The German Knife Act defines three categories of knives: 1) prohibited knives; 2) knives, called cutting and impact weapons; and 3) other knives. Some knives are also classified as restricted because they can be owned at home or in the store, but cannot be worn on the person. [28] In addition, section 42(5) of the Arms Act gives each Land the possibility to enact local regulations in certain areas prohibiting the carrying of weapons “and dangerous objects” in the so-called “weapons prohibition zones” for the protection of public safety and order. [28] In Berlin and Hamburg, “no-gun zones” have been enacted. [28] Under the Switchblade Knife Act of 1958 (amended 1986, codified as 15 U.S.C. §§1241-1245) switching blades and ballistic knives are prohibited from intergovernmental shipment, sale, import, or possession in the following areas: any territory or possession of the United States, i.e., lands belonging to the United States. Federal Government; Indian lands (as defined in Section 1151 of Title 18); and territories under the maritime or territorial jurisdiction of the Federal Government, with the exception of federal authorities, state criminal prosecution authorities and the military. [84] In addition, federal laws may prohibit the possession or carrying of knives on certain federal properties, such as courthouses or military installations. U.S. federal switching blade laws do not apply to the possession or sale of switching blade knives within a state; The latter shall be governed by the laws of that particular State, if any. According to the Austrian Arms Act of 1996, it is illegal to buy, import, possess or transport weapons disguised as another object or an object of general use (e.g. sword sticks or knives disguised as ink pens, brush handles or belt buckles). [2] However, for ordinary knives, there are no restrictions or prohibitions based on the length of the blade or the opening or locking mechanism.
[3] According to the Canadian Penal Code, any blade less than 30 centimetres high and hidden and which does not appear to be a knife is a prohibited weapon. Canada`s Criminal Code criminalizes the possession of knives that open automatically. Subsection 84(1) defines a prohibited weapon as “a knife whose blade opens automatically by gravity or centrifugal force or by manual pressing a button, spring or other device attached to the knife or in the handle of the knife.” [13] Only persons who are exempt from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police under the Canadian Firearms Program may possess (but not acquire) prohibited weapons. Although most gun restrictions were eventually lifted, many knife laws remained in place in the South. In Texas, this was largely due to the presence of a large number of tejanos. [111] By 1870, texas whites at the time had adopted the revolver for self-defense almost everywhere and exclusively, while tejanos, steeped in the blade culture (el legado Andaluz) of Mexico and Spain and generally without the ability to buy handguns, continued to carry knives. [107] Thus, while Texas` local and state gun laws and ordinances were gradually relaxed or repealed in the late 1800s, the old prohibitions against Bowie knives, daggers, dirks, and other long-leaved knives remained on the books because they served to disarm and control a minority group considered anarchic behavior and violence without legal justification. [106] [111] Texas law remained in effect for nearly 150 years until it was amended in 2017 to allow the carrying of these weapons with certain restrictions. [112] Some knives are more illegal than others. “There is no law prohibiting the public carrying of knives with sheaths, knives that require the opening of both hands, and any fixed blade knife and certain folding knives not prohibited, provided they are not worn for self-defense purposes.” Carrying a knife as a tool for a job is good. For example, many builders need a knife for their work, it is not a problem to have one on the hip when they come and go from work. I know a lot of people who carry knives every day without any problems.
Although English law insists that it is the onus on the prosecution to provide evidence that a crime has been committed, a person must provide evidence to prove that they had a “good reason or legal authority” to carry a knife (if so) when detained.