Cali knife owners

Joined
Jun 19, 2009
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310
I don't really have any favorite EDCers as I dont really have one yet, but I like to carry my damascus Scallot. (BTW, if any of you know a good way to loosen the pivot screw, much thanks :thumbup:)

I NEVER see anyone with a nice pocket knife here in California. Obviously it's an unpopular state to carry knives, but do any of you Cali knife addicts carry something? Any other people you know?
 
Yeah, I carry an EDC here and I have only found ONE cop that'll tell me the local carry laws.
All the rest of 'em give me stink eye and avoid the question, and I look fairly respectable.
Most people I'm exposed to freak out when even a small pocket knife is around, though they seem fine with a large roll of chisels that are freakishly sharp. My sister will be cutting a ham with a 12" kitchen knife and absolutely freak out when I pull out a small Seb 21 to open a bag of croutons. I blame the media... sound about right?
Weird...
It's so freakin' PC here it's suffocating.
God, do I ever miss Colorado. How the hell did I ever get a trade on the waterfront?:confused:
This wasn't in the plan...
 
That's why I've changed from my 710 which is .02 in under the law, to around 2 or 2.5 in. I mean if I want to carry something for protection Ill carry my izula as a neck knife or perhaps something like my 710 with more grip and a wave. Always wanted a CQC7 wave...

Honestly, I dont think a knife will do much here anyway. I go to Oakland and other such places and Ill get shot before I can even think about throwing my knife randomly at someone, lol. Only reason I go there is for an awesome knife shop and a now closed airsoft shop, but otherwise I stay the hell away from large cities.

Pretty lame that they ban our practical knives because its supposed to reduce violence. Same with the guns laws, anybody can get a gun illegally here. I mean you can buy one on craigslist FFS.

/rant, my eyes are weary and hopefully I made some sense
 
what are the knife laws in California anyways? Last I checked there wasn't a state size restriction on concealed folders, but further restrictions did vary from city to city.

I routinely EDC a variety of Spydercos and Benchmades that range anywhere from 2" to 4". Never been asked about them by anyone, but don't carry for self-defense, only utilitarian purposes.
 
I am always amazed at people's ignorance about CA knife laws. At a gun show I saw a woman working at a large knife booth (selling good knives not cheap knock-offs) and she was telling someone about the classic "if the blade is shorter than your hand is wide, you are OK".

From what I see, knife guys carry good knives and non-knife guys carry cheaper, less reputable knives or none at all. I don't think it's any different in CA than anywhere else.

I carry knives form $30 to $150 depending on what I feel like carrying that day. I like to carry my Spyderco Ocelot much of the time. I'll pull that out to cut something and people get all weird until I show them the paw prints on the handle. They then go "Aww" and are miraculously not afraid anymore. It's just plain odd.

Edit to add - I just saw your post sesshin and mean no offense. You must have been typing while I was. If you are asking here you are way ahead of the game. There is no statewide length limit for folders and they can be visible or "hidden" as long as they are folders. Some locations have specific length limits though such as Oakland and Fremont (in my area). None of them have anything to do with the width of a hand.
 
California native checking in. I usually carry a large Sebenza, Benchmade 710, or Emerson CQC7. No blade length limit here.
 
i carry a spyderco military, al mar sere 2000, emerson cqc-13, and spyderco endura. all big knives. i come across a lot of people who only associate a knife with one thing = stabbing/killing someone. i even know of one incident at work were someone actually made a big deal because he felt threatened by spmoene else using their leatherman squirt:eek: but even still, there are plenty of people in california who enjoy hunting, fishing, knives/guns etc...

personally, i carry whatever i want, i dont really care if someone freaks out or feels threatened because i carry a pocket knife. i am actually waiting for someone to make a big deal about one of my knives so i can just laugh at them and tell them it must suck to feel threatened by another person like that :)
 
I carry either a Sog Flash II, or a Buck Vantage Pro (the Buck for the past 7-8 months) in combination with a Juice (S2 currently) daily. Its funny the reactions when I pull the Buck or the Sog out to use it. Sad that people have been conditioned that way. I'm fighting the battle one person at a time :-)
More in the last few years, but I've carried a pocket knife of some sort for many many years.
 
I carry a Customized Ti Military. People here are strange. My sister likes to pretend she cooks, even though everyone in my family knows she doesn't. Anyway, she uses plenty of cutlery in the kitchen, but freaks out a little bit when she sees my Spyderco Jester on my keychain. *Sigh*
 
I live in an extremely PC area in CA and I see people carrying what I assume to be blades frequently, they are allowed on my campus too. I know quite a few people who carry blades on campus. One of my buds used to carry a CS Spartan to class and no one ever gave him too much crap, we even showed are old professor our knives cause she was asking about them and she got a kick out of them. I often sharpen my pencils in class with my Lg. Sebenza and people don't give me too many problems about it and if they do, I explain it is legal and the college doesn't mind.
 
I carry my Waved Delica 4, Mini CS AK-47 Tri-ad, and a Kershaw Black Gulch. Sometimes I'll just carry one but only when I don't feel too adventurous that day :)
We do have pretty good knife laws compared to other states like New York. Read up on it, you'll appreciate it a lot more. (stay away from New Hampshire's..)

I'm still waiting for the day California allows the carry of concealed fixed blades.

edit- and a SOG flash 1 on the MOLLE of my messenger bag.
 
i just wanted to add something i found somewhat amusing, i work for a big internet company in the bay area, and they employ many people who come from a different culture which i will not name. anyway, these people who are from a different culture than ours really seem to view pocket knives negatively and they tend to look me over real good when they see that knife clipped to my pocket. i mean, their eyes go straight to it every time, so im assuming in their culture the people who carry pocket knives are thugs or criminals etc...
 
I explain it is legal and the college doesn't mind.

You really want to double check that (as in read the ordinances), I'm fairly certain campus carry is restricted to 2.5 inches blade length. Please don't get a felony for lack of proper research.

California state laws have no length limits on folders, I carry a CS AK47 and Millie on a regular basis. Local laws override state law, so in LA county you want to watch the length of your folding knives. Most of Orange County has no restrictions on carry, except Anahiem which put a 2.5in limit on all knives.

So check your county and city municipal codes (it's super easy online) and make sure you are aware of and adhereing to all local laws.

Also check out the Knife Laws forum, there's a real good thread on CA law.
 
I remember one of the days I took my final in class this semester. The test was done on scantrons and needed to be in pencil. My friends and I normally used pens, so we bought a pack of unsharpened pencils from the book store on campus. Well, none of the classrooms on my campus had a pencil sharpener so I took out my Jester and sharpened up a few pencils for my buds and I. A girl sitting a few rows to our right looked over and gave me a WTF look. I didn't notice until my friend pointed her out to me. I just looked at her, winked, and went back to prepping the pencils for our exam.
 
I EDC a crkt m16, mini grip, and now a spyderco sage.

I live in San Francisco, no one needs knives to cut their vegan tofu salads.

Knives are from a different generation, at least here in California. I guess so are steaks and automobiles. :(


-Freq
 
State knife laws are surprisingly lax, compared to other states. I frequently carry my G-10 Endura but i get many strange looks from friends and strangers. Its come to the point in which I don't wanna pull it out to use unless there's really no other way.
 
I live in LA and the laws is no fixed blades and all folders must have a blade under 3". Today I'm carrying a CRK Mnandi.

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Calif's knife laws really aren't that bad. It's the municipal (City) & possibly county laws that you have to watch out for.
 
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