Best Site Giving Current Knife Laws by State?

R

RedLynx

Joined
Aug 5, 2011
Messages
11,445
Hi guys,

Used to have a pretty good site bookmarked for state by state knife laws, but awhile back it got erased, and may be out of date now anyway.

Does anyone know the best site that keeps current laws by state, for easy lookup when traveling to other states, etc?

Side note: making a brief stop in New York next month, just a couple of days, was thinking of taking my Buck 110 as it is classic, a two-hand opener and fairly non-threatening in my opinion. However most people would probably consider it very large. I don't really have any plans to use it, but I wanted to take it. Do you NYC members think it would be okay or would people freak out too much, even just seeing the belt pouch? I really have no idea and don't mean to be presumptuous, but you never can tell, unfortunately.
 
The best option is to look up the individual knife laws by the state of interest. This can be done by searching the state.gov pages for each state. Wikipedia and other knife related sites might have some generalized summaries, but for the actual laws as written you should check the official pages.
 
RevDevil said:
The best option is to look up the individual knife laws by the state of interest. This can be done by searching the state.gov pages for each state. Wikipedia and other knife related sites might have some generalized summaries, but for the actual laws as written you should check the official pages.
Click to expand...

Thanks Rev, some knifeknut years back had a good list compiled based precisely on those various .gov sites, but doesn't seem to be much like that around anymore. Oh well.
 
Maybe you will like Benard Levines wbesite. He even hosts plain .txt documents so there are no frills just info.
 
No problem buddy. The problem is that the way some of the statutes are written are vague. A lot depends on the interpretation of that law by the LEO as much as the way it is written and intended. As far as a trip to NY goes, the law will vary by county I would imagine. It is definitely a project to get clear information. Give the Knife Rights site a look and see what is happening in regards to this in general. You might have a good chance to find a clear path to specifics. :)
 
Also remember to check the municipality laws, it's not that uncommon for cities have more restrictive laws than the state, especially larger cities. For example while NV has relatively loose gun regulations but I was surprised when a buddy who lives in Vegas mentioned that the city requires all it's city residents to register all handguns with metro and are given cards they have to keep with the weapons at all times.
 
Thanks everyone for the info, links and opinions so far. I'll be checking all of it out later tonight... a shame to hear that even with relatively few or no knife laws it can still be a problem.
 
You should also look into "full faith and credit".

Not many people know about it, and it can be sticky when dealing with LEOs, but it does exist, and it does work.

It basically says something like: when traveling through a different state (other than the one you reside in) full faith and credit shall be given to your own state's laws and regulations. In other words, if you are traveling through a different state, your own state's laws apply to you.

I have only had to use this once. I was taking my mother to visit her sister. We were living in Texas, and her sister lived in Iowa. We were in my ex-girlfriend's car. It was an 80's model Monte Carlo with DARK window tint. We got pulled over in Iowa by a state trooper (IIRC, it's been a while). He was going to write me a ticket for the tint, and have me remove it on the spot! I brought up full faith and credit (had just learned about it in government class). He went back to his car for a few minutes.... When he came back, he gave me my license and insurance back and told me to have a good trip.
 
I've found that the state laws generally are not the problem. For example, here in PA, the only STATE knife law on the books is no auto's/switchblades. That's it, no length restrictions or anything like that. HOWEVER, within Philadelphia city limits if you're caught with ANY knife, could be a little Case Peanut, it's mandatory jail time if you can't prove you're actively using it for work. Which is ridiculous seeing as I have to double check I don't have a knife on me whenever I'm in Philly yet the loaded, chambered, .45 XDs in my waistband is perfectly legal there (with a LTCF of course).

SO, make sure you don't only look up state laws but the municipal laws for where you'll be staying at least. It's literally impossible to know knife laws for every municipality you travel through. I've never had an issue though and a cop definitely saw my KA-BAR in my glove box one time when he asked if I had weapons in the vehicle, I told him a .38 and a knife in the glove box and he took out the .38 for the duration of the stop then gave it back without issue. Didn't say a word about the KA-BAR. This was in Chester County though not in Philly though I suspect that may have gone differently.
 
RedLynx said:
Hi guys,

Used to have a pretty good site bookmarked for state by state knife laws, but awhile back it got erased, and may be out of date now anyway.

Does anyone know the best site that keeps current laws by state, for easy lookup when traveling to other states, etc?

Side note: making a brief stop in New York next month, just a couple of days, was thinking of taking my Buck 110 as it is classic, a two-hand opener and fairly non-threatening in my opinion. However most people would probably consider it very large. I don't really have any plans to use it, but I wanted to take it. Do you NYC members think it would be okay or would people freak out too much, even just seeing the belt pouch? I really have no idea and don't mean to be presumptuous, but you never can tell, unfortunately.
Click to expand...
Ordinary people might not freak out, but my understanding is that it is illegal to openly carry a knife in NYC. And from what I hear, NYC cops don't mess around, and they are everywhere. Don't expect them to be cool and just let you slide because you don't look or act like a criminal.

From what I read, NYC knife laws, and their enforcement, are rather draconian. My advise is that you definitely know the law before you carry any knife there, and that you obey those laws to the letter. And when in doubt about what is or is not legal, err on the side of staying out of jail. From what I've been told, NYC jails really suck (more than most).
 
Ever notice the knife retailers who won't ship to the five boroughs of New York City?

I would never carry a knife of value in Manhattan. I believe Killgar to be correct. I have a long-time friend there and we talk about such things a lot. They can be draconian in Manhattan. Too easy for a cop to pick you out for something, find the knife and keep it for himself...or worse cause you a major legal headache.

If you decide to carry there, take a throwaway. Unfortunately the Bill of Rights doesn't exist anymore in some American cities.
 
killgar said:
Ordinary people might not freak out, but my understanding is that it is illegal to openly carry a knife in NYC. And from what I hear, NYC cops don't mess around, and they are everywhere. Don't expect them to be cool and just let you slide because you don't look or act like a criminal.

From what I read, NYC knife laws, and their enforcement, are rather draconian. ...
Click to expand...

NYC knife laws: no mercy. Must be totally concealed. If they see a pouch or a lanyard or if the knife is printing, you're toast. Never mind what's technically legal -- do not carry a fixed blade or a folder with a lock. Under 4" blade.

NYC law didn't change from when I lived there, the Manhattan DA changed the interpretation. "Gravity knife" now means a knife that can be opened by centrifugal force and locks.

Carry a small SAK or traditional. Deep in your pocket.
 
Esav has it right but please READ the post here on NYC knife laws...NYC is listed more than any other place, and when I respond I post links to the exact laws...check and you will see....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top