Ca: fixed concealed legal ?

This is an interesting thread...when I first started reading, I had the reaction of....come on man, don't you know....and then dude starts citing relevant court cases that he, & then others, Googled. Interesting reading. I'm actually surprised that CA law isn't even more restrictive - I routinely walk around with fixed blade knives with 3" - 5" blades Open carried, & as many of us do, I get the occasional strange look, though I live in a rural Foothills town, so most people up here don't even bat an eyelash....or they'll say "woo, cool knife bro, can I check it out?". I for one, as a knife collector, only want to open carry, not concealed, so I can show them off.

I'm also surprised that CA law, & maybe it does, doesn't care about the slashing bit, only the stabbing. I know this is obtuse, but if I were in a self defense life & death situation, my finishing move would more likely be a slash & not a stab - or have I just watched too many movies?? At any rate - thanks for the fun read guys, & again, I'm just glad I can open carry every fixed blade knife in my collection around town & not end up down-town, finding myself in the middle of an interpersonal relationship with a large man named Bobby-Joe.
 
VanDammet said:
This is an interesting thread...when I first started reading, I had the reaction of....come on man, don't you know....and then dude starts citing relevant court cases that he, & then others, Googled. Interesting reading. I'm actually surprised that CA law isn't even more restrictive - I routinely walk around with fixed blade knives with 3" - 5" blades Open carried, & as many of us do, I get the occasional strange look, though I live in a rural Foothills town, so most people up here don't even bat an eyelash....or they'll say "woo, cool knife bro, can I check it out?". I for one, as a knife collector, only want to open carry, not concealed, so I can show them off.

I'm also surprised that CA law, & maybe it does, doesn't care about the slashing bit, only the stabbing. I know this is obtuse, but if I were in a self defense life & death situation, my finishing move would more likely be a slash & not a stab - or have I just watched too many movies?? At any rate - thanks for the fun read guys, & again, I'm just glad I can open carry every fixed blade knife in my collection around town & not end up down-town, finding myself in the middle of an interpersonal relationship with a large man named Bobby-Joe.
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I also find it interesting that California's legal definition of a "dirk" or "dagger" only refers to a "stabbing weapon" with no mention of cutting or slashing. In fact, I could find no mention of "cutting" or "slashing" weapons anywhere in the California penal code.

Of course that doesn't mean that people can't be arrested for cutting or slashing someone. If such actions are committed, and if they are not considered justified by the District Attorney, then the individual doing the cutting and slashing would be in serious trouble.

I've lived in California (San Diego) for 46 years now, and although people often think the worst of California (for good reason in some cases) we actually have pretty good knife laws. Not only are they rather permissive, but they tend to be pretty clear in their language, and with several case laws to provide more clarification. Of course some local jurisdictions in this state do have their own more restrictive knife laws.

For the last decade I've been openly carrying a fixed-blade here in San Diego. I spend all of my time in the urban areas of SD, and my knife is 10+" long. I carry my knife in and around all sorts of places, wherever it's legal. I've never experienced a single negative reaction from the public, and despite the fact that several cops have seen me carrying my knife (some close enough to touch it), not one of them has ever said a word about it much less hassled me. :)
 
Posted this in another thread but thought I'd post this here as well since the topic is almost the same.

I just picked up a sog snarl blade length under 3" and was wondering of its legality here in LA county. It seems as though it is perfectly legal to open carry a fixed blade 3" or under but NOT legal to carry a fixed blade of ANY size concealed. Can anyone help me out and let me know if I am misunderstanding it or not? Maybe someone in law enforcement? Any help def appreciated. I would love to carry it concealed as a neck knife.
 
shogun730 said:
Posted this in another thread but thought I'd post this here as well since the topic is almost the same.

I just picked up a sog snarl blade length under 3" and was wondering of its legality here in LA county. It seems as though it is perfectly legal to open carry a fixed blade 3" or under but NOT legal to carry a fixed blade of ANY size concealed. Can anyone help me out and let me know if I am misunderstanding it or not? Maybe someone in law enforcement? Any help def appreciated. I would love to carry it concealed as a neck knife.
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I'm very familiar with Los Angeles knife laws, both county and city.

You are correct, it is perfectly legal for you to OPENLY carry a fixed-blade if the blade is under 3" long. And it is ILLEGAL to carry concealed ANY size of fixed-blade, both in LA, and all throughout the state of California.

Also, there are specific exceptions in both LA County and city law that say the 3" blade length restriction does not apply to a knife if you are carrying it for "legitimate work or recreational purposes".

What that means is- you can openly carry any size knife as long as you are carrying it for work, or if for example- you are going fishing, camping, etc. But if you are going to carry a knife with a blade 3" or longer, and if you are going to say that you are carrying it for work, or fishing , etc, you had better be prepared to back it up. For example- if it's your day off from work, or if you are visiting LA from out of town on vacation, or if you work in an office, you might have a hard time convincing a cop/judge/prosecutor/jury that you were carrying the knife "for work". And if you claim that you are carrying the knife because you are going fishing, camping etc, you better have fishing/camping gear in your car, and you had better be prepared to say where you are going fishing/camping/etc.
 
Thanks so much for the input! Would you recommend then only carrying the one small fixed on my belt as opposed to carrying it AND my folder? I literally never go anywhere but to and from work. Occasionally I run errands with my family on weekend and what not but I am never in bad neighborhoods or in or around compromising people or situations.
 
My vote would be "BOTH" because

A - you can
B - you might need a folder for SOME tasks wher the FB is not as suited
C - you might loose one while out and about but then you'd still have one

I am never without multiple knives.
 
I always carry two as well. My only concern would be explaining why I need multiple if I get someone in law enforcement that's having a bad day or something. My only other concern would be the concealment portion. If my shirt falls over it or if im wearing a sweater it automatically becomes illegal... That's a big worry for me. The last thing I need its to be at a framers market or something dumb like that with my daughter and some officer having a bad day makes it an issue cause I put a sweater on or something.
 
There is no law anywhere in the state of California that limits how many knives one can carry. Since it's legal to carry as many knives as you want, you don't need to worry about explaining to the cops why you are carrying more than one. If a cop should ask why you are carrying more than one, you can give him any answer you want. There is no wrong answer, nor is there any answer that they can arrest you for.

As far as what a cop might do if they are having a bad day, or if they are an a-hole, etc, there's nothing you can do about that. As long as you are obeying the law, and as long as you remain respectful to the officer (even if they don't deserve respect) then you should be fine.

As far as the illegality of concealed knives, it's perfectly legal all throughout the state of California to carry any size of folder concealed (in Los Angeles a visible pocket clip might be regarded as "visible"). If you are carrying a fixed-blade, make sure it doesn't get accidentally concealed.

In an earlier post I mentioned that to obtain a sustainable conviction for carrying a concealed fixed-blade a prosecutor has to prove to a jury that the person carrying the knife was INTENTIONALLY trying to conceal the knife from view, and that the accidental covering of the knife by clothing does not count. However, a person could still be arrested, and be prosecuted, if a cop witness their clothing accidentally covering their knife. My advice is- if you are going to carry a fixed-blade, make every effort to prevent it from ever becoming concealed by your clothing.

As for how many knives you should carry, that's entirely up to you. I regularly carry a 10+" fixed-blade and a folder down here in San Diego. And there have been times when I have carried more knives than that.

Another piece of advice- If you openly carry a fixed-blade, even one with a blade under 3", be prepared to give the police a reason why you are carrying it. Although you are not legally required to give a reason why you are carrying a legal knife, it's a simple question to answer, and refusing to answer might cause you some hassle with the cops. And don't tell them you are carrying for self-defense. Although it's not illegal to carry a knife for self-defense in this state, or to say that one is carrying a knife for self-defense, it's never a good idea to tell the cops that you are carrying a knife as a weapon.

Although no cop has ever asked me why I was/am carrying a knife (and many have seen me carrying my 10+" fixed-blade), if one ever did, I would simply answer- "To cut stuff". And if they questioned me further and inquired about what kinda stuff I was cutting, I'd tell them "Rope, twine, rubber hose, plastic packaging, etc, etc". And if they expressed their doubt that I would need such a large knife for such tasks, well, they can think whatever they want. If I want to carry a big fixed-blade just to cut apples there is nothing illegal about it.

Personally, I don't worry about the cops. My knives are all legal, I carry them in a legal manner, I'm not engaging in any criminal-type activity, I'm not acting in any kind of suspicious manner, and I know both the law and my rights. No cop has ever questioned me, much less hassled me about my knives, and I doubt that any ever will.
 
And just in case you don't know, it is illegal to carry any fixed-blade onto school property k-12, either openly or concealed. It is also illegal to carry any locking folding knife onto school property k-12. The only knives that are legal to carry onto school property under California state law are non-locking folders with blades no longer than 2.5" (California penal code 626.10).
 
Man, really great info. Thank you for all of this. It has helped me a lot. I don't foresee ever being hassled I just like to always play the devils advocate. lol.
 
shogun730 said:
I always carry two as well. My only concern would be explaining why I need multiple if I get someone in law enforcement that's having a bad day or something. My only other concern would be the concealment portion. If my shirt falls over it or if im wearing a sweater it automatically becomes illegal... That's a big worry for me. The last thing I need its to be at a framers market or something dumb like that with my daughter and some officer having a bad day makes it an issue cause I put a sweater on or something.
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Whats the legal age for carrying fixed blades in CA?
 
Never understood why the carry of ANY controversial blade in Kali is desirable when there are so many legal choices. Pursuit
of trouble is waste of time.
 
Spinz said:
whats the age limit on carrying fixed blades in CA?
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There are no age restrictions on the carrying of knives, either fixed-blade or folders, under California state law.

But remember that it is illegal throughout the state of California to possess any fixed-blade on any school property k-12.
 
CARRERA50 said:
Never understood why the carry of ANY controversial blade in Kali is desirable when there are so many legal choices. Pursuit
of trouble is waste of time.
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The open-carry of fixed-blades IS a legal choice in California. I've been doing it for over a decade with no trouble whatsoever.
 
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