Posted on 09/06/2009 1:59:53 PM PDT by greatdefender
Along with a box of matches and a piece of string, they've always been an essential part of a Scout's kit.
But now penknives are going to be restricted on scouting trips as a seemingly innocent tradition succumbs to concerns over the nation's blade culture.
The Scout Association is advising boys and their parents that they should not bring such knives to camp - despite it being legal for anyone to carry a foldable, nonlocking blade in a public place as long as it is shorter than 3ins.
Scouts have been taught to carry knives and have used them to cut firewood, prepare food or carve tools ever since Lord Baden-Powell founded the movement more than a century ago.
But in a recent edition of their official in-house magazine, Scouting, they are advised that neither they nor their parents should bring penknives to camp.
Knife-maker Dave Budd, who runs courses training Scouts about the safe use of blades from his base on Dartmoor, Devon, said the rise in knife crime - up 50 per cent in just one year - demanded ' clarification' of the guidance.
He wrote: 'The series of high-profile fatal stabbings highlighted a growing knife culture in the UK. Now the general public is unsure of the law on knives.
'Scouts often have the need for a good knife, and in the early days every Scout was actively encouraged to put a knife on their belt. Sadly, there is now confusion about when a Scout is allowed to carry a knife.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
That’s the one.
Next they will take their compass away so the boys can’t stay straight.
LOL.
Pretty soon they will be unable to have dangerous things like forks in the UK. Then clubs. When they have to eat with chopsticks, they will eventually have people poking out eyes with those, and chopsticks will be banned.
Silliness.
Who need knives anyway, when Great Britain’s gun crimes have gone up 400%. Bloody idiots.
Have you seen their teeth, though? Might not be a bad idea....oops!!!
I often take my two boy for hikes in the woods. We’ll drive to our starting point, at which time the boys have to show me their knives. If they don’t have a knife, they’re not allowed to go into the woods.
Matches or a lighter are the number two requirement. They can go in without matches, but it is discouraged.
I predict that in the States the BSA will soon prohibit campfires.
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