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cufnij said:
I just wanted to know if it includes serrations or unsharpened steel on the blade section.

EDIT: Sorry, forgot to mention that I'm in the CA Bay Area.
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Blade :
Noun ; 1. the flat cutting edge of a knife, saw, or other tool or weapon.

2. the flat, wide section of an implement or device such as an oar or a propeller.

By that definition I assume any part of the steel that's flat or thin enough to cut through material. But any cop is going to look at your knife and know its a knife, serrations, unsharpened or not.
 
Disclaimer: I am not an attorney and do not know the measurement methodology of all states and sub-jurisdictions.

There are several ways that the PTB measure blade length. Some are more popular than others. Common Sense, which isn't common, would dictate that the measurement method SHOULD be consistent throughout and entire state, but who knows? We're talking laws and politicians here.

In Texas, the blade is measured from the front of the guard (or where a guard would be if the knife had a guard) in a straight line to the tip. (As set by case law.)

Many jurisdictions use the same measurement method as Texas.

Some measure along the length of the cutting blade from guard to tip. This results in a legal blade being shorter (guard to tip) than a blade measured by the Texas method.

Some measure only the cutting edge.

Unfortunately, you have to check each state for the state law and then check individual counties and/or cities codes for any additional limits.
 
I am in sf area as well, south bay, and I understand blade length here to be measured from the handle, including any unsharpened steel. Some areas, I think Oakland and sf have 3 inch laws, others no limit on folders, but no concealed fixed blades. Just what I have learned from asking police officers and reading about my area.
 
Measuring from tip to handle / bolster / guard is ascertaining the "stabbing depth" which is a primary concern of the law. This is probably the most common definition, and is also the easiest to determine. If you are clearly within this measurement for the legal blade length, it is unlikely someone will notice the difference. Of course, if your knife has a long upswept edge, it may get a closer look.

There have been so many variations in the law in local jurisdictions, that the greatest service Doug Ritter and KnifeRights.org has performed is getting many state laws pre-emptive -- not allowing local "gotcha" laws.
 
As many people here know, the American Knife and Tool Institute (www.akti.org) has some posted information and definitions tat may be useful. These are not legal standards, but are at least posted by a national organization.
 
Thank you everybody!

Its good to know about the "stabbing depth" approach.
Since I prefer long knifes for their longer reach and not for deeper stabbing, I guess I will just make one with a very long handle and at the tip have a legal size blade with as long as an edge I can squeeze in there. Will look like some funny nano spear but be the best I can get while staying legal :)

I like my spydy native but if the choil which is not part of the handle will count as blade, it feels like a waste of "blade" real estate when looking at legally allowed sizes in some areas.

What about these full tang knives without handles where the owner didn't wrap paracord around? Could the whole handle be counted as blade if its not significantly thicker than the actual blade?
 
If it is not defined by statute or local regulation, etc., what constitutes a blade or blade length is left to the subjective opinions of a prosecutor and judge. [This is not legal advice, blah blah.]
 
It's always been my understanding that it's first up to the officer and then up to the DA, judge, etc. I hadn't heard of the 'stabbing depth' approach before, but it makes sense. It's probably the best way to avoid any trouble, but I doubt an officer would give you a hard time unless he had suspicions beyond the length of the knife. I tend to go by the advertised blade length, which is usually just the length of the cutting edge measured in a straight line parallel to the handle, but I've never actually had a blade measured in the small handful of times I told an officer or ranger I was carrying a knife.
 
I know of no state which defines the "blade" as "cutting edge" or "sharpened edge" in their statutes. You can be pretty sure it's gonna get measured from the edge of the grip, handle, haft, whatever you'd like to call it depending on the knife.

And yes, it's only logical that the intent of a length limitation is primarily of stabbing depth, which of course is not dependent only on the sharpened portion.

Anyway, you certainly can't win an argument about it while being arrested for it, even if you should later prevail in court with "your" definition.

- OS
 
Are there very many state statutes that clearly define blade length? I would be curious to see how they are worded, and how common it is to specify this. As for getting arrested, I doubt most officers would know the local knife laws that well, but I also expect that if an officer is measuring your blade, he already wants to cite you for it, and will probably measure from the hilt or even measure the arc length.

I just measured my sub-3" folders, and sure enough they are less than 3" from hilt to the tip. I guess I was wrong about advertised blade length, in which case I'm inclined to believe the stabbing depth approach is correct, since the selling point of these knives is a legal sub-3" blade. I have mixed feelings about it, seeing as it conflicts with the Merriam-Webster definition of "blade", but I do see why law enforcement would be concerned with stabbing depth...
 
OhShoot said:
I know of no state which defines the "blade" as "cutting edge" or "sharpened edge" in their statutes. You can be pretty sure it's gonna get measured from the edge of the grip, handle, haft, whatever you'd like to call it depending on the knife.

And yes, it's only logical that the intent of a length limitation is primarily of stabbing depth, which of course is not dependent only on the sharpened portion.

Anyway, you certainly can't win an argument about it while being arrested for it, even if you should later prevail in court with "your" definition.

- OS
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I knew I had seen a law referencing the measurement of a knife along the cutting edge. It just wasn't for the US. Took me a while to find it again. :D

It is the UK CJA 1988 (Criminal Justice Act of 1988).

"It is an offence for any person, without lawful authority or good reason, to have with him in a public place, any article which has a blade or is sharply pointed except for a folding pocket-knife which has a cutting edge to its blade not exceeding 3 inches. [CJA 1988 section 139(1)]"
 
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