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#1 Star Trek blade seized as illegal weapon

Posted: Thu May 25, 2006 2:44 pm
by frigidmagi
A boobie rag

[quote]THIS five-foot martial arts sword capable of beheading a man was recovered by shocked cops in a house raid.

The terrifying Batleth weapon is identical to one wielded by Klingon aliens in the Star Trek sci-fi films.

Officers seized the three-handled sword — which has huge pointed blades at either end — at a home in Gloucester.

It was shown yesterday at the start of a five-week national knife amnesty. Cops hope 30,000 blades will be handed in, with owners free from prosecution.

Local Insp Mac McGarry wielded the sword, which he said had been sharpened to kill.

He said: “It is a particularly nasty weapon which could easily take someone’s head off.â€

#2

Posted: Thu May 25, 2006 3:06 pm
by Narsil
The Daily Mail has something on it. This wouldn't be the first time that something completely and utterly ridiculous happened with our police force. A policewoman tried to fine a teenager for swearing in public, don't know what became of it though.

#3

Posted: Thu May 25, 2006 3:26 pm
by frigidmagi
Are you saying they are seriously trying to remove knives from the population?

#4

Posted: Thu May 25, 2006 3:30 pm
by Batman
Yeah, because a lot of street crimes are commited with a bat'telh.
Excuse me?
The no carrying a knife idea is stupid enough -a pocket knife is a damn handy tool, to say nothing of those does-everything-except-make-coffee swiss army knifes and derivatives, and it's not like the ones who are inclined to commit 'knife crimes' are about to turn theirs in, but seizing a weapon-which BTW is obviously a collector's item because a bat'telh is about the most useless sword in existence-someone kept at home?
I think that sentence was too long.

#5

Posted: Thu May 25, 2006 3:30 pm
by Comrade Tortoise
So... not only are they trying to remove Knives from the civilian population (thus even further putting their civillians into the hands of criminals) but this guy is advocating a opunishment for OWNING A KNIFE that is 1/4th punishment given for first degree murder in most western european countries?


How...special.

(and of course, even if knife crime is reduced, it will only increase baseball mat, and maglite crime)

#6

Posted: Thu May 25, 2006 3:31 pm
by frigidmagi
If someone tried to rob me with a bat'telh he would get my money, because I would have died from laughter.

#7

Posted: Thu May 25, 2006 3:32 pm
by Batman
frigidmagi wrote:Are you saying they are seriously trying to remove knives from the population?
If they're serious about that it's going to do interesting things to the already much-maligned british cuisine...

#8

Posted: Thu May 25, 2006 3:34 pm
by Comrade Tortoise
I dont know, Cornish pasties arent to bad. In fact, they are rather good.

#9

Posted: Thu May 25, 2006 3:40 pm
by Batman
My own experience with british food, while discouraging, is extremely limited, but deservedly so or not british cooking is not held in high regard around the world. Taking away the option of cutting vegetables, meat, bread, Valen of cutting anything is NOT likely to improve on that.

#10

Posted: Thu May 25, 2006 3:42 pm
by Narsil
frigidmagi wrote:Are you saying they are seriously trying to remove knives from the population?
If you need to go around in public with anything other than a specialised materials cutting knife or pocketknife, you're not exactly the least suspect person in existance. Seriously - I've never known anyone who's had a reason to carry a knife about in anything except a toolbox.

#11

Posted: Thu May 25, 2006 3:44 pm
by Narsil
Batman wrote:My own experience with british food, while discouraging, is extremely limited, but deservedly so or not british cooking is not held in high regard around the world. Taking away the option of cutting vegetables, meat, bread, Valen of cutting anything is NOT likely to improve on that.
I'm sure they didn't mean kitchen knives. Kitchen knives can't realistically be hidden on a person, as you're quite likely to stab yourself if it's carried in your pocket, because they don't come with holsters, and are rather sharp. Or rather big and unwieldy. And carrying it about in public would quite easily convince people to avoid you.

#12

Posted: Thu May 25, 2006 3:45 pm
by Comrade Tortoise
Narsil wrote:
frigidmagi wrote:Are you saying they are seriously trying to remove knives from the population?
If you need to go around in public with anything other than a specialised materials cutting knife or pocketknife, you're not exactly the least suspect person in existance. Seriously - I've never known anyone who's had a reason to carry a knife about in anything except a toolbox.
Then you people in the UK are insane. A good portion of the time, I have a knife on me, just in case, I need to defend myself. ANd because a large knife with one cerated edge and a gut hook is a usefull tool for a lot instances.

But please, surrender your freedom. Accept being completely dependant on someone else for protection. THat is your fools gambit to make.

#13

Posted: Thu May 25, 2006 3:47 pm
by frigidmagi
Sharkbait and Village Idiot carry knives all the time, during my time in the service I tended to carry a 7 inch folding blade, only reason I don't know is that the campus is a weapons free zone and I agreed to follow the rules (I'm actually in favor of making schools weapon free zones, but that's another issue). That's at 3 people including myself who are posters of the board who go about or have gone about armed as a matter of daily routine without causing lawless behavior.

#14

Posted: Thu May 25, 2006 3:50 pm
by Narsil
You Americans seem to forget, quite frequently, that society and culture is different over here. While it might be normal for you lot to carry a knife about, it's quite abnormal for someone over here to carry a knife about with them. So it generates suspicion when they do.

#15

Posted: Thu May 25, 2006 3:55 pm
by frigidmagi
According to the article it doesn't seem that abnormal.

#16

Posted: Thu May 25, 2006 3:57 pm
by Batman
Narsil, the term 'house raid' does not indicate they're limiting it to stuff you carry on your person (besides, how often do you see somebody carrying around a bat'telh? And don't tell me he was carrying it concealed), and frankly fashioning a makeshift sheath for a kitchen knife is child's play.
Plus you can kill a man just as dead with a pocket knife so they' have to ban those, too, for this to have any effect.

#17

Posted: Thu May 25, 2006 3:57 pm
by Shark Bait
I carry at least two knives on me at all times, a Gerber folding knife half strait blade half serrated, and a Swiss Army keychain knife. I’ve also been known to take an 8 inch long hunting knife with a serrated back edge with me on road trips along with a Gerber multi tool. I like knives and I use them on a daily basis, I have on several occasions had to use one of my “pocketâ€

#18

Posted: Thu May 25, 2006 4:00 pm
by Comrade Tortoise
So, an expected 30 thousand blades handed in is...a result of the abnormality of people owning knives?

That makes no sense. As far as suspicion is concerned, how the hell is someone going to know if someone has a 7 inch folding blade in their pocket? How is that suspicious? In fact, does the word "raid" mean anything to you? This wasnt some guy carrying around a larger than regulation pocket knife. This was a police entry into someone's home to look for weapons.

The only reason a law abiding and otherwise decent looking person being armed would ever cause suspicion is two fold A) The person is doing something shady which makes the armed status of the individual stand out or B) long term intentiona (or at least semi-intentional) social conditioning to accept a nanny state and distrust people who dare look after their own interests.

The first is natural and reasonable. The second might be classified as evil.

#19

Posted: Thu May 25, 2006 4:02 pm
by Narsil
frigidmagi wrote:According to the article it doesn't seem that abnormal.
Well I can safely say that after seventeen years of living here, first hand, it is abnormal. The article also mentioned 30,000 people. Considering the quite obvious fact that Britain's population is currently at an estimated sixty million, it still remains as an anomaly.

#20

Posted: Thu May 25, 2006 4:04 pm
by Comrade Tortoise
Narsil wrote:
frigidmagi wrote:According to the article it doesn't seem that abnormal.
Well I can safely say that after seventeen years of living here, first hand, it is abnormal. The article also mentioned 30,000 people. Considering the quite obvious fact that Britain's population is currently at an estimated sixty million, it still remains as an anomaly.
Oh yes, because in 5 weeks the whole law abiding population, where knives are already illegal and thus not carried by the population because they will be arrested, are going to turn in the knives they DO have. Sure. Even if we assume that every one of those 60 million people has a knife squirrelled away somewhere, the idea that they will all, or even most, turn them in if they havent already, is preposterous

#21

Posted: Thu May 25, 2006 4:17 pm
by Narsil
Even if we assume that every one of those 60 million people has a knife squirrelled away somewhere, the idea that they will all, or even most, turn them in if they havent already, is preposterous
Let's have a look at those articles again shall we:

The Sun:


Local Insp Mac McGarry wielded the sword, which he said had been sharpened to kill.

Hardly what you'd call the average kitchen knife, eh?

“Knife crime will only get worse if we don’t introduce a five-year mandatory sentence for anyone carrying a knife.â€

#22

Posted: Thu May 25, 2006 4:20 pm
by Cpl Kendall
Narsil wrote:
If you need to go around in public with anything other than a specialised materials cutting knife or pocketknife, you're not exactly the least suspect person in existance. Seriously - I've never known anyone who's had a reason to carry a knife about in anything except a toolbox.
I carry a Leatherman multitool with me at all times, a tool which includes a knife. I have lost track of the times when I have had to cut something or otherwised used my tool to fix something. Why rob the populace of a potentially usefull tool? I highly doubt that a large number of stabbings and crimes are committed using multitools. This is just an attempt to cause a culture of fear surrounding a useful item.

#23

Posted: Thu May 25, 2006 4:26 pm
by frigidmagi
Huh Narsil Batman said that the bat'thel was taken in a house raid.
HIS five-foot martial arts sword capable of beheading a man was recovered by shocked cops in a house raid.
So don't try to play games.

#24

Posted: Thu May 25, 2006 4:27 pm
by Narsil
The police would need a warrant to perform a house raid. So the man has got to have done something beforehand.

#25

Posted: Thu May 25, 2006 4:30 pm
by Shark Bait
lock-blade flick knives
Yep thats my gerber, a pocket knife