'I wouldn't carry a rounded kitchen knife' says Kent teenager
A Kent teenager's opening up about the mounting pressure young people are facing to carry pointed kitchen knives
Last updated 16th May 2025
A teenager from Kent has told us he never would feel significantly safer on our streets if all knives were rounded at the top.
All this week Greatest Hits Radio has been looking at if rounded knives could save lives and cut crime after Kent Police became the first force in the country to swap pointed kitchen knives for blades with a rounded edge.
The 18 year old - who we're not naming to protect his identity - has been surrounded by knives during his teenage years and believes rounded knives would make a difference.
Would less young people carry kitchen knives if they were rounded?
One of the reasons Kent police started the scheme was because of the rounded knives' design, believing young people wouldn't carry one because they don't look 'cool' or 'threatening'.
He said: "I was in Year 7 when i first started to see people carrying knives. They would almost flex it, like they were proud to have this cool, big knife and it was almost as if the bigger it was, the cooler it was, the better it was.
"It was also for protection because if you have problems with people who carry knives, your thought is 'if they are going to stab me, i'm going to carry a knife so they don't stab me or I can stab them'.
"I first thought about carrying knife when I was 13 or 14 years old, I was hanging around with the 'wrong' crowd.
"Their influence on me definitely impact my choices, and when I had some trouble with a couple of people, for my own safety, I 100% considered carrying.
"I just thought it would protect me, if i was jumped or attacked by them, they would see the knife and run away and if they had tried me, maybe I would have stabbed them."
Would young people feel safer on our streets if pointed kitchen knives were replaced with rounded blades?
Yesterday, we heard from a retired judge who is calling for stricter laws on the sale of pointed kitchen knives, believing an introduction of rounded blades could have a huge impact on our justice system.
This 18 year old supported the judge's call, he said: "I would feel significantly safer on our streets if there was some sort of legalisation to introduce rounded knives.
"Thought of grabbing the biggest kitchen knife from their parents draw would be avoided because it wouldn't been an option
"I just wouldn't want my children to go through what I have gone through, and see what I have seen, I wouldn't them to feel the fear I have felt and hide like I have had to at points."