Laws regarding Straight Razors.?

[abelard29]

I have recently bought a straight razor and I need to know whether or not there are any laws prohibiting me carrying it around in the UK. I would like to know as a lot of the time, I babysit for friends and family and need to shave every morning so I would like to carry it with me.

[seme22]

Ask your mommy.

[marlan43]

The Criminal Justice Act (1988) prohibits having any folding knife with a blade exceeding 3" in any public place. If your straight razor exceeds 3" it is therefore illegal.

Of course (since we don't believe your story about shaving for a second), if you use the weapon to attack someone, or even to threaten someone, you can be charged with other crimes, crimes which are aggravated with the presence of a weapon.

[kendon19]

Not a prayer in the US anyway. And I'd pay good money to hear you tell a police officer that after a hard night of babysitting "I babysit for friends and family and need to shave every morning so I would like to carry it with me."

[trucker]

In theory you have a legitimate reason for carrying it around, but in practice if you were to be found with this razor on your person you would have a very hard time convincing the police and, in due course, the court that you were carrying it with you for purely innocent reasons. Don't risk it.

Edit: I see that Quizzard is quoting the Criminal Justice Act 1988. This enactment has a proviso that you may carry a bladed instrument with you "for any ... good reason". However good the reason may be, in your case it is not a good idea.

[denys]

The two questions that would be asked would be

why are (now) normal disposable or electric razors not acceptable for a one off occasion
if it is a regular occasion, why not leave one there ?

if it is that special to you,
then are you carrying it in a way that means both

- cannot be easily accessed (eg in a leather closed keeper) and in other bags
so that it would not be usable with reasonable ease if you wanted to use it offensively

- it is with all your other shaving kit...
after all, if you are bothered enough to take a special razor, you would also be bothered to take your special brush, soap/foam, aftershave etc in a wash bag.

And that wash bag, would also be buried in your overnight bag, not on the top the moment you opened the overnight bag. If you leave things at this regular place, why then not these items also ?

So it is all down to presentation.
Basically no one should be able to see or know it is even there.

Even contractors who need to have knives, have to have them "locked" in a tool box, in the boot of the car, not just in a pocket or a loose tool bag on the back seat.

So access is key.