Kitchen knives suppliers could become “collateral damage” in the fight against knives crime, said Alastair Fisher, director of Taylors Eye Witness when speaking on BBC Radio 4’s ‘You and Yours’ programme on Friday (December 14).
The knives expert expressed his concerns about the government’s proposed ban on the delivery of online knives sales to residential addresses. If changes in the law (resulting from The Offensive Weapons Bill) are to go ahead, consumers may then have to collect online knives purchases from a retailer or depot, showing age identification.
Alastair spoke about the “seismic shift in the way that our goods are sold.” He elaborated: “Five years ago only a small percentage of our business was via online traders. That has grown massively and in five years’ time, it’s going to be a huge percentage of our business.”
While recognising the severity of rising knife crimes and expressing sadness at the misuse of knives, Alastair argued that the proposed new law would not tackle the problem effectively. This is because there are “between five and 25 knives in every home,” meaning some 400 million knives are already in domestic circulation. Envisaging the impact on knives sales, Alastair stated: “It’s bound to be a disincentive for people to invest in new and better kitchen knives.”
The interview took place in Taylors Eye Witness’ showroom and its new factory in Sheffield prior to a meeting between knives manufacturers and government ministers next month. Alastair pointed out that Sheffield was also home to a number of small businesses making knives that sell online.
Top: Alastair Fisher (pictured on the right at an event at bricks and mortar and online stockist Borough Kitchen) with Kiyoshi Hayamizu from Kai Japan, one of the brands distributed by Taylors Eye Witness.
