Brandishing

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Apr 15, 2020
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Check your local laws, but in the vast majority of American jurisdictions, the act of unsheathing a fixed blade, or opening a folding blade, in front of witnesses constitutes a criminal offense; even if you take no further action. "Menacing, threatening, or brandishing" are the terms to search for. Consider this a public service announcement.
 
Contrary to popular belief, statutes titled or covering "brandishing" as a distinct offense are uncommon. Most states cover this under the common law offense of assault, which means to place another in fear of immediate bodily harm. Assault is usually followed by a battery (offensive physical contact) but not always. For example pretending to throw a punch at someone's face where they really thought you were going to hit them, or throwing a knife at someone and missing, still count as assault. Case law however has ruled that the mere holding of a weapon is not in and of itself assault (or brandishing in the rare instances where it is a separate offense). There has to be something about the situation, whether it's actions or statements, indicating the intent to be physically threatening.
 
First a knife is a TOOL first and weapon only as a last result. If you are ever asked why you carry a particular knife by LE. Never say it's for self defense, because then you have just admitted it is weapon not a tool. Don't play with your knife in public (common problem with Flippers), only open it to use it, it's not a toy. Intent is everything. Police must be able to prove your intent.
 
First a knife is a TOOL first and weapon only as a last result. If you are ever asked why you carry a particular knife by LE. Never say it's for self defense, because then you have just admitted it is weapon not a tool. Don't play with your knife in public (common problem with Flippers), only open it to use it, it's not a toy. Intent is everything. Police must be able to prove your intent.

On that note, don't buy the Jack Hawk 9000 model with the double blood grooves, and cross-cut serrations for optimal eviceration; carry a normal knife. Karambit are NOT very good tools.
 
Police must be able to prove your intent.

To the court, for a conviction, yes. Not to detain you. Not to charge you, and run you through the legal system and ruin your day, week, month or year. They only need reasonable articulable suspicion for that. So your advice is certainly good - don't act in ways that could give anyone suspicion of criminal intent.

Karambit are NOT very good tools.

Karambits are not very versatile tools, but they are fantastic tools, within their scope of capability. Agricultural, carpet knife, box cutter, anything requiring aggressive tip slicing.
 
I said what I did about karambits because they are widely viewed as weapons. You can open boxes with a katana, but if you tell an officer that's why you're carrying one, they're not going to buy it. A small, simple knife, is what I was suggesting.
 
And it's a great suggestion.
 
Thanks =)

P. S. I know someone who was involved in a verbal altercation that did not escalate, he walked away. The other party, which instigated the altercation, knew that he carried a knife, called law enforcement, and lied to them claiming my acquaintance pulled a knife. The police detained him, but did not arrest him because the liar could not accurately describe the knife (it was very particular). Had the liar ever seen the knife before, he could have proceeded to describe it, and my acquaintance would have been charged with a felony.
 
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Now that is an interesting story we can learn a lesson from.

I know someone who was involved in a verbal altercation that did not escalate, he walked away. The other party, which instigated the altercation, knew that he carried a knife, called law enforcement, and lied to them claiming my acquaintance pulled a knife. The police detained him, but did not arrest him because the liar could not accurately describe the knife (it was very particular). Had the liar ever seen the knife before, he could have proceeded to describe it, and my acquaintance would have been charged with a felony.
 
Also, I just found out that nunchucks are illegal everywhere except Antarctica. I learned this AFTER getting a mega-sweet pair of indestructible titanium wall bangers.
 
Also, I just found out that nunchucks are illegal everywhere except Antarctica. I learned this AFTER getting a mega-sweet pair of indestructible titanium wall bangers.

Well, wait a minute - Texas is big, but it does not include Antarctica as a county.

As of 01 September 2019, it became legal to carry brass knuckles, knuckle purses, "hello kitty" style key rings (key rings with pointy parts) and clubs, of which in Texas, tomahawks, axes, hatchets and nunchuks are a subset.

https://versustexas.com/blog/2019-legislative-update/
 
I'm actually learning to use them, and I prefer the continuous uppercut motion. Nunchucks are fun, but I'm going to need to plaster the holes in the wall, or buy sheet rock in bulk.

It takes a lot of beer to learn nunchucks =/
 
The Kali drill "Heaven and Earth" works nicely with them, too. You'll learn quick how to stay out of your own way!
 
First a knife is a TOOL first and weapon only as a last result. If you are ever asked why you carry a particular knife by LE. Never say it's for self defense, because then you have just admitted it is weapon not a tool. Don't play with your knife in public (common problem with Flippers), only open it to use it, it's not a toy. Intent is everything. Police must be able to prove your intent.
The law over here is no showing. You have to have justifiable motivation. It would be best to run away. I would probably try to run away before using any weapon or tool. I rather be a live coward than a dead hero
 
You have to be smart about running away though. Sometimes it is worse to try and run away, like if you are being held at the point of something sharp at very close range. The time it takes you to turn and start accelerating could be all the time that's needed to gain a few new vent holes. But a situation like that would not likely be a "deploy a weapon" type situation but a "go hands on" type situation. If you can't control the distance, then deflect, dominate, distract, disarm, and disable. Then leave.
 
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