Does anyone know Minnesota's knife laws?

J

JMB

Joined
May 28, 1999
Messages
72
I emailed the Attorney General's office and they referred me to the extremely vague (and I'm sure purposefully so) "dangerous weapons" law. The way it reads, it would seem you could be arrested for carrying a really sharp pencil if the cops had nothing better to do.

I'm curious if anyone knows what's generally allowed by the authorities as far as folders go and fixed blades go. Especially in the Metro area. Thanks.
 
JMB go to your States website and look it up in the General Statutes. Print out a copy and keep it in your cars glove box. It
might save you a lot of trouble some day. Don't put yourself at risk with heresay information. Even if it's from the attorney general. Very often the judge has to go into his chambers to look things up.
A couple knife dealers I know have copies of all the knife/weapons laws in the states that they sell in with them at their tables. The reason is that if a surprise visit pops up by the police like has been happening at gun shows they're ready. I think it's a wise move on their part.
They started doing this after a flea market was raided by police looking for bootleg videos and music and one of them confiscated a bunch of knives from a dealer. They were legal knives and had to be returned to him but it was a costly hassle for the dealer to have to go through.

[This message has been edited by TomW (edited 04-18-2000).]
 
JMB,
I am also from Minnesota, and have looked into this. The Dangerous Weapons definition is extremely vague. However the only thing that is specifically mentioned are switchblades, and this falls under a misdemeanor. It gets real bad if you happen to have ANY knife on you while on school grounds as this is a felony. Email me with specific questions and I will try and help. You may also want to check out the following sites. http://pweb.netcom.com/~brlevine/sta-law.htm http://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us:81/SEARCH/BASIS/mnstat/public/www/DDW?W%3DTEXT+PH+IS+%27knife%27+ORDER+BY+SORT_KEY/Ascend%26M%3D2%26K%3D609.66%26R%3DY%26U%3D1

I hope this helps
Eric


 
I hail from Minnesota too- south east metro area - I've seen "ambigious" before but our laws take the prize! - I've a few friends who are LEOs .. there was "consternation" when they saw my Delica! "This would go through a ballistic vest like a hot knife through butter" was one response.. but it's legal... I stick to what I can get visibly through airport security without a hassle ..assuming that's going to pass. but you are right -it's a crapshoot and a lot depends on the LEO.



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Don't wrestle with the hogs - they enjoy it and you get dirty !
Jonesy
 
Ok, any decent knife will go through Kevlar (I have to assume they didn't mean the ceramic vests). The principle of Kevlar armor is that the projectile gets tangled in the fibers, which are incrdibly strong in tension, and the force is distributed from fiber to fiber across the vest. The person wearing the vest absorbs the same energy, but over a large area, instead of a small one. Have a woman (or man, I guess, in this day-and-age) step on your hand with a sneaker and then with a stiletto heel for a demonstration (just to prvent myself from getting sued, PLEASE DO NOT DO SO! just take my word for it, ok?).

Kevlar is not especially resistant to cutting, so being able to cut it with a knife is not amazing. Actually, this is one of the few instances where serrations are a good thing, although a properly sharpened plain edge will work nearly as well.

I'm actually working on some ideas to minimize this danger. What does everyone think of Beta-TI chain mail?
wink.gif


--JB

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e_utopia@hotmail.com
 
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