Carrying a Fixed Blade in California...

S

Spaztic Warrior

Joined
Sep 17, 2013
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The reason I am making this thread is because of some of the experiences I have had with non-knife carriers over time. I live in a little farming town called Waterford with only about 9000 people in it and I can't believe how much people think carrying a fixed-blade is illegal. Out of 10 people, 9 of them will think carrying fixed is illegal (I live in California so the laws for knives are really stupid. They kind of reflect the ignorance for learning anything about the knives that lawmakers make illegal. These laws spread to knives that aren't illegal and ban them on a social level. I hate Cali.) Anyways, I constantly have people assume I'm a really violent kind of person because I carry fixed. I have had all kinds of people I'm talking to,"Have you ever killed anybody with that..."(No, in case anyone was wondering)"...dude, that's illegal". What kind of experiences have any of you had with people who don't carry knives or people who are ignorant about learning about them? I really want to know.
 
What laws in cali do you find stupid? My understanding is any blade length is fine for open carry so long as you're not in LA/OC/Bay Area. There are restrictions are on bali's and autos, but take in comparison Texas' laws where a blade is restricted to 5in and no bali's/autos either on person or in house. (Sans collectors)

Having lived in both states and currently in LA County, I find slipjoints to be a great answer for sheeple, and a locking knife/fixed blade for heavier work.
 
Fixed blade must be open carry and clearly visible, balis and autos must have a blade less than 2 inches, and trust me, people will bitch whine and freak out about any knife they see. I was EDCing a buck omni hunter that I got for christmas and people said crap like "Hey look at rambo over there, gonna go on a rampage"
 
Yeah even on HIKES in deep wilderness I get sour onion stares from carrying a fixed blade.

I now just keep it in the backpack.

dont want to upset anyone.
 
From my understanding, Cali's knife laws are among the best in the US, excluding states who've had their restrictions lifted thanks to the people at Knife Rights.
 
I live in Oklahoma, and if I carry a small four inch fixed, I get the same stupid looks and dumb questions as the OP.
Yet I can open carry a Kimber 1911 in .45 ACP, and no one says a word.
Or if they do say a word, it's positive.
Weird.
 
California's knife laws are misunderstood, but the statewide knife laws are not that bad. Not compared to the gun laws at least.

Local ordinances may be more restrictive, but statewide:
...no length limit for folders
.....folder concealed carry OK
....assisted opening OK
....fixed blade open carry OK
.....no fixed blade length limit

I'd love to be able to conceal a fixed blade, but quite frankly we don't have it that bad for knife laws.
 
In Oakland, I've seen hipsters carrying fixed blades on belt sheaths. Perfectly legal, and hip.
 
I'm 16 as live in southern Cali area and all te people I know pretty much freak!
I carry either a benchmade or my endura everyday and if someone see me they show a face like I'm a monster who's about to Stab someone!
My friends who know me well are actually versed in knives alittle bit so they know why I carry. But other people I know immediately start saying "your only 16! We live in a safe area why do u need a knife?? Do u work on a farm were you need a knife for work? What's up dude that's weird!"
And of course I explain why and they understand better. ( I actually need a knife at work on weekends to cut boxes and rope) and then they are just like oh I see.
It's always fine after that but their intial reactions bug me. That they assume I am dangerous and crazy.
What is wrong with our world!
 
One time, my wife and I were in a mall in Palmdale CA (of all places). I was carrying a four inch custom-made fixed on my left hip. Nicely polished black sheath, cocobola scales, brass bolsters, pretty classy looking rig. A cop in the store asked me to remove it, or conceal it, as a customer had complained. GO FIGURE!!!!!!
 
This anti-knife culture of fear is not a Cali thing, it's a countrywide (and international) thing. Cali has better laws than some states (and some countries) regarding knife carry. You might go somewhere else and find that attitudes aren't any worse here overall. I'd bet even in states with more permissive knife laws, the majority of people react the same way to knives. Most people in general don't/won't carry a knife and don't understand anyone who does.

Jim
 
brets-ftw said:
What laws in cali do you find stupid? My understanding is any blade length is fine for open carry so long as you're not in LA/OC/Bay Area. There are restrictions are on bali's and autos, but take in comparison Texas' laws where a blade is restricted to 5in and no bali's/autos either on person or in house. (Sans collectors)

Having lived in both states and currently in LA County, I find slipjoints to be a great answer for sheeple, and a locking knife/fixed blade for heavier work.
Click to expand...

Couple of corrections about Texas :

Max length for public carry is 5.5 inches state wide,single edge, no daggers, dirks, pongiards, bowies except ::
Dallas, 4 inches max
Corpus 3.5 inch folders and no fixed carry
San Antonio no locking folders
Houston no knives on city owned property

Autos and balisongs are legal as long as they meet all other legal knife specs: max 5.5 inches, single edge. This is as of 01 Sept 2013. Prior to that anyone could own them, you just couldn't carry them off your property.
 
I had a woman get a little freaked out once when I was cleaning my nails with a 3.5" folder while waiting for an appointment. It isn't just fixed blades they're afraid of. Some people are just fearful. I figure if they see more people carrying and using knives in a non-threatening and responsible manner they might calm down a bit.

On the positive side, I have been carrying a fixed blade in a pouch sheath more and more lately and have yet to get a reaction from anyone. Maybe the "tacticality" of the sheath has something to do with the perceived threat of some fixed blades.
 
"Look at that crazy guy carrying a knife. You know what, I feel threatened. As soon as I finish this cigarette and xl venti Carmel Macchiato, I'm gonna complain via phone while driving."

If it's legal, carry it. Who cares who feels uncomfortable. If it's legal to carry, I don't think a cop can make you put anything away. Better know your laws before you argue that one though.
 
I suppose it's a matter of chance whether or not a person carrying a fixed-blade in CA encounters a negative reaction. I've been openly carrying a fixed-blade everyday here in urban San Diego since 2004 (I carried periodically prior to that), and I have never noticed a negative reaction. Of course, I don't look for negative reactions so it's possible that they have happened and I was completely ignorant of them. Either way I couldn't care less. I have also seen several other people carrying fixed-blades, so it's not exactly unheard of.

To give you a good picture, I've been a die-hard biker for the past 27 years, I look like a biker (scruffy, lots of ragged black leather), and the fixed-blade I carry is all black and has a 5" blade (Wilson Tactical model 25).

I carry my knife wherever it is legal to do so. I carry in stores, restaurants, and all manner of public places. No one has ever called the cops on me or asked me to leave their business or property.

I have received four comments from people over the years-

1. I sometimes used to carry the Wilson hanging upside-down from my belt in a kydex sheath and a guy standing in line in a Taco Bell said "Excuse me, but what keeps the knife from falling out?". I responded by explaining how kydex sheaths work.

2. A kid (maybe 12) at a 7/11 asked me why I was carrying a knife. I told him "To cut stuff."

3. I used to sometimes carry an Entrek Cobra fixed-blade in a back pocket sheath. One day a guy in a car pulled up next to me at a red light and said "Hey buddy, do you know that you've got a knife in your pocket?". He thought that maybe I stuck it in my pocket and forgot it was there.

4. Another guy in a car asked "Hey buddy, what's the knife for, lawyers and tax collectors?". He was joking, I just smiled at him.

Many cops have seen me carrying the Wilson 25 over the years. On one occasion, I walked into a fast food joint and there was a table of about six cops having a meal. I stood right in front of them at the counter placing my order, then waiting for my food, with my knife in full view of the cops, and not one said a word about it.

Only once did a cop ever say a word about a fixed-blade I was carrying. And all he did was warn me that my jacket was covering the handle of the Entrek in my back pocket, thereby making it "concealed" (this was an accidental occurrence). Despite my appearance, and despite the fact that technically the cop had me for carrying a concealed fixed-blade, he didn't take the knife, or ask for the knife, or even ask for my ID. All he did was give me a friendly heads-up and say that he didn't want me to get in trouble with some other cop. I adjusted my jacket to expose the knife, the cop was happy, I thanked him, and we went our separate ways.

I say, enjoy the great knife rights that CA law provides you, and ignore those who don't like it. We here in the US have knife rights that many people in other countries can only envy. To deny oneself the freedom of choice that this country offers for fear of what total strangers might think is no way to live in my opinion.
 
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That's exactly what I'm talking about when I was saying that thing about "banning knives on a social level". Never mind the fact that the legal way to carry fixed is openly so that you're not hiding anything, some people want you to conceal anyways so no one has to see. It's ridiculous.
 
See, I love learning these things about what carrying is like in other states. The info on Texas's knife laws is kind of surprising. As a few of you have pointed out knife laws in the USA are better than those in some countries. One of the good things about this country is its diversity. If I decide I don't like living in California no one is going to stop me from moving to another state for the things I do like about it if they more so fit my lifestyle and uses for items that may be banned in Cali.
 
I'm from Turlock and i carried a fixed blade knife alot actually and never really got any comments about it( well except from my friends who complain about it; but learn it is best not to carry at certain times and places openly atleast). i usually never have any one noticed i carried a fixed blade really and i carried not on school property but across the street with every one their at the high school being able to see it when i go to my friends house to see him. If your wondering what fixed blade i carry it is either a ontario marine raider knife(9 3/4 in blade) a ka bar(traditional seven in blade in a black plastic sheath) a sog field pup, a kershaw antelope hunter cold steel srk a few spanish made blades and i thing acouple others as well and a few times on halloween a cold steel cutlass and a cold steel 1960 heavy calvery saber and no one has really said anything about it. The few times was when i guy asked me if i got hassled alot for carrying a knife openly which i said no and one time a cop just looked at me for going to the bank with the knife but never said anything to me or appoarched me and even then i not sure if it was me or he just did that to every one. but since im from the same area as you and around the same age. Most people in their teens are kinda dumb when it comes to knives and guns as stuff like that and even in thier early 20's. so i would say it might be just an age thing with you since your in high school still. this it to the orginal poster. P.s i live in santa cruz and carried a fixed blade openly on halloween and got one person freaked out about it to put it away and said that the law was three inches, but that was because he was from LA and doesn't know that the knife laws are different here in santa cruz and was more concern about me just geting in trouble more so than anything else.
 
I had a friend get hassled by some UC Berkeley police officers for a CRKT sting he was carrying strapped to his leg within the city of Berkeley, and ended up getting of after a night in a holding cell with time served. That's pretty good considering that was wholly illegal in Berkeley and the state of California. I just started carrying a mini Fox river and haven't gotten any problems for it. But then it's only been one night.. But all in all I feel pretty comfortable carrying a fixed blade openly in California. We're pretty lucky.
 
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