You think you are in the 21st century think about the 16th century. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sword_hunt
Man, the uk is a silly place
Why? Is there a legitimate reason for anyone to own or be able to easily purchase a ninja sword?
Why would you need a reason—legitimate or otherwise—to justify owning a sword?
Because it’s a weapon.
Ninja swords – which have a blade between 14 inches and 24 inches long with one straight cutting edge with a tanto-style point – have been linked to the surge in knife crime which has risen to more than 50,000 offences in the past year, close to its record high in 2019.
It’s ridiculous to ban them because of that. The criminals could just use a kebab knife instead or whatever. A proper way would be to ban carrying all long knives around, except in closed boxes. So the kebab guy or sword collector can buy a knife and bring it to his restaurant/home, but by the time a criminal gets it out of the box ppl can call the police and it’s already a crime.
You already need to have a reason to carry around a large blade. Anything over pocket/eating size. Someone with a kebab knife would have to be selling, gifting, repairing or travelling from or to a kebab place.
With these swords, collecting them is a good reason that would make it difficult to prosecute someone carrying it as a weapon. Banning them means the person carrying them is without doubt a criminal, because they are now illegal.
Most people committing knife crimes don’t have a profession (that they would tell police about) that requires large blades.
Collecting them isn’t much of a reason to be carrying them around.
I don’t think the police would let you off if you claimed to have just bought it. I’d expect them to demand some kind of proof.
The law is so when they raid a gang members home and find five swords they can do something other than compliment them on their awesome ninja sword collection.
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Because it’s a weapon.
So is a water pistol. Depends if I change the pH of the water?
Let’s be real honest is that still just water?
Depends if it’s rainwater or, salty tears. pH can go either way then.
Vinegar or bicarbonate you choose
It’s not legal to carry a water pistol full of acid either.
Are they actually called Ninja Swords in the legislation because if so, that’s hilarious.
Yes, they are literally called Ninja swords in the legislation.
Yes, it is hilarious.
“This is a samurai sword, I’ll have you know. 😤”
This “Ninja sword” is apparently a straight sword:
2.4. The legal definition that we tested as part of this consultation was as follows:
A fixed bladed article with a blade between 14-24 inches (the length of the blade being the straight-line distance from the top of the handle to the tip of the blade) with:
(i) A single straight cutting edge; and;
It sounds like most katanas and such, what I think people probably normally think of when they think of a “ninja sword”, are already banned under existing legislation, as they’re curved-edge, rather than straight-edge:
https://www.katanamart.co.uk/content/27-uk-samurai-sword-law
Samurai and other curved Swords
On April 6th 2008 a law came into effect banning samurai and other curved swords with a blade length of 50 cm or more; there are some exceptions for registered martial artists, re-enactors and even certain genuine Japanese swords.
Here is to the law:
An amendment to this act was passed, which came into effect on the 1st of August 2008. It allows curved and samurai swords which are handmade using traditional forging/production methods to be sold without a license.
Apparently the Japanese did use straight swords for a while.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chokutō
Maybe the issue here is that importers avoided their previous restrictions by selling straight swords, and they’re making a new class to catch those and for God-knows-what-reason are calling it a “Ninja sword”.
Last amnesty a company handed in 1.5 million machetes and claimed the compensation for them despite importing the weapons themselves in the weeks before the ban. Pure profiteering.
I hope the police have learned something but somehow doubt they have.
I hope they haven’t.
Ninja swords are not actually a real thing, so what exactly is this banning?
Why are they banning knives and swords category by category (e.g., zombie knives, ninja swords) instead of a broader ban?
They are responding to crimes being committed. This helps, and minimises the scope of the law. But, it doesn’t solve root cause.
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Performance art.
Anything in the UK carried for the intent to harm another person is a weapon. I do lots of low impact woodland/forest work. Axes, saws etc. in my bag. If I carried them to a Birmingham park to murder someone they would be weapons and not allowed. If I carry them into a woodland I have a contract to manage, they are tools and allowed.
These extra rules/laws don’t change the above. The swords could still have been outlawed as weapons by the legal system.
But… doing this means the perl clutches can sleep easy knowing “something is being done”
It just occurred to me maybe the headline is about sword-owners who are ninjas, which totally changes the meaning.
For the first time in my life I am truly incentivised to go on a quest to steal a sword.
I’m sure there a strange woman lying in a pond somewhere that can be of assistance.
So does mean samurai swords too, those decorative ones I have on a three tier mount like these?
https://www.southernswords.co.uk/samurai-three-sword-table-stand.html
Googled what a tanto end is and I’m unsure if it applies to them. Help?
No, you don’t have anything wink wink
…closes curtains permanently…
Oi, yew got a curtain loicense?
This “joke” has been co-opted by xenophobic conservative Americans so often that I really struggle to appreciate it, even when you use it rather innocently like here. I’m not even a Brit and have grown quite tired of it. It comes from the same bag as cheese eating surrender monkeys for the French.
Look, they get to make fun of us for our shootings, we get to make fun of them for their loicenses for everything. It’s a fair trade.
cheese eating surrender monkeys for the French.
That’s actually xenophobic because the French kick ass when they feel like it. Hell, they’re basically the only reason America won independence.
I’m all for friendly ribbing, just a bit tired of this particular one because I saw it used in unsavoury ways too many times (I’d probably argue the same about school shootings jabs, even if that’s a bit different). Just spreading a bit of awareness about it, I could tell you weren’t being mean or actually using this as a xenophobic argument, but others before you have.
As a curved blade I think they’re all already banned, so this law does nothing to you
If they’re blunt or made before 1954, you’re good.
