Vostock wrote:
hasn't someone in govt got one of their periodic hard-ons over knife-crime just at the minute?
More permanent than periodic it seems.
That combined with idiotic shock horror weezagonnadie editorials from the "news"papers has led to pressure on Amazon and ebay so there's no knife sales from them, there are a few slipping through though at top dollar prices.
Latest is a ban on "Zombie Killer" knives now we are completely stuffed when the Zombie Apocalypse occurs.
Or take a perfectly legal gardening tool like a machete - for weed clearance - drip red or green paint on it and scrawl on it in marker that it is indeed a Zombie Killer and it becomes illegal. Same cutting edge, same sharp and pointy bits and the painting on of a few things, illegal. IDIOTS.
The customs do pretty much as they are told and things do get past them, case of "Do I feel lucky" if you order anything that crosses our borders.
If you want a Hawkbill then go for it - camping or collecting I'm pretty sure that you can buy what you want in the UK at the moment but our online stores are suffering as well, if we get an EL-01 confiscated because they have a down on flippers that week then that's our loss if a trader gets an order of 24 Zero Tolerance's lifted out of an order from the USA then it hits them hard and they will, and do, stop selling knives with flippers.
steppy has a good point, why a hawkbill for camping, best answer I can think of is "Because I Want One" simple as that.
Those Moras and Hultafors are a very good if, boring, alternative though.