to the police sergeant at the desk. The sergeant said, "Whoa, sonny! If no one claims that in six seconds it's yours!" .....
Cheers,
Toddy

LOL...

A little statistic for ya...

There are more knives produced by industry in the uk in one day than will be handed in throughout the whole period of the amnesty...

I have owned a knife from age 11 or so, in fact the same knife I use today (among others) and in all that time it has never occurred to use it in any way other than which it was intended to be used...as a tool, always ready at my side, always sharp, and infinately versatile.

My 8yr old son knows the score too...and I have even heard him tell his mates quite sharply "It's a tool, not a weapon!"...

Education, not discrimination...

 

[BOD]

Personally I do feel that the only way to get around this in a long term is through education.

The problem is that values have changed as the state has grown in its reach. Education itself is seen as the states responsibility and the state's definition of education prevails not an individual or a family's.

If you disempower the family and by extension the (small 'c' )community then the state will constantly expand its reach as the individual, family and community decline to get involved and retreat further. A couple of generations have grown up within a nanny state ethos and can't see an alternative.

As the historian E H Carr said in the 20's - those who give up their political freedoms to the state in return for economic security have no recourse if the state fails to deliver the promise. Paraphrased.

 

[Jon Mawer]

LOL...

A little statistic for ya...

There are more knives produced by industry in the uk in one day than will be handed in throughout the whole period of the amnesty...

I have owned a knife from age 11 or so, in fact the same knife I use today (among others) and in all that time it has never occurred to use it in any way other than which it was intended to be used...as a tool, always ready at my side, always sharp, and infinately versatile.

My 8yr old son knows the score too...and I have even heard him tell his mates quite sharply "It's a tool, not a weapon!"...

Education, not discrimination...

Exactly. At the end of the day, we need to teach our children about what knives are used for. That way I think that crime would be seriously reduced, and there would be more bushcrafters. I bet when anyone wathces Ray on TV, they don't think thathe is using a weapon, because he has a specialist knifeand usesit sensibly. Mybe if there was a greater awareness od bushcraft, we could educate people about the correct use of tools from an earlier age..

 

[risby]

Maybe instead of a knife amnesty, the authorities could try an amnesty for thugs, drug dealers, drunk drivers, fraudsters, muggers, wife beaters, child abusers, football hooligans and sex offenders. Now that would really reduce crime but I'm sure the police and the politicians would say its too difficult.

Hmmm, I don't think you've quite got the concept of amnesty right there, Shing.

Noun: amnesty - A period during which offenders are exempt from punishment

 

[Lurch]

Hmmm, I don't think you've quite got the concept of amnesty right there, Shing.

Noun: amnesty - A period during which offenders are exempt from punishment

Well one could argue that the majority of the blades which will be put in the bins are perfectly legal and that amnesty doesn't apply here.

As the current 'amnesty' will involve the items being destroyed, I'm quite happy for a similar amnesty to apply to the scum mentioned by Shing.

 

[mark a.]

There are a couple of good articles on BBC News about the amnesty here and here.

Summarising the articles:

(a) The amnesty is mostly symbolic,
(b) Knives are easily replaced, so the amnesty as a mechanism won't really achieve much in the way of getting knives off the street
(c) It's mostly teenage boys that carry,
(d) It's mostly a peer-pressure "cool" thing not a "I must go and stab something" mentality
(e) The law needs tightening to make it more difficult for under-18s to buy knives and to increase the penalty for those carrying them as weapons, and
(f) Education is important.

In my mind it's clear as to what the amnesty is aiming at. I haven't read the Sun or Daily Mail so I don't know what their slant on things are, but the BBC at least do seem to be talking about "knife crime" rather than just "evil knives" in general. So as I said before, us Bushcrafters have no problems.

 

[gregorach]

The fundamental problem seems to me to be a misunderstanding of the psychology of the problematic segement of the population. Ratcheting up both the legal and social pressure not to carry a knife is completely counter-productive, because the core reason a chav carries a knife in the first place is to prove what a tough-nut rebel he is. The only way you could use the law to discourage such a person from carrying a knife would be to make it compulsory.

 

[Mantic]

A slight twist I know but I remember a firearms amnesty years back. The reporter was holding a 'rocker launcher' aloft and explained how amazed he was that someone had managed to obtain such a device and how it could destroy a tank from several miles away. He then went on to explain how the amnesty was obviously working since 'the deadly rocket launcher' was out of dangerous hands.

What the twonk didn't know was that it was a LAW rocket. And it was empty. Yes that's right, he was holding what amounted to a short section of drain pipe.

Another weapon was a homemade pistol - how they could have thought it was dangerous I have no idea - the thing was made out of shaped sheets of alluminium!?!?!? Must have had a right laugh trashing a decent Trangia to make the thing

I think that the amnesty amounts to little more than political PR. Are criminals really going to hand in their knives? Would anyone who knew a criminal steal from them and hand their knives in? Isn't it just misinformed law abiding citizens who follow such media driven politics?

Instances of knife related crimes go up as do firearm related crimes (not sure how that happened since the government baned pistols, et al -

Once again, it's all about ignoring the root of the problem - there should be an amnesty for handing in knife wielding criminals, not knives.

 

[Hoodoo]

For those of you wishing to get rid of your custom/handmade knives I will be operating a "special" amnesty for all you bushcrafters out there.
Send me your nasty, dangerous knife and I will see to it that it is definitely taken off the "streets".

That's a fine gesture but that still leaves you at risk because of the rather restrictive knife laws already in place.

I, however, am in a much better position legally to offer this service and you can rest assured that your knives will be treated with all the respect they deserve. I will also accept factory knives.

I just need to find a place to store them...

 

[Nemisis]

Well they ain't getting my small kitchen devil i'd starve to death if I couldn't peel spuds lol
Dave.

 

[risby]

Well one could argue that the majority of the blades which will be put in the bins are perfectly legal and that amnesty doesn't apply here.

As the current 'amnesty' will involve the items being destroyed, I'm quite happy for a similar amnesty to apply to the scum mentioned by Shing.

Ha ha, quite.

I think the term amnesty is actually being misapplied by the government actually. Surely it can only apply to proscribed items, like balisongs and autos. Those are items that could get you prosecuted if they were found in your possession, in your home let alone being carried in town. Those are things that people might think were a liability to have around and would welcome a 'no questions asked' avenue to disposing of them.

It's pretty weird to think of someone going into a police station with a kitchen knife or a stanley knife as it strongly implies "I was gonna use dees on dat geezer inna pub but I won't now ossifer (I'll just stick wiv da knuckledusters)".