Canada?

[Brad "the butcher"]

I use the neck carry when either I know I'm going to be using it a lot, or if I'm wearing lots of bulky clothing and I know it's going to be hard to get to in pocket.

I'm not "advertising" the knife as much as I am carrying it for my own convenience. My best SD weapon is the six minute mile I run. Knives are tools, I get that.

I'm probably going to go with a small (2") necker and the military in pocket. Maybe the para if we go into town.

for no clip pocket carry on a folder with jeans: put a 2 or 3in piece of paracord on the folder leave it in pocket and tuck the knotted end into the little change pocket above the big one. Really easy to grab and haul the knife out of pocket quickly without fumbling over clothes.

 

[Josh K]

for no clip pocket carry on a folder with jeans: put a 2 or 3in piece of paracord on the folder leave it in pocket and tuck the knotted end into the little change pocket above the big one. Really easy to grab and haul the knife out of pocket quickly without fumbling over clothes.

But if I'm wearing layers and a coat with snow pants on.... it gets a little hard to get there. So I either neck my Landi PSK or Spyderco Military in a kydex sheath. :thumbup:

 

[fp125duncan]

So, If I understand correctly, although legal to buy in Canada, "dagger-like" knives such as the Cold Steel Ti-lite, and the Gerber Combat folder would probably be seen as "weapons" by a police officer if searched, or would be harder to explain as "tools"?
it seems there is a very fine line here, I am not sure if I want to be carrying these knives any longer, although they are very useful knives in the area of intimidation.

 

[tapedeck74]

Will all the people in the room who have ever been searched by the police for no reason whatsoever please raise their hands.

Yeah, me neither.

 

[Zaner01]

The issue is not being searched for no reason whatsoever.

The problem is being searched for some minor reason, and then having the search turn up something that the cop interprets as a weapon. This can happen to anyone.

 

[tapedeck74]

Give me an example of a minor reason.

In any case, if a cop so desires, he can interpret any knife, fixed blade or folder, to be a weapon. So why fret?

 

[Zaner01]

In any case, if a cop so desires, he can interpret any knife, fixed blade or folder, to be a weapon. So why fret?

The cop could interpret it that way, but the crown would not lay charges unless there was evidence to show intent.

But if you are carrying a knife designed as a weapon, they don't have to show intent. If it is designed as a weapon, then the law says it is a weapon regardless of your intent.

There are any number of reasons you could be taken into custody temporarily, and searched. You don't have to do anything; you just need to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and look like someone who did.

In Canada, if you choose to conceal a knife that is designed as a weapon or advertised as a weapon, you are taking a risk. Should you be searched, it is a slam-dunk conviction for the crown. That's a fact.

How seriously you take that risk is up to you.

 

[tapedeck74]

Aside from bayonets, what kind of knives are designed as weapons?

I think I get your message though. If you're carrying a Gerber Guardian in you waistband or boot, and the police find it on you, you may have a worse day than if you're carring a Sebenza in your pocket. I agree.

But who would have a worse day:
1- Me, an honest upstanding taxpaying citizen with a job, family and spotless criminal record, who by some chance is frisked by the police and they find a Strider WB carried horizontally at the small of my back?
2-Or, some gangbanger caught in a stolen car with any knife anywhere on him?

I give the cops a little credit. They're not dumb.

 

[Zaner01]

I'd say you'd both have a bad day.

Even if you've committed no offense, if you get in a situation that results in you being searched, in the eyes of that cop you're on the wrong side of the law. That's why he's searching you. If all he can get you for is carrying a concealed weapon, that's what he'll get you for.

Actual case: teenaged girl is taken into custody in Vancouver. Stated reason: she's underage, out after dark, and in a bad neighbourhood, so this is for her own protection. She's found to be carrying a concealed kitchen knife. When asked why, she says "this is a bad neighbourhood."

She was charged with carrying a concealed weapon, and convicted.

 

[tapedeck74]

Yeah, she admitted to carrying a weapon, hence the charge.
We could go back and forth over this endlessly.
If you're worried about being arrested for carrying a concealed weapon, then don't carry your knife concealed, or carry a leatherman, or don't carry a knife at all.

I don't carry weapons, I carry tools. Whether it happens to be a Leatherman in my pocket or a Busse on my belt, or a Sebenza in my waistband, I have no intention of using them as weapons. I'm not going to spend my life worrying about longshot, "what ifs".

 

[cdf]

I have had great success with neck carry knives (Becker BK11).....its all in the detail.....there is a firesteel and striker, a whistle, and a fenix P1D-CE on the neck lanyard.

I get more questions by LEO's about the P1D and the firesteel than the knife.

No argument Bushman , i often wear a folder in neck kydex , but ... I'm wearing multi layers and bib coveralls , and I'm on a jobsite . Generally speaking , if I'm just walkin around , I avoid exotic carry methods . I can articulate why I choose that method ( I often have to lie on my side , an d cant easily access pockets and belt pouch , plus I'm 57 and have bad knees . Walking around the Theatre district in To. at 02:00 hrs , the answer could be a different number .

Chris

 

[Zaner01]

Tapedeck, I don't worry about this for a moment, because I don't carry knives that are inappropriate to the circumstances. But people who carry concealed knives because they are "useful in the area of intimidation," for example, should think twice.

It's naive to think that you're on the side of the angels and can't get into trouble.

 

[tapedeck74]

Tapedeck, I don't worry about this for a moment, because I don't carry knives that are inappropriate to the circumstances. But people who carry concealed knives because they are "useful in the area of intimidation," for example, should think twice.

It's naive to think that you're on the side of the angels and can't get into trouble.

I agree. But how do you judge what is appropriate? Is my Spyderco Military appropriate for EDC? I think so, but a cop might think "hey that's really big, what the hell do you need that for"? My Sebenza is significantly smaller, is that ok? How about a RAT3 in a kydex sheath on my hip covered by my coat? How about a Buck 110 in my back pocket?

I don't understand the "inappropriate for the circumstances" argument. If I want to carry my Busse ASHI on my hip to WalMart I do. There is nothing illegal about it. A cop can't arrest me just because he "doesn't like it".

 

[Leaf Fan]

Even if you're arrested for a non-knife related matter, most officers will begin a search by asking you if you have anything on your person they should know about or that might injure them. If you're forthright and say, I have this XYZ knife, in my pocket/around my neck/on my belt/etc. you should be ok. Be polite, forthright, truthful, and the chips will fall where they may.

 

[Zaner01]

I don't understand the "inappropriate for the circumstances" argument. If I want to carry my Busse ASHI on my hip to WalMart I do. There is nothing illegal about it. A cop can't arrest me just because he "doesn't like it".

Yes, he can. The way our laws work, he has that latitude. He can arrest you for carrying a screwdriver, if he believes you have criminal intent.

It doesn't matter whether you understand it or not. That's the law.

 

[TOM1960]

I'd say you'd both have a bad day.

Even if you've committed no offense, if you get in a situation that results in you being searched, in the eyes of that cop you're on the wrong side of the law. That's why he's searching you. If all he can get you for is carrying a concealed weapon, that's what he'll get you for.

Actual case: teenaged girl is taken into custody in Vancouver. Stated reason: she's underage, out after dark, and in a bad neighbourhood, so this is for her own protection. She's found to be carrying a concealed kitchen knife. When asked why, she says "this is a bad neighbourhood."

She was charged with carrying a concealed weapon, and convicted.

I guess I only have one question here: Where were her parents???

 

[TOM1960]

Yes, he can. The way our laws work, he has that latitude. He can arrest you for carrying a screwdriver, if he believes you have criminal intent.

It doesn't matter whether you understand it or not. That's the law.

Same thing here in Massachusetts. If you get caught by the police under certain circumstances and you are in possession of crow bars, halligan tool, jimmy bar, etc., you can be charged with possession of burglarious tools. This law is applied judiciously, since many contractors who work for demolition companies or do renovation work carry all of the above in their vehicles.

 

[tapedeck74]

Yes, he can. The way our laws work, he has that latitude. He can arrest you for carrying a screwdriver, if he believes you have criminal intent.

It doesn't matter whether you understand it or not. That's the law.

Of course I understand it.
Right, so you agree, it doesn't matter what you carry. A cop can say that the no.2 pencil in your pocket is a weapon just as easily as he can any knife, so why be concerned about which knife you carry?
If you're not doing anything illegal, like walking through a mall with your family minding your own business, and a cop happens to see a knife on your belt, he can't just slap the cuffs on for no reason other that he "thinks" what you're carrying is a weapon, he has to have evidence of intent.

I've reached the age of 34 years, never been arrested, never been searched, and kept out of trouble in general. I've been carrying a knife of one kind or another since I was 8 years old.
Unless the knife is too big, I always carry concealed.

I'm not about to self-restrain my personal freedoms because of what some cop may think of my LEGAL choices.
If you Nervous Nellies want to go around carrying SAKS because you're terrified of what some dude with a badge might think, go ahead.

One more thing,

I have a cousin who's a cop (OPP), as well as a neighbor (Montreal Police/retired), as well as a family friend (RCMP/retired).
They have unanimously told me that they used "weapon" laws against people in very specific ways. If someone had committed a crime and they found a knife on them, they would consider it a weapon. If they detained and searched a known criminal (biker/gangbanger) and found a knife, they would confiscate it.

The idea that a cop is going to go Biblical on your ass and ruin your life and take your house just because he doesn't like the look of your knife is rediculous. Has it ever happened? Maybe. There are many more likely and serious risks in life than that. Like being struck by lightning or eaten by a shark.