Anyone ever had their blade length checked?

Sonnydaze said:
I wouldn't hesitate to buy a knife which is advertised (or commercially listed) at 3.54"...when 3.5" is the legal limit.
I have various knives that almost always fall somewhat short of their advertised blade-length...even brand new top flight CRK Sebenzas.
I measure in a straight line from the tip, down the center of the blade where it hits the scale, generally near the pivot point.
I've never seen a cop that carried a vernier caliper, and a regular tape measure would never be able to easily determine such a small difference.
If I were really concerned, one light sharpening of the blade will automatically pull a bit off of the tip, and thus the blade-length.
I just think that most cops have better things to be concerned about...
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That's what I would consider the most accurate measurement. And at that, I too have some that are a hair over the limit. That's what I was thinking of doing had I pulled the trigger. I would certainly hope that something of a pocket knife would be the least of their concerns, but it would suck to feel like you're banking on a cop who wouldn't necessarily care, had you been checked.
 
jc57 said:
I have never had mine checked. At one time the blade length limit in my state was 4 inches, but that law was repealed and there is no length restriction.

I never carried a knife that exceeded that limit while the law was in effect, and I still don't.

I used to be a cop, many years ago, back when the 4" limit was in place. I don't recall ever measuring anyone's knife. If we did need to, I believe the tool of preference would have been our clear plastic traffic accident diagram template. It had a ruler built into it. I am sure all of that is done on computers now but in my day, pen and paper was the technology available.
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Good to know. I've always respected the blade length limit we have here, but I guess I figured it was a bigger issue than it is. Not that it's a non issue, as it is the law, but probably not all that significant in an officer's day-to-day experiences. If you disagree, by all means let me know.
 
Yeah a cop or security guard saw my Sog clipped to my pocket at a SS office last year and said it wasn't allowed. Seems everyone is paranoid today. Guess that 3.5 inch for a folder is the rule in some states hence the gippy blade lengths on most folders. Bunch of nonsense.
 
BlueSpartan007 said:
The knife for sale was an Emerson Horseman (Mini CQC-8), which is measured at 3.54". Now obviously 3.54" is more than 3.5", and I came to accept that I had to pass on it. Although, as I'm sure some people don't follow the given laws, if it was that knife I had been carrying to the SS office, I'm assuming the officer probably wouldn't have checked it with the little difference in blade lengths.

And I know things may depend on what cop you run in to, or obviously if I had caused previous offenses (I haven't). If it was a more populated city, stricter laws, etc. And I have and will remain conscience when buying any knives.

So, pretty curious, but has anyone actually ever had their blade length checked/measured by any authority? If their is anyone with previous or current experience in authoritative work that just so happens to have read the situation with thoughts, It'd be much appreciated input.
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Few will offer such an experience...

Frankly I am amazed that a knife on sale will be quoted to the hundreth of an inch... Also, usually knives are always under specs, not over them. Randalls are almost always 1/10" short at least...

A brochure quoting the specs could be a counter-argument: The brochure length should prevail in any reasonable decision.

Frankly, turning down a knife purchase because it might be over length by fractions in the hundreths of an inch seems a bit overboard...

It is true that metal detection is increasingly taking place in more and more places, but the constant problem with false positives should cause this practice to "decay" over time: It is all pointless anyway... Greyhound buses have taken to using hand-held metal detectors since a guy got decapited in a bus in Canada... The only solution I guess is to have a low cost folder you can afford to lose...

Gaston
 
mauser9 said:
Yeah a cop or security guard saw my Sog clipped to my pocket at a SS office last year and said it wasn't allowed. Seems everyone is paranoid today. Guess that 3.5 inch for a folder is the rule in some states hence the gippy blade lengths on most folders. Bunch of nonsense.
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Agreed. I guess I've just gotten used to it. I appreciate a smaller model, or "mini" series done by a lot of companies, but I wish I didn't have to be so. There's a lot to be had at or under 3.5", but it'd be nice to expand my options further. I couldn't imagine a 2.5" limit..
 
BlueSpartan007 said:
Good to know. I've always respected the blade length limit we have here, but I guess I figured it was a bigger issue than it is. Not that it's a non issue, as it is the law, but probably not all that significant in an officer's day-to-day experiences. If you disagree, by all means let me know.
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I was a cop in the late 70s - early 90s. Things weren't so crazy as they are now. I honestly don't know how it is handled today in those jurisdictions where there are still restrictions on length.

I think I remember once in a 15-year career where I charged someone for carrying a knife, and that was a DUI arrest where the guy had an 8" butcher's knife concealed down a pants leg tied by a cord to a belt loop. Not much need to measure it. Most people who carried larger folding knives had Buck 110s on their belts, and those were under the 4" blade limit.
 
Gaston444 said:
Few will offer such an experience...

Frankly I am amazed that a knife on sale will be quoted to the hundreth of an inch... Also, usually knives are always under specs, not over them. Randalls are almost always 1/10" short at least...

A brochure quoting the specs could be a counter-argument: The brochure length should prevail in any reasonable decision.

Frankly, turning down a knife purchase because it might be over length by fractions in the hundreths of an inch seems a bit overboard...

It is true that metal detection is increasingly taking place in more and more places, but the constant problem with false positives should cause this practice to "decay" over time: It is all pointless anyway... Greyhound buses have taken to using hand-held metal detectors since a guy got decapited in a bus in Canada... The only solution I guess is to have a low cost folder you can afford to lose...

Gaston
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Yeah, I really don't see the use for such small increments. It should just be advertised at 3.5". With that, I probably wouldn't have run into any problems just getting the knife. Another cause for my hesitation, Emerson's site advertises 3.54" blade, what seems to me would be the determining factor. Although no one would choose to lose any of their knives, that's probably the most preventative measure.
 
Never had a blade measured. But I do make sure they are not past the 3" limit that we have here. My big fear is someone measures the steel and not the cutting edge which is the part specified in the wording of the NRS.

However ......"Yeah, you probably shouldn't have that here," I would of said no problem and I you will not see it on any of my future visits and walked inside. He didn't say no, he only made a suggestion.
 
Never been asked. Only government buildings I am in are airports and as y'all know.....no knives when flying
 
jc57 said:
I was a cop in the late 70s - early 90s. Things weren't so crazy as they are now. I honestly don't know how it is handled today in those jurisdictions where there are still restrictions on length.

I think I remember once in a 15-year career where I charged someone for carrying a knife, and that was a DUI arrest where the guy had an 8" butcher's knife concealed down a pants leg tied by a cord to a belt loop. Not much need to measure it. Most people who carried larger folding knives had Buck 110s on their belts, and those were under the 4" blade limit.
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I couldn't imagine being in law enforcement today. Pretty crazy incident, but that is a more than reasonable charge to be dealt. Incidents like that are the reason why the measly .04" past limit seems a little crazy when I think about it now, a regret I've concluded it to be. I see why this is absurd to those of us here on the forum.
 
Megawatt308 said:
Never had a blade measured. But I do make sure they are not past the 3" limit that we have here. My big fear is someone measures the steel and not the cutting edge which is the part specified in the wording of the NRS.

However ......"Yeah, you probably shouldn't have that here," I would of said no problem and I you will not see it on any of my future visits and walked inside. He didn't say no, he only made a suggestion.
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Is that in your area or with all state/county law? I believe mine just states "blade". I thought they just measured from the tip to highest point on the handle. I mean in a scenario involving a "weapon" in a federal building, I was willing to act on his suggestion. There was no real reason for me to have it in the building anyway, and I surely didn't want to make it appear I needed to have for any rhyme or reason.
 
I've had airport screeners check my knife by the palm of the hand method (before 9/11). Once they saw the blade was not longer than their palm was wide, they just waved me through.
 
I have measured knives relative to their published blade length and seldom can I get their measurement. My measurements tend to be different every time I make the measurement. I can't imagine LEO going to such great precise lengths to measure something like a knife when they can arrest you for intent to carry a deadly weapon in the right circumstance. Maybe in NYC... I suspect Mick Dundee might run into a problem in NYC.
 
The max legal length for public carry here in Texas is 5.5". BY CASE LAW, it has been determined that blade length is determined by a straight line measurement from tip to guard, or where a guard would "logically" be, if a guard were present.

The LEOs I have spoken with about the matter all say that unless you are sporting an OBVIOUSLY illegal knife (based on length), such as BK9, 1219C2, W49, Ontario, Spec5, etc, they don' t bother checking, ULESS YOU HAVE ALREADY DONE SOMETHING to garner their interest/suspicions. Then what they use is a dollar bill. A dollar bill is over 5.5" long, so if the blade is less than that length, they don't worry about it.

On court hiuses, poli e stations, etc that don't allow knives, I remove my folders from y pockets and my fixed blades from their sheaths. Occassionally, I have gotten hassled about the sheaths by dim bulbs. I just point at their signs and say "It says no knives, not no sheaths." More than one deputy/rent-a-cop has been chastised by their supervisors after I insisted on speaking with him/her.
 
FordFan said:
Never been asked. Only government buildings I am in are airports and as y'all know.....no knives when flying
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Yeah, I've always preferred carry-on rather than checking, so this is kind of annoying. I don't travel all that much, but I usually just don't take a blade with me. I have bought a knife and checked my bag on the flight home, though.

lambertiana said:
I've had airport screeners check my knife by the palm of the hand method (before 9/11). Once they saw the blade was not longer than their palm was wide, they just waved me through.
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I wish that this kind of lenience would continue today (obviously as far as laws). Much different time now. However, I would prefer a more accurate system of measurements, but this means that the law would probably serve more effectively.
 
The only knife prior to 9/11 that got a reaction by airport screeners was a a switch blade I had in my brief case (carry on). It was a hard surfaced brief case and the knife (in the box) had slipped behind the fabric near the hinge. I didn't even know it was there until they kept asking me "what is that?". I didn't know. I checked the brief case as checked baggage and was on my way. I usually had a knife in my pocket when going through the x-ray machine (placed in their tub).
 
If I'm going somewhere that has knife restrictions, unless it's a different city or state, I don't go into buildings with a knife if they restrict my normal carried one


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BlueSpartan007 said:
Can't wait for that day to come, haha. Would be nice to know someone of that caliber appreciates what you've got.
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It's mostly a small town deal. I wouldn't call the gent in question a friend, but a friendly acquaintance who knows I'm a bit of an aficionado. Generally when we see each other we chat a bit and he asks what I'm carrying that day. Nice guy, with a good grasp of what being a small town cop is all about. :)
 
I've never had my blade length checked, not even by my wife :eek:

I generally do not frequent places where I might be checked for such things.
 
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