Do You Worry About "Legal" Blade Length??

Robert.B said:
I wonder if their have been any court precedents of people winning a case against the state in regards to federal law superseding the state/county/city laws? I dont get how KS, a very rural state much like Oklahoma, can enforce such restrictive knife laws...I have carried bowies in KS though and just don't make a scene or bring heat upon myself acting a fool, doing so has never had a police officer ask if i was armed.
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I don't know but I'm going to try and get a petition going. To make it legal for ccw holders to carry whatever we want. Like in Florida and some other stats. If they trust us enough to carry a gun then we should be trusted enough to carry knives. If that's successful then it's one step closer to everyone being able to carry what they want.
 
That would be a good start. New Hampshire is the goal. No knife laws whatsoever.
 
The correct answer to the original post is to know the law, and then comply with it.
 
grimtongue said:
Actually, I do believe there is a 3 inch restriction in MI.
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There is only a 3" limit if you carry with intent to commit a crime. See question #5 here.

hotbees said:
only illegal if you get caught.
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This theory doesn't apply so well when someone takes your stuff or makes you a victim. All of a sudden, its a crime even before the actor is caught.
 
powernoodle said:
There is only a 3" limit if you carry with intent to commit a crime. See question #5 here.



This theory doesn't apply so well when someone takes your stuff or makes you a victim. All of a sudden, its a crime even before the actor is caught.
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i agree with this - if you're carrying an illegal knife for SD and have to use it for such, your crime will be discovered. however, you have to weigh the risk to reward ratio. back when i was 19, a friend and i were almost eaten by a VERY LARGE vicious dog. i started concealing a large fixed blade, i had no permit. in FL that's a Misdemeanor. i'll take the Misd charge over the stitches any day. btw - this is old news, i've answered honestly to this on VSA's

as for SD against humans - (FL) if you were carrying an illegally concealed dagger, someone tried to rob you, and you stabbed them. you're (probably) only going to be charged with the concealed carry misdemeanor, they'll be charged with robbery, and the pokin is still justified. all in all, not so bad.

i think it's very important to understand your local laws (this is why i don't like to travel to other states), but whether or not to strictly adhere to them has to be decided based on the totallity of the circumstances by each individual.
 
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I live in Germany, very strict weapon and gun laws.
Very many knives are considered weapons, for example if you can open and lock the blade with one hand or the blade is double edged.
Also if the designer of the blade calls it a fighting knife, then it is a fighting knife even if it would be legal just in awareness of the length..

Slipjoints and two hand folders are legal and fixed blades are also legal up to a blade length of 4.7 inches.
I won't carry a restricted knife, i will "transport" it.
Which means i got it in a closed device like a backpack.
If i don't carry anything with me to transport the knife like our laws want, i won't carry the big knife.
So i mostly worry about the laws although they are ridiculous, my Spyderco Kumo is allowed, my Spyderco Police ain't.

I have to confess that i did not study the law as i bought my first one hand folder and i had to pay about 100 dollars fee and another 100 for the knife =(

I would only carry my Cold Steel Black Bear Classic or my MOD Atac V in some kind of prevent the islamic holy war anarchic zombie nuclear breakout anything situation.

So if it comes to self defense... Take the risk of paying between 100 and 10000 Euros for unallowed carry of weapons or just take the small fixed.

But i would rather grab a stone from the ground than draw my knife against someone..
 
I worry less about the length of the blade, but rather how I use it in regards to how others may react when they see the knife.

I would rather use a small blade for a small task such as opening a package, but it would be perfectly okay to pull out the big fixed blade to help clear brush from a tree blocking the road.
 
Fortunately the only measurement I need to worry about here is whether it fits in my pocket comfortably. :D
 
I am not worry about legal blade length because I always take this in consideration. Fortunately for me, in my state legal limit is >4" and all my EDC in compliance. It is a little different, when I travel, so I am taking Caly3 or SAK.
 
Here in Texas, 5.5" is the max blade length. I think I can squeek by
with that CS Rajah though at 6", after all, 5.5" rounds up to 6", right?
:D
 
A actually about backed out on buying an Emerson CQC-11 because it was .10" longer than the 4" limit here. I stay within the limit just in case. I actually had an officer question the legality of my 2000 Commander once.
 
Australia is a knife owners nightmare and only getting worse.

i've edc'd a leatherman wave for 10+ years and a SAK for 12 odd years before that, mostly in cities and have never had a problem with the law.

nowadays, i live in the sticks and have added a fallkniven wm1 to my camera bag. so long as it's in the camera bag or being used legitimatly, i'm confident i can talk my way out of any entanglements with, often surprisingly tolerant, LEOs. i'm not going to stick an S1 or a Fairbairn-Sykes in the camera bag however.

pliers based multitools that just happen to also have a folding knife blade seem to have fallen into a rare pool of common-sense in the Australian LEO community in my experience. by and large, they just leave you alone for a leatherman or similar so long as your not being an obnoxious retard.

now, aussie knife laws being what they are, i'll happily have the S1 or a Mora Clipper 840 in the car and go get it when needs be around town, but i wouldn't make a habit of wandering around a city with it.
 
I carry <3.75" everywhere I go except for major metropolitan areas where I'll carry a 3" blade. The way I see it, responsible carrying of an illegal blade length shouldn't get attention, but brandishing an SAK will.
So I use my Leatherman Squirt's blade in crowded areas and my main EDC if I'm not surrounded be people.
 
for where i live you cant carry a switchblade or an assisted opener or a gravity(balisong) but you can carry any thing within reason altho it cannt sit in you pocket if its clipped its fine but if its just in your pocket its fine.
 
barrabas74 said:
Yes I do as I frequently travel to baltimore city for my job. I was pulled over once in a bad neighborhood (we have a warehouse in a crappy part of the west side...but the state wants to save cash) by a police officer. I was pulled over for because as he put it "you dont belong in this part of town". After explaining to him about my job etc he asked if I had any weapons on me. I said yes and he asked me to step out of the car and show him. I showed him my small kershaw shallot and he measured it...deemed it fine and let me go. Had I been carrying my Spyderco military or any number of blades over 3 inches it could have been bad news bears.

I try to keep in mind where I am and what the laws are as you never know. When I work in annapolis I carry whatever folder I want. However in B-more I keep the rules. Doesnt mean I dont carry mase though ;)

also the width of the palm rule is tough. If you are a large guy with big hands like me...that a 4 inch blade. If a female officer pulls you over, the width of the palm rules just dont apply.
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Md. doesn't have a blade restriction. I don't really worry about it anyway. If the policeman had asked me that I would have just said no. You tell a cop you have a weapon you will get their attention. My knife is a tool and I don't consider it a weapon.
 
JasonMB said:
for where i live you cant carry a switchblade or an assisted opener or a gravity(balisong) but you can carry any thing within reason altho it cannt sit in you pocket if its clipped its fine but if its just in your pocket its fine.
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whut?:confused:
 
well my job as a tender rigger for some ship companies means i have to cut everything from 1/4 manila to 2-4in polypropylene rope and if CA legislation thinks i can cut that quickly with a 2in knife they should come down and try it themselves so in that case no. however i stay within reason so 3-4in max
 
brets-ftw said:
well my job as a tender rigger for some ship companies means i have to cut everything from 1/4 manila to 2-4in polypropylene rope and if CA legislation thinks i can cut that quickly with a 2in knife they should come down and try it themselves so in that case no. however i stay within reason so 3-4in max
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Ever think of getting a waved folder? I've been carrying this since I got it last week.

[youtube]Vbuz40nFZLw[/youtube]

I only carry waved folders and fixed blades.

PS... I'm in Fresno.
 
Other than an absolute ban on automatics, push daggers and butterfly knives, Canadian knife laws are pretty vague so I never worry about blade length. The truth is,if you're ever in a situation where you're being searched, the cops are going to seize your knife regardless of blade length.
 
I am not sure what the law says in here about blade length... If anything. Law is so vaguely put about "possessing object suitable harming other people in public place is illegal" so I could be as much problem posses Spyderco Military or Case Peanut... However as for slipjoint I feel I'd be more safe in Urban... however as long I don't act threatning, use knives improperly or thoughtless I should not be worrying much about these things.

Even I work in school nobody has ever commented about my Case Swayback Jack, Queen barlow or any other slipjoint I carry... Nor even the Spyderco's, though I do cutting in public with slipjoint :D Everyone know I have slipjoint with me so when they need to open packages, letters and such they usually ask my help if they don't have scissors near them. I still love small towns for this reason :D
 
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