Carrying a Knife

I had served the wonderful "Garden State" of NJ for 12 years in paid fire and EMS services, and there were several times I was advised by supervision that the folder I carried for MULTIPLE tasks, could be considered a weapon by the public, so I stopped carrying it. Several months later I had a patient in cardiac arrest wearing Carhartt work gear AND heavy flannel. Our trauma scissors took forever to remove the clothes, a delay not acceptable considering the situation. Since that day, I started carrying my folder again-on and off duty. I've since moved to NC where it is more relaxed, but if told again to stop carrying, I would just find a better place to hide it.
 
That's scary. Public service/emergency response, and you can't carry because someone might think it was a weapon. Buy that supervisor a flashlight so he won't have to be afraid of his shadow.

I like the Spyderco Rescue Assist. I carry it pretty much anywhere. It can't stab, it's not much at slashing, either. It's only excellent at cutting straps or clothes (or vines :) ) and breaking glass.

Welcome to Bladeforums! I'm glad you didn't let it wreck your attitude toward getting the job done.
 
Why are knife laws so strict on the East coast? I live in CO and it's very common to see people with folding knives worn *fairly* openly, without being hassled. I only started noticing recently because I try to identify what they're carrying (for fun, like identifying guitars in commercials and magazine ads.) The limit is 3.5 in. but that's not too limiting.
 
It's only in recent years that the laws and their interpretations and enforcement became so strict. I think the hoplophobes simply took advantage of the security panic over 9/11 to push their agenda.
 
In Thailand it is illegal to carry a knife, but this is only enforced in the cities. In the jungle or on a farm everyone carries a knife, usually a parang or machete, and noone bothers you about it whether it is concealed or not, although I imagine if police caught you with a switchblade you would have problems. Usually I carry a bamboo walking stick, but it is mainly to protect against vicious dogs, which are a real problem here. The crime rate where I live is actually very low.
 
Welcome to Bladeforums! I bet the walking stick is more effective against dogs than a pocketknife would be, and less messy than a parang! :)
 
The law in SC states that you can wear a knife while in transit to and from an activity where the knife is necessary. Mostly that would be hunting of some kind around here but many work situations require a blade also. You may have a knife on your person if in transit to or from a sale of that knife so I keep that in mind. I have learned to put any knife clipped on my pocket inside my pocket to walk in certain venues and return it to it's place once inside. SC has loosened it's knife restrictions lately but there are still pricks around every corner.
 
Esav Benyamin said:
New Jersey law has no length restrictions on knives carried by adults. Measuring by the width of a palm is legally meaningless, palms varying. If they want to say under 4", let them say so -- it is not in the statutes.

As with anything, how you present yourself counts for a lot. I walk with a Canemasters combat cane, carved grips and fangs on the end of the crook. No one has ever questioned it, not in New Jersey, not even in New York City. A teen walking with a tire-knocker would get called on it, I'm sure.

I despise the mindset that demonizes self-defense. Self-defense should be THE valid reason for carrying any potential weapon. But we have to be aware of the defects in our laws, and defend ourselves from them as much as we would defend ourselves from a mugger.

In this sense, the police are NOT our friends, even if individual officers may be. Don't wave it around, and don't talk about it to people who don't share our understanding. And don't mention self-defense outside our community, either. The others don't want to understand.
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These idiotic laws are nothing new; in fact, they date back to medieval Europe, when royalty and their enforcers (knights) were allowed to be armed but a peasant would face execution for possession of any type of weapon. To a large extend, Asia was the same way. The traditional Okinawan martial arts weapons traced their roots to ordinary farm tools that were pressed into service as improvised weapons. Again, the peasants were forbidden to own the weapons associated with warfare, such as the sword, dagger and bow/arrow. In southeast Asia during British colonial rule, the proper gentleman carried a sword cane as he walked the streets or Singapore or Malaysia. If the authorities there today caught the average person carrying any type of "weapon", they would receive a stiff jail sentence and a number of strokes of a rattan cane (wielded by a well-trained prison officer) across their bare buttocks. Michael Fay, an American, was jailed and caned over in Singapore a few years back; it was well-publicized here so we know that they mean business! The horrible pain and permanent scars on his butt will be a lifelong reminder of this :D
 
The OP obviously questions the veracity of the statement made by his trooper 'friend.' That's good, because the trooper is full of sheet. He just made up a law.

Tell your NJ trooper 'friend' to stop lying and to go back and do something that he is expert at ..... like racial profiling.

Stop hanging around with liars.

Unfortunately, the US Supreme Court ruled that police officers can lie in the line of duty.
 
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