always carry a sharp knife

[moilami]

Hi Jape
I to am a semi old fart (40+)

Nah, you're pretty young lass to my eye. Mature enough to be listened with interest.

and have always carried a knife, especially when I am on the bike. I will always carry a knife for exactly the same reason as you it is a tool that can help you out of a bad situation. As a woman that mostly rides alone and often at night in semi rural areas it is also a safety issue. The new laws are just plane wrong, I have on several occasions told this to police and they accept that for a woman in my situation it is quite acceptable, it is just wrong that it is illegal.

Ahh.... here we go again, gg law enforcement officers, everyone is under the same laws and, err, no wait..

Seriously, if you want a self defence tool get two proper self defence sprays. Practise with other one in different conditions (heavy winds, night) how to hit the target with it, and keep the other one with you for real action. Good ones are guaranteed to work and very easy to use. If (s)he can't see you, (s)he can't hurt you. Don't play with knifes. They are dangerous for you and for the attacker. The spray is good, keep it as your secret surprise, that is don't do threat with it. Just use it suddenly and use it quickly and take distance at once after used, spray some more, and observe what happens while keeping a good distance long enough for making (s)he unable rush and grab you, and if needed, short enough for you to spray some more. Stay cool and confident all the time. Don't hesitate to use it at once when (s)he tries to attack or approaches too close to you. Too close to you is closer than the maximum effective range of the spray in current wind. A proper spray is much better than a knife in self defence.