A Bad Guy with a Knife

[JD Mandrell]

Knife carry laws, are no different than gun carry laws...null and void under the Constitution.

 

[kniferbro]

Thanks to @Critter and Kniferights they don't affect my decisions at all. Until 2013(?) Texas had some silly knife laws, though still not as restrictive as some. Since then almost all laws regarding knives and their carry have been repealed thanks to Kniferights's efforts.

The only remaining restriction prohibits the carry of blades 5.5" or longer at schools, govt buildings, etc. Hardly an issue for the sane.

Yep. An "illegal knife" doesn't exist in Texas anymore. Only the aforementioned "location restricted knives".

 

[HappyDaddy]

Knife carry laws, are no different than gun carry laws...null and void under the Constitution.

Not going to get into a political/legal discussion on this but, since you’re giving legal advice - you’re wrong.

That said, I live in a state that permits carry (concealed or open) of any knife I want to carry, be it fixed, auto, butterfly, 3” or 30”.

 

[Reitwagen]

From time to time, I see someone carrying a large belt knife here, since it's perfectly legal. There is still a law regarding intent to use a knife as a weapon, but I'm not familiar with the case law in that regard.

Knife carry laws, are no different than gun carry laws...null and void under the Constitution.

Null and void? Tell that to the judge and see what happens.

 

[craytab]

You American have the world best criminal justice system, but your knife laws are ridiculous. Here in Finland we can use knives freely, if we have a good reason to use knives and our knives do not disturb another people. But if you are looking for trouble and have a knife, hammer, baton, or another dangerous tool with you, police will arrest you.

Where I live here in the USA, knife law is not ridiculous at all. Besides daggers and autos, I can carry whatever I want, open or concealed, and for whatever reason I want. Compared to my knife laws it seems to me yours are ridiculous.

Knife carry laws, are no different than gun carry laws...null and void under the Constitution.

Wrong. You're confusing "should be" and reality.

 

[knivesonly]

I’m fortunate to live in North Dakota, legal to own a carry any knife and we have constitutional carry for handguns so no permit required to that carry as well. I wouldn’t want to live in a place that would restrict my rights.

 

[scott.livesey]

How do knife laws affect your decision to carry a knife and which one to carry?

Here in North Carolina, knife laws change from town to town, so what is legal where I live is illegal 5 minutes down the road. More and more places have no weapons(any knife) rules and metal detectors. I carry knives in my car tool boxes and tackle box, I no longer carry them full time just to avoid any hassle.
scott

 

[Shotgun]

Why on earth did he only have 6 rounds?

I know right?

Yes. It’s lunacy that while in the same state, crossing a city line changes one’s legality when carrying a pocket knife.

When I go up into Washington I limit my knife to a delica as this is how I read some of the laws up there.


Here in Oregon it’s pretty open so I carry anything I want except autos and “gravity knives.” You can carry a machete or a katana but not a Bali. I think these are vestigial laws from a time when one handed openers didn’t exist. I’d take a one handed opener over a Bali every day of the week if “deanimating tangos” was something I was into.

 

[The_Iron_Joe]

Another Canadian.

Our knife laws are pretty cut and dry, pun not intended. We don't have any law that says we can't carry over a certain size, no blade shapes that are illegal, etc... Of course there are a few "prohibited weapons" which we can't carry or own at all, among which are switchblades and balisongs. We are also not allowed to carry knives for self defense (or any other item for SD purposes), but carrying a dagger, for instance, is legal.

 

[Runoratsu]

I just decided for the first knife I bought myself to get a Boker Urban Trapper, which can be illegal to carry here in Germany (to definitely be legal, a knife can only either be locking or one-hand operatable). But the law is so vague that it can be legal as well ("if you have a good reason to carry it, it's allowed"), it simply depends on the LEO who finds it to decide which it is. So I'll risk taking it to the office with me for now so I finally have a sharp knife availble for my lunch (that noone else will just take, use and ruin).

… I wish the plethora of pretty French knives had better steels available at reasonable prices than the usual 12C27 or 14C28N, and that more could be disassembled, too.

 

[Gravy]

I live in Texas so I carry what I want.

 

[afishhunter]

I live in Idaho.
No knife or blade length restrictions here.
If I wanted to carry a sword either concealed (not sure how I'd conceal a sword ...) or in the open, it would be legal.

I just carry whatever knife or knives I have that I want.

 

[AF]

Anything goes in NH. When I visit Boston or especially NYC I change what I carry.

 

[Basp2005]

Rural Michigan. It's more likely to see a guy with a knife clipped to his pocket than without. Other than that the law deals with intent. Since my intentions are never nefarious, I don't worry about it.

 

[skyhorse]

We do have a Political Arena if one wants to discuss Boston's immigration policy.

I guess, come to think of it, we have a Knife Laws subforum too.

We have actual Mods as well.

 

[Irch]

No idea of the complexity of knife laws in my state, VA. I usually carry whatever I want, mainly because I’m an old dude, and on nobody’s radar for anything nefarious. I’ve carried a knife since the fourth grade when my dad gave me a Schrade Bear Paw for Christmas. The only time I’ve ran afoul is when a school resource officer asked to check out my knife I was using to strip the jacket off cable. He checked it out, then advised me that it was cool but autos are not legal for carry in our state. I put it away and that was the end of that. It was a ProTech TR3 auto. I now carry a Para3 at work because I’d rather be safe than unemployed. I still consider that resource officer a good friend.

 

[SW-EDC]

I live in So.Cal. at the moment. Amazingly, state law is pretty mellow with regards to folders.
I don’t have any autos (prohibited state-wide unless under 2”), even though there’s a few I’d like to pick up.

I don’t go to Los Angeles often, but I used their local under 3” restriction to buy a few knives—hahaha.

Concealment of any fixed blade is prohibited state-wide, so I never carry my Guardian 3, which is a bummer because it’s a sweet knife!

When I go to my kid’s school, I leave my knife in the car. Occasionally I forget and subsequently tuck it into my pocket so the clip isn’t showing.

I use my knife in public fairly often. Sometimes when I pull it out a few eyebrows are raised until folks see I’m using it for the task at hand (to actually cut something!). Then they could care less and go back to whatever they’re doing. I imagine if I walked around brandishing it needlessly there might be a different reaction. I’m also a fairly well groomed nonthreatening looking guy.

Good comments in this thread so far, BTW.
I feel sorry for you guys with really restrictive ordinances.

Yup. Me too for now. I carry all my folders (non-auto) regardless of blade length because I can.
We hope to be in Arizona soon where I can carry what the hell I want..finally!!

 

[K.O.D.]

In the suburbs, the restrictions are limited. Generally, I carry a folder between 3" - 3.8" (3.25" tends to be my favorite). Specifically, I carry these lengths because they are good for cutting tasks that pop up throughout the day. When I go into the city, I change to what's legally permissible there (2.5" and under).

I'm in IL as well. I have to go to Northwestern Memorial every month or so, and carry an SAK in my medicine bag always, a super tinker. I don't carry anything else when I'm downtown, because not only do I have to worry about Chicago's 2.5" blade length limit, but being 1 block from Michigan Ave, the sheeple tend to notice pocket clips and stuff.

Being disabled, Caney Joe works as a far better self defense tool.

 

[Robinson1]

Rural Southeast Kentucky pretty much equals carry what you want. Still see alot of Buck and Schrade belt pouches and fixed blades. Every old farmer seems to have a Buck 110 and a S&W revolver on his belt.

 

[mt666tm]

Knife laws don't affect my decision of what I carry.

I Mexican Carry my folder in most cases as I prefer this with slacks, dress pants, shorts, etc, which renders the knife invisible for all intents and purposes. You can't even see the pocket clip behind my belt, and I can always feel the knife so I'll never lose it.

Realistically I would never be subject to a random frisk by a Police officer, so I've got nothing to worry about.

The only thing that would affect my choice of carry is a metal detector.