pipeherman, yes, it is a shame about the knife laws in the UK. They don't seem to have prevented much knife crime. Interestingly, when I have friends and family visiting from the UK, the first thing they want to do is shoot guns. The second thing they want to do is go knife shopping. All classes of Leatherman, as well as old school Case lockers seem particularly popular.
Relative to self-defense, however, it should be noted that a knife in untrained hands is a poor choice of weapon. Like the old expression, "Don't bring a knife to a gun fight.". I'm not trained in knife fighting myself. For me it's just a tool. As I said earlier before the thread was side-tracked, rarely does a say go by on the farm when I don't reach for my Leatherman at least a few times.