Posted on 07/23/2005 4:16:17 PM PDT by kerryusama04
A&E doctors are calling for a ban on long pointed kitchen knives to reduce deaths from stabbing. A team from West Middlesex University Hospital said violent crime is on the increase - and kitchen knives are used in as many as half of all stabbings.
They argued many assaults are committed impulsively, prompted by alcohol and drugs, and a kitchen knife often makes an all too available weapon.
The research is published in the British Medical Journal.
The researchers said there was no reason for long pointed knives to be publicly available at all.
They consulted 10 top chefs from around the UK, and found such knives have little practical value in the kitchen.
None of the chefs felt such knives were essential, since the point of a short blade was just as useful when a sharp end was needed.
The researchers said a short pointed knife may cause a substantial superficial wound if used in an assault - but is unlikely to penetrate to inner organs.
Kitchen knives can inflict appalling wounds
In contrast, a pointed long blade pierces the body like "cutting into a ripe melon".
The use of knives is particularly worrying amongst adolescents, say the researchers, reporting that 24% of 16-year-olds have been shown to carry weapons, primarily knives.
The study found links between easy access to domestic knives and violent assault are long established.
French laws in the 17th century decreed that the tips of table and street knives be ground smooth.
A century later, forks and blunt-ended table knives were introduced in the UK in an effort to reduce injuries during arguments in public eating houses.
The researchers say legislation to ban the sale of long pointed knives would be a key step in the fight against violent crime.
"The Home Office is looking for ways to reduce knife crime.
"We suggest that banning the sale of long pointed knives is a sensible and practical measure that would have this effect."
Government response
Home Office spokesperson said there were already extensive restrictions in place to control the sale and possession of knives.
"The law already prohibits the possession of offensive weapons in a public place, and the possession of knives in public without good reason or lawful authority, with the exception of a folding pocket knife with a blade not exceeding three inches.
"Offensive weapons are defined as any weapon designed or adapted to cause injury, or intended by the person possessing them to do so.
"An individual has to demonstrate that he had good reason to possess a knife, for example for fishing, other sporting purposes or as part of his profession (e.g. a chef) in a public place.
"The manufacture, sale and importation of 17 bladed, pointed and other offensive weapons have been banned, in addition to flick knives and gravity knives."
A spokesperson for the Association of Chief Police Officers said: "ACPO supports any move to reduce the number of knife related incidents, however, it is important to consider the practicalities of enforcing such changes."
Unfortunately, no...
This is extremely faulty logc. All it will do
(if one could actually collect all the *billions*
of knives with pointed tips, is to make killers
*slash* instead of stab their victims, and when
it comes to surviving a knife attack, one is going
to lose a lot more blood a lot more quickly with
a large long gash that cannot be easily stanched
with a rag or bandage, than by a puncture hole.
Besides, no matter what the cooks said..there are
times when there are legitimate utilitarian needs
for a pointed tipped knife.
I can see it now..there will be a run at hardware
stores across the nation for awls....
...idiots...
IMO Tke away a womens sharp knives you will have more frustation leadin to domestic uproars.
Ever try to prep a full coarse meal with a plastic knife? It SUCKS!
Or, God forbid, a Banana Fiend!!!!
LOL Balls?
As in sports or as in what men have?
OK. I want one of those 17 bladed weapons - even if it has to be imported from the Klingon homeworld.
That would be a stain.
Do you think that socialized medicine might play a part in their desire to outfit their country with padded wallpaper? They were all just bricks in the wall...
I guess I should have searched, but this is wacky enough for a third go-round, eh?
Oh and yeah...*knives need such high tech
equipment to manufacture them...why otherwise,
prisoners would be able to make them out of
any hard thin piece of (you name it) and be
able to stab each other!!!!!
...Good thing *that's* not possible....
...idiots...
But but but..those Spam *lids*!!!!!
They have such *sharp* edges!....
LOL!
"I like Spam..."
You can have my passion fruits when you pry it from my cold, dead hands.
Darn darn darn.....you beat me to it....
I was looking up the HTML coding
Unbelievable. How about knitting needles? Those are long and pointed. What about scissors? Do Brits need to get kiddie scissors, next? Letter openers -- a nice antique ivory handled one would be considered a weapon, I suppose...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.