UK Might Ban Katanas; Chavs Shop For Claymores

I expect that all imitations will be grandfathered into legal posession as long as their owners are judicious about their keep. A person likely couldn't be faulted for displaying an imitation in his home but would be subject to scrutiny if he/she took the blade outside and waved it about in the public view.

I think it'd be more effective to ban the sale and purchase of imitation katanas, and not the object itself. If an owner can produce a receipt that predates the ban, then that person should be immune to posession charges. Menacing, on the other hand, is a prosecutible offense, regardless of the date of purchase.

I don't know how they expect to regulate internet sales short of going George Orwell on the peoples' credit card statements. And that won't catch Paypal transfers. As long as they're kept in the home, I don't think authorities will go on any manhunts. But if a katana is involved in a crime, then it's simply another charge that can be stacked upon the pile.

Jam it back in, in the dark.