Dogwood, I agree completely with pretty much everything you've posted. EDC's in the US often mean EDC (Every Day Carry) for self defence. The carry laws between the UK and US are similar with that notable exception. It's illegal to carry for self defence here, while in the US there is no such restriction. As a result, many people are quite open about EDC-ing a knife for self defence. In the UK, I tend to think of an EDC as a tool rather than a weapon and I think many others do too, that said, I'm sure there are people in the UK who would like to legally carry for self defence.
Under UK law I cannot carry for defense, but a criminal can carry for offense. That makes no sense!
Case in point. I'm certainly no expert on the subject, but I know enough about knife fighting to know you never want to be in one. If you spend some time studying the subject, you'll realise that carrying a knife for self defence is sheer lunacy and as Dogwood says, done mainly by paranoid, frightened fantasists.
If you steer clear of the macho forums and look at the subject seriously, it becomes clear. Putting it as simply as I can, If you are mugged at knife-point and you have a knife of your own in your pocket, you have a few options. You can give the mugger your wallet and hope he's happy with that and runs off. If you are fit, you can "push and run". Or you can pull your knife in retaliation and hope for a Mexican stand-off.
Looking at the last option....
Knives are lethal things, but it's unlikely your mugger wants to actually stab you. It will massively increase the severity of his crime and increase his punishment too. However, if you draw a knife on him, the stakes for
both of you just got a lot bigger. There is a very small chance that the Mexican stand-off will work. Both of you might think "stuff this" and run off in opposite directions. Congratulations, your bluff/gamble paid off.
However, that's not likely to happen.
Why? Because any knife fight is likely to be won by the person who acts the fastest and is the most savage in their attack. It's the golden rule. You dont bluff, that will get you killed. Forget all the Hollywood "fencing", in reality most knife fights are over in less than 5 seconds and the winner is almost always the one who moves into action immediately and with a very high level of aggression. If your opponent does the same, then the whole thing becomes incredibly savage.
Now you know the golden rule too. So back to our mugger. You are standing there, facing the knife with a knife of your own in your pocket. You dont know how skilled your opponent is, so you have to assume he at least is aware of the golden rule. You have to assume that if you pull your knife, you will put him in fear of his life and will give him no option other than to attack you immediately with a high level of savagery. Even someone highly skilled in say Fillipino or Israeli knife fighting techniques, is still going to feel fear when confronted with a knife. They will attack, it's life and death for both of you.
It may be that your attacker is bluffing, but you cannot rely on that because if he isnt, you will die.
The million dollar question is, are you actually prepared to launch a lethal and savage attack on your opponent? If yes, maybe you have a chance, if no, dont ever carry a knife for self defence, because you will die.
So, lets assume you are a big tough guy who never backs down and your opponent is the same and you both attack immediately. Who will win? Well for a start, your opponent has his knife drawn and is ready to attack. Yours is in your pocket. Can you draw it, deploy it and go on the offensive in under 1 second? If not, you will die. Because as soon as your opponent sees your knife leave your pocket, he will go medieval on you because he knows he has to - the golden rule. He's not going to hang around waiting for you to fumble the blade open.
In short, if you have studied the subject and practised martial blade craft and are skilled and are prepared to savagely kill another person, then you know these issues and can make your own mind up. If you are none of the above, then at best, carrying a knife for self defence gives you a false sense of security. At worst, it raises the stakes to life or death and puts you in far, far more danger than you would be without it.
Be sensible. Carry as a tool, no worries, carry as a self defence weapon - you are either a very scary person or a complete fool, there is no middle ground.
I hope this post doesnt contravene any posting regs, I know it's a sensitive issue.
