Editing Utility knife (section)

== Use as weapon ==

{{see also|Airport security repercussions due to the September 11 attacks}}

Most utility knives are not well suited to use as offensive weapons, with the exception of some outdoor-type utility knives employing longer blades.  However, even small blade type utility knives may sometimes find use as slashing weapons, particularly when used [[crime of opportunity|opportunistically]] due to their [[crime pattern theory|ubiquity]]. The [[9/11 Commission]] report stated passengers in cell phone calls reported knives or "box-cutters" were used as weapons (also Mace or a bomb) in hijacking airplanes in the [[September 11 attacks|September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks]] against the United States, though the exact design of the knives used is unknown.<ref>{{cite web
 | access-date  = 2016-09-19
 | title        = National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States
 | url          = http://9-11commission.gov/report
 | website      = 9-11commission.gov
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
 | archive-date = 2022-10-09
 | archive-url  = https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/govinfo.library.unt.edu/911/report/911Report.pdf
 | title        = The 9/11 Commission report
 | url          = http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/911/report/911Report.pdf
 | url-status   = live
}}</ref> Two of the hijackers were known to have purchased [[Leatherman]] knives, which feature a {{convert|4|in|cm|adj=on}} [[slip joint|slip-joint blade]], which were not prohibited on U.S. flights at the time. Those knives were not found in the possessions the two hijackers left behind.<ref>{{cite web
 | access-date  = 30 May 2016
 | date         = January 27, 2004
 | first        = Mike M.
 | last         = Ahlers
 | title        = 9/11 panel: Hijackers may have had utility knives
 | url          = http://cnn.com/2004/US/01/27
 | work         = [[CNN]]
}}</ref> Similar cutters, including [[paper cutters]], have also been known to be used as a lethal weapon.<ref>{{cite news
 | access-date  = 1 December 2015
 | first1       = Elena
 | last1        = Chong
 | newspaper    = Straits Times
 | title        = Death in Yishun flat: Woman remanded for psychiatric assessment
 | url          = http://straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/death-in-yishun-flat-woman-remanded-for-psychiatric-assessment
}}</ref>

Small work-type utility knives have also been used to commit robbery and other crimes. In June 2004, a Japanese student [[Sasebo slashing|was slashed to death]] with a segmented-type utility knife.

In the United Kingdom, the law was changed (effective 1 October 2007)<ref>{{cite web
 | access-date  = 7 February 2019
 | quote        = Word in s. 141A(1) substituted (E.W.) (1.10.2007) by Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 (c. 38), ss. 43(2), 66(2); S.I. 2007/2180, art. 3(j)
 | title        = Criminal Justice Act 1988 (1988 c. 33) Part XI, Articles with blades or..., Section 141A
 | url          = http://legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/33/section/141A#commentary-c19075121
 | website      = legislation.gov.uk
}}</ref> to raise the age limit for purchasing knives, including utility knives, from 16 to 18, and to make it illegal to carry a utility knife in public without a good reason.<ref>{{cite web
 | url          = https://www.gov.uk/find-out-if-i-can-buy-or-carry-a-knife
 | title        = Selling, buying and carrying knives
 | website      = gov.uk
}}</ref>