Legal Information on Buying, Selling & Using Knives, Crossbows & Airsoft Products
Knife Warehouse is a responsible knife retailer. We’ve put together a brief overview of our legal information, rules and regulations around the sale and ownership of knives in an effort to help you understand our process and what you can and cannot do.
All products on Knifewarehouse.co.uk are UK legal to own providing you are over 18 years of age. We are UK based and abide by all laws. This includes reporting illegal purchases! Please be aware that we do carry age out checks on our orders and use age verified shipping methods.
Knives
- All of the knives sold by Knife Warehouse are legal to own provided you are over the age of 18. However, not all are legal to carry with you in public. Please read the guide further down on ‘Carrying Knives‘ for more information.
- Spring Assisted knives are no longer legal in the UK. The Government amended the Violent Crime Reduction Act and reclassified these as Offensive Weapons.
- So called ‘Zombie Knives’ are now banned in the UK. To be classed as a Zombie Knife it must have all three of these: 1. a cutting edge; 2. a serrated edge; and 3. images or words (whether on the blade or handle) that suggest that it is to be used for the purpose of violence.
- The definition of Zombie knives has been further updated and comes into effect on the 24th of September, 2024. The new definition requires additional explanation, so for the full details please see our blog post. “2024 Machete & ‘Zombie Knife’ Ban”. In short, blades longer than 8 inches with both a sharp point and a plain cutting edge WITH one or more of the following are now prohibited: A serrated edge longer then 2 inches unless it’s up to 2 inches and next to the handle; more than one hole in the blade; has more than 2 sharp points; spikes.
Swords
- Swords that are hand forged according to traditional methods are legal in the UK and can have a curved blade over 50cm in length. Factory made swords with a curved blade over 50cm are banned, however swords with a straight blade are perfectly legal to own.
Machetes
- Similar to smaller knives, machetes have all of the same restrictions. You must be over 18 to purchase one, and they cannot be carried in public with some very specific restrictions such as needing it for work. (A grounds keeper for example may require one for his rounds when maintaining land for example.) Please see above for more detail related to machetes captured by the new zombie knife law.
Crossbows
- It is legal to own a crossbow in the UK if you are over 18, however it is illegal to hunt any live animal with one, even pests such as rats.
Blank Guns & Ammunition
- Blank guns are legal to buy and own provided you’re over the age of 18. They MUST NOT be carried in public, or used in a way that is likely to cause alarm or distress.
- Blank ammunition is also legal to buy and own, great care should be taken to keep it out of the reach of children.
Further Reading
We have some useful legal information from BASC (British Association for Shooting and Conservation), so please feel free to download and print this information.
A GUIDE TO THE VIOLENT CRIME REDUCTION ACT 2006
It is illegal to sell knives, swords or crossbows to anyone less than 18 years of age.
WE WILL CHECK YOUR AGE BEFORE WE SHIP ANY ORDERS.