I've seen a few online retailers who won't ship certain knives to California, despite the fact that such knives are completely legal here.
The simple fact is- The people who own online knife businesses can be just as ignorant about the law as anyone else. There is no shortage of inaccurate legal information on the internet erroneously describing what is and is not legal in this state. And when those websites that provide such inaccurate information appear legitimate, many people tend to believe what they read and don't bother to look up the actual penal codes.
And that leads me to another simple fact- Many people are lazy and want fast easy answers. When they see a website that someone created that purports to provide a concise breakdown of the knife laws of all 50 states, they use that site as a one-stop reference for state laws rather than taking the time to research actual state laws from their official online sources.
I've seen websites that specifically say that "dirks" and "daggers" are illegal in California, and that could not be further from the truth.
Here is a factual breakdown of California's laws regarding "dirks" and "daggers"-
Under California law, ANY fixed-blade capable of being used as a "stabbing weapon" is considered to be a "dirk" or "dagger" (CA penal code 16470).
The only crimes mentioned in the California penal code that involve "dirks" or "daggers" are the statutes that say it is illegal to carry them concealed (CA penal code 21310), or to carry them onto school property k-12 (CA penal code 626.10), or possessing such items in a correctional institution (CA panal code 4502).
Contrary to what many people erroneously believe, there is absolutely nothing illegal about buying, owning, selling, possessing in ones vehicle, or OPENLY carrying double-edged knives in the state of California. And it is not illegal to ship such knives out of state, or ship them into this state.
The fact is, there is no mention whatsoever of "double-edged knives", or "knives sharpened on both sides", or any other such language describing what people typically regard as a "dagger" anywhere in the California penal code.
Also, unlike some states, there is nothing in the California penal code that says knives designed as, or intended to be used as weapons are illegal. There are some types of knives that are illegal here (like knuckle knives, sword canes, lipstick knives, etc) but the knives that are illegal here are specifically listed in the penal code (CA penal code 16590). And then there is CA penal code 21510 which refers to switchblades and gravity knives (which includes butterfly knives).
This is all part of what makes California's knife laws so great- they are both clear and specific in their descriptions of what is illegal.
I say, buy, own, and if you want, openly carry your double-edged knives in California because it is perfectly legal here.
I own several double-edged knives. Many of them I bought in local knife stores.
And here's a link to California's official government website where all of California's state laws can be found-
http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes.xhtml
