California Stoopidity -- knife suggestion

bulgron

bulgron

Joined
May 19, 2005
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My EDC knife around town is a small Chris Reeve Sebenza. For those who don't know, this has a locking blade that is just shy of 3" in length.

Recently I was looking over California's knife laws and while the Sebenza is legal almost everywhere in the state of California, it is NOT legal on K-12 campuses because it locks open. Since I have kids in elementary school, this means that I'm committing a misdemeanor every time I pick them up from school while carrying my sebenza.

Because, you know, a perfectly legal knife can instantly become an evil killing machine the minute you step on school grounds. Way to go CA state legislature. :mad:

Knowing your state's knife laws is just another urban survival skill, I suppose.

I suspect that a cop would have to be a real jerk for busting a dad for picking up his kids while carrying a locking folder, but nevertheless this is CA and CA is loaded with nothing but jerks. All it takes is for one nervous ninny to see the knife and complain to the cops. So why risk it?

My first reaction upon learning this was to tell my wife that I want to move to a free state. Again. And, once again, she said 'no'. So on to plan B.

I need a non-locking knife to wear whenever I have to be on the school grounds. If I'm just picking the kids up from school, I can park on the street and leave the sebbie in the car. But somedays I have to be there for extended periods of time (the walk-a-thon in the fall, etc.). So I guess I'd better pick up a non-locking folding knife to take with me on those rare occasions when my sebbie becomes a legal liability.

Which means I have to buy another knife. Oh darn. :D

My first thought is some kind of a swiss army knife. The Wenger Evo 18 in black scales has caught my eye, as it seems like a decent substitute for when I don't want to carry around my LM Charge (which is also illegal at school due to IT'S locking blades). Anyone have any experience with the Wenger Evos?

Also, I hate to carry knives rattling around in the bottom of my pocket (one of the things I love about the sebbie is the pocket clip) so I'll want a sheath for the thing. It might as well look good. Anyone have any good recommendations on leather sheath makers?

But beyond a Swiss Army Knife style of knife, I'm wondering if anyone out there has a recommendations on non-locking folders for casual use. I'm not completely sold on a SAK, so if you know of something cool and well-put together, I'm all ears.

Thanks.
 
You might ask for suggestions in the "Traditional Knives and Fixed Blades Forum".

Buck makes a good conventional folder for actual use. Their 30x series (301, 303, 309, etc.) is still US-made.

Queen makes a good folder and many of their models have D2 blades, but the out-of-the-box sharpness is variable with the Queens.
 
here where we live in CA... the vast majority of the folks carry a knife of some sorts....

CA. does have some pretty lame knife laws....:thumbdn:
 
My suggestion would be for which ever of the Victorinox Alox series that strikes your fancy. I have a lanyard with a small clip on mine that I clip to a belt loop that keeps it from rattling around in my pocket, for a lot of things I use my knife for I don't even unclip it. The lanyard also makes it very easy to retrieve my knife, I grab the lanyard and pull the knife out of my pocket instead of reaching in my pocket for it. Chris
 
I just picked up a Victorinox Farmer after hearing all the good things about it here, it is indeed a very nice SAK. I would also consider a Spyderco UK Pen Knife, discontinued but still available.
 
I would also consider a Spyderco UK Pen Knife, discontinued but still available.
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good call IUKE12. That is exactly what I was thinking before I even finished the second paragraph of the OP
 
I would just take the knife out of my pocket and put it in my glove compartment while I was picking my son up. I seriously doubt the odds of your car being inspected to that degree could ever happen.
 
a vic farmer is a good sturdy and cheap knife.....a large stockman folder is currently my personal favorite, both fit inside a mini mag light sheath that I clipped the belt loop off of...I punched a hole in the top and atatched some braided paracord whih hangs out of my pocket...so now I have a sheeple friendly funtionally usable slippy protected in a sheath in my pocket which is available by pulling a string.
 
psy-ops said:
I would just take the knife out of my pocket and put it in my glove compartment while I was picking my son up. I seriously doubt the odds of your car being inspected to that degree could ever happen.
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+1 for this...it seems kind of a non issue.
 
I will have to double check, but I don't recall locking folders to be illegal on K-12 grounds, but anything over 2.5" is illegal. So, whatever you get, make sure, the longest blade is less than 2.5". If you are right and you can't have a locking folder, then check out CASE they make some nice slippies. The clip blade on an amber bone small texas jack is less than 2.5".

ETA: you were right, it can not be a locking folder AND it has to be under 2.5" Here is the quote from 626.10 (a) ", knife having a blade longer than 21/2 inches, folding knife with a blade that locks into place,"
 
sdt11670 said:
Choose your lawmakers carefully.
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Moving to another state is sometimes the only way to get amongst those who, like us, might choose our lawmakers carefully. California has very liberal, panicky, Government-is-your-parent laws for a reason...... beacause irrational people (voters) outnumber rational people (voters).
 
I think you will find California to be one of the better states for knives overall. Better than lots of foreign countries as well!

I can carry a 4" folder (my personal preference anyway) most everywhere I routinely go, except of course a K-12 school....so I have the same problem as you! I just leave my knife behind in the car (usually an Emerson Super Karambit), and I never park on school property, which is no big deal.

Actually, I purchased an Emerson La Griffe for carry on campus (and one for my gf who works on campus). It is under 2" and is not a folder, so it is perfectly legal! But I forgot one big thing...fixed blades have to be carried unconcealed. So, I could walk around campus with a La Griffe around my neck, but I think it would attract some unwanted attention. I am thinking about hanging something along with it however (my work ID badge), so it doesn't stand out all by itself....hard to decide!

http://www.emersonknives.com/Tact_index.html

I went to a high school football game a while back. The game was held on a university campus, and a 4" folder is legal there. I made the decision to carry an Emerson CQC-10 that night (looks more utilitarian than a Karambit!), and maybe get hassled but still I'm not breaking any laws. I did see a couple deputies eyeing the clip on my pocket...but nobody said a thing. (People think I look like a cop anyway, so maybe they thought I was a fellow LEO???)
 
To answer your question about the Evo 18, I got one for Christmas and I love it. I have the model with red scales and black rubber inserts for added grip, but all of the tools are the same. I like that it has four tool layers, a saw and scissors and is still lighter than some of my three layer SAKs.
 
IUKE12 said:
I would also consider a Spyderco UK Pen Knife, discontinued but still available.
Click to expand...

Only the black scaled version has been discontinued. There are orange and foliage green scaled versions in the '08 catalog.

Bruceter
 
SAK Explorer, the one with magnifying glass and philips head.
Fallkniven U1
Leatherman Kick (about the same as the old PST).
All these do not lock so they should be PC enough.

If you want to go illegal then the suggestions go like this:
SAK Rucksack or something similar.
Fallkniven U2. Like the U1 but locking blade.
LM Fuse. The step up from the Kick.
 
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