DMU expert demonstrates knife safety research on national TV

A safer knife expert from De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) has demonstrated her research on national TV, prompting programme makers to adopt the alternative designs.

Dr Leisa Nichols Drew, associate professor in Forensic Biology at DMU, appeared on BBC Morning Live, alongside Leanne Lucas, the yoga teacher who survived the 2024 attack in Southport, to talk about the safety of round-tipped knives.

Leisa has carried out some of the most thorough studies into the safety of round-tipped knives, finding them overwhelmingly safer than pointed alternatives.

The results of her studies have been widely adopted by knife safety campaigners, including Leanne, who runs the Let’s Be Blunt charity, aiming to encourage the use of safer blades.

WATCH THE EPISODE HERE

Leisa, together with Leanne, appeared on BBC Morning Live earlier this month to make the case for normalising round-tipped kitchen knives and encouraging their widespread adoption over traditional pointed blades.

Following the programme, the Morning Live production team decided to replace the pointed knives used in its studio kitchen with round-tipped alternatives...This includes DMU, which, in January, became the country’s first safer knife campus, replacing all blades across its Leicester site with round-tipped alternatives.

Leisa said: "When you can show people the science that a simple change in blade shape dramatically reduces the chance of penetrating clothing and causing injury, you have a chance to inspire real change.

“The fact that a production team at a major national broadcaster has taken this step, will hopefully inspire others to do the same.”

Leisa has carried out several studies into the safety of rounded-end knives. In the first, she compared 300 repeated stabbing motions on everyday clothing including cotton t-shirts and denim jeans, finding that round-ended knives did not penetrate the fabrics at all, while sharp-pointed knives did.

A second study, examining damage to forensic simulant materials beneath fabric, supports those findings and demonstrates a clear link between blade tip shape and the severity of resulting injury.

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Data from the Office for National Statistics shows that kitchen knives are the most common type of weapon used in homicides in the UK.

This year, Leisa has also been appointed to MILLWEC - the Medical Implications of Less Lethal Weapons Expert Committee - an independent panel that provides expert advice to government on injury risk and public safety.

She said: "My work has consistently shown that simple design changes, such as adopting round-tipped knives, can have a meaningful impact on reducing harm. Getting that message out through platforms like BBC Morning Live helps us reach people who might never have considered that the knives in their own kitchen drawer could be replaced with something safer."