Do You Worry About "Legal" Blade Length??

"I never carry an illegal blade length"!

Really?

With the tens of thousands of knife laws in the U.S, State, County, municipality and township?

And some of them excruciatingly vague.

What's in your pocket when you enter a post Office or other federal building?

Truth is most LE is unlikely to hassle you about blade length unless there's some other reason to detain or 'check you out' in the first place.

I know of many locations where the county rule is more restrictive than the State, and a township, village or city more restrictive yet. And vice versa.

Knife laws in the U.S are an unholy tangle of conflicting rules.

Best you can do is be reasonable and don't make waves.

JMHO, as always, YMMV, and that's okay too.

Regards,
:) ...
 
I carry what I want. To be honest I'm not even positive what the laws are here. But I also don't do things where I should have any contact with the police. I figure if I am being hassled about a pocket knife I either have some really bad luck or have bigger things to be worrying about.
 
Personally, I don't "worry" about it, but I consider it. Fortunately, CA & most of the cities here that I find myself in, don't have a blade length limit for a folding knife.

That said, there's a big difference between "getting away" with carrying an illegal length blade knife & actually using it in a SD situation. In other words, it might be fine if you don't get caught, but if you end up actually using (Hope one never does, but it can), then you could be in trouble & it's not going to be just a simple confiscation.

I also hate to say it, but many LE are not that well informed on their states knife laws. They'll have a general knowledge of it, but might not have a specialized one of it. Chalk that up to training or lack of it as Depts try making due with less & less these days, which includes training.

It's not the case in CA, but I notice that some states have different limit laws for people with or W/O CCWs (Weapons permit allowing concealed carry of a firearm), so that needs to taken into consideration.
 
I carry what what want. Nothing ever bigger than a 3.5" blade but that is still over the limit almost everywhere I go. I believe that if you don't give LEOs a reason to search you that you won't be searched. It's worked very well for me
over the years.

With that being said..... In my younger years ( I'm 28 now lol ) I used to get searched all the time LOL. I was always polite and respectful, JUST BEFORE being searched I would always tell the cop that I had a small pocketknife and I would tell them exactly where it was WITHOUT reaching for it. That has always bought me brownie points and I've never had a problem and I used to get searched A LOT ( not arrested, just searched ). I've also had my share of LEOs use the palm method while examining my knife and I usually got a compliment about it as well despite me being young and being searched by the police. YMMV
 
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I carry what ever I want. Only people doing dumb things and getting caught doing them, need to worry about their blade length.:thumbup:
 
I only worry about it when going into major cities, even then i sometimes done...I cant CCW until i'm a citizen in KS so I carry based on the area i'm going to, I'd rather have something to protect myself with then nothing!

That said, i'm currently in Australia for a few months and I carry, and carry is illegal for pretty much anything.
 
illegal where i live, no matter the length. living in the city sucks.
i carry a small multitool, this way i can say its a tool
 
unit said:
I do not worry about it, but I also do not carry knives of length that exceed the law.

I can not speak for all LEOs, but I think the length law is just one of the many tools at their disposal. If you are in the wrong with any knife, you have problems...and if you are doing nothing wrong, there is little reason to initiate a search.
Click to expand...

I agree for the most part. I am stationed in Germany right now, and they have a length law, and autos and assisted knives of any length are illegal here, but I don't worry about it most of the time. If I am going down town during the weekend (party hours) then I carry a legal knife, mainly because the chances of me getting involved in some legal situations are increased, and thus the chances of me getting searched are increased. The rest of the time though, I carry whatever. The worst case scenario for me if I did get caught with one is that it will be confiscated and just turned back over to the local MPs (of which I am one) and will be given back to me.
 
In FL a concealed weapons license covers everything including knives. I have no worries...
 
I live in New York City, so any blade longer than a 1/16th of an inch is illegal.......:D

Just kidding. But I do EDC under the legal limit.
 
I always carry the legal length...oh wait...there is no length restriction in Canada! ;)
 
I work in different cities in california on a weekly basis.

Not to try and sound like a tough guy or anything but I pay no mind to any laws regarding what I can and cannot carry , as far as I'm concerned what I choose to carry is covered under the 2nd Amendment , if I'm working in Oakland or some other trashy city I may also have a pistol of mine within easy reach... I'm nobody's victim , you wont see me in a missing persons list... :)

Some of you worry a lot about cops... I have numerous tattoo's and keep my head shaved because that's how I like it , I sorta look like the kind of guy who a cop might want to check out but , I never get any hassle aside from the rare driving ticket , even then I have never been questioned about weaponry or anything other than why was I speeding or had a tail light out.

Tostig
 
While CA has no restrictions on folder length, it does make illegal concealed carry of fixed blades. So, I carry folders only. My biggest folders are Kershaws JYDII inTi and SG2, the Speed Bump, and my ZT0350. (And it's usually the ZT0350 thats i my pocket.)

I live right on the edge of a rough part of town- one street over from where I live is straight ghetto projects. Never been stopped by the cops, even with my shaved head and very visible tattoos. The closest I come to breaking any knife laws is carrying a Boker Subclaw IWB.
 
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