So-called “zombie knives” will finally be made illegal from next month - eight years after they were first added to the government’s list of prohibited offensive weapons.
A month-long amnesty will take begin next week, during which owners will receive money for handing them in to the authorities.
HuffPost UK looks at what they are, how the amnesty will work and why it has taken so long to get here.
What Is A Zombie Knife?
A zombie-style knife or machete is officially described as a “bladed article with a plain cutting edge, a sharp pointed end and 3 a blade of over eight inches in length”.
The weapons must also have a serrated cutting edge, more than one hole in the blade, spikes and more than two sharp points in the blade.
It is understood that they get their name from a comment by a employee of the American firm who invented them in 2011, who joked about “the need for knives capable of killing a zombie when firearms aren’t available”.
Why Does The Government Want Them Banned?
Theresa May was still the home secretary when, back in 2016, she announced they would be banned.
“There can be no legitimate reason for anybody to need one of these,” she declared.
However, the chaos which enveloped Westminster in the wake of that year’s Brexit vote meant that the ban was never implemented.
Former policing minister Chris Philp was roasted by LBC’s Nick Ferrari last year when he launched a consultation into banning the knives.
He told him: “It was Theresa May in 2016, Amber Rudd in 2017, Sajid Javid in 2018 and Priti Patel in 2021.
“Now I’m speaking to you as crime and policing minister in 2023.
“We’ve heard these promises before - nothing has happened. Why on earth should my listeners believe a single word of this?”
New Labour policing minister Diana Johnson will finally implement the ban from September 24.
She said: “There is no legitimate need for a weapon of this kind to be in our homes or on our streets. That is why we will continue to make sure the tightest restrictions are in place to limit the availability of these lethal weapons.
“Implementing a ban on zombie-style knives is just the first step in our ambitious, dedicated plan to halve knife crime within a decade, and will closely be followed by making ninja swords illegal.”
How Will The Amnesty Work?
The amnesty begins at midnight on August 26 and end at 11.59pm on September 23.
The weapons must be handed in at designated police stations and the standard compensation for each one will be £10, however owners may receive more if they can prove the knife or machete is worth more than £10.
Once the amnesty period is over, anyone found to be in possession of a zombie knife or machete is liable to be prosecuted.