2021-001 | KNIFE CARRY & LEGAL IMPLICATIONS

WISDOM TRAILS: Only ignorant people fantasized of bringing a knife as a weapon. Good luck to them since I know what they will reply when questioned.

First seen in Facebook

December 23, 2017

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THE BLADE HAD SUFFERED so much of its reputation since the time it was used as an instrument of early warfare. It was invented by early man as a tool to aid him and his clan in processing their food and to make their existence tolerable. It took many eons and the forms changed from stones to bones-and-shells to copper to iron, until it was perfected in its present state as steel, which created a big industry globally. 

However, I changed people's perception about the knife here in the Philippines with proper education and dissemination of only the good information. From there, people I taught now know the law pertaining to the possession of a blade or their blades, their rights, the ethics of ownership, safety-carry and handling, the names of the most common shapes and the parts, field sharpening techniques and, altogether, removed ignorance and the wrong ideas.

 

There were no such formal education then in ownership rights, safety carry and the ethical use of blades here until I formulated the Knife Care and Safety in 2011 which I integrated as one of the subjects of the first Philippine Independence Bushcraft Camp. Participants began to appreciate the value of learning this as required in the PIBC and its other related training because bushcraft is labor intensive where the use of a blade takes most of the general work. 

Moving into another stage, I introduced the Knife Care and Safety to the younger generation when invited by schools, kiddie clubs and orphanages. I firmly believed that safety in handling a blade should start while young. I had that privilege since I lived and grew up among older people who worked with blades in the course of earning a living and who taught me the complexities of its use, handling and the ethics of possessing one.

When Armscor Global Arms, maker of the Rock Island line of firearms, gave me an opportunity to speak before a crowd during the 2018 Tactical Survival and Arms Expo held in SM, Cebu City, one of the three topics I talked about was Knife Carry Rights and Ethics. And which I gave a talk once more during the 2019 TACS Expo. My advocacy of knife-carry rights created an awareness on a bigger stage. 

By the way, possession of a knife here in the Philippines is not a right. Not even a privilege. It is more of CHANCE. You can only possess and travel with it if you have a permit, if you are in a lawful calling or if you are in a lawful activity. So far, the only known permit I know authorizing people to carry sharp instruments in the course of their work are municipal and city permits issued to butchers who worked in abattoirs and public markets.

In as much as we liked it, there are blades that can never fit in to the order of things for these can never be considered tools like a karambit, a Batangas knife, a push dagger, a dirk, a sword, a saber, a tres cantos or any traditional blades that are popularly-known and have served its use in conflicts and warfare. It is never a good idea to possess and travel with these in public unless you are in a lawful activity or a calling like cultural exhibits of traditional blades.

Aside from the lawful occupation of a butcher, lawful calling refers to a person engaged in work whose blade is a vital TOOL where it is always carried from residence to place of work and back. The best examples are farmers, fishermen, foresters, firemen, gardeners, bladesmiths, blacksmiths, hunters, fruit vendors, electricians, linemen, trail guides and, in a different classification because it is used as a weapon, are members of the military, and policemen who are in special tactical units.

Here in the Philippines, where blades may be used, displayed and carried in the pursuit of a lawful activity either as tools for labor, tools for education or tools for leisure are farming, fishing, collections and exhibitions, commerce and marketing, bladesmithing, hiking and camping, explorations and expeditions, gardening, sports, martial arts demonstrations and cultural celebrations and dances where it is used for symbolism as in the Bangsamoro, northern highlands and the indigenous peoples culture. 

All public places are off-limits to blades and those who travel with blades. You may only pass through provided you are in a lawful calling and is part of your baggage; in transit to and from a lawful activity. It is a gray area really and it depends how a law enforcer would interpret the law and how the owner would present himself. Most often there had been few problems with this, especially in airports and seaports. Never travel on MRT and the LRT nor go to a cemetery on a November 1 and 2 nor say “for self-defense only” in a checkpoint. 

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WARRIOR PILGRIMAGE BLOG, personified by this writer, is synonymous with the Outdoors, since Bushcraft and Survival is its niche. Safety and Security are its bedrock when it ventured into organizing outdoor events that involved people as in adventure/pilgrimage guideships and seminars; and explorations and expeditions. 

Through tutorship, experience, folk knowledge and good old common sense, this writer was able to collect useful information which he is currently documenting in a book titled, ETHICAL BUSHCRAFT. He shares some of this information and knowledge in his training sessions; in his social-media account; and in this blog.