Knives and similar sharp weapons

What does the law say about the sale of knives and similar sharp objects to young people?

It is an offence for anyone to sell to a person who is under the age of 18 any

• axe
• knife
• knife blade
• razor blade
• other article having a blade or which is sharply pointed and which is made or adapted for causing injury

Are there any exemptions?

The only exemptions from the above are for:

• folding pocket knives having a cutting edge less than 7.62cm (3”) long
• razor blades that are permanently enclosed in a cartridge or housing.

Should I display any notices for customers?

There is no legal requirement to display a warning notice, however, you may want to consider displaying them conspicuously as part of your system for avoiding illegal sales. A suitable form of wording might be:

What are the penalties for breaking the law?

If an illegal sale is made, you could be prosecuted and face a fine of up to £5000, or a prison term of up to 6 months, or both.

What should I do now?

You should set up a system to ensure that you have done all that is reasonable to prevent you or a member of your staff selling knives and similar items to young people. You should now read the Preventing underage sales section of this pack for practical guidance on how best to do this.

If you are unsure how old a person is, ask for proof of age. If any doubt remains, always refuse the sale.

Additional information

The following bladed and pointed items have already been prohibited from sale (regardless of the age of the purchaser):

• flick-knives, gravity knives, belt buckle knives
• swordsticks containing a blade
• push daggers, butterfly knives
• kyotetsu shoge (a rope, cord or chain fastened to a hooked knife)
• hand and foot claws, hollow kybatan with spikes, shuriken or death star
• kusari gam a (a rope, cord, wire or chain fastened at one end to a sickle)