Coolest Cali Legal...

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valentin_84

Joined
Jul 12, 2009
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What would you guys say is the coolest California legal knife? I believe the blade length is limited to 3" and no Bali's or Auto's are allowed :barf: Kinda kills a lot of the fun there...
 
Autos (switchblades) are leagal at 2inches or shorter. Protech makes some great ones that are off-the-chart cool.
 
valentin_84 said:
What would you guys say is the coolest California legal knife? I believe the blade length is limited to 3" and no Bali's or Auto's are allowed :barf: Kinda kills a lot of the fun there...
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Once we get "Clalifornia legal" cleared up, it would help if you gave us an idea of what you thought "cool" was. What's cool to me might not be cool to you.
 
LA does not have a length limit on folders. We do have a 3" limit on fixed blade knives, but have a very broad exception for work and outdoors activities (hiking, fishing) as well as exceptions for travel to and from work and hiking or fishing.

It is true that button operated switchblades and balisongs are no-nos, but pretty much everything else is fair game.

California has some odd firearms laws, and that makes people assume that the same is true for knives. It is not. Compared to other cities in the country, the knife laws here are actually quite moderate.
 
Sounds like L.A. has the same knife laws as South Florida. So you can carry pretty much anything that folds legally. (less auto's and bali's)

BUT..... Not all of the police I have come across are aware of the law! I have had a few try the palm of your hand garbage.
 
Ya the laws are very grey here in LA county. Best to do the research yourself as I have found laws to be different than what people are posting in this thread. The only thing I know to be true is the state law does not restrict folding blade length. However, every county has its own laws and every city also has its own laws. Check with the LA sheriff's department for county laws, then check with the cities you will frequent the most for their laws.
 
Los Angeles said:
LA does not have a length limit on folders. We do have a 3" limit on fixed blade knives, but have a very broad exception for work and outdoors activities (hiking, fishing) as well as exceptions for travel to and from work and hiking or fishing.

It is true that button operated switchblades and balisongs are no-nos, but pretty much everything else is fair game.

California has some odd firearms laws, and that makes people assume that the same is true for knives. It is not. Compared to other cities in the country, the knife laws here are actually quite moderate.
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Wow, I had no idea that the 3" blade law was only on fixed blades. I had just read that it was on any blade recently on a website that I found on here somewhere... Too bad I got rid of my Spyderco Police 3 :-(

marcinek said:
What's cool to me might not be cool to you.
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I was mostly referring to knives with the "wow" factor that an automatic or a Balisong usually gets. Something flashy like that.
 
valentin_84 said:
I was mostly referring to knives with the "wow" factor that an automatic or a Balisong usually gets. Something flashy like that.
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A Bill Bagwell Bowie with an 11" blade certainly has a lot of "wow" factor. Legal too, as long as it is carried openly. Doesn't mean that it is prudent walking around with one tucked in your belt.
 
I live in CA, and the only laws with folders are that you cannot have a balisong or auto on you, unless the blade length is under 2". Otherwise, there is no length law for folders.

But I think that Los Angeles laws say that you cannot open carry a knife with a blade 3" or more. If the blade is over 3", it must not be able to be seen in "plain view."
 
Los Angeles knife laws, both county and municipal-

It is illegal to openly carry in any visible manner any knife, folder or fixed-blade, with a blade three inches long or longer.

It is illegal to carry concealed any fixed-blade of any blade length.

A folder with a blade three inches or longer clipped to your pocket or worn in a sheath on your belt is considered openly carried and is illegal.

It is LEGAL to carry concealed any manual folder of any size.

And now for the exceptions-

It is LEGAL to openly carry any size folder or fixed-blade if you are carrying it for work or for recreational purposes. This means that if you are openly carrying a knife with a blade three inches or longer, and you get stopped by the cops for it, you had better be able to PROVE that you were carrying it for work at that time or that you were on your way to go fishing or camping etc.

Of course, the irony of all this is that you already made a mistake by taking bad legal advice on the internet and sold a knife because of it, so why should you believe any legal advice that you read on this forum? Unless someone on this forum is a criminal attorney in California and knows Los Angeles knife laws, and can prove it, how would you know that they know what they are talking about?

Just because you read something on the internet doesn't make it true, not even if you read it here on Bladeforums. I for one wouldn't wager my freedom on the legal advice given by total strangers on the internet. When in doubt, consult an attorney. That's what I do.
 
If you're going for "coolest", a Protech Stinger or Runt is at the top of the list. Just hang on, cause the spring on these little buggers is crazy strong, and the knife will fly out of your hand if you're not careful.
 
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