mushroom wrote:
Thanks for all the replies - I knew I would get sound advice here! I'm leaning towards an Opinel - they were my first choice so I'm glad to see so many approve. Just need to decide now on a #6,#7 or #8. Any suggestions - v. little info on them on Amazon. Oh, and being a traditionalist and wanting it to be aesthetically pleasing as well, I do like a wooden handle... (this is where all the blokes tell me I'm like a girl choosing her car by its colour!!!) 
Please check out the legal aspect of which ever knife you chose though.
What You Can't Have ...
The following items are banned from sale within the UK (although if you already own one you may keep it, but not use it outside of your own property) ... Switchblades, automatics or 'flick-knives', gravity knives, balisongs or 'butterfly knives', push daggers, belt buckle knives, sword canes, disguised knives, or knuckle-duster knives.
Late on in 2004, an amendment to the law was introduced which restricts the sale of any knife which is not readily detectable by the normal methods of detection, ie: either x-ray or metal detection, unless it can be proven that the knife's sole purpose is for the preparation of food. So for instance, the Cold Steel CAT Tanto or Lansky Knife are now prohibited within the UK. These knives are correctly referred to as Airport Knives, but in English law are commonly referred to as Stealth Knives.
In 2006, so-called Disguised Knives were prohibited. You may not buy any knife designed to look like something else, for instance a knife which appears to be a pen, (and it doesn't matter whether the pen works or not, it's still prohibited here).
What You Can Carry ...
The Criminal Justice Act (1988) says that you may carry a knife with a blade length of 3.0" or less so long as it is capable of folding. That means no fixed blade knives
As an example: An Opinel knife with a blade over three inches (about 75mm) is going to be illegal, as it has a locking blade.
But you could and should probably get away with it unless you fit a certain image of a hoody with bad attitude 
Statistics: Posted by 12mp82 — Mon Feb 25, 2013 10:51 pm