Victorinox is the manufacturer of Recommended Kit item, The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Pocket Tool.
Together with the DofE, Victorinox have developed this pocket tool with a specially rounded, blunt end on the knife and a bespoke selection of tools. This pocket tool replaces a penknife on the Expedition Kit List.
THE PRODUCT
The DofE Pocket Tool features:
- Rounded-end blade
- Scissors
- Can opener with cap lifter
- Wire cutter
- Wire stripper and screwdriver end
- Phillips screwdriver
- Multipurpose hook
- Key ring
- Tweezers
- Toothpick
This item is featured on the DofE Expedition Kit List – click here to look at the full list of items.
It is the legal responsibility of the retailer to ensure that no knife is sold to a person under the age of 18.
Available now from all good outdoor equipment retailers.
Why place a Pocket Tool on the DofE expedition kit list?
We have a responsibility to ensure that young people remain safe at all times and are equipped to deal confidently with all circumstances. The need for this tool is most apparent in the Expedition section, and it is because of this that the DofE has been recommending a penknife or similar as an essential part of expedition kit for decades.
What will young people need it for?
- The main use of the pocket tool is to enable young people to undertake basic running repairs to their equipment and clothing in the field. The blade, scissors and tweezers may also be used in first aid or when dealing with an emergency.
- Examples:
- If boot laces become knotted it may be necessary to cut them in order to get boots off
- To cut away vegetation that has become entangled in hair or clothing
- Cut lengths of heavy duty tape to repair a damaged tent or rucksack or to make a new hole for a guy line
- The multi-purpose hook can help to remove small stones stuck in the bottom of boots, pull things like twine and makes an excellent tent-peg extractor
- To remove a splinter, thorn or sheep tick
- Cut a dressing or to cut away clothing to enable a dressing to be applied
How can we ensure that it will be used safely?
Anyone involved in training young people for their DofE expedition must include session(s) on the use of their equipment. They are responsible for ensuring young people know why they have a pocket tool and how to use it safely.
What does the law say about carrying knives?
The rise in knife crime, especially amongst young people, is an issue that concerns us all. It is an offence to carry, in a public place without justification and authority, any article which has a blade or is sharply pointed except for a folding pocket knife with a cutting edge to its blade of less than 3” in length. However, even a folding pocket knife with a cutting edge to its blade of less than 3” (76mm) may still be considered an offensive weapon if carried or used for that purpose.
NB: The blade on The DofE Pocket Tool by Victorinox is less than 3 inches and is NOT sharply pointed.
What is and isn’t legal
- It is illegal for any shop to sell a knife of any kind (including cutlery and kitchen knives) to anyone under the age of 18.
- It is generally an offence to carry a knife in public without good reason or lawful authority( for example, a good reason is a chef on the way to work carrying their own knives).
- The maximum penalty for an adult carrying a knife is four years in prison and a fine of £5,000.
- Knives where the blade folds into the handle, like a Swiss Army Knife, aren't illegal as long as the blade is shorter than three inches (7.62 cms). The blade on The DofE Pocket Tool by Victorinox is less than 3 inches.