Overhaulin'

what are the laws regarding the sale of lock knives at a car boot sale?

over the years i have collected a small number of lock knives. i now wish to sell them and i was going to take them to a car boot sale but i dont know if this is legal or not. all the knives have blades of 3 inches or shorter and i have looked on various websites including trading standards but i cant find anything to say that i cant sell them at a boot sale but i want to be sure before i go ahead. can anyone help? I am in the UK (England) so i am only interested in the UK laws regarding this. Thanks in advance for any help.

Public Comments

1. The laws pertaining to the sale of your lock knives will be in effect and governed by the township in which the boot sale is taking place. With that information you can contact the authorities at that specific location.
2. The general rule of thumb as you pointed out is no more than 3 inches in the u.k.
3. If you are not certain regarding this, ring the local police station. They will be able to help you. Good luck.
4. they must be sold to over 18s who most have id with address that you must write down to give to the police of who you sold it to same for swords etc
5. It is an arrestable offence to be found in possession of a lock knife in a public place. The exception to knives having blades of not more than three inches under Section 139 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 applies only to ordinary folding pocket knives. A lock knife is an offensive weapon per se and the Restriction of Offensive Weapons Act 1959 prohibits the manufacture, sale or possession for sale or hire, of 'flick knives' and 'gravity knives', so you could presumably be charged under either that or Section 1 of the Prevention of Crime Act 1953, which prohibits the possession in any public place of an offensive weapon without lawful authority or excuse. What's more, anyone purchasing such a thing from you and walking off with it could be charged with an offence under Section 1 of the Prevention of Crime Act 1953. It looks as though you're rather stuck with your collection, I'm afraid.