Knife legislation
[3] The Arms Act defines weapons as "objects that by their very nature are intended to reduce or eliminate the defensive ability of a person through direct impact", specifically including all firearms.
In urban areas, expect an instant check and hassle if a policeman sees you to openly carry a larger knife, even if you have legal right to do it.
From a society point of view, the open carry of knives in Bulgaria is justified only on rural areas, when fishing or hunting, or when the knife serves as a tool in work activities, such as gardening.
You should not give up your knife, instead state the purpose of "daily needs", "utility usage" or even "self-defense" for carrying and be clear that you haven't committed any crime.
[11] Remember that although very liberal in terms of knives (weapons) possession and carry, compared to many European countries, Bulgaria is not the place where you can defend yourself with deadly force.
[29] Regarding sanctions, if an individual is found outside their residence, carrying or transporting a Category D weapon without a legitimate reason, they can incur a fine of up to €15,000 and a prison sentence of one year.
However, some knives are restricted from being carried in public, which is defined as exercising actual control of a restricted-class knife outside the home, business, or private property.
However, in practice there will be significant leeway for interpretation for police officers and judges – and much will depend on whether an intended use other than as a weapon can be argued – for which the properties of the knife in question will be very relevant (bad: flick-knife, automated, long blade, neck-knife, tactical).
[37] Carrying a knife with blade length over 8 cm (3.1 in) is prohibited in public places in Hungary unless justified by sport, work or everyday activity.
[49] According to Norwegian law, one can spend up to 6 months in prison for purposefully bringing a knife or similar sharp tool especially suited for causing bodily harm to a public place, or for helping others do so.
Certifying the knives as a tool is not difficult and most producers and importers do this, issuing a copy of a certificate with the knife during the sale, for presentation to the police officers in case of an inquiry.
[64] Certain exceptions to the list of prohibited knives exist for legitimate knife collections and historical artifacts registered with the Guardia Civil for possession exclusively at one's own home.
Furthermore, objects that are "particularly" intended for crime against life and health, such as switchblades, shurikens and brass knuckles, are not permitted to be owned by, given to or sold to anyone under the age of 21.
As such the law related to the purchasing and possession of weapons (such as knives) varies depending on which part of the UK a person is resident in.
It is therefore not illegal per se to merely possess such a knife, though the difficulties of acquiring one without violating the statute makes it (almost) impossible to obtain one without either committing or abetting an offence.
While this may appear to be a reversal of the usual burden of proof, technically the prosecution has already proven the case (prima facie) by establishing that a knife was being carried in a public place (see Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 on Knives, etc.
The wording of the Criminal Justice Act does not mention locking and so the definition of "folding pocket knife" was settled through case law.
In May 2018, Nic Madge, a judge at Luton Crown Court proposed that kitchen knives sold to or used by members of the public should have rounded rather than pointed ends.
Defences exist to a charge of possessing a bladed or pointed article in a public place when carried for use at work, as part of a national costume or for religious reasons.
Under the Custodial Sentences and Weapons (Scotland) Act 2007 (in force since 10 September 2007), the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 was amended and it was made compulsory to possess a local authority licence to sell knives, swords and blades (other than those designed for 'domestic use'), or to sell any sharply pointed or bladed object "which is made or adapted for use for causing injury to the person."
[105] In Alabama,[106] Mississippi,[107] New Mexico,[108][109] and Virginia,[99] the carrying on one's person of large and lengthy fighting knives capable of causing grievous wounds such as the Bowie knife[110] is prohibited by statute,[99][111] originally in the interest of controlling or eliminating the then-common practice of dueling, a term which had degenerated from a rarely used social custom into a generalized description for any knife or gun fight between two contestants.
[115] The governments of Texas and other former states of the Confederacy, many of which had recognized the right to carry arms such as Bowie knives openly before the Civil War,[116] passed new restrictions on both gun and knife possession and use.
[118] The April 12, 1871 law passed by Texas' Reconstruction legislature is typical, and is the ancestor of the present law restricting knife possession and use in Texas: Any person carrying on or about his person, saddle, or in his saddle-bags, any pistol, dirk, dagger, sling-shot, sword-cane, spear, brass knuckles, bowie knife, or any other kind of knife, manufactured or sold, for the purpose of offense or defense, unless he has reasonable grounds for fearing an unlawful attack on his person, and that such ground of attack shall be immediate and pressing; or unless having or carrying the same on or about his person for the lawful defense of the State, as a militiaman in actual service, or as a peace officer or policeman, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor..."[118]While most gun restrictions were eventually repealed, many knife laws remained in effect in the South.
[119] By 1870, Texas whites of the day had almost universally and exclusively adopted the revolver for self-defense, while Tejanos, steeped in the blade culture (el legado Andaluz) of Mexico and Spain and generally without the means to purchase handguns, continued to carry knives.
[120] Many of today's state criminal codes restricting knife use and ownership have been amended repeatedly over the years rather than rewritten to remove old classifications and definitions that are largely a historical legacy.
This omission has led in the past to cases in which state courts have substituted their own understanding of knife design to interpret legislative intent when applying statutes criminalizing certain types of knives.
[99][130] In 2014, attention was brought by many newspapers and media outlets to 1950s era legislation leading to many arrests and convictions for possession of the loosely defined gravity knife.
[99] Local or city ordinances are sometimes drafted to include specific classes of people not covered by the state criminal codes, such as individuals carrying folding knives with locking blades primarily for use as weapons.
[99] This ordinance is designed to work in tandem with the Texas state statute[134] making illegal the carrying of knives with blades longer than 5.5 inches (14 cm).
[135] The San Antonio ordinance allows police to charge persons carrying most types of lock blade knives without good cause with a criminal misdemeanor violation, allowing police to remove the knife from the possession of the offender, while providing exemptions from the ordinance designed to protect certain classes of people the city assumes to pose no threat to public order.
