A while back there was discussion of an arrest in Matagorda County in which the defendant was charged with carrying a prohibited weapon, a switchblade, with the knife in question being an assisted opener. Well, the defendant plea-bargained for a lighter sentence, rather than fight the charge, so this will not be a precedent-setting case either way. Had the defendant fought and won his case, or lost and appealed, there would have been a chance to set a legal precedent. I am just the messenger here, having nothing whatsoever to do with the arrest or prosecution of this case. I do not personally consider an assisted-opener to be a switchblade, but the irony is that a fixed blade is legal to carry in Texas, concealed or not, as long as it is not a "dagger or dirk" and not over 5.5 inches in blade length.
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Assisted opener case in Texas plea bargained.
- Thread starter Rex G
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It's not just assited openers. Benchmade axis knives are just as problematic (they can be classified as gravity knives because they open via centripetal acceleration... unless you tighten the pivot screw to an obscene amount). As well, butterfly knives are arguably gravity knives. I usually carry one or the other. Any LEOs who want to arrest me can look forward to being grilled on the stand and being made to look like an idiot, because I wouldn't plea bargain. I can even flick open my spyderco police. The one knife I can't quite manage to flick is my gerber ez-out, unless I cheat and hold onto the blade. But I never carry that anymore.
I would recommend against carrying butterfly knives in Texas. If one does, I would recommend having a very good lawyer, and deep pockets to pay that lawyer. I have also heard about axis locks possibly being considered gravity knives, but have not heard of any arrests in this part of Texas. The redeeming feature of Texas knife laws is that fixed blades are legal for carry, if the blade itself is of legal length and is single-edged.
Theres a case where a knife dealer at a local gun/knife show was arrested for selling switchblades. LEO approached and purchased an assisted-opener from her table and then they turned around and arrested her. No love lost because she was pricey and has an attitude. It happened at the Pasadena Convention Center for you SE Texas folk.
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Rex G said:
Rex, I assume that any single edged folder that is not a switch blade or a gravity knife or a balisong with a blade up to 5.5 inches is as legal as a 5.5 inch fixed blade?
I regularly carry my Camillus CUDA Maxx here in the Houston area.
Interesting to note that Jim Bowie would be subject to arrest today here in Texas where he gave his life for freedom.
Was Santa Ana attempting to arrest Bowie for possesion of knife over 5.5 inches?
Recommendation noted.
I would love to see a prosecutor try to explain why a ban on butterfly knives and not on fixed-blade knives is constitutional. In Texas, such laws must be cast with a view to prevent crime. As I understand it, butterfly knives only became popular because fixed-blade knives were banned and modern folders were not available.
If rubber hoses were used in a string of murders, would a ban on rubber hoses be Constitutional in TX? I doubt it, and I'm not sure there have ever been a notable series of murders in the U.S. where the murderer(s) used butterfly knives.
quijanos, do you know the name of the arrestee or the gunshow or any of the officers involved? I can't find anything about it with google.
I would love to see a prosecutor try to explain why a ban on butterfly knives and not on fixed-blade knives is constitutional. In Texas, such laws must be cast with a view to prevent crime. As I understand it, butterfly knives only became popular because fixed-blade knives were banned and modern folders were not available.
If rubber hoses were used in a string of murders, would a ban on rubber hoses be Constitutional in TX? I doubt it, and I'm not sure there have ever been a notable series of murders in the U.S. where the murderer(s) used butterfly knives.
quijanos, do you know the name of the arrestee or the gunshow or any of the officers involved? I can't find anything about it with google.
Switchblades were outlawed after a series of Grade Z movies in the 1950s that portrayed them as the weapon of choice for the then-feared *gasp* "juvenile delinquents". The knives usually seen in the films were the cheap and nasty Italian stiletto types of switchblades as used in the first of these films, "Blackboard Jungle". That film also shows how worthless they were as knives. The hero, Glenn Ford as an inner-city high school teacher in New York City, takes one away from one of the punks in his class, stabs it into a desk, and backhands the knife, snapping the blade off at the pivot. That was all too common for anyone who had one of them. As a kid, I broke at least two of them at that pivot point.
In the 1970s, there was a great fad for "Kung Fu" and karate movies, many of which showed balisongs being flipped around and manipulated by such people as Bruce Lee. They became quite popular with the punks on the streets, although my suspicion is that punks cut themselves with the knives more often than they cut anyone else. The result was the same as with the switchblades. Public outcry resulted in their being banned as "the weapon that would end society as we knew it." Of course, these items were always very much more popular in the movies and on tv than they ever were on the streets as the real punks were rather more inclined toward straight razors or pocket knives such as the Texas Toothpick, which were a lot cheaper. I might add that the Texas Toothpick was also the pocketknife of choice among young men throughout much of the Southern United States where it was involved in more than a few fights, including the one memorialized in the Kingston Trio song, "Everglades". But it never made the movies.
In the 1970s, there was a great fad for "Kung Fu" and karate movies, many of which showed balisongs being flipped around and manipulated by such people as Bruce Lee. They became quite popular with the punks on the streets, although my suspicion is that punks cut themselves with the knives more often than they cut anyone else. The result was the same as with the switchblades. Public outcry resulted in their being banned as "the weapon that would end society as we knew it." Of course, these items were always very much more popular in the movies and on tv than they ever were on the streets as the real punks were rather more inclined toward straight razors or pocket knives such as the Texas Toothpick, which were a lot cheaper. I might add that the Texas Toothpick was also the pocketknife of choice among young men throughout much of the Southern United States where it was involved in more than a few fights, including the one memorialized in the Kingston Trio song, "Everglades". But it never made the movies.
Just to clarify the issue: fixed or folder, concealed or not, makes no difference for knives in Texas, legally speaking. Case law has established that two sharpened edges make a knife a dagger, so doubled-edged knives are not a good idea for carry. This INCLUDES blades with sharpened swedges, as this case involved just such a knife. Knives that open by gravity or centrifugal force are illegal, as are switchblades. Assisted openers, as we have seen, are problematic, until there is a clear definition of switchblade written into the law. Pointy stabbing implements may be considered a dagger, regardless of the number of edges. The blade length limit, as stated in the law, is 5.5 inches, and illegal length is that which EXCEEDS 5.5 inches. If the Cuda Maxx does not exceed 5.5 inches, it should be OK. Beware of the MYTH among Texas lawmen that concealed fixed blades are illegal. It is not a bad idea to carry a copy of the CURRENT Penal Code section regarding weapons. When I retire my badge, I will. Regarding the arrest of Mrs. Stanton, I believe the arrest was based on an automatic knife, not an assisted opener. Her case was still pending, I think, when she passed away, before I had the chance to speak to her and learn anything about the incident firsthand. I will try to check with the DA's office to see which model of knife was involved.
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Thanks for the update -- I'm a defense attorney in Ft. Worth, Texas, and have been intererested in the case.
I think that Texas knife laws could be clearer to the average individual, who may not immediatley know what constitutes a "dagger" or a "bowie".
A friend of mine, also an attorney, who is in a motorcycle club, was at an event wearing a Case fixed-blade with a 5" blade. A deputy came up and told him to put the knife in his saddlebags, as it was illegal due to being too long. My friend tried to explain the penal code to him, but the deputy didn't want to listen. He's going to start carrying a copy of the code with him from now on.
I think that Texas knife laws could be clearer to the average individual, who may not immediatley know what constitutes a "dagger" or a "bowie".
A friend of mine, also an attorney, who is in a motorcycle club, was at an event wearing a Case fixed-blade with a 5" blade. A deputy came up and told him to put the knife in his saddlebags, as it was illegal due to being too long. My friend tried to explain the penal code to him, but the deputy didn't want to listen. He's going to start carrying a copy of the code with him from now on.
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I was in Bank One 635 & Midway and was told by LEO to not wear my knife where it could be seen. He said if it caused anyone "alarm" that it would constitute an arresst.?? Can this be true?? 
A butterfly knife can be opened by either gravity or centrifugal force, so it is a prohibited weapon in Texas. Look in the portion of the Penal Code concerning switchblades. As for a weapon causing alarm, it is true that carrying a weapon "in a manner calculated to cause alarm" is illegal, but IMHO simply wearing a legal knife openly does not fall into that category. If I see a legally carried weapon causing a panic, I will certainly recommend that the person conceal it, but my interpretation of "a manner calculated to cause alarm" would be actually holding the unsheathed fixed blade or opened folder in the hand in a menacing manner. BTW, just off the top of my head, without actually looking at the books, carrying a weapon in a manner calculated to cause alarm would be a disorderly conduct or deadly conduct charge, not a weapons charge, per se. (I am on vacation, and my Penal Code book is not available to me right now.)
I can certainly see that carrying a knife into a bank might alarm some people. I would not arrest someone for merely wearing a knife into a bank, no matter how it upset the safetyninnies, but if the bank management insisted, I would have to dutifully issue a trespass warning, which I would then be legally obligated to enforce if the knife carrier did not depart the premises. ( A property owner, or other person in control of the premises, can dictate who is allowed onto the premises, and can exclude those he wishes.) If I am out of uniform, in an urban or suburban area, I usually conceal my FB knives, except for my "cute" (but deadly) Clinch Pick, and sometimes my Spyderco Ronin, which when worn inverted, appears to the uninitiated not to be a knife. Another factor to consider is one's appearance. This is a free country, BUT it is a simple fact that men who are clean-cut and conservatively dressed, and women who look like soccer moms, cause the least alarm and are the least likely to be hassled by police. It also helps to be a member of the dominant racial/ethnic group in the neighborhood. Right or wrong, such is reality.
A lot of knives can be opened with centrifugal force but are not illegal. I can open a spyderco police using only centrifugal force. Are LEOs ever going to arrest me for carrying one? I think not.
Butterfly knives are not gravity or centrifugal openers because they don't lock that way and aren't safe for use without hand manipulations far exceeding those required to open a folder. Regardless, the law is pathetic and unconstitutional due to the uneven restrictions on fixed blades.
I have not handled an axis lock, but I have talked to a prosecutor in Texas who seemed to think an axis lock might not be a good idea to carry in places such as Texas that prohibit knives which open by gravity or centrifugal force. On the other hand, I am not personally aware of any prosecutions involving axis locks.