Had enough with this country

[Splash]

Especially given this news. I can't think of a single decent reason to have a pen-knife (regardless of size/intent) on your person in public. I have a leatherman in my drawer at work, but it stays there.

[Merlin4458]

Think a few of you have missed the point.

I didnt get kicked out for having a knife, he re-searched me and basically let me in, until i turned and asked him if I should pick it up tomorrow or when i leave the club.
IT was only then he grabbed me by the arm and threw me out.

What kills me more is the fact that he looked like he'd been in the country for 3/4 weeks and clearly had no respect for anyone

[Merlin4458]

Especially given this news. I can't think of a single decent reason to have a pen-knife (regardless of size/intent) on your person in public. I have a leatherman in my drawer at work, but it stays there.

Something like 3" is where it becomes serious to the police. I got it as a stocking filler about 5 years ago and is on my car/door keys jsut cause thats what its for. Does come in handy when i need to pluck my eyebrows or open bottles etc . The blade is probably an inch long and it would snap before it went into anyone anyway.

[Merlin4458]

[IMG]

As much as I enjoy my knife collecting, I never *ever* carry in public. I mainly use the one above for odd jobs in the kitchen, but it stays in my drawer next to my swiss army penknife (cybertool).

Carrying in public, however small, means that at the back of your mind you are ready to use it (if needed) - since that option is available to you.

Therefore, don't carry - problem sorted!

I hope ur joking with that comment. Ur suggesting that at the back of my mind i intend on using it if i need to? IF I ever got i na fight, which i havent in 5 years of uni, then my fists will be the first thing id use to defend myself. Not " hold on m8 jsut going to get my 1inch penknife and take it off my keyring"

Ur collection is very different to the penknife i had. Its the smallest one u can buy. Think ur being very narrow minded. He didnt kick me out cause of the knife

[Splash]

Something like 3" is where it becomes serious to the police.

Says who? I've not seen any guidelines, so you may be correct but I'd like to see your source for that.

Given the amount of knife related deaths and serious injuries reported of late I think the Police are under a lot of pressure to take blades off the street. I'm pretty confident that even a 1" blade cold cause serious damage if used maliciously. The term used in the BBC link was "presumption of prosecution".

As for them not kicking you out for the knife... I'm not saying that you're lying, but we've only heard one side of the story. They confiscated the knife and only asked you to leave when you queried when you could have it back.

I suppose the big question is this: why do you feel the need to carry a knife on your person? And please, less of the "but it's only small": a knife is a knife is a knife.

[kalniel]

Says who? I've not seen any guidelines, so you may be correct but I'd like to see your source for that.

The law (Criminal Justice Act 1988) states that it's illegal to carry a knife with a blade longer than 3" (obviously there are the usual exceptions like transporting a sealed knife home etc.).

[Merlin4458]

thanks kalniel. Splash I said in a few earlier psots that its jsut there, i prob only go out once a month and my keys live in my jean pocket, i take em off with the keys still in there and put em bk on with them still in there. It wasnt intentional, and i showed the bouncer the knife, he didnt find it.

[Brucelles]

I have carried my Swissy (the Swiss Champion model) since I bought it in the early 80's. The only times I leave it at home are when I don't have the right pockets. The blade is precisely 3" long (I just measured it using it's own ruler/fish hook disgorger) and I would argue that, unless I went somewhere where I was likely to be in breach of the law as a result I should continue to carry it. Laws are for a reason, and while they are not perfect, I am happy to use them in defence of my freedom.

The mistake you made, Merlin, was to mention it after the problem had been overlooked. There's no reason for you to have been re-searched, so you would have had no problem.

[Merlin4458]

I jsut asked if i could pick it up or if they were binning it. Surely that isn't bad, just a question requiring a simple yes/no answer, not to be thrown out.

[Splash]

thanks kalniel. Splash I said in a few earlier psots that its jsut there, i prob only go out once a month and my keys live in my jean pocket, i take em off with the keys still in there and put em bk on with them still in there. It wasnt intentional, and i showed the bouncer the knife, he didnt find it.

Cheers for the pointer Kalniel.

If it's Just There (tm) then why not... take it off your keyring? Would the 5 seconds that it would take be worth avoiding a similar situation in future?

As for carrying a blade... why? I've never been in a knife fight (and pray I never will be) but the good ole' Right To Bear Arms thing just makes me uncomfortable. I would no more carry a knife with me in case I needed it for defence than I would carry a razor with me in case I needed a shave.

Brucelles is right though, had you just let it go then I guess you'd be a little irked, but not have felt the need to share

[iranu]

I think the point that Merlin is making is that he acted in a reasonable manner and got shafted because of it. It makes one decide not to do the right thing incase you end up being punished. This is happening more and more whether it be police, cctv cameras used to catch people "parking" for 2 seconds or bouncers. There is no common sense or individual judgement applied anymore, everything is black and white and alot of people on this board seem to think in that fashion too. There is a huge difference between someone carrying a sub 3" pen knife on the way to going camping in the woods, someone who makes a mistake and admits it and someone carrying a lockable blade of 3" and longer with the intention of getting it out at the first opportunity.

I keep a penknife in my care along with a torch and a small tool kit. Should I not carry the knife because people think it's going out tooled up? The torch is one of those heavy duty maglite jobs which would do a damn site more damage than the pissy pen knife. Should I also not carry that because people think I have the intention of shining it on someone?

I went travelling a few years ago and I carried the same penknife everyday for a year. Mind you I did stab a shed load of people in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, NZ, USA cos I just happened to have it with me.

See the other bouncer thread to how I would have reacted if that happened to me. As far as I'm concerned it was theft on the part of the club because they would not give it back. Go to the police and annoy them, make a formal complaint.

[fuddam]

Go to the police and annoy them, make a formal complaint.

agreed that it's prob not worth the effort, but I like the idea

[Merlin4458]

I think the point that Merlin is making is that he acted in a reasonable manner and got shafted because of it. It makes one decide not to do the right thing incase you end up being punished. This is happening more and more whether it be police, cctv cameras used to catch people "parking" for 2 seconds or bouncers. There is no common sense or individual judgement applied anymore, everything is black and white and alot of people on this board seem to think in that fashion too. There is a huge difference between someone carrying a sub 3" pen knife on the way to going camping in the woods, someone who makes a mistake and admits it and someone carrying a lockable blade of 3" and longer with the intention of getting it out at the first opportunity.

I keep a penknife in my care along with a torch and a small tool kit. Should I not carry the knife because people think it's going out tooled up? The torch is one of those heavy duty maglite jobs which would do a damn site more damage than the pissy pen knife. Should I also not carry that because people think I have the intention of shining it on someone?

I went travelling a few years ago and I carried the same penknife everyday for a year. Mind you I did stab a shed load of people in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, NZ, USA cos I just happened to have it with me.

See the other bouncer thread to how I would have reacted if that happened to me. As far as I'm concerned it was theft on the part of the club because they would not give it back. Go to the police and annoy them, make a formal complaint.

Finally someone udnerstands where im coming from. Cheers iranu

[steve threlfall]

I can see where you are coming from too Merlin. Treated like dirt by a bouncer for no good reason. It has happened to me too.

Im sorry but i find the notion that most bouncers are actually decent, absolutely laughable. I am sure there are a few decent ones and in fact i do know one, but for the most part, they are not nice people imo.

[Fraz]

Most bouncers are small-minded meathead idiots who have a tiny bit of power and just love abusing it.

Some years ago I went to a night in Bristol where the bouncer threw out one of the two promoters (who'd paid a lot to have the night on) for smoking a rollup. The bouncer thought it was a reefer, and threw him out. The second promoter argued with him explaining that it was clearly a cigarette, and got thrown out as well. He then went on to throw out loads of other people for smoking roll-ups and the night then fell totally to pieces, as there was no-one to actually organise anything. Since I knew both the promoters and the manager of the club - along with nearly everyone at that night - we all managed to get the bouncer fired, quick smart.

I've also been to a night where the bouncers wouldn't let me in because it was "too late". The promoter was a friend of mine, and we phoned him and asked him to come out and get the bouncers to let us in. The bouncers fed him some BS about "fire regulations" and other lame crap, and refused to let us in regardless. Once the promoter had gone back inside, they said we could come in if we bribed them 5 quid. We told them where to stick it.

Frankly, there is almost nothing more aggravating than a small-minded idiot abusing their power. They ruin peoples nights, lose clubs and promoters money, and often totally fail to bring about an atmosphere of safety as they are supposed to.

[Merlin4458]

I mean it was a student night, so maybe if i went into central, a few nicer places i would get tret with a bit more respect, i should i jsut expect that behaviour from bouncers in general?